On Friday I stated the Ravens would win by 3 points in a close game. It sure didn’t start out that way, but it sure ended that way.
It was a Super Bowl of first, a fake field goal, a 34 minute power outage in the 3rd quarter, and brother vs brother, John vs. Jim Harbaugh. The half time if anyone cared also saw the reunion of Destiny’s child (Beyonce and her band mates Michelle Williams and Kelli Rowland). It was also the longest Super bowl on record 4 hours and 11 minutes. It was also the final game of Ray Lewis’ storied career and was the break out game of Joe Flacco as one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL as the Super Bowl MVP. This game also marked the first time a 49er quarterback threw an interception in a Super Bowl (Kaepernick to Ed Reed of the Ravens). Jacoby Jones ran back the second half opening kick off 109 yards for a touchdown which at that point it looked like the game was over. Then the lights went out, for 34 minutes. Whatever momentum the Ravens had, was quickly gone and the 49ers staged a frenzied comeback that ended with a 34-31 victory for the Baltimore Ravens. The game ended with a final goal line stands of the Ravens defense which in the words of Ray Lewis “To me, that was one of the most amazing goal-line stands I’ve ever been a part of in my career,””What better way to do it,” Lewis said, ”than on the Super Bowl stage?”
Colin Kaepernick tried three times at the end of the game to get the 49ers in the end zone to win the Superbowl but was unable to.The last play of the game included some incidental bumping by the players and it could have been called but wasn’t Jim Harbaugh insisted a flag should have been thrown.
”There’s no question in my mind that there was a pass interference and then a hold,” Jim Harbaugh said.The game also had a saftey when the Ravens punter Sam Koch took the safety and gave the Ravens the final margin of victory. One thing that was a little tough to see was the moment when the two Harbaugh brothers met after the game.The meeting with Jim in the middle (of the field for the postgame handshake) was probably the most difficult thing I have ever been associated with in my life,” the Ravens coach said. According to a report the mother and father went to Jim’s aid after the game to console him for the lost. This should have been a proud moment for the Harbaugh family as a whole, not on that should have taken away the accomplishment for one and not the other.
Yet regardless of the ending what started out as a sure blowout turned out to be one thrill ride to a victory for the Ravens and their fans.
smallthoughtsinasportsworld 