February 4, 2013
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Despite a thirty-four-minute power outage delay and an unbelievable second-half comeback from the San Francisco 49ers, the Baltimore Ravens are Super Bowl champions.
For the first time in eleven years and the second time in franchise history, the Ravens lifted the Lombardi trophy after the biggest game of the year.
While there is elation in Baltimore today, not everyone feels that the right team won. “There no question in my mind that there was a pass interference and then a hold,” Niners coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters after the game, referring to the fourth-down play that cost his team their chance at the go-ahead score and possibly the Super Bowl.
It was an emotionally charged game from the beginning. Before players took to the field, the children’s chorus from Sandy Hook Elementary school sang a moving rendition of “America the Beautiful” with Jennifer Hudson, almost two months after the tragic shooting at their school.
After Alicia Keys sang the national anthem, brothers Jim and John Harbaugh took the field to face in each other in what had jokingly been dubbed the “bro bowl.”
John’s Ravens dominated the first half, outscoring the 49ers 21-6. The game appeared to be a blowout when the third quarter started with a 108-yard punt return by Jacoby Jones to put Baltimore ahead by three touchdowns. That is when the lights went out, and both teams were sidelined for over half an hour.
With the power finally restored, the momentum took a dramatic shift when the Niners scored seventeen points in a matter of minutes. Michael Crabtree had a thirty-one-yard touchdown reception, followed by a six-yard touchdown run by Frank Gore who scored easily after a bad punt from Baltimore. A Ray Rice fumble set up a thirty-four-yard field goal by David Akers which pulled San Francisco to within five.
After being scoreless in the third, the Ravens responded early in the fourth quarter when Joe Flacco, the game’s MVP, led his team on a seventy-one-yard drive that resulted in a short field goal by rookie Justin Tucker. But the Niners weren’t done yet. Colin Kapernick ran fifteen yards for a touchdown, putting his team within two points of the Ravens. However, instead of kicking the extra point, San Francisco went for an unsuccessful two-point conversion, holding the score at 31-29.
The Ravens got the ball back, but had to settle for a field goal. With Baltimore leading by only five points (34-29), the Niners had a chance to win with a touchdown. Kapernick drove his team into the red zone, but the Ravens defense—which nearly blew the game—finally showed up.
The Ravens denied Kapernick and the 49ers three times, forcing fourth down. On fourth down, and his final pass of the game, Kapernick overthrew Crabtree—a fading pass to the back of the end zone.
Jim Harbaugh was adamant that the Ravens held on that play, but, despite his visible protests, no flag was thrown and Baltimore got the ball back on downs. The Ravens then took a safety to allow them some breathing room on the kick off. Ted Ginn Jr. caught the ball for San Francisco but was tackled at midfield as time ran out.
“The final series of Ray Lewis’ career was a goal-line stand,” coach Harbaugh said after the game.
“It’s no greater way, as a champ, to go out on your last ride with the men that I went out with, with my teammates,” Lewis said during the post-game show. “And you looked around this stadium and—Baltimore! Baltimore! We’re coming home, baby! We did it!”
When the brothers met at midfield for the customary shaking of hands, there was visible tension. “It’s very tough,” John Harbaugh said, referring to their conversation. “It’s a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. It’s very painful.” However, while holding the Lombardi trophy on the confetti-strewn field during the post-game, he reminded everyone that there were more important things than football, saying that he had told his brother he loved him, and that his brother had said, “Congratulations.”
