In a Super Bowl full of exciting plays, dominating performances, second-half heroics, and stadium electrical malfunctions, the Baltimore Ravens were able to pull past the favored San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVII with a final score of 34-31.  With both teams being hot heading into the game, one was bound to break.  Many wanted to see the young, relentless, backyard-football-esque Colin Kaepernick lead the Niners to victory, while others wanted to see all-time great Ray Lewis end his career on a high note.

The game had its share of huge stories coming in, with two brothers coaching against each other (Jim and John Harbaugh) and the controversy surrounding Ray Lewis’ alleged performance enhancing drug usage and his implications in a double murder thirteen years ago.

I didn’t really have very high opinions going into the biggest game of the year, and I just wanted to see a good game.  Admittedly, I began to root for the Niners as they mounted their furious comeback following the Superdome’s power outage.  Undoubtedly, there will be those who say that the blackout was instrumental in the game, and that it would not have been so close had it not been for the power failure.  Who knows, the Niners were much better afterwards, and if it really was the reason for making this game not a blowout, so be it.

If we could take anything away from this game, it could be that 1- Joe Flacco was right to call himself an “elite” quarterback at the beginning of the season, and 2- Kaepernick has huge potential (I was holding out on saying this, I wanted to see how he would do in the championship.) Flacco capped off one of the most dominating playoff performances in NFL history as he threw 11 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a QB rating of 117.2.  I’d say that Flacco’s most impressive accomplishment are his playoff performances on the road.  Now, he’s the only quarterback to win six road playoff games in history.  So, ever.  If this man isn’t Hall of Fame bound, I’ve lost faith in the football world.  He much deserved the Super Bowl MVP award.

Then, there’s Kaepernick’s story.  The first-year quarterback making his tenth start in the Super Bowl.  I thought he played tremendously well, too.  Once again, he showed how he was able to thread the needle with his passing, while running for yardage and taking what the opposing defense gives him.  Of course, he had some help from his wide receiving core, and I think the reason they lost was more because of the Ravens’ play than the Niners’ mistakes (like Jacoby Jones’ kickoff return to begin the second half.)

In the end, Super Bowl XLVII shouldn’t go down as the best championship game of all time, but it will definitely be mentioned among the best.