Sunday marked the greatest day in the American sports calendar. In this year's marque game, the favoured San Francisco 49ers went up against the Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans. Coming into the game there was multitude of sub-plots that threatened to overshadow the NFL season finale. With brothers Jim and John Harbaugh opposing coaches, the game was certainly a family affair, and win or lose this was to be the final game of the controversial but legendary Ravens linebacker, Ray Lewis. The Ravens raced to a 7-3 first quarter lead courtesy of a Flacco touchdown throw to Anquan Boldin, and a redzone stop by the Ravens defence forcing a San Francisco field goal. The second quarter saw the Ravens increase their lead to 21-6. Baltimore capitalised on two San Francisco turnovers including an interception by New Orleans native Ed Reed. Jacoby Jones finished off the first half with a spectacular 56yd touchdown catch, that saw all the momentum swing to the Ravens.
This is where things started to get interesting. After a phenomenal halftime show provided by Beyoncé, Ravens return man Jacoby Jones returned the second half kickoff to the house for a Super Bowl record 108yds. At this point the Ravens were well on their way to cruising to a Super Bowl victory with a 28-6 lead. However, in what was one of the strangest things to ever happen in a championship game, the lights went out in the stadium. After a 35 minute delay, play finally resumed. This simple electrical mishap turned out to be the turning point of the game, as the 49ers hit the Ravens with 17 unanswered points through a Frank Gore rushing touchdown, a Michael Crabtree catch and run, and an Akers field goal. It would seem that the extra delay was what the struggling 49ers needed in order to catch their breath and regroup. The stoppage took the momentum away from the on top Ravens, and allowed San Francisco back into the game. After a Ravens field goal, Colin Kaepernick drove his 49ers down the field and capped it off with the longest ever rushing touchdown by a quarterback in Super Bowl history. Joe Flacco responded by leading his team to a field goal by picking up key first downs, but the ball would be back in Kaepernick's hands to make one last go of it. The 49ers marched all the way down to the Ravens 5yd line, with time running down, to set up first and goal. With the first three downs proving unsuccessful, it would appear that the game would come down to one last play. Kaepernick attempted a fade to receiver Crabtree, but the pass was incomplete, all but sealing a Ravens victory. 49ers fans will point to a "no call" for potential holding on Crabtree, but it was not a blatant foul, and the referee was probably correct in his decision. Ravens punter Koch took an intentional safety to help run down the clock, and the game finished 34-31 after the safety punt was easily defended by Baltimore. So after all the play, the game came down to a goal line stand by Ray Lewis and co. John Harbaugh was congratulated by his brother Jim, and Joe Flacco was named Super Bowl MVP in what turned out to be a memorable game. This Super Bowl may be remembered for its blackout, but for many it will be remembered for Ray Lewis' final game after he inspired his team to playoff glory.