Super Bowl Continues to Prove It's Greatness

A 34-minute blackout, filling an empty void with terrible impromptu broadcasting, and the ridiculousness of Phil Simms were 3 things that made all football fans roll their eyes in disgust during last night's 47th edition of the Super Bowl, yet that didn't change anything. By the time the final whistle had sounded, this year's Super Bowl had once again shown why it is the single greatest sporting event in North American sports, and why nothing will change that for the foreseeable future.

Courtesy of Forbes

After two weeks of build up consisting of never-ending reminders that the Harbaugh coaches are indeed brothers, Ray Lewis loves God and is retiring, and Colin Kaepernick is really fast, we finally arrived at Sunday night, ready for the opening kickoff. There was no more need for useless chatter building hype, and insane pricking and pronging into the most unnecessary statistics, we could finally just kick back and watch what was certain to be a great game. One in which the 49ers were the favorites, and it was widely thought that they'd walk off the field as World Champs at the end.

But wait, after a 3 and out to start their first drive, followed by two Ravens scores, people started wondering what was going on. Suddenly it was the Ravens that looked like the juggernaut, both offensively and defensively, and the Niners were scampering to pick up the pieces. Yet before it could get better, it had to get worse. Joe Flacco found a falling Jacoby Jones deep down the middle of the field, where he made the grab and sprung up untouched, eventually dancing and spinning around the constantly-exploited Chris Culliver to jog into the endzone for a 56-yard score. Luckily for the Niners, they managed to convince David Akers to actually kick not one, but two kicks through the uprights, giving them their only points of the first half. It was 21-6 at the midway point, and the 49ers were certainly wondering what was going on.

After deferring the opening coin toss, the Ravens were set to receive the ball first in the second half. The kickoff found the back of the endzone, sending Jacoby Jones 8 yards deep to field it. Rather than taking a knee, Jones made a run for it, but he made it count. He split the seam and sprinted up the middle of the field, breaking a tackle and busting loose for a 108-yard return to the house. It was the longest play in Super Bowl history and the Ravens had picked up right where they left off. Then the lights went out. Literally.

A 34-minute power outage sent CBS into a frenzy, scurrying to do whatever they could to fill this incredibly awkward void. Players killed time by stretching, tossing the pigskin, and doing whatever they could to stay loose. Finally, the lights were turned back on in the SuperDome and the game was resumed. But the Niners must have found some secret in the confines of the dark, because once play continued it was all San Francisco, and Baltimore was nowhere to be found. They went on to score 17 unanswered points in the third quarter, thanks to touchdowns by Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore, and were now within 5 points of the Ravens who had staked themselves to such a huge lead.

What was once a one-sided, purple-filled blowout was now an actual ballgame. The Niners, and Colin Kaepernick, were flexing their proverbial muscles and were showing that the first half was just a fluke. The Ravens began the 4th quarter with a long drive that resulted in a goal-line stand by SF, and only 3 points for Baltimore. The 49ers continued holding momentum by driving right back down the field, and capping the drive with a 15 yard touchdown run by Kaepernick, the longest rushing score by a QB in Super Bowl history. After another Baltimore field goal, Kap led the Niners on another drive with just over 4 minutes left in the game. They needed a touchdown to take the lead, but after having 1st and goal following a 33-yard rush by Gore, San Fran was stopped dead in their tracks. Three straight pass attempts to Crabtree resulted in San Fran turning the ball over on downs and essentially clinching the game for the Purple Pain.

Joe Flacco was named MVP, thanks to his 287-yard, 3 TD performance, and he tied Joe Montana for the most touchdowns in the playoffs without throwing a pick. A 34-31 victory sent Ray Lewis into the sunset a champion once again, and once again proved the old adage that if a team gets hot at the right time, they can certainly run the table. But this game was more than the Ravens being crowned champs, it meant that American football was once again crowned the king of the four major sports. Nothing can even hold a candle to the power that football holds in this country, and the Super Bowl encapsulates that in one event.

Courtesy of CNN

Even when it looks like it's going to be a blowout, the Super Bowl has this magical way of drawing the viewers attention. If the lights had gone out with the Ravens holding a 22-point lead, and they had lost, we'd be hearing about this being the reason they lost for the next 6 months, and nobody needed that. Luckily for our sanity, the Ravens held on to avoid that ridiculous notion, but the Niners at least battled back to make it one hell of a game.

Not to mention that the Super Bowl is one singular event. It's not a series, unlike the other 3 sports which all require the winner to win 4 games to be crowned. You can settle in for one Sunday night, and know that by the end you'll be assured to see a victor. If you want to do that for the other sports, you'd need to set aside a week or longer in order to find out who comes out victorious.

The greatness of the Super Bowl lies in it's suddenness and it's ability to provide the unexpected. There's also a reason why it costs $4 million dollars to advertise for 30 seconds during this game, and it costs around $3,000 to buy a ticket. This is the hottest commodity in all of sports, and it's pitting the two best teams in the league against one another for the entire world to see. Simply put, there's nothing else like it, and currently nothing can rival it. At the pace that it's going, nothing will be able to rival it anytime soon, either. Baseball seems to be losing it's luster, given it's constant controversy and reluctance to join the 21st century. It's also too boring. In an age where people need things done lightning fast, and prefer to multi-task than to do one thing, football fits us perfectly. It's insanely fast, wildly violent, and anything can happen at any second. Unlike baseball where there's practically a minute between each pitch, and basketball where you really don't need to see much until the fourth quarter, football provides us with immediate satisfaction and it is fully encapsulated in the wonderment surrounding it's biggest draw, the Super Bowl. It's the greatest show we have in this country, and it consistently proves why every single year.