Wow what a game. You know at one point tonight when the Raven's were up 28-6 and we were 28 minutes into what ended up being a 34 minute power outage delay... the thought crossed my mind that I was going to be really angry if this game kept me up until midnight only to be a blowout.
I wake up at 5:30 a.m. on Mondays and am Half Marathon training... and you were thinking the same thing to. But for those of us that decided to stick around to see what played out after the power outage (I can't wait to see the overnight numbers tomorrow and how many people tuned out at that point) we were greatly rewarded for our patience.
Which leads to my first, of a couple initial thoughts, on Super Bowl 47:
1. What I heard people say and tweet: The Ravens became flat because of the power outage delay. My belief... that's a bunch of B.S.! The Ravens came out fine and the delay affected them in very little way. What it did do was give the 49ers a chance to recuperate after a knockout punch was delivered by Mr. X Factor, Jacoby Jones 109 yard kick off return. I know they changed it to 108... but that's because Desmond Howard threw a challenge flag and requested the NFL utilize its technology to properly measure where the ball was in relation to the end line.
I digress... let me compare this to a boxing match. You've got two heavy weights who come in to the fight. One has a great advantage through the first couple rounds. Coming into the 4th round he delivers the knockout blow. His opponent is lying on the floor gasping for breath and the lights go out in Caesers Palace... for 30 mins! When they come back on, the guy who was winning the fight is confused, bewildered, has nasty thoughts going through his head about the Las Vegas Electric Cooperative. In the meantime his opponent has mended up all his wounds, loaded up on Gatorade and Deer Antler Spray, and now feels he's back in the fight and comes back with a resurgence.
This is what happened. Except the power would never go out in Vegas during a championship fight... unless Danny Ocean and 11 guys were trying to rob the place.
2. True or false... that was holding against the defense on 4th and goal during the last offensive play for the 49ers: True. He mauled him. But before you throw your arms up in the air consider these other factors. Have you ever officiated any sort of championship game? I have. I used to be a hockey official and oversaw national championship games. When you get the rare instance to be the official for a situation like we had on Sunday night where one play can win it all, what do you do? You let them play it out on the field. There was a .000001% chance any flag was going to come out on that play. My good friend Brian Stefan with Myrtle Beach Golf guys says you don't change your officiating because of the game circumstances. Umm... yea... You kind of do. No ref wants to be the guy who determined the Super Bowl Champion because he threw a flag on a play where both guys were being rough with one another, the play was rushed and it was an awful fade pass, and the same people arguing for a flag could also argue for an un-catchable ball. Want to complain about something? Complain about Jim not taking a timeout and letting his young QB with 10 games of experience just wing it on the final play.
3. I love the call to take a safety by the punter at the end. Punting from your own end zone with :15 to go to Ted Ginn, Jr.? Not a wise decision. I also agree with the punt protector (can we call this position the Tebow from now on?) blatantly holding the 49er trying to get to the kicker. Why not? What difference did it make to hold him? The end result of a flag in the end zone is... a safety. And last time I checked they don't put :04 back on the clock because that's when you held the guy. Maybe that's a rule change the NFL ought to look into, but it's such a rare circumstance I doubt it will get much consideration.
4. Who knew Chris Culliver's bad week would actually get worse on Sunday? Maybe he should have been suspended. He would have played a better game sitting on the sideline. And for every bad moment Culliver had, Mr. X Factor Jacoby Jones came through as the difference in this one. I know Flacco earned the MVP, and rightfully so as the leader of this team not only in this years playoffs but his 9-4 career post-season record. But without Jones the 49ers win this game by 10 points. And maybe... we all would've gotten to bed 34 minutes earlier tonight.
5. Best commercials of the night:
First Place: Budweiser "The Brotherhood" a.k.a. Clydesdale (if you didn't get a little choked up watching that one your are either A. Lying or B. Heartless and need to go with the Tin Man to Oz... which by the way looks like a pretty cool re-make)
Second Place: Dodge Ram "God Mad a Farmer" (A little confusing at first, but when it all came together at the end had a profound impact on myself and I believe much of America)
Third Place: Any of the Doritos spots with "Goat for Sale" leading the way
Honorable Mention: The fact that Budweiser was the first commercial played after kickoff. I took my buddy Sam to the cleaners for $2.00 on that prop bet. I said it would be beer, he said cars. This was after I said Alicia Keys would go over 2:10 on the national anthem and he said under (she unofficially set the freakin record for time of Anthem with those :08 pauses in between ever line, not to mention her little remix at the end) AND I called Heads when he called Tails. He stopped betting me after that. Unfortunately for him he put a 10 spot on Chris Culliver and the Niners... so Aaron wins again.
