Two Harbaughs, one Super Bowl
This past Sunday afternoon was filled with excitement when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship, allowing the 49ers to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995.
The 49ers had a lethargic start to the game, but were able to overcome a 17-point deficit by not allowing Matt Ryan, and the Falcons offense to score a single point in the second half.
The 49ers were able to spread the ball around on Sunday’s game, and didn’t just rely on their young quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, to make play big plays with his track-star speed. Although Kaepernick’s rushing yards were limited, he completed 16 of 21 passes, and threw for 233 yards.
Head coach of the 49ers, Jim Harbaugh, quoted “Everyone does a little, and it adds up to a lot.” With help from the entire team, the 49ers overcame the lead and were eventually able to cut the Falcon’s lead to 3 in the 3rd quarter, before the 49ers took the final lead in the 4th quarter. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the 49ers were able to overcome the biggest deficit in the NFC championship game, by surpassing the 13 point record in 1999. Not only was Jim Harbaugh able to make his mark in history, more importantly, Sunday’s win kept their hopes of winning the Super Bowl alive.
As we all know, a football never bounces how it should, and the same goes for the NFL playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens began the playoffs as a major underdog, but have quickly became the team to talk about after their double-overtime victory over the #1 seed, Denver Broncos, and crucial win over the New England Patriots, to send the Ravens to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history.
From the death of Torrey Smith’s (Raven’s star receiver) brother, to Ray Lewis announcing his retirement, and the countless injuries in between, the Ravens have overcome numerous types of adversity throughout their season.
The Ravens demonstrated perseverance and confidence in Sunday’s win in New England, and will need to do the same in New Orleans against the 49ers. Coach John Harbaugh will coach against his younger brother, Jim Harbaugh, (coach of 49ers) on February 3rd and will become the first brothers to coach against each other in a Super Bowl game.
Super Bowl XLVII is quickly gaining nicknames such as the “Harbowl” or the “Superbaugh” because of the two coaches, and should be a very interesting finale to a great NFL season. Although both coaches have stated how proud of each other they are, they are limiting their talk to just a few text messages in order to maintain focused on the big game.
Game details
On February 3rd the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers will travel to New Orleans for the 47th Super Bowl. Alicia Keys will begin the game by singing the national anthem, and the halftime performance will be by Beyoncé. Kickoff is at 6:30pm, and will be filled with intensity, good commercials, and one fantastic football game.
Sources:
· http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=330120001
· http://news.yahoo.com/jim-john-harbaugh-ready-rematch-super-bowl-213920125–nfl.html
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