NFL Super Bowl edition

By JC Godin

Here we are, after five months, Super Bowl 47 is finally upon us!! Back in New Orleans after a 11 year absence! No one throws a Super Bowl party like New Orleans!! NO ONE!! It's mardi gras....football style!!

Ravens versus 49ers!! By now we all know the story lines. Ray Lewis, the Harbaugh brothers, the DeBartolo family back at the SB, Ed Reed's first SB, Colin Kaepernick. It's safe to say this year's SB matchup turned out to be a nice one! The script could have not been written any better!

I really can't tell you who's going to win, both teams had their defining moments this season. San Francisco's week 1 matchup against Green Bay, their loss to the Vikings in week 3, followed by a whooping of the Jets in week 4, which was one of those dreadful 1pm eastern time starts for a pacific team! But we all know the pendulum swung for the Niners during week 10! The St. Louis Rams opened the window for young Colin Kaepernick and he seized the opportunity! The week 11 win at NO, and most of all the whooping they gave the Pats in NE week 15! Jim Harbaugh made a difficult decision, but it turned out to be the right one. Recall how yours truly loved the decision Jim Harbaugh made. Kaepernick opens things up for Frank Gore and the running game; look what took place two weeks ago!! I'm glad to see the Niners back where they belong! With its rich tradition, this team does not belong at the bottom, they just don't. Also, it's quite refreshing to see a young QB like Kaepernick play at the SB with only 9 games started under his belt! Only Jeff Hostetler (Giants 90-91) and Vince Ferragamo (Rams 78-79) played less games as a starter going into a SB. His attitude is on point! Back in the fourth grade, he had to write an essay about his future. He envisioned himself one day playing for the Forty-Niners, as he put on print, and voila! Fait accompli. He's like a kid who just walked inside a candy store for the first time! How could he possibly bother fans?? Every game his confidence is growing by leaps and bounds! Good for him!!

A lot is at stake though, how he will handle the pressure will be interesting to see! San Fran could go 6 for 6 with a win on Sunday and tie the Steelers with 6 SB wins! Looking at the 49ers roster, most of the players were all drafted originally by San Francisco! Crabtree, V. Davis, Staley, Iupati, A. Davis, Gore, Kaepernick, A.Smith, McDonald, Willis, Bowman, Goldson..... That right there is TREMENDOUS work by the upper staff! Kudos to general manger Trent Baalke and his director of college scouting, Joel Patten!!

The same can be said about the amazing job GM Ozzie Newsome has done with the AFC representatives!! You build through a draft!! It takes patience, but when the pieces come together and the attitude is right, the promised land is your destination!! Baltimore also were put in a predicament, where coach John Harbaugh had to make a tough decision and made that difficult choice! He fired his OC, Cam Cameron with a month left in the regular season! Also, I could see this was the right decision, but because of how late it was made, I wasn't sure about it, but it didn't matter. The training wheels were taken off of Joe Flacco and magic followed with his performance against the Giants in week 16, followed it up against the Broncos and Pats! But all really started to change for Joseph last year against the Steelers in Pittsburgh! The week 8 matchup that ended 23-20 for the Ravens on a last-minute winning drive! Ever since, Joe has played well in all "BIG" games! But somehow the key for the Ravens remains Ray Rice. The Ravens are 21-3 when Rice carries the rock more then 20 times!

On the defensive side of things, the Ravens are looking like their old selves! As Ray Lewis stated in his NFL network documentary, "This team (Ravens) is known as the team that never dies," and that's exactly what they showed us against the Broncos and against the Pats!

Both teams will be ready! From special teams to defense to offense, the brothers are excellent coaches! I truly believe we are in for a treat on Sunday! It's like everything seems so perfect; Lewis passing of the torch to 49ers LB Patrick Willis, Ed Reed back home since he's from NO! It's going to be a good one! And we all love Super Bowls not for the silly halftime shows, some enjoy the commercials, which I don't really care for, but Super Bowls are always about those unexpected heroes, like David Tyree or superstars like Lynn Swann that come up big and who are forever remembered, engraved in our memories thanks to NFL Films!!

On a pessimist note, I do find the Super Bowl a tad depressing....... The season is over!! I can't wait for the rookie combine to roll around come end of February! You have to get ready to take notes for the draft, which I will blog about during March and April!

Good Super Bowl to all!!