This week in 1845 the original king of horror Edgar Allan Poe published his famous poem “The Raven”. This week in 1848, gold was struck at Sutter’s Mill in California, signifying the beginning of the 1849 gold rush. And at the end of this week Super Bowl XLVII kicks off at 6:30 pm ET, pitting the Baltimore Ravens against the San Francisco 49ers. Now whether you watch the Super Bowl for the love of the game, for the commercials and halftime show (Beyoncé will be taking the stage this year!), or just for the parties, it always helps to have a little background information on the teams. Pretending to be knowledgeable never hurt anyone!
BALTIMORE RAVENS STATS: The Ravens ended the regular season with a 10-6 record, gaining their spot in the Super Bowl after beating out Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the AFC Conference Championship. They have become the second team since 1990 to advance to the Super Bowl after losing three of their last four regular season games (previously, only the 2009 New Orleans Saints have accomplished such a feat—an accomplishment that helped them secure a win in the XLVI game against the Indianapolis Colts). Star players include quarterback Joe Flacco (22 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and 3,817 passing yards this season) and legendary linebacker Ray Lewis, who announced prior to the AFC Wildcard game against Raven’s rival the Indianapolis Colts that this season would be his last. The team’s last Super Bowl appearance was in 2000, in which they won.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ers STATS: The 49ers ended the regular season with a 11-4-1 record, clenching their Super Bowl spot after defeating the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Conference Championship. Quarterback Alex Smith led the team through the first ten weeks of the season, but after suffering a concussion against the St. Louis Rams, second-round draft pick Colin Kaepernick took the field and gave the 49ers to their first tie since 1986 despite a good performance. While Smith recovered, Kaepernick led the team to win after win, and secured himself the title of starting QB. Star players include not only Kaepernick (who passed 1,814 yards and threw 10 touchdowns in only seven regular season starts), but also linebacker Patrick Willis, who ended the season with 120 tackles. The team’s last Super Bowl appearance was in 1994, where they earned their fifth title.
The legendary game doesn’t just mark the first appearance for either team in over a decade; it takes a special place in Super Bowl history for its sibling rivalry. Ravens Coach John Harbaugh will be leading his team against his younger brother Jim Harbaugh in Sunday’s game. Not only are they the only pair of brothers to have head coaching jobs in the NFL, but never have a pair of brothers faced off in the big game as head coaches. And anyone with siblings can tell you that competition becomes infinitely fiercer when you’re trying to one-up your brothers or sisters.
Now, if you’re anything like me, the majority of football stats mean absolutely nothing to you and you’re really just watching the game for the pop culture aspect. If that is the case, you’ll definitely want to know the team colors so you can dress accordingly! The Ravens official uniforms are purple, black, and white with gold accents. The 49ers official uniforms are red, gold, and white. As for me, I’ll be dressed in purple and supporting the Ravens this year! I just can’t help that 49ers red just isn’t my color.