Super Bowl XLVII

Super Bowl XLVII was the championship game of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2012 NFL season, played between the AFC champion Baltimore Ravens and the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. The game was held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 3, 2013, and was attended by Vice President Joe Biden, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. The Baltimore Ravens were led by John Harbaugh, brother of San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, in a matchup that was dubbed the Harbaugh Bowl or Bro Bowl by the media, including ESPN, Fox Sports, and NBC Sports.

● Game summary

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 34-31, with Joe Flacco being named the Super Bowl MVP. The game was marked by a power outage that occurred with 13:22 remaining in the third quarter, which caused a 34-minute delay, and was covered by CBS Sports commentators Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. The Baltimore Ravens were led by players such as Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Terrell Suggs, while the San Francisco 49ers were led by players such as Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, and Vernon Davis. The game was also notable for the performances of Beyoncé, who sang the national anthem at the University of Texas at Austin and later performed at the halftime show, and Alicia Keys, who sang America the Beautiful at the Super Bowl.

● Background

The Baltimore Ravens finished the 2012 NFL season with a 10-6 record, winning the AFC North division title, and defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card Round, the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round, and the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, with the help of players such as Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta. The San Francisco 49ers finished the season with an 11-4-1 record, winning the NFC West division title, and defeated the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round and the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game, with the help of players such as Michael Crabtree and NaVorro Bowman. The Super Bowl was the first to feature two brothers as head coaches, John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh, who had previously coached against each other in the 2011 NFL season, and was covered by sports media outlets such as Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, and Fox Sports.

● Pre-game

The pre-game show featured performances by Jennifer Hudson, Sandy Hook Elementary School choir, and Alicia Keys, and was hosted by CBS Sports personalities such as James Brown and Bill Cowher. The coin toss was performed by Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin, and Warren Moon, all of whom are Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees, and was covered by media outlets such as NFL Network and ESPN. The national anthem was sung by Alicia Keys, and America the Beautiful was sung by Jennifer Hudson and the Sandy Hook Elementary School choir, with the help of New York Giants owner John Mara and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

● Broadcasting

The game was broadcast in the United States by CBS, with play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and color commentator Phil Simms, and was also broadcast in Spanish by ESPN Deportes, with play-by-play announcer Alvaro Martin and color commentator Raul Allegre. The game was also streamed online by CBS Sports, and was available on mobile devices through the NFL Mobile app, with the help of Verizon Communications and AT&T. The broadcast team also included sideline reporters such as Solomon Wilcots and Tracy Wolfson, and was covered by sports media outlets such as Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine.

● Halftime show

The halftime show featured a performance by Beyoncé, who was joined on stage by Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and was also joined by Jay-Z and Kanye West, with the help of Rihanna and Lady Gaga. The show was widely praised by critics, including Rolling Stone and The New York Times, and was watched by an estimated 110.8 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched television events in United States history, and was covered by media outlets such as CNN and Fox News Channel.

● Aftermath

The Baltimore Ravens victory parade was held on February 5, 2013, and was attended by an estimated 200,000 fans, including Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. The team was also honored at the White House by President Barack Obama on June 5, 2013, with the help of Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama. The game was also notable for the power outage that occurred during the third quarter, which was caused by a faulty electrical relay device and was investigated by Entergy New Orleans and the National Football League, with the help of FBI and Department of Homeland Security. The Super Bowl was also covered by international media outlets such as BBC Sport and Sky Sports, and was watched by an estimated global audience of over 1 billion people, including Pope Benedict XVI and Queen Elizabeth II. Category:Super Bowl