The Waterboy

Jeff Yoder | Sports Co-Editor

This is not a column titled after the 1998 comedy with Adam Sandler. It's a place to take a break from the action, step over to the sideline and let me refresh you with a cold cup of sports knowledge. Every other week, I'll give a response to the professional and college sports worlds' latest controversy.

Sibling rivalry, Beyonce's halftime performance and another slew of unsatisfactory commercials were all minor storylines on Super Bowl Sunday. In the end, the top story from Super Bowl XLVII was a 34-minute power outage that sent the world into panic and the 49ers into a scoring frenzy that nearly carried them back from a 22-point deficit. Had San Francisco pulled off the comeback, the blackout would have been to blame. The Ravens had the 49ers in their rearview mirror with a 21-6 lead at halftime. They stepped on the gas even harder when Jacoby Jones opened the second half with a 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. With a 28-6 lead early in the third quarter, the Superdome went super dark. Officials called the power outage an "abnormality." With no one really able to explain what happened, speculation began. One theory is that the blackout was caused by Saints fans who wanted to send Roger Goodell a message. Perhaps they were unhappy with the suspensions he handed to New Orleans' coaches and players this season after last year's bounty scandal. Another theory is that Beyonce's halftime show was so scandalous that the government tried to censor the event by killing the power. The request wasn't promptly received because everyone was, well, watching Beyonce. My favorite theory is that a group of guys were enjoying the game at Buffalo Wild Wings when the score got out of hand. They didn't desire to return home right away so they had the bartender hit the lights; a similar scenario to those commercials where the bartender turns on the sprinklers to trip the receiver and send the game into overtime. We've all seen them. Thanks B-dubs. You wasted a half hour of America's life. Regardless of what happened to the lights on Sunday, the delay caused the game to last four hours and 14 minutes-the longest Super Bowl ever. After the power returned in the third quarter, it was the 49ers who stormed back, scoring 17 unanswered points in less than five minutes. Baltimore finally responded with a field goal that made it 31-23. Down eight, another Kaepernick touchdown brought the 'Niners within two, but the two-point conversion was no good. Another Ravens' field goal made it 34-29. Finally, Super Bowl XLVII ended with big brother picking on little brother. Ravens' coach John Harbaugh had to punt the ball away with 12 seconds left. Instead, he instructed punter Sam Koch to waste time in the end zone before running out for a safety, giving the 49ers two points but just four seconds on the clock. Little brother Jim could only watch. The final play was a return by San Francisco's Ted Ginn that didn't have a prayer. The Ravens won the game 34-31 despite a half-hour blackout, a 17-point surge by the 49ers and San Francisco's quarterback running for more yards (62) than Baltimore's running back Ray Rice (59). Ray Lewis ended his NFL career by taking some of Beyonce's halftime advice; he "put a ring on it," and walked off the field for the last time as a Super Bowl champion.