Was this a fair game?

Was this Super Bowl's winner decided at halftime or possibly even before that? Was the power outage and following 49ers rally all a conspiracy to keep the viewers interested and keep the ratings high?

I personally believe that this was a fair game, and the better team won the game. While I admit the blackout was somewhat suspicious, I do not believe the Ravens intentionally let the 49ers back in it...the Niners are a proven slow starter and a good second half team. Against the Falcons they were down 17-0 and they came back and won the game...I believe the NFL would have too much to lose if any evidence surface, so the risk would be too great...That would be the end of the NFL in my opinion...So for me, congratulations to the Ravens, well played game and they made the plays when they had to to win the game.

In case it is unclear, a yes for a fair game, and a no for a rigged game 

If I was aconspiracy nut I would defintly think the NFL was behind the pwer outage in order to get the word to guys hey make this game close.  I however am not a conspiracy nut but there is no doubt in my mind the only reason this game was close was the power outage.  So I voted yes in the fairness that I dont think the league was behind it but it was also an unfortunate unfair advnatge gained by the 49ers off of the accident.  the Ravens endured it though and won so that is all that really matters would have been a shame had they lost.

I voted Smells funny. While I believe each team played their hearts out and would never back down to another, the black out was ridiculous. I don't see that being legite at all. How come it's always the 49ers that have the lights go out (twice in one night at Candlestick against our beloved Steelers)

Why not move the gaem back to daylight hours?  We really dont need all the extra crap anyway...   Just the game.

enjoy,

bb

I think the refs went out of their way to not affect the game and in the process did just that. They let too much go. 

My son is 4 years old.  He had watched the halftime show. During second half action he said "Is this the Super Bowl?" and I said "yes."  Then he said "I thought the Super Bowl was some "old" woman singing."

I voted it was a fair game. You can't belabor the points of referee's calls, as Jim Harbaugh was doing. They make mistakes every game and the good teams move on instead of crying over it. The Niner's had a break when the lights went out and the Ravens lost momentum and the Niner's still couldn't win the game. The ref's are the human element to the game, that's all there is to it! If they sent every play up to the booth, the game would last 5 hours!

CUP4PENS    

Personally I think Jimmy Smith was guilty of holding when he grabbed the jersey but Flacco got blasted out of bounds earlier that should have resulted in 1st and goal from the 1 instead of a FG. That makes it even IMO. The difference in the game was the mistakes by the 49ers. Kaep missed an open WR that would have made it 7-7 and the James fumble was a huge momentum swing. The 49ers were having their way with the Ravens when that happened.

Throw in the big penalties and the 49ers screwed themselves. Instead of complaining maybe Harbaugh should be questioning how a slot receiver can line up on the LOS on the first play of the game and the conservative playcalling throughout. If you're gonna name Kaepernick the starter you have to roll with him - not protect him. It's the freakin' Super Bowl!

but it was also an unfortunate unfair advnatge gained by the 49ers off of the accident.

I realize I'm just a dumb ass Browns fan . . . but, can someone please explain to me how only one team gains an unfair advantage when both teams were sitting around idle during the blackout?

Didn't the Ravens have the same amount of time to get their heads around the situation and plan acordingly? 

Didn't the 49ers have to spend the same amount of time wondering what hit 'em?

I'm with you Lym. I don't get that at all. It's not like the 49ers drew up some magical play on 3rd and 13. They failed and punted it away. Flacco went three and out and then the 49ers made their run. They did the same thing vs. Atlanta.

Let's face it. Teams with 22 point leads let down. It happens all the time in the NFL. You can scream and yell at a team to keep the momentum but you can't make them play as hard as they were before. Once Jones ran that TD back just look at the sidelines, there was a lot of smiling going on.

Didn't the Ravens have the same amount of time to get their heads around the situation and plan acordingly?
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Lym,

Obviously you missed Manomatics 101....  You sleeping during Algebra Freshmen year in High School?  The 36 or so minutes that the 49ners had was a longer 36 minutes than the Ravens had...     just ask John Harbaugh..

enjoy,

bb

Actually guys, while it's impossible to determine the full extent of how much the blackout altered the game, it was definitely more beneficial to the 49ers.  When Jacoby Jones returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown, the 49ers were done.  28-6 is a deflating blowout and the Ravens had all of the momentum in their favor.  A 34 minute delay gave the Ravens time to cool off and lose some of that adrenaline rush while the 49ers had the opportunity to regroup and regain some composure.

Look at the JJ return highlights, 2 Ravens holding one of the 49ers players and there was still no call. If it had been Pittsburgh the ref would of found a way to penalize both of them.

A 34 minute delay gave the Ravens time to cool off and lose some of that adrenaline rush while the 49ers had the opportunity to regroup and regain some composure.

King, 

One could argue that the 34 minute delay gave the 49ers the same opportunity go all "woe is me" and cash it in while the Ravens spent that time talking amongst themselves to keep the focus. 

We could play "what ifs" until next season on how each team COULD have spent the time but, I just don't see either team gaining an advantage.

What the blackout did was allow the 49ers to clear their heads, regroup after being smacked down in the first 35 minutes of that game.

The Ravens had them on their heels and were about to drive the killer blow to them once they forced that punt when the lights went out.

The 49ers were a 2nd half team and i fully expected them to make a run but there is no doubt that the lengthy delay helped them get their mind set back into the game when the Ravens had them hanging their heads very badly after the kick off return and such.

One could argue that the 34 minute delay gave the 49ers the same opportunity go all "woe is me" and cash it in while the Ravens spent that time talking amongst themselves to keep the focus. 

We could play "what ifs" until next season on how each team COULD have spent the time but, I just don't see either team gaining an advantage.

The only way, in my mind, that a team could have gained an advantage from that situation is if one team utilized that time better than the other.  Certainly, from the rest of the game, you would have to say that the 49ers made better use of the extra half hour than the Ravens did, but its only an advantage if you make it one and only a disadvantage for the same reason.

I understand King's point...I think...in that the Ravens probably lost momentum, but momentum is a difficult thing to quantify.  Who is to say that the 49ers wouldn't have gained that same momentum back (or more) had the blackout not happened?

If your leading 28-6 and are standing around for half an hour, theres not much to talk about except thinking you have a big lead and are going to win the game. Obviously the Ravens game plan had been working with the big lead, so what was there to talk about? Meantime, the 49er's had lots to talk about being outscored so bad. So you could say the Niner's had alot to talk about when they shouldn't of had that extra time and the Ravens really didn't. It can be debated that the Niner's are without question a 2nd half team. And of course, the extra time could be debated till hell freezes over. But in actuality, the Niner's had alot more to talk about than the Ravens did. There's no question about that....

CUP4PENS  

There were good no calls that wash near the end (Flacco late hit, hold on Crabtree).  As Cris Carter said afterwards.........if you want that penalty, you have make it obvious and break free of the defender and dart to the corner pylon, forcing him to hold you from the side or from behind, you can't sit chest to chest, even if its a hold, even if its beyond the 5-yard contact zone.

My only complaint, and its been talked about VERY LITTLE, either during the game or afterwards, and if someone could shed some light I'd be curious to know what it was all about.......................after the Reed int, pushing and shoving ensued and Cary Williams actually HIT A REFEREE.  Not a threat, not yelling...........HIT THE GUY in the head.  Then, after being dragged away, proceeds to fight his way back to the ref and point/yell in his face once again.  I couldn't believe it, and when I saw the refs huddled, I thought for sure he was getting tossed.  The rules clearly state that ANY HOSTILE CONTACT with a referee, intentional or not, results in an automatic ejection and personal foul call.  Yet no call on the play, let alone any ejection.  Offsetting fouls, neither of which were on Williams.  Ridiculous.

 realize I'm just a dumb ass Browns fan . . . but, can someone please explain to me how only one team gains an unfair advantage when both teams were sitting around idle during the blackout?

Didn't the Ravens have the same amount of time to get their heads around the situation and plan acordingly?  

Didn't the 49ers have to spend the same amount of time wondering what hit 'em?

You cannot maintain a little thing called momentum by planning.  The Ravens where abotu to force a quick 3 and out after a huge return TD on the kickoff.  Everything is going their way and adrenaline would have been pumping.  Regardless of who you are you cant sit there for 34 minutes and keep that intensity up and running.  So while the 334 minutes of blackout cooled the hto ravens down the 49ers are sitting on the other side getting a chance to take a deep breath realize there is still time in the game and that they do not need to panic yet.  It is just my opinoin (and actually its not as many people have said no blackout no close game) but I can get that a browns fan wouldnt understand momentum.