The Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers face off in Super Bowl XLVII Sunday night at 6:30 p.m., live from the New Orleans Superdome. Here's what to watch for:
Announcers: The game is being televised by CBS Sports, which means we'll get the dulcet tones of Jim Nantz and color commentary of Phil Simms. These guys aren't bad, but in CL's eyes they're probably the third-best team out there, behind NBC's Al Michaels/Chris Collinsworth and Fox's Joe Buck/Troy Aikman. But really, let's not make too much out of this. You'd watch the game even with Bubba the Love Sponge and Todd Schnitt behind the mic. Remember to tune in early, as the endless pre-game show has probably started already …
(Side note: Vegas always lists odds for all type of unconventional bets, from the coin toss to how many times the coach's parents will make the telecast. I wonder what the odds are that Boomer Esiason or Shannon Sharpe will mention their colleague Dan Marino's off the field scoring?)
The Stars: Lakeland's own Ray Lewis was always going to dominate New Orleans, as the voluable 37-year-old linebacker announced recently that this would be his swan song after 17 Hall-of-Fame seasons. Of course, a little Ray-Ray goes a long way, and there are probably many football fans who are weary of Lewis' antics, such as the trademark dance that he will no doubt do when introduced Sunday night.
More serious, of course, is the fact that the linebacker's legacy will always be marred by his involvement in an incident that led to a man being killed at the 2000 Super Bowl in Atlanta. Lewis pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice and testified against two other men (both were later acquitted of murder), but his critics will never forgive or forget. And the whole Deer Antler weirdness from earlier this week only added fuel to the critic's fire. As a Niner fan, the last thing I want to hear Sunday night if the Ravens win is how this incident motivated him even more.
This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2013.