NEW ORLEANS — The journey to this Super Bowl wound through bounties and replacement refs, eventually bringing the big game back to the Big Easy — with a replacement quarterback, a sibling rivalry and a grand exit for one of the NFL’s greatest players, clouded by the obscure healing powers of deer-antler spray.
It is a Super Bowl of comebacks, of firsts and lasts, and — if San Francisco wins — the best.
A win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday gives the 49ers six championships, matching Pittsburgh’s titles in the Super Bowl era. Unlike the Steelers, the Niners have never lost one.
Of course, they haven’t won one in 18 years, either.
“There’s a tradition with the San Francisco 49ers, but I think these guys are paving their own way," said Hall of Fame receiver and three-time champion Jerry Rice. “They’re playing with a lot of swagger."
Or as owner Denise DeBartolo York said, “We’ve come full circle and the dynasty will prevail."
New Orleans has come full circle, too. Ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, losing a quarter of its population, abandoned by the Saints for an entire season, the city couldn’t imagine hosting another Super Bowl. But as New Orleans recovered and rebuilt, it envisioned staging what Patriots owner Robert Kraft calls “the pre-eminent sporting event."
The NFL agreed it was time to return. And even if Commissioner Roger Goodell is despised here after slapping the Saints with suspensions and fines in the bounty scandal, the vibes from the French Quarter and Warehouse District this week have been supportive, even uplifting.
“It’s also terrific for us to be back here in New Orleans," Goodell said, joking about voodoo dolls in his likeness. “Our 10th Super Bowl here, the first since Katrina, and it’s clear this city is back bigger and better than ever."
There’s the tale of the head coaching brothers, Baltimore’s John and San Francisco’s Jim, the first siblings to face off in a Super Bowl. And Ray Lewis, the pre-eminent linebacker of his generation on his self-proclaimed last ride. (His farewell party was somewhat sidetracked for two days this week when Lewis waved off a report that he tried to get unusual products like deer-antler spray to speed his recovery from an arm injury that sidelined him for 10 games.)
“There are so many storylines to this game that make it bigger than just the Super Bowl," 49ers CEO Jed York said.
Such as the Harbaughs plot about sons of a lifetime coach who took different paths to the top of the NFL. This week’s family reunion has been light-hearted, though that figures to change Sunday.
“It’s probably a little tougher emotionally," John Harbaugh said of facing his brother. “It’s a little tougher just from the sense of I don’t think you think about it when you’re coaching against somebody else; it’s more about the scheme and the strategy. There’s a little bit of a relationship element that’s more strong than maybe coaching against someone else.
“I’ll have a better answer for you after the game. I’ve never been through this before. This is all new."
And oh-so-new for the QBs, Joe Flacco and Colin Kaepernick. Flacco is no fluke, holding the career record for road playoff wins with six. But until outplaying Peyton Manning and Tom Brady this year, he hadn’t gotten the Ravens to the Super Bowl. He has eight touchdowns passes and no interceptions in the postseason, padding a resume that soon will make him one very highly paid quarterback: Flacco’s contract expires after this game. Even with a franchise tag applied by Baltimore (13-6), he’ll make about $14.6 million next season.
“I think when you talk about winning as quarterbacks in the playoffs," Flacco said, “I would think that all of them have Super Bowl victories. So that’s really the only one that matters, and that’s what we’re trying to get."
