As the hour draws closer and closer, the time for talking in New Orleans is just about over.
Come Sunday evening in The Big Easy, one team will walk away with the gold, a reward for months and months of practice, travel, endless team meetings, and a number of on the field performances that were epic.
If San Francisco emerges victorious in Super Bowl XLVII, it will tie the 49ers with Pittsburgh (6 titles) for the most Super Bowl championships in NFL history. Baltimore, meantime, is looking for its second crown (beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV) since moving to Maryland from Cleveland.
Both teams arrived in New Orleans with impressive championship victories - the 49ers overcoming an early deficit in Atlanta - Baltimore beating its arch playoff nemesis in the New England Patriots on the road.
While much of the pre-game hype has been centered around retiring Ravens' linebacker Ray Lewis, along with the first-ever Super Bowl match up between brothers as head coaches (John and Jim Harbaugh), there are many other facets to Sunday's game, including the two quarterbacks:
* San Francisco is in the big game with a rookie QB (Colin Kaepernick) at the helm, a rookie who in replacing starter Alex Smith earlier in the season, has completed 62.7 percent of his passes, tossing 13 touchdowns with four interceptions. Kaepernick has been averaging 7.3 rushing yards and a 101.2 passer rating. As a team, San Francisco has been averaging 28.6 points in the last nine games with Kaepernick at the controls;
* Baltimore QB Joe Flacco can finally get the monkey off his back of not being able to take his team all the way with a win on Sunday. Flacco, who led the Ravens to an incredible comeback win in Denver three weekends ago, was equally as stellar in guiding his team at New England two Sundays ago. While he doesn't always put up the big numbers, his playoff performances this season (Indy, Denver, New England) have been some of his best work in his career. Flacco has 10 TD's and no interceptions in leading Baltimore to four wins in its last five contests.
Throw in weapons like Frank Gore, Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree, and you are likely to get some offensive fireworks.
That being said, don't forget you have two of the better defenses in the NFL squaring off Sunday, the question is which one will blink first?
When all is said and done, one of the Harbaugh brothers will be going home happy Sunday night, the other wondering of what could have been. As for their parents, can't help but feel a little happiness and sadness for them both at the same time.
If recent Super Bowls are any indication, fans should be in for a winner come Sunday night in Louisiana.
The question of course remains, who will it be?
The Skinny
Super Bowl XXXXVII
Louisiana Superdome
CBS TV 6:30 P.M. (Eastern)
San Francisco is a 4-point favorite
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