Big show is ended. Baltimore Ravens is the NFL Champions, and this 47 Super Bowl is become a part of history. Flacco is MVP of this Super Bowl. Big show is closed, and we now going back to life reallty. But, before going to our lifes, if you wanna, you can see one more time, greatest moment of XLVII Super Bowl.
Beyonce wowed audiences and critics with her half-time performance at the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday.
Her live 14-minute set featured a medley of her hits and also a reunion of her group, Destiny's Child.
After admitting last week she mimed the US national anthem at President Obama's inauguration, critics were keen to scrutinise Beyonce's show.
But the New York Times was one of many that said she had now "silenced her doubters".
"She balanced explosions and humanity, imperiousness with warmth, an arena-ready sense of scale with a microscopic approach to the details of her vocals," wrote Jon Caramanica.
"Amid all the loudness were small things to indicate Beyonce was answering her sceptics, quietly but effectively. Beyonce the machine had made her point. This was proof of life."
Dressed in a black leather mini dress, the singer kicked off the show with a blaze of flames while she sang a brief a cappella version of her single Love on Top before launching into mega hit Crazy In Love.
Billboard Magazine said the performance was "easily one of the best ever" half-time shows.
"She strutted towards the front of the stage in her black leather dress and booties looking like Catwoman, it was obvious that it likely would be the last time she did anything at medium pace," Brad Wete said.
After stripping down to a leotard, she also performed tracks End of Time, Baby Boy and Halo, while her Destiny's Child band mates joined her on stage to give renditions of Bootylicious, Independent Women Part I and Single Ladies.
The Washington Post said the show was "the sexiest Super Bowl half-time since 2004" when the infamous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" occurred.
Since that event, organisers had opted for "safer" rock acts from the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and The Who, until last year when Madonna landed the gig.
The New York Daily News praised the show saying: "Beyonce gave an absolutely live Super Bowl halftime performance that killed."
"Given both Beyonce's persona and talent, only a fool would have bet against her at this particular event. It's hard to think of a star better suited to the Super Bowl than she is."
The Los Angeles Times agreed the singer had succeeded in "shutting everybody up".
"The artist who dubbed herself Sasha Fierce made many musical arguments. None involved submitting to doubters," Randall Roberts said.
Jerry Shriver from USA Today described the show as a "dynamic half-time performance that apparently sucked all of the power out of the Superdome" - in reference to a power cut during the game shortly after Beyonce's set.
However Shriver's colleague Chris Strauss said the set "seemed perfunctory" to the football fans in the stadium.
"While viewers at home seemed pleased by the 12-minute set, it was hard for fans in the stadium to experience the same kind of HD clarity, audio superiority and multi-angle close-ups that the CBS broadcast audience could," he said.
"The performance wasn't designed for the people in the crowd. While the energy among the hundreds of fans ushered in along the field for the performance might have been different, fans up top didn't seem to have much reaction."
It is thought more than 100 million people would have watched the half-time show, although final figures have yet to be released.
After the performance, Beyonce also announced the details of a new world tour.
It will begin in Belgrade, Serbia, on 15 April before heading to the UK for six dates, including four nights at London's O2 Arena.
Touchdowns: Boldin, Pitta, Jones (2) Field Goals: Tucker (2)
SAN FRANCISCO (6) 31
Touchdowns: Crabtree, Gore, Kaepernick Field Goals: Akers (3) Safety: Against Koch
Jacoby Jones scored two of the most spectacular touchdowns in Super Bowl history as Baltimore Ravens edged San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in a thriller.
First Jones, playing in his native New Orleans, caught a long Joe Flacco pass before running into the endzone.
Then, after Beyonce's stunning half-time show, Jones returned the kick-off 108 yards in barely 11 seconds for the longest ever Super Bowl play.
After a long delay due to a power cut, the 49ers hit back but fell just short.The third quarter will go down as one of the most crazy and dramatic encounters ever seen in the NFL, let alone in a Super Bowl.
Many of the 70,000-plus crowd at the Superdome were still recovering from a high-octane half-time show performance by Beyonce and her old Destiny's Child bandmates when Jones received David Akers' kick-off eight yards deep inside his own endzone.
Rather than take the sensible option of appealing for a fair catch, he elected to run the ball and ghosted past the 49ers defenders without barely a touch.
After Baltimore raced into an early lead courtesy of a pair of Flacco touchdown passes to Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta, Jones extended Baltimore's advantage to 21-3 when he caught Flacco's perfectly floated downfield pass and then, realising he had not been touched by a defender, showed equally quick mental agility to get up and trot into the endzone.
After trailing 21-6 at the break, and then 28-6 following Jones's kick-off return, San Francisco could have been forgiven for giving up.But they were inspired by something truly unprecedented - half of the lights going off, and not being fixed fully for 34 minutes.
While jokes circled that 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh may have had something to do with it, the truth was that it was his side - rather than the floodlights - which had a power surge against the Ravens, who are coached by his older brother John Harbaugh.
First they were aided by some comical defending by the Ravens, which let Michael Crabtree turn an already impressive gain into a 31-yard touchdown as two defenders crashed into each other.
Then, after a good punt return, Frank Gore ran unopposed into the right hand corner of the endzone from six yards.
Suddenly the 49ers were only 20-28 down, and things got even worse for the Ravens when San Francisco cornerback Tarell Brown stripped the ball out of Ray Rice's hands and fell on the loose ball himself for a turnover.
Following an exchange of field goals, Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick capped a long drive with a 15-yard run into the endzone down the left sideline.
But his two-point conversion attempt failed, and Justin Tucker's 38-yard field goal made it 34-29 to Baltimore deep into the fourth quarter.
San Francisco tried to battle back, but ultimately their recovery stalled when Kaepernick's pass towards Crabtree fell incomplete.
Jim Harbaugh cried foul, arguing his receiver had been held by a defender, but the officials were never going to change their mind and Baltimore were able, just about, to wind down the clock and seal their second Vince Lombardi trophy.
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who ended his 17-year career with a second Super Bowl win: "How could it end any other way than that. And now I get to ride into the sunset with my second ring.
"It's no greater way, as a champ, to go out on your last ride with the men that I went out with, with my team-mates. And you looked around this stadium and ... Baltimore! Baltimore! We coming home, baby! We did it!"
San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh congratulated his big brother John's triumph while struggling to come to terms with his side's loss: "Had several opportunities in the game. Didn't play our best game. Ravens made a lot of plays. Our guys battled back to get back in it. We competed and battled to win."
One Harbaugh will win Super Bowl XLVII. Another will lose it.
That much is guaranteed after the San Francisco 49ers, coached by Jim Harbaugh, and the Baltimore Ravens, led by his brother John Harbaugh, beat their respective foes in conference championship games Sunday. Those wins mean the Harbaughs will be the first siblings to face off as head coaches in the NFL's title contest and, in fact, for any major U.S. professional sports championship.
Both teams rallied from halftime deficits on the road to earn berths in the Super Bowl, which will be played February 3 in New Orleans.
Baltimore did it by reeling off 21 straight points to overcome Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. It was sweet revenge for the Ravens, who lost last year's nail-biter AFC Championship to the same Patriots foe on the same Gillette Stadium field in Foxborough, Massachusetts.A few hours earlier, the 49ers rallied from a 17-0 hole to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, who had posted the best regular season record in the NFC.
John Harbaugh joked to reporters, after the Ravens' win, that he and his brothers had a "few dreams" -- one of which may have been meeting up in the Super Bowl -- as well "as a few fights ... just like all brothers."
"We'll let the two teams duke it out, as much as possible," John Harbaugh said, smiling.
The Baltimore coach then made a point to talk about how proud he was of his brother Jim, as well as how much he admired the San Francisco team.
"I'd like to think that when you look at (the) two teams, you're looking at mirror images," John Harbaugh said, referring to the Super Bowl foes. "It's going to be a great football game."
Baltimore's dominant second half leads to win
Beyond their recent playoff history, Baltimore and New England matched up earlier this season -- one in which the Ravens came back from a late 9-point deficit, winning on a last-second field goal by Justin Tucker.
Still, victory Sunday evening was hardly guaranteed.
New England had the superior regular record, not to mention a storied playoff pedigree having played in five Super Bowls in the past 11 years. They also had Brady, who last Sunday passed Joe Montana as the quarterback with the most playoff wins ever.
And the Patriots started out strong, jumping to a 3-0 lead and -- after a Baltimore score -- entering halftime up 13-7.
But the second half was all Baltimore. The Ravens scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, two of them on Joe Flacco touchdown passes to receiver Anquan Boldin.
Meanwhile, the vaunted Patriots offense sputtered, hurt especially by a Stevan Ridley fumble and two Brady interceptions. Baltimore ended up winning 28-13.
"We came here last year and left with a bitter taste in our mouths," Baltimore's Boldin told reporters after the game. "We felt like this team took something away from us. And we wanted to come back and make that right."
49ers rally, hold on for 28-24 victory
Led by quarterbacks Montana and Steve Young, San Francisco was one of the NFL's top franchises through much of the 1980s and 1990s.
But the 49ers haven't been in the Super Bowl in 1995, and their 2000s were marred by mostly losing regular seasons.
The team's fortunes, however, have turned since the 2011 hiring of Jim Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback himself who'd been coaching at nearby Stanford. The next season, they made it to the NFC Championship, only to fall to the eventual Super Bowl winners, the New York Giants.
On Sunday, trailing by three scores midway through the second quarter, San Francisco rallied for two quick touchdowns -- one on a LaMichael James 11-yard run, the other on a four-yard reception by tight end Vernon Davis.
Still, Atlanta maintained its slim advantage -- in part thanks to a missed field goal and a fumble by the 49ers Michael Crabtree just inches from the end zone -- into the fourth quarter. But then, running back Frank Gore scored from nine yards out to put San Francisco ahead 28-24.
At this point, there were still just over eight minutes left in the game.
Atlanta -- paced by quarterback Matt Ryan, known as "Matty Ice" for his strong play in the waning minutes of games -- made a run. With just over a minute to go, the Falcons got within striking distance of the goal line. But San Francisco defenders broke up two straight passes, effectively sealing the win.
After the game, San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis said the 49ers prevailed because they refused to give up and stuck together as a team, just as they have all season long.
"One thing about our team all year long is that we continue to fight," Willis told Fox, which broadcast the game. "We have an unbelievable team."
Back in the NFC championship game, the San Francisco 49ers are confident they can take that next step this year behind multi-threat quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The top-seeded Atlanta Falcons look at their first playoff victory under coach Mike Smith as nothing more than clearing the first hurdle on the way to achieving the ultimate goal.
The conference's top two teams meet Sunday at the Georgia Dome with a berth in Super Bowl XLVII on the line.
"You're already amped up for the game, but guys get a little more amped up for championship games," San Francisco defensive lineman Ray McDonald told the team's official website. "When you're growing up, these are the kind of games you want to be in."
It's no great surprise Atlanta (14-3) and San Francisco (12-4-1) have reached this point as both were among the favorites to represent the NFC in New Orleans on Feb. 3.
The Falcons cruised to the South title while securing the conference's best record for the second time in three seasons. Second-seeded San Francisco had to wait until Week 17 to clinch the NFC West, but they're back in the title game after suffering a mistake-filled 20-17 overtime loss to New York last season.
This postseason, coach Jim Harbaugh has the versatile Kaepernick under center instead of Alex Smith, who threw five touchdowns without an interception in last season's playoffs and was one of the league's highest-rated passers until suffering a concussion in Week 10.
Kaepernick has a 98.7 passer rating while going 6-2 as a starter since taking over, and his overall performance in last Saturday's 45-31 divisional round victory over Green Bay seemingly makes San Francisco a more dangerous opponent than it was a year ago. The second-year pro rushed for a quarterback playoff-record 181 yards with a pair of touchdowns and overcame an early interception returned for a TD by throwing for 263 with two scores.
"It feels good," Kaepernick said. "We're one step closer to where we want to be. I feel like I had a lot to prove. A lot of people doubted my ability to lead this team."The burden of trying to stop Kaepernick falls on the shoulders of Atlanta defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who went 18-37 as 49ers head coach before being fired in the middle of the 2008 season.
"It doesn't change the competitive nature of the game and what we're doing," Nolan said of the reunion, his first with San Francisco.
Versatile quarterbacks have given the Falcons trouble this season. Carolina's Cam Newton threw for 502 yards with four TDs and no picks while rushing for 202 and two scores in two games against them in 2012. In last Sunday's 30-28 win over Seattle, Seahawks rookie Russell Wilson passed for 385 yards with two TDs and an INT while running for 60 and a score on seven carries.
"These young guys, they are athletic and they can run," Nolan said. "That creates a whole new set of problems."
Atlanta surrendered 5.90 yards per play this season -- 29th in the league -- and allowed the Seahawks to average 7.44 in the divisional round.
Backed by Kaepernick and one of the NFL's best defenses, the 49ers are eager for the chance to avenge last season's championships game loss and return to the Super Bowl for the first time since beating San Diego 18 years ago.
"We all know it's hard to get back to this point, but we did it," said running back Frank Gore, who rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries against the Packers. "We also know how that feeling was when we didn't get the job done last year. We'll try our best to not get that feeling again."
That won't be easy considering the 49ers' postseason road woes. They'll try Sunday to snap a five-game road playoff skid that dates to a 28-3 conference title game win at Chicago on Jan. 8, 1989 -- one of only two postseason victories away from home in franchise history.
"It's a big task," said Harbaugh, who was a member of that Bears team that lost to San Francisco. "(The Falcons) had a great season. They're solid in every regard."
Atlanta, which blew leads of 20-0 and 27-7 against Seattle before Matt Bryant kicked a game-winning 49-yard field goal with eight seconds left, does not expect anything to come easy again Sunday.
"We were very fortunate to make the plays there at the end of the game and get the win," Smith said.
"It means we have an opportunity to play again. I think our guys understand the challenge this week is going to be big."
With the chance to reach their first Super Bowl since losing 34-19 to Denver at the end of the 1998 season, the Falcons are not satisfied with simply reaching this point.
"Our goal is not to win one playoff game," said Matt Ryan, who was 24 of 35 for 250 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions against the Seahawks. "Our goals are still in front of us. We still have two more games to go. That's the mindset I have. That's the mindset this team has."
Though the Falcons possess one of the game's top passing offenses behind Ryan, Roddy White, Julio Jones and future Hall-of-Famer Tony Gonzalez, it was a running game that averaged 87.3 yards -- 29th during the regular season -- that played a key role last weekend. Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers combined to run 24 times for all but five of Atlanta's season-high 167 yards.
Atlanta could have a hard time duplicating that success against a 49ers defense that ranked fourth in the NFL by allowing an average of 94.2 yards on the ground during the regular season.
The Falcons have won four in a row against the 49ers, most recently 16-14 in 2010. Atlanta also won the teams' only previous playoff meeting, 20-18 at home Jan. 9, 1999.
Ryan has completed 64.0 percent of his passes for 602 yards with three TDs and three INTs while going 2-0 against the 49ers. White has 18 receptions for 369 yards and two scores in three career victories against them.
