There is never a shortage of story lines surrounding the Super Bowl; two weeks of pre-game hype between Championship Sunday and the big game
--
sandwiched around the little-watched Pro Bowl -- guarantees that the talking heads on television and radio and all the pro sports writers and
bloggers
and all the millions of water cooler and message board chatter will be filled with tales of one player's dramatic rise to stardom, a team's unexpected
journey to the Super Bowl, a coach's defeat of an illness, a team rallying around tragedy, or any other number of tales that dominate segments and
headlines and fan chatter for the
entire two week buildup. Coming into the 2012 season, one of the popular "what if" games revolved around the possibility of the newly
revamped Denver Broncos, now with a healed Peyton Manning under center, meeting the Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants, that team
with
XLVI MVP Eli Manning taking the snaps. The possibility of a brother-versus-brother on-field matchup between the league's marquee personality and
one of
its marquee teams from the world's biggest market seemed the stuff of ratings dreams and Super Bowl legend. It didn't quite work out that way
(maybe next year).
The
one-seed Broncos were one-and-done in the playoffs and Eli and company missed the postseason altogether thanks to a surge in the standings by
the
Washington Redskins, led by the league's hottest rookie quarterback in Robert Griffin, III. But a brother-versus-brother matchup was still a very real
possibility, just not of the on-field variety. The Baltimore Ravens, under head coach John Harbaugh, won the AFC North and entered the playoffs as
the fourth ranked seed, while the San Francisco 49ers, coached by John's brother Jim, entered the playoffs as the NFC's second seeded team. It
would
be an uphill battle for one team to make the Super Bowl; could both reach the big New Orleans stage and create one of the biggest media
sensations in NFL history?
Joe Flacco: Champion.
The Ravens never have it easy in the AFC North. At best they're guaranteed two dogfight games every year against their arch-rivals, the
perennially
contending Pittsburgh Steelers. The division is also home to the upstart Cincinnati Bengals and the unpredictable Cleveland Browns. In 2012, the
Ravens won the division for the second straight season, winning only ten games but besting the ten-win Bengals and the disappointing .500
Steelers. They entered the playoffs as the fourth seed, meaning a first-round home game against the sixth-seeded Indianapolis Colts, a team with
eleven regular season wins, a hot young quarterback in Andrew Luck, and a tight-knit group rallied around its head coach Chuck Pagano who just
weeks before
the start of the playoffs returned to the sidelines after a season long battle with leukemia. Nevertheless, the battle-hardened Ravens overcame a
team on the upswing to move on for a date with the top-seeded Denver Broncos in the Mile High City. Denver came into the game as the favorite
and with a rising wave of confidence as the top-seeded team, not to mention with a convincing 34-17 week 15 win against the Ravens in Baltimore
to bolster their feelings of dominance. This game
would be on their turf, with their fans, and their kind of weather: it would be the coldest playoff game in Denver history. The Ravens would again
prevail, however, this
time in a double overtime thriller. Destiny seemed to be at work -- the team was playing with unmatched confidence -- but a date with the always
dangerous and annual easy Super Bowl pick New England Patriots in Foxboro loomed. The Pats rolled through the regular season winning nine of
the
last ten and convincingly defeating the Houston Texans in the divisional round. Nevertheless, despite a hall-of-fame quarterback and coach and a
team that defines the word "team" on the other sideline, the Ravens pulled the road upset for the second straight week to reach the promised land
and set
a date with destiny.
Even before the playoffs and before the final match-ups were set, seeds of once-in-a-generation story lines were taking shape, even beyond the
possibility
of a brother vs. brother coaching matchup. On January 2nd, 2013, longtime Ravens linebacker and future hall-of-famer Ray Lewis announced his
pending retirement following the season and the Ravens' playoff run. Lewis, a 12-time pro bowler and the face of the Ravens franchise, sparked his
team with the announcement and created a de facto rallying point around himself. Though one of the most polarizing
figures in NFL history -- much of the dislike not stemming from his attitude or play on the field but rather his alleged role in a double homicide
in 2000 -- Lewis' presence on the field and in the community was quite unlike that of anyone else in football. The team's will to win one more ring
for
Ray seemed to propel the Ravens further than talent and luck alone. That's not even to mention the other rallying cry, the death of team
owner and pro football legend Art Modell on September 6, 2012, right before the beginning of the season, a season the Ravens would dedicate to
its late owner and for whom it would go on to win a Super Bowl.
Over in the NFC, the 49ers were cruising towards the playoffs with a rock-solid
6-2 record at the halfway point of the season behind the talents of the team's well-established quarterback, Alex Smith. Smith would suffer a
concussion in a game against the St. Louis Rams in week 10, a game in which young second-round draft pick Colin Kaepernick would lead the team
to a rare tie game against a divisional foe. Even as Smith recovered from his concussion, the 49ers continued to ride Kaepernick through the
remainder of the season; he'd win five games down the stretch and establish himself as the Niners quarterback of the future. Could the team win in
the playoffs with a largely inexperienced but immensely talented signal caller? In any season, a retiring legend, the death of another, a surging
upstart quarterback, or a clash of coaching brothers
would be fodder enough for the 24/7 sports media; what would happen if the Harbaughs, Lewis, the spirit of Art Modell, and Kaepernick all collided
on the biggest stage in
sports?
Super Bowl XLVII Champions follows the Ravens' season from the beginning, even rewinding back to the team's painful AFC Championship
defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots the season prior. Though short in total runtime, the film covers every game with a highlight
package while also forming the narrative of the team's season both on the field of play and off of it. Of course, a little more time is spent on the
team's conference playoff games against the Colts, Broncos, and Patriots, and the Super Bowl game rightly earns the lengthiest stretch of the entire
production. It's a largely straightforward affair with an NFL Films sort of flair to it, blending HD video network clips with exciting slow-motion film
highlights. The film provides plenty of sideline, locker room, and interview access to further enhance the experience. While the set fails to include
any of
the games in their entirety -- something Ravens fans will definitely want to own in some future release -- this is a very good, digestible, re-watchable
program that highlights all of the right things, praises the ups but doesn't disregard the downs, and shapes a compelling tale of a team with a date
with history.
Super Bowl XLVII Champions features a sturdy high definition transfer. The 1.78:1 image shows some gorgeous photography in what is
sometimes breathtaking high definition. It can be a little noisy, at times, not to mention a touch soft, but there are some fantastic details to be seen,
from light frays on uniform patches to the texture of the turf. Clarity is quite good throughout, and the image is at its best with the filmed shots of
games rather than the fairly flat and bland HD video segments thrown into the mix. Colors are wonderful. Raven purple and turf green really pop. The
entire palette is balanced and attractive, with those two dominant hues setting the pace for the remainder of the experience. Black levels are sturdy and
flesh tones even. For the most part, fans should be happy with this release.
Super Bowl XLVII Champions arrives on Blu-ray with a potent and pleasing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. There are often big,
thunderous sound elements, with music enjoying good spacing all around the stage, whether subtle notes or aggressive and front-and-center elements.
Hits on the field play with a big, crushing low end, while stadium ambience is handled very well. Cheering crowds and naturally reverberating public
address announcements nicely immerse the listening audience into every locale. Dialogue is clear and accurate, whether over-the-game play-by-play and
color commentary, sideline chatter, or otherwise quiet interview segments. This track does everything very well; fans should be pleased with the full
sense of space, clarity, and immersion it provides.
Super Bowl XLVII Champions contains a plethora of short supplements.
Super Bowl Media Day (HD, 11:42): Deion Sanders interviews Ray Lewis, Anquan Boldin, Ray Rice, Joe Flacco, Terrell Suggs, John
Harbaugh, and Ed Reed. From the original NFL Network Media Day broadcast.
Super Bowl Post-Game Ceremonies (HD, 5:28): The Lombardi Trophy presentation and player interviews.
The John Harbaugh Interview (HD, 4:03): Bill Belichick interviews the coach.
The Jack and Jackie Harbaugh Interview (HD, 4:15): The Harbaugh Brothers' parents talk about the game.
Sibling Rivalry (HD, 4:04): A short look back at the lives of the head coaches.
Courtney Upshaw's Journey (HD, 4:07): A look at the life of the Ravens rookie.
The Season: Harbaugh Family Update (HD, 6:02): Another look into the Harbaugh family.
2012 NFL Shots of the Year (HD, 7:23): A compilation piece of the season's best moments.
2012 NFL Players Wired for Sound (HD, 9:04): Sounds from the field.
2012 NFL Coaches Wired for Sound (HD, 8:31): Sounds form the sidelines.
Sports releases don't come much more straightforward than this. Super Bowl XLVII Champions offers a semi-detailed time capsule of the
Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl-winning season. It highlights each game, regular season and post season both, emphasizing the latter with the most time
spent on the Super Bowl. It weaves together a compelling narrative while showing the ups and downs of the team's 2012 regular season and run
through early February to New Orleans. The disc contains some player and coach interviews as well as a few fluff pieces as bonuses. Video and audio are
both strong. Recommended to sports fans who don't live in San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, or Cleveland, and of
course it's a must-own for die-hard Ravens fanatics.
Super Bowl XLVII Champions: Baltimore Ravens Blu-ray, News and Updates
On February 3, 2013 the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers will take the field for Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. 30 days after The Big Game, on March 5th, NFL Films and Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment will release on Blu-ray Super Bowl XLVII Champions.
Super Bowl XLVII Champions: Baltimore Ravens Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
