Power outage powers 49ers

Sports Editor Ariana Tourangeau.

The Super Bowl, for most, may have brought an obvious turnout. With the Ravens having the lead the most of the game, viewers on social networks were starting to say how “boring” it was. That was until the 49ers and the power outage made it interesting.

90 seconds into the second half, the lights on one half of the superdome’s roof went out. The Internet connections went out, and the scoreboards went dark. For most football players this would come as a “buzz kill” and they might lose their concentration, but for the 49ers I think it is just what they needed.

The power outage lasted for about 35 minutes and according to the New York Times was “one of the oddest moments in Super Bowl history.” Some might think it goes along with the superstition and bad luck that New Orleans may bring, but others might think it was a blessing for Some believe the dome is cursed because it is built near the old Girod Street Cemetery and the fact that the power didn’t go out anywhere else in the city really makes a person consider that thought.

Michael Burns, a spokesman for the local utility Entergy Services said that the transmission feeders serving the superdome were never interrupted, according to the New York Times.

Although it might be more fun to think something freaky happened just so the 49ers could catch up in the second half, there was an actual explanation for the power outage.

Entergy and SMG, the company that manages the Superdome, issued a joint statement explaining the power loss: “A piece of equipment that is designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system. Once the issue was detected, the sensing equipment operated as designed and opened a breaker, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue. Backup generators kicked in immediately as designed.”

After the unexpected power outage and 15 minutes left in the third quarter the Ravens were up by 22 points with a score of 28-6. 7:28 minutes left, the 49ers scored a touchdown, bringing it to 28-13 and scoring another one two minutes later, making the game interesting with a score of 28-20. At the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth quarters, both teams scored field goals making the score 31-23.

Most people watching the Super Bowl on Sunday probably thought the Ravens had it in the bag, but I thought for a second the 49ers were going to steal it. They did come back strong in the second half, but the Ravens proved they worked too hard to let that Lombardi trophy slip from arms reach.

With 10 minutes left in the game, the 49ers posed a threat for the Ravens scoring another touchdown bringing it to 31-29, but the Ravens came back with a field goal for 34-29. The Ravens could almost touch that trophy with 4:23 left in the game and all the 49ers could muster up was an 8 yard run for 2 points giving the Ravens the Lombardi trophy and the title of Super Bowl XLVII Champions.

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