Bro versus bro in Feb. 3 Super Bowl

The San Francisco 49ers are four-point favorites to defeat the Baltimore Ravens after the teams won their respective games in the NFC and AFC championship playoffs on Sunday.

The 49ers rallied to win against the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC title game Sunday afternoon, coming back in the second half on the strength of Colin Kaepernick’s passing arm after falling behind by 17 points.

The Ravens bested the favored New England Patriots for the AFC championship later Sunday night. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco three for three touchdown passes in just over 10 minutes.

San Francisco is making its sixth Super Bowl appearance. The team from the Bay area won all its Super Bowl games. No other team has an undefeated record.

Baltimore will make its second trip to the Super Bowl. Ray Lewis was the MVP in 2000, when the team entered the championship game as three-point favorites.

There are plenty of side stories in Super Bowl XLVII, which will be played Feb. 3 in New Orleans.

San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh will be the first brothers to coach against each other in the NFL title game. John is the big bro.

Quaterbacks Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers and Joe Flacco of the Ravens will both be debuting in their first Super Bowl.  Both of these young quarterbacks are playing like stars right now. Both Kaepernick and Flacco are excellent passers, but the 49er’s offense leader is the more mobile of the two, and capable of breaking big running plays. The outcome will likely determine which one is the top elite quarterback in the NFL.

The two teams are a combined 6-0 in Super Bowls, either ever losing a NFL title game. But one club will emerge as a loser for the first time.

In addition, Ray Lewis, the Raven’s emotional defense leader and top tackler, will be playing in his last game before retirement. His career spans 17 years. He has already indicated that he will give all he’s got for this game. “This is our time,” Lewis said.