The Ravens "black out" San Francisco!

Hello, everybody. Not even a blackout a few seconds into the second half of Super Bowl XLVII could stop the Baltimore Ravens from deflating the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in what was also known as the "Harbaugh Bowl" between brothers John and Jim in a sibling rivalry watched by 108.4 million people. That number fell short from out-rating last year's Super Bowl, though it is one game away from knocking the "M*A*S*H" finale out of the top five most-watched television programs of all time. Joe Flacco was MVP while Ray Lewis closed out his career with his team's second hoisting of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Ravens appeared to have had a huge advantage, but then moments after they were ahead 28-6 with 13:22 left in the third quarter...lights out in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as New Orleans hosted their tenth Super Bowl. For 34 minutes everything went into a complete halt; it was like last year's Daytona 500. According to officials, an "abnormality" triggered the shutdown, though it was not known who was responsible for the power outage (Beyonce, perhaps, which I'll get to in a moment?). 

That proved to be a good thing for San Francisco, as that power surge would help the 49ers surge ahead of the Ravens after full power restored, thanks to a 31-yard touchdown from Michael Crabtree followed by Frank Gore's 6-yard run then a 32-yard punt return from Ted Ginn Jr. But what won the game for Baltimore? A failed two-point conversion by San Francisco and then 38-yard field goal by Justin Tucker.

Among the celebrities in attendance was fellow Baltimoreian Stacy Keibler, who once upon a time before WWE and George Clooney, used to be a Ravens cheerleader. Jennifer Hudson with the Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus sang "America The Beautiful" followed by Alicia Keys doing the national anthem. But that was the pre-game festivities. Halftime of course belonged to Beyonce after the flack she got for singing to a pre-recorded track at President Barack Obama's second inauguration two weeks ago, and with that touted Destiny's Child reunion with Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland, she didn't disappoint.

And then, of course, you have the millions of dollars of hard work paid off 30 seconds (or one minute) at a time. Since there was a plethora to choose from, I've decided to count down my top five favorite commercials from Super Bowl XLVII:

5. Audi's "Prom" (proving that the car was more important than the girl after all)

4. Taco Bell's "Viva Young" (Betty White and her geriatric prank show, see what you did?!)

3. Samsung's "Next Big Thing" with Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd (probably the biggest "F you!" to Apple)

2. Toyota's "Wish Granted" with Kaley Cuoco (suddenly, Sheldon from "Big Bang Theory" has been masturbating furiously while screaming out "PENNNNNYYYY!!!!")

And these two are my #1 favorites from the big game; both of them touched heartstrings though one of them topped "USA Today's" Ad Meter:

1. Budweiser's Clydesdales "Brotherhood" and Ram Trucks' "God Made A Farmer" 

(the horses were back after a few years' absence, while Chrysler outdid themselves again with the calming dulcet tones of the late Paul Harvey)

All the hoopla surrounding Kate Upton's Mercedes-Benz commercial proved to be a disappointment, while Go Daddy I think wore out their welcome even with Bar Refaeli.

I also enjoyed Volkswagen's "Get In. Get Happy", though it failed to hit the mark as opposed to last year. And Tide's "Miracle Stain"? It probably would've a miracle if Joe Montana himself appeared in it.

Now let me clear up one other thing: Sure, the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup is older than the Super Bowl (the 100th game, won by Toronto, was seen on the NBC Sports Network stateside), but let's face it: Even though it is brought out onto the field by a couple Mounties, the winning team only gets to keep it temporarily. The Vince Lombardi Trophy, on the other hand? It is carried out by an NFL Hall of Famer, lets the teammates touch it while it makes its way to the stage, and they keep it permanently!!! So in the case of Baltimore, they may have won their one and only Grey Cup in 1995 (during the CFL's short-lived U.S. expansion), but their two Lombardis are theirs for all times.

Also, it is made every year by R.S. Owens and Company of Chicago; soon, they'll be hard at work making one other thing that's also for keeps: The Oscars; those babies will be handed out less than three weeks from now. So long and stay strong.