Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2012 season. The Ravens defeated the 49ers by the score of 34–31, handing the 49ers their first Super Bowl loss in franchise history. The game was played on Sunday, February 3, 2013, at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This was the tenth Super Bowl to be played in New Orleans, equaling Miami’s record of ten in an individual city.For the first time in Super Bowl history, the game featured two brothers coaching against each other—Jim and John Harbaugh, head coaches of the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, respectively—earning it the nickname Harbaugh Bowl. In addition, Super Bowl XLVII was the first to feature two teams that had undefeated records in previous Super Bowl games (Baltimore, 1–0; San Francisco, 5–0). The 49ers, who posted a regular-season record of 11–4–1, entered the game seeking their sixth Super Bowl win in team history (and first since Super Bowl XXIX at the end of the 1994 season), which would have tied the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most by a franchise. The Ravens, who posted a 10–6 regular-season record, made their second Super Bowl appearance in 12 years, having previously won Super Bowl XXXV. Ray Lewis, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) from that game, as well as the last remaining member of the inaugural Ravens roster from 1996, also played in this game, his last before his retirement from professional football.Baltimore built a 28–6 lead early in the third quarter before a partial power outage in the Superdome suspended play for 34 minutes (earning the game the added nickname of the Blackout Bowl). After play resumed, San Francisco scored 17 unanswered third-quarter points to cut the Ravens’ lead to 28–23, and continued to chip away in the fourth quarter. With the Ravens leading late in the game, 34–29, the 49ers advanced to the Baltimore 7-yard line just before the two-minute warning but turned the ball over on downs. The Ravens then took an intentional safety in the waning moments of the game to preserve the victory. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, became the fourth quarterback in a row to be named Super Bowl MVP, after Drew Brees at Super Bowl XLIV, Aaron Rodgers at Super Bowl XLV, and Eli Manning at Super Bowl XLVI.CBS broadcast the game in the U.S., and charged an average of $4 Million for a 30-second commercial during the game, the highest rate for any Super Bowl. According to Nielsen, Super Bowl XLVII was viewed by an estimated average of 108.69 million people in the United States, with a record 164.1 million tuning into at least six minutes of the game. Beyoncé performed in the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show, which featured a reunion with fellow Destiny’s Child alumnae Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.
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