Moments in NFL history: With disaster looming off field, Ravens avoid it on field

Lights out!

There have been many firsts in the history of the National Football League. From record-breaking moments and games that will live in lore forever to the not-so-usual series of events.

One of those “not-so-usual” games takes us to this date in NFL history: Feb. 3, 2013.

Super Bowl XLVII provided several first-time moments, including the historic first Super Bowl to pit head coaches against each other who grew up in the same house: brothers Jim Harbaugh (San Francisco 49ers) and John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens).

More notably, this game remains remembered for what happened after the 108-yard kickoff return by Jacoby Jones gave the Ravens a commanding 28-6 lead. A partial power outage occurred in the Caesars Superdome, suspending play for 34 minutes.

Hall of Fame linebacker RAY LEWIS offered this recollection: "Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out who turned those lights off. We were up by three scores, and suddenly – boom – the lights went out.

“This was right after Beyoncé performed (at halftime), so my first thought was, ‘People stopped watching, ratings are down, cut the lights,’ ” Lewis said.

After the delay, the 49ers clawed their way back into the game. In the final minutes, they possessed the ball in the red zone down five points before falling 5 yards short of taking the lead. The Ravens (conceding a late safety) beat the 49ers, in a game featuring three future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 34-31.
 
HALL OF FAMERS FEATURED IN SUPER BOWL XLVII

• RAY LEWIS (Ravens): 7 tackles
• ED REED (Ravens): 5 tackles, 1 interception
• RANDY MOSS (49ers): 2 receptions, 41 yards

Less appreciated was the behind-the-scenes work during those 34 minutes of delay.

Frank Supovitz, a former Senior VP of Events for the National Football League, was at the helm as executive producer for Super Bowl XLVII, giving him a view unlike most others.

“My job at that time was to oversee the planning, management and execution of the Super Bowl and all of its component events,” Supovitz said. He was stationed at NFL Control, the league’s command center for the game, but was not in his seat at the time of the power failure.

“The first thing we thought about was whether we had a safe environment or not,” he said. “Within about 90 seconds, our security team, the stadium operations team and law enforcement determined a power cable had deactivated.”

Supovitz and that operations team made a decision in 90 seconds off the field that saved what could have been a disaster. On the field, the Ravens survived what could’ve been a disastrous loss. In the end, they hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and the league celebrated a new champion.

This article from the Hall of Fame Communications Team is part of recurring series celebrating memorable moments in NFL history.