5 Things To Watch For With Super Bowl XLVII - Chris "Preach" Smith

Super Bowl Sunday is almost upon us, and it is the penultimate game of the 
2013 NFL season as well as almost being a national holiday of sorts. Before you go
crazy with your game day preparations, here’s 10 things about this Super Bowl to
keep in mind:



1)Chicken Wings Shortage.

Hot wings are a centerpiece of sports viewing normally, but no other game demands
their presence more than the Super Bowl. Now, we’re in the second straight year of
a shortage of chicken wings. Something which makes me look at this as if it’s the new
H1N1 but they’re now being priced at $2.11 a pound, an all-time high. It’s so crazy
that two dudes down in Doraville, Georgia got busted after making off with a haul of
frozen Tyson’s chicken wings worth $65,000. So bear in mind if you can’t get your 
hands on wings for Sunday, you might want to look up a good nachos recipe.


2)Beyonce and the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

With all of the half-cocked outrage over Bey lip-synching her rendition of the
National Anthem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration last month, there
were a bunch of folks calling for her removal from the halftime show. You even had 
some in the Republican party calling for her removal, politicizing something so 
trivial. And what does Beyonce do at the press conference? Go out and sing the
National Anthem LIVE. Then ask, ‘any questions?’ Pure smackdown. She’ll be a
highlight just because it will be the first halftime show without aging rockers in
a few years. Maybe then the NFL will stop thinking about Nipplegate.


3)The Ascendance of Colin Kaepernick.

The San Francisco 49ers have one man to thank for this Super Bowl run, and that is 
second year quarterback Colin Kaepernick out of the University of Nevada. Kaepernick’s
rise to fame is remarkable enough when you consider this is his 12th start
as an NFL QB on Sunday. But he stands ready to be the first Black quarterback
to win a Super Bowl since Doug Williams did it with the Washington Redskins
in 1987. Colin hasn’t gotten a lot of heat outside of criticism of his numerous
tattoos, and speculation over whether he would ever meet his biological mother
(Kaepernick was adopted at a young age). But his athleticism combined with
an ability to perform great under pressure makes him one QB who may bring
the renaissance we’ve been seeing at the position in the past couple years to
full fruition. 

 
4)The Last Stand of Ray Lewis.

The heart and soul of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field for the very last time in his
career this Sunday. Push aside your misgivings and your thoughts on what happened in
2000 for a minute and consider this: Lewis has been with the Ravens since their inception
in 1996. That’s almost unheard of in sports these days. Already a Super Bowl champion,
Ray seems to have infused this team with a hunger beyond compare. Now, there are reports
that deer antler spray was used to help him recover from a torn triceps injury in October.
Whether or not it worked or is the modern day equivalent to Spanish Fly isn’t the issue
here. In a game already chock full of stories, you can bet that Ray isn’t walking off that
field unless he leaves it all on the field. Which could make for some legendary football.

 
5)The City of New Orleans.

Granted, the folks from the Crescent City as always, are gracious hosts. But you can’t help but
feel that they’re going to be real salty because of the commissioner Roger Goddell’s mishandling
of ‘Bounty-Gate’ that effectively derailed the Saints’ season this year. A season which could have
seen them right in the thick of it for the playoffs. I expect Goddell may see a few stale beignets
chucked at him over this weekend. The Super Bowl being in New Orleans though has a special
kind of excitement to it. Look at the past Bowl games played there. They know how to do it RIGHT.
New York City is going to be looking at this intently seeing as how it’s their turn to host next year.
And one thing that should be on everyone’s mind once this game is played? Bring it back in 2018.
Why? That’s the 300th anniversary of the city’s founding. And it would be one jewel in the crown
of resurgent triumph for this city since Katrina hit its shores seven years ago.