With seven days and counting to the Super Bowl, you have heard and will indisputably hear much more of all the "Brother vs. Brother" commentary, as San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh goes up against Baltimore Ravens coach and older brother John Harbaugh.
But in Super Bowl XLVII, there are many more storylines to watch out for than just a sibling match-up.
Here are my top 10 non Harbaugh Super Bowl storylines.
Post-Hurricane Katrina
In August 2005, the city of New Orleans was devastated after going through the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina.
Katrina was a category-5 hurricane, and it ranks as the costliest hurricane in American history, at a damage rate of $108 billion.
The city was in shambles, and it did not look to have a bright future. Still, almost eight years later, New Orleans is getting set to host the Super Bowl, one of the biggest events of any kind in the world. It is extremely remarkable how far they have come.
David Akers' Struggles
Akers holds 10 NFL records, including a shared record for the longest made field goal of all-time, with a 63-yarder just this season.
But oddly enough for some reason, Akers has been unusually innacurate this season. His 69-percent sucess rate on field goals this season is the second-worst in the league, and lately it has gotten worse for him.
Just last week, in the NFC Championship Game, Akers missed an easy 38-yard field goal. In the NFL, we have seen so many games come down to kicks. Heck, Tom Brady won his first two Super Bowls on a kick. It will be interesting to see what happens with Akers in this game.
Rush Offense vs. Rush Defense
This is the match-up everybody likes to see: the best against the best.
This year, six-time Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore has led the Niners to the top-ranked rushing attack in the league. On the other side of the ball, the Ravens have an excellent, big-name defence with top-tier players like like Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata stopping the run.
Things like that are what the Super Bowl is all about, and it will be exciting to see what happens in this aspect of the game.
Randy Moss' Final Stand
Lost in the limelight of Ray Lewis' end to his career, it can also be Randy Moss' possible end to his own career.
Moss, an indisputable future Hall-of-Famer, will have his contract expire after this game. He will turn 36 in February, and signs point to the fact that this could be his last time on the football field.
Unlike Lewis, however, Moss has never won a Super Bowl. A win here would change his legacy. A ring or no ring makes a big difference, and Moss may have one final game to decide the outcome of that.
Jim Caldwell
Throughout the year, risky moves are made. But firing a key coach during a winning season takes a lot of guts.
Ravens offensive-coordinator and play-caller Cam Cameron was fired after Week 14 of this season, even when the Ravens had a record of 9-4. Cameron had been the OC since 2008, and in his time the the team had averaged 10 wins a season.
Still, he was replaced with former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, who was working as an assistant in Baltimore. Caldwell swooped in, and as you may have noticed, the Ravens are now playing in the Super Bowl.
This decision has proved to be one for the ages, and we will just wait and see what the ending has in store.
49ers Super Bowl Legacy
The Niners will always be remembered as Joe Montana and Steve Young's team. The two quarterbacks have won all of San Fran's five Super Bowls, and they did it all from 1981-1994.
This is the first time the Niners will be been in the Super Bowl since 1994 when Young launched six touchdowns against the San Diego Chargers.
With a roster that consists of nine Pro-Bowlers, it is easy to see that this is an excellent team that has the potential to get into a few more of these big games in this generation. This coming game will be a new chapter in the Niners legacy, and this game decided how it starts.
Is Joe Flacco Elite?
Ever since Joe Flacco said he thought that he was "the best", the question of if he is an elite quarterback or not has been coming up a lot. Now with the Super Bowl approaching, this question is as relevant as ever.
The only thing Flacco really ever lacked was a ring. He already has seven post-season wins in five seasons, and in those five seasons he has the NFL quarterback record for the most playoff road wins.
With all of that, a Super Bowl ring could be the icing on the cake for Flacco's "elite" status. We'll just have to wait and see for ourselves.
Defense
The old saying is that "defense wins championships", however in this generation of NFL football, it has been all about offense.
Many offensive records have been broken, as quarterbacks have single-handledly led their teams to championships, and there have been countless explosive running backs and receivers.
On the other hand, the offense is not the biggest part of what has driven the Ravens and the Niners to the Super Bowl. It's been their defense.
Baltimore has had a top-10 defense when it comes to yards allowed per game for nine of the last 10 seasons, which is an incredible feat. San Fransisco, on the other hand, has six defensive Pro Bowlers, which is incredible when you realize that only one other NFL team has more than six Pro Bowlers in total.
This Super Bowl represents something new and refreshing, which makes it all the more enjoyable.
Ray Lewis' Final Game
For every game of the playoffs for the Ravens, there has been so much talk about how it could be the last for star linebacker Ray Lewis. And every time, he has lived to see another day.
This time, we know it will be his last. The 37-year-old will now have a shot at winning a Super Bowl to close out his career.
While he no longer plays like he once did, his leadership is still there and he still gives his all each play. As sad as it is to see an NFL icon leave, it will be exciting to see how he closes out his illustrious career.
The Colin Kaepernick Saga
Alex Smith was enjoying a nice career. He was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, struggled some, but then when Jim Harbaugh was hired before the 2011 season, Smith was whipped into shape.
In a West-Coast offense, he thrived and set career-highs in almost every category. He threw for over 3,000 yards, and had the fewest interceptions thrown in the entire league.
The Niners went on to be a special teams fumble away from the Super Bowl last season. This year was more of the same. Smith had San Francisco flying high with a 6-2 record after an 18-for-19 performance on Monday Night Football against the Arizona Cardinals.
The next game however, he was replaced with backup Colin Kaepernick after a concussion. Kaepernick had been used as a wildcat quarterback throughout the year, but leading the offense was new to him. Kaepernick went 16-of-23 for 246 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a blowout win against a top-rated Chicago Bears defense.
Once Smith was scheduled to come back, Harbaugh boldly stuck with Kaepernick. The second-year pro played each week thinking it could be his last of the year, but continued to start.
The Niners rolled along into the divisional round where Kaepernick made NFL history, breaking the record for most single-game rushing yards by a quarterback with 181 against the Green Bay Packers. And after a win over the Falcons in the NFC Conference Championship, San Francisco is now in the Super Bowl.
And to think at the beginning of the year, few people knew who Kaepernick even was. Now, thanks to the mind of Harbaugh, he has led his team into the Super Bowl. We've seen a lot of bold moves in sports, but this has got to be one of the biggest ever.
By Jared Goodman
