Super Bowl 47: An Ode To The Heavyweight Division - Mparas1432's Blog

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Super Bowl 47: An Ode To The Heavyweight Division Stuck

Posted on January 22, 2013 at 07:46 PM.

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In the world of sports, boxing is often seen as a secondary sport but also popular enough to reference many euphemisms in commentary.

Phrases like �the teams traded haymakers,� �toe-to-toe� and �looked like they went 15 rounds� have all been common analogies in the way commentators describe events. Even in the last election, many political pundits were quick to quip that the three debates felt like the Ali-Frazier trilogy.

There�s something about boxing that makes it perfect for everyone to reminisce about despite it being alive and well.

With Super Bowl 47, there might not be a more perfect boxing analogy available.

The two teams themselves- the Ravens and the 49ers - already went through their battles throughout the season to get to the big game. Each team faced adversity that defined who they were. The Ravens took their punches when it came to injuries and stalled enough offensively that they had to make a late season change at offensive coordinator. For the 49ers, they handed the keys to an untested QB that ended up paying dividends.

The teams went through enough adversity that could be described as two throwback fighters looking for the biggest win of their career. However, Superbowl 47 is not your grandfather�s boxing memories.

In a lot of ways, Super Bowl 47 is today�s heavyweight division.

For those who don�t follow the sport of boxing, the heavyweight division is Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko and then everyone else. The Klitschko brothers are leaps and bounds better than the rest of the field. Despite this, the two will (understandably) never fight each other in the ring.

While the 49ers and the Ravens might not be as dominant as the Klitschko brothers are, football fans get the opportunity to see two brothers square off against each other. 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh will do his best to outsmart Ravens head coach, and his brother, John Harbaugh. This is a storyline sports fans have been dying to see. This is the Klitschko v. Klitschko of football.

Even the team�s game plans are eerily similar to the Klitschkos. Wladimir Klitschko has one of the most dominant jabs in the game today. He uses it to pepper down opponents and if it works why change? Like Wladimir, the Ravens rely on a steady run game to shove down people�s throats.

Vitali is also a fan of the jab, but it�s a lot less orthodox and it leads to bigger things. That�s exactly what the 49ers have been doing with Colin Kaepernick. If it works, the Niners will call Frank Gore�s number. Yet despite Gore�s success, they aren�t afraid to use an unconventional zone-read option with Kaepernick.

Perhaps what makes them the best offensively, however, is the ability to change the game drastically within the matter of a bomb down the field. Torrey Smith smoked Champ Bailey on multiple occasions in the AFC divisional playoff game and Michael Crabtree has suddenly been doing the same thing with Kaepernick.

These occasional �all or nothing� plays are suddenly the staple of Baltimore and San Francisco�s offenses. Joe Flacco is known for his cannon of an arm and Colin Kaepernick has finally given the 49ers the option of running a vertical offense.

And to no surprise, we see this with the Klitschko brothers. Each of them have punishing one-punch knockout power that can end the fight suddenly. Like the Klitschkos, the Harbaugh brothers know the right situation to call these shots. When they do, it�s often successful.

When Harbaugh v. Harbaugh II does happen, it will end up being a battle of wit. The game could be played at a slow pace with the occasional bomb downfield, hoping it catches the other defense off-guard.

From an entertainment standpoint, this might be the least amount of action in a Super Bowl since the Packers-Steelers game of 2010. People might be focused more on the commercials than a Harbaugh brother trying to outsmart the other one.

However fans need to appreciate this game when it happens. Who knows if we�ll ever see two brothers compete against each other on this big of a stage again?

The Klitschkos sure don�t.

Sound Off: Are you looking forward to this matchup? Let us know in the replies!

Thoughts, comments, or concerns? You can contact Matt by commenting in the replies or reaching him at [email protected] Follow him on twitter at Mparas1432.

Comments

# 1 Kentucky_Wildcat23 @ Jan 23

As a Steelers fan I don't know if I will be able to watch this game... If the 49ers win then they tie the Steelers with 6 Super Bowls and if the Ravens win well it's the Ravens. I might just watch for the commercials.