NEW ORLEANS — Like New Orleans' signature dish, a savory Cajun gumbo, the Super Bowl has something for everyone's tastes. A departing star in Ray Lewis. A record-setting quarterback, Joe Flacco, finally reaching the NFL's biggest stage, where he'll face off against Colin Kaepernick — a player representing the new wave at American football's glamor position. A return to New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the area eight years ago. A touch of history as the San Francisco 49ers seek their sixth Super Bowl title when they meet the Baltimore Ravens in the Superdome Sunday. Oh, yeah, and an unprecedented sibling rivalry, with Ravens coach John Harbaugh up against younger brother Jim and the 49ers. Delicious. “I really don't have any words for it,” said Ravens safety Ed Reed, who will play in his first Super Bowl at age 34. Others have had millions of words to write and say about a matchup featuring fierce defenses, potent offenses and story lines worthy of America's unofficial sports holiday. Such as the 37-year-old Lewis announcing the end of his Hall of Fame-quality career, stoking the emotional fire in his Ravens teammates and recapturing the level of play he had in his prime during three playoff wins. The linebacker has 44 tackles in the playoffs after missing 10 weeks with a torn right triceps. After performing his ritual dance before his second Super Bowl — he was the MVP of the 2001 game when the Ravens won their only championship — Lewis will strive for one more vintage performance. “Ray is a guy who's been here since the beginning of this franchise,” strong safety Bernard Pollard said. “He's a guy who is The Raven.” When Lewis leaves, it will be up to Flacco to grab the reins — if he's still in Baltimore. The only quarterback to win playoff games in each of his first five seasons plays out his contract Sunday. A 49ers victory gives them six titles, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for most in the Super Bowl era. And the 49ers never have lost the big game. Still, their most recent championship was 18 years ago, with Steve Young at quarterback. Before that, the four titles came with another Hall of Famer, Joe Montana, throwing passes. Now, it's Colin Kaepernick, the heavily tattooed second-year signal caller — his favorite tattoo says, “My gift is my curse.” Like Flacco, Kaepernick owns a postseason record, rushing for 181 yards in a divisional-round victory over Green Bay. There's no escaping from the first brothers opposing each other as head coaches in the big game. Sons of a highly successful college coach, Jack Harbaugh, they have taken vastly different routes to get to the top. John, who is older than Jim by 15 months, is a career coach who earned his position with the Ravens largely because of his special teams work in Philadelphia. Among the candidates he beat out for the Ravens job was Rex Ryan. John Harbaugh has led Baltimore to the postseason in all five of his years as coach, an unprecedented achievement. Jim quarterbacked four NFL teams before heading into coaching, and was a successful coach at college level before San Francisco hired him in 2011. Last season, he took the 49ers to the NFC title game. This year, they took that huge next step. New Orleans has been a big part of the Super Bowl for decades. This will be the 10th time it has been held in the Big Easy, but the first in 11 years. When Katrina ravaged the region, the NFL was adamant that the New Orleans Saints would return — they did in 2006 after a full season on the road — and so would the Super Bowl once the city was ready for it. Here it is. — AP
