49ERS READY FOR FIRST SUPER BOWL SINCE 1995

The San Francisco 49ers punched their ticket to a sixth Super Bowl appearance with a stunning 17 point comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Colin Kaepernick didn't light the fantasy scoreboard like he did against Green Bay, but he showed poise beyond his years by not panicing and sticking with the game plan. Frank Gore and rookie LaMichael James each recorded rushing touchdowns as the 49ers continued to run the ball and stuck with a ground and pound attack despite being down big early to the dirty birds. Even Vernon Davis got in the act, finally connecting with Kaepernick and recording over 100 yards and a touchdown.

San Francisco is 5-0 in the big game. This is their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1994-1995, when this sports writer and 49ers fan was in the 5th grade. For more than a decade, the once proud 49er franchise has been a bottom feeder with a revolving door head coaches from Dennis Ericson, to Mike Nolan to Mike Singletary. That all changed with the hiring of Stanford head coach and former Colts and Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh. Who would've guessed that less than two years later Harbaugh would be leading the 49ers back to the big game for the first time since Bill Clinton was in his first term. Harbaugh has had great success, taking San Francisco from a door mat to back to back NFC championship games with two different starting quarterbacks.

Jim Harbaugh is certainly in for a challenge with the John Harbaugh led Baltimore Ravens. For the next two weeks these two brothers are going to be the center of the sports world. If Jim or John Harbaugh gets caught up in the upcoming media fire storm, it would be quite surprising, as both coaches have trucked through distractions all season long from quarterback controversies to firing coordinators mid-season. The two brothers, who once put a piece of tape on the floor to separate themselves when they were young, will be joined at the hip as the media blitz that is the new age Super Bowl coverage feeds on their story. These two Harbaughs will certainly dominate the headlines for the next two weeks, along with the Ray Lewis saga, however it'll be the players on the field who will determine the outcome.  From the Rice's to the Gore's, the Suggs' to the Bowman’s, the Reed's to the Goldson's, the Flacco's to the Kaepernick's, this rematch from last year's evening thanksgiving showdown is going to feature some prime time matchups. As the 49ers go for the 6th championship and the Ravens their 2nd, these teams are sure to deliver a tough hard hitting performance that will have fans on the edge of their seat.

- Joe "The Dictionary" Passarelli

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