Need a little water cooler chat for the Big Sunday Game? This IS your best food for thought this week…the good, the bad and the ugly. The Best of – UofD’s Joe Flacco and Gino Gradkowski, Half Time Show, Trending Twitter Tags, N’awlins Geaux Green, and more. Take what you need, leave what you don’t. You might want to book mark this page in case the visual telepathy or memorization isn’t so functional come Sunday Funday. Read on…

The Basics

• Game Day is Sunday, February 3rd
• Game Time is 6:30 pm EST
• Coverage TV, Radio, Live Stream – CBS or CBSSports.com

The Location | New Orleans, LA

Super Bowl XLVII will be in New Orleans, the first time the championship game will be held in the city since 2005 when Hurricane Katrina shredded parts of the Louisiana Mercedes-Benz Superdome, home to the Saints. 2013 will be New Orleans’ 10th time as a Super Bowl site. The city is also hosting other events that sandwich the Super Bowl because of Mardis Gras 2013 which falls on falls on Tuesday, February 12.  An early estimate from the University of New Orleans predicted the Super Bowl’s economic impact to the region would be valued around $434 million.

The Teams | Baltimore Ravens vs San Francisco 49ers

NEW ORLEANS — For the first time in Super Bowl history, 2 brothers will face off against each other as head coaches. The Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh and San Francisco 49ers’ Jim Harbaugh set up the milestone coaching matchup with impressive runs through the playoffs, thus providing Super Bowl XLVII with one of the greatest pregame storylines in the championship’s history: brother vs. brother with the Lombardi Trophy at stake.

Ravens: Mind-blowing stats

Source: www.nfl.com/superbowl/47/super-bowl-matchup

The QBs | Baltimore Ravens vs San Francisco 49ers

Meet Joe – Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is a starting quarterback(QB) for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL.

• Flacco played football and basketball at Audubon High School in Audubon, New Jersey, and starting QB for Green Wave.
• The Flacco family is originally from Haddon Township, NJ, where his parents live today.
• Regarded as a 3-star recruit by Rivals.com, Flacco was listed as #39 among QB prospects in class of 2003.
• He played college football for the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Delaware.
• He was the 18th overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens in the 1st round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
• In his rookie year, he threw for 2,971 yards, 14 TDs, and 12 interceptions while starting all 16 regular season games, and became only the 8th rookie QB in NFL history to start a playoff game.
• By leading the Ravens to 2 road wins in 2008-09 NFL Playoffs, became 1st rookie QB in league history to win 2 playoff games.
• In his 2nd season, Flacco improved to 3,613 yards, 21 TDs, and 12 interceptions, and set single season franchise records for completion percentage (63.1) and QB rating (88.9).
• In his 3rd year, Flacco became 1st all time in Ravens history for passing yards (10,206) and passing TDs (60).
• By starting in 2 playoff games in 2009, Flacco earned the record for most starts by a QB in the first 2 seasons in NFL history.
• Flacco became 1st QB to bring his team to the playoffs in his first 5 seasons, winning a game in each.
• In 2013 ESPN Analyst Ron Jaworski said that Flacco has the strongest arm in the NFL.

JOE’s DELAWARE CONNECTION | After the 2004 season, Flacco transferred to the University of Delaware.

• Flacco saw his first full-time action during the 2006 season.
• Playing for Fightin’ Blue Hens Flacco threw for 2,783 yards, and 18 TDs with 10 interceptions.
• In the 2007 season, Flacco led his team to an 8–3 regular season record while compiling 4,263 yards, 23 TDs and 5 interceptions.
• He was considered one of college football’s most accurate passers in 2007.
• Arguably his best game came against Division 1-A Navy where he threw for 434 yards and 4 touchdowns.
• Flacco showed another solid performance in the first-ever meeting against the Delaware State Hornets in the first round of the playoffs.
• Behind Omar Cuff’s record-setting day, Flacco threw efficiently for 189 yards and a touchdown, leading the Blue Hens to an easy 44–7 victory.
• Flacco set 20 school records during his career at Delaware.
• Flacco was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens 18th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft, becoming the highest drafted player ever from the University of Delaware
• In early September 2009, a 20- by 30-foot poster of Flacco was added to the facade of Delaware Stadium.

Source Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Flacco#Delaware

Meet Gino  – Gino Gradkowski (born November 5, 1988) is an American football guard and center for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL.

• He played college football at the University of Delaware.
• Gradkowski played college football as a guard and a center. He began his career playing for West Virginia University. He later transferred to the University of Delaware. He started all fifteen games as a junior.
• Gradkowski was drafted in the 4th round (98th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

About Joe & Gino & University of Delaware

• Delaware will become the first NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision school to have two different players start at quarterback (Gannon and Flacco) in the Super Bowl and is one of only 10 schools nationally to accomplish that feat, joining Alabama, Purdue, Notre Dame, California, UCLA, Stanford, Brigham Young, Maryland and Washington State.*
• Flacco and Gradkowski will be the fourth and fifth former Blue Hen players to compete in one of the world’s most-watched sporting events. *
• Flacco and Gradkowski both enjoyed outstanding careers at Delaware under former head coach K.C. Keeler as each earned All-American honors, with Flacco leading the Hens to the 2007 NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision national title game and Gradkowski leading the 2010 squad to the national title game.
• Source: Udel.edu – http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2013/jan/super-bowl-012113.html

Meet Colin – Colin Rand Kaepernick (born November 3, 1987) is quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL.

• Kaepernick was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Kaepernick is the youngest of their 3 children.
• He lived in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, until age 4, and attended grade school in Turlock, California.
• He played college football for the University of Nevada Wolf Pack.
• At Nevada, Kaepernick twice was named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Offensive Player of the Year, and he was the MVP of the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl.
• In the 2011 NFL Draft, San Francisco 49ers selected Kaepernick in the 2nd round with the 36th overall pick.
• Kaepernick began his pro career as the 49ers’ backup to starter Alex Smith.
• In mid 2012 season, Kaepernick filled in for an injured Smith and became the FT starter as the 49ers advanced to the NFL playoffs for 2nd straight season.
• He set an NFL record for most rushing yards (181) by a QB in a game in his first playoff game.
• After beating the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship 28-24, he led the 49ers to their first SB since the 1994 NFL season

Twitter | Trending Tags

HALF TIME SHOW

Global music icon and 16-time Grammy-Award winner Beyonce will perform in the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII halftime show on CBS at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, February 3, 2013.

Beyonce joins an esteemed list of recent halftime acts that includes Madonna, The Black Eyed Peas, The Who, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and U2. The Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show is an NFL Network production and will be executive produced by Rickey Kirshner and directed by Hamish Hamilton.

 MORE SB FOOD FOR THOUGHT

New Orleans, #1 City  for Brain Gain

The rebirth of New Orleans has also brought a new generation of innovators to  the City.  In September 2011, the $47  million New Orleans BioInnovation Center opened its doors, offering 66,000  square feet of state of the art wet-lab, office and conference space.

• Under30CEO named New Orleans number one on its list of Top 10 cities for Young  Entrepreneurs 2011.
• Forbes named New Orleans the number one city in the Country for “Brain Gain” in 2011
• According to Forbes,  New Orleans has gained roughly 36,666 residents with college degrees within the  past two years.

For more information, please email Allison Baznik at [email protected]

Rebuilding New Orleans One Sporting Event at a Time

Since 2005, sporting events have served as a major catalyst in the recovery of  New Orleans during the City’s rebuilding process.

• The reopening of the Superdome in 2006, when the  Saints beat the Falcons on Monday Night Football, was a major milestone in the rebuilding of the city.
• When New Orleans hosts the Super Bowl in 2013,  it will mark the finale of an unprecedented series of sporting events in the Crescent City.
• All together, the sporting events held in New Orleans since 2005 have had an economic impact well in excess of $1 billion for the city.
• Between December 18, 2011 and January 9, 2012, New Orleans hosted 9 major sporting events; namely 2 college bowl games, a Monday Night Football game (Saints vs. Falcons), a Wild Card Playoff game  (Saints vs. Lions), 4 Hornets games and the BCS National Championship.

Greening Super Bowl

The New Orleans Host Committee is hosting the “greenest” game in Super Bowl history. The NOHC Environmental Committee members include: America’s Wetland, Entergy Corporation, Hike for KaTreena, Green Light New Orleans, Make It Right, RePurpose Nola, Second Harvest Food Bank, and The Shaw Group, The NOHC Environmental committee has been hard at work for more than two years implementing a variety of environmental initiatives designed to:  “green” the game; the fans & the community

Greening Super Bowl Venues

Energy Usage

Energy usage for major Super Bowl venues including the Mercedes Superdome, Morial Convention Center, Team and NFL hotels will be offset through the purchase of carbon credits.

• Energy usage will be approximately 4,600 MW of electricity. The generation of this electricity will result in approximately 3.8 M pounds of C02 emissions. Entergy Corporation is donating carbon credits that will offset or neutralize the impact of these emissions.
• Carbon offsets represent investments in projects that capture or remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The carbon credits Entergy is donating are certified by the Climate Action Reserve and come from investments in forestry projects, a landfill project, and a methane gas project
•  For more information visit www.neworleans-superbowl.com/geauxgreen

Recycling

• Single stream recycling of paper, plastic and aluminum will be provided at all Super Bowl venues.
• The New Orleans Host committee is partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank to recover food items such as box lunches, nonperishables and other food items for donation to local nonprofits.
• The Green Project and Repurpose Nola are reclaiming Super Bowl banners, displays, signage and other promotional items for reuse and manufacture of souvenir items such as tote bags, wallets, shower curtains, etc.

Transportation

• Free Bike Valet Services:  The New Orleans Host Committee is partnering with Entergy Corporation, Bike Easy and the Downtown Development District to provide local residents with convenient and free bike valet parking services at the NFL Experience.
• Free Bike Share Pilot Program: The New Orleans Host Committee is partnering with Entergy Corporation, Bike Easy and the Downtown Development District to offer a Bike Share pilot program during Super Bowl week. Residents and visitors will be able to check out bikes from convenient downtown locations and ride to the NFL experience and activities along Super Bowl Blvd.

Greening the Fans – Geaux Green Game

The New Orleans Host committee has invited NFL fans across the nation to “Geaux Green” by pledging to take personal actions to conserve energy and reduce their own carbon footprints by playing the Geaux Green game, an online, interactive game that allows individuals to select from a menu of easy actions that individual can take to reduce energy such as switching incandescent bulbs for CFLs, taking shorter showers and using reusable water bottles. The game calculates the environmental impact of each activity. When users have finished making their selections, the game totals the carbon reduction impact of their pledges. All participants are entered in a sweepstakes drawing. One lucky fan and his or her guest will be attending the Super Bowl, courtesy of the New Orleans Host Committee. Results are tracked by NFL team and division as fans compete for bragging rights as the leagues’ most eco-friendly fans. By Friday, Jan. 11 NFL fans had pledged CO2 reductions totaling more than 21 million pounds of avoided greenhouse gasses, which is equivalent to:

• Removing 1,984 cars from the road for one year
• Neutralizing the CO2 emissions of 1,426 homes for one year
• Planting 244,242 tree seedlings grown for 10 years
• Recycling 3,568 tons of waste instead of sending it to a landfill.

Greening the Community

The New Orleans Host committee has teamed up with Hike for KaTreena on an urban forestry initiative to plant and/or give away 7,000 trees to help replenish the region’s urban forest which was dealt a devasting blow by Hurricane Katrina. (this exceeds the previous Super Bowl record set in Dallas by 2,000 trees). The effort will culminate on Super Saturday as Hike for KaTreena commemorates the planting of the organization’s 20,000th tree.  For more information, visit www.hikeforkatreena.com/