Superdome Power Outage Stays In The Spotlight
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It was a Super Bowl first. The power outage at the Superdome was back in the spotlight Monday.
Alex DeMetrick has been collecting the post-blackout analysis.
The main takeaway from the blackout is that it wasn't Beyonce's fault.
The Ravens were on a roll in the first half and the start of the second looked to be more of the same--until you couldn't see it. Half the lights went out inside the Superdome, plunging some areas like the concourse into total darkness.
Players still had some light but were just as much in the dark as anyone about what happened.
"We didn't know what was going on. We figured maybe the halftime show was too much for everybody, took out the electricity. I don't know," said a Ravens player.
Beyonce may have been using her energy but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell short-circuited talk the show was to blame.
"There's no indication at all this was caused by the halftime show," Goodell said.
Experts say an abnormality happened where stadium equipment meets the incoming electric feed, causing a breaker to throw.
It also caused Ravens coach John Harbaugh to blow a fuse.
"Total overreaction on my part and I feel bad about it. It's the one thing I look back on and I'm totally disappointed in myself because I didn't have much poise in that moment," Harbaugh said.
But it seemed to re-energize the 49ers, who suddenly turned a rout into a close game.
"I don't think it had anything to do with the lights. I think we made some mistakes mentally. I think their offense started to catch fire," said Joe Flacco.
But not enough to burn the Ravens.
The NFL commissioner said the blackout will not knock New Orleans out of future Super Bowls. He expects it will host again.
The next Super Bowl will happen in New Jersey. Governor Chris Christie says experts will double-check electric systems at that stadium.
