I have watched many Super Bowls through the years, but Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, won 34-31 by the Ravens in New Orleans, was one of the most bizarre.

The lights went out in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for 34 minutes early in the third quarter and the players had to sit around on the sidelines until they were restored.

Then, late in the game, the 49ers had a chance to pull out a come-from-behind victory.

On fourth down, deep in Ravens territory, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick dropped back to throw. His pass, intended for wide receiver Michael Crabtree, was incomplete.

It appeared that Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith made contact with Crabtree, but the referee did not throw a flag for pass interference, which would have given the 49ers a first-and-goal at the Ravens one yard line.

It appeared to me that, while Smith might have been holding, Crabtree might have been doing some pushing off.

Most of the time, in a late game situation like that, when both players are trying to gain an advantage, officials are not going to throw a flag for pass interference.

A similar situation occurred late in the National Football Conference championship game between the Atlanta Falcons and the 49ers, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

A pass from Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to wide receiver Roddy White, which could have given the Falcons a first down inside the 49ers 10-yard-line and kept a potential game-winning scoring drive under way, was ruled incomplete when it appeared a 49er might have interfered with White.

The bottom line is officials are not going to throw a flag on a close call late in the game, and I don’t have a problem with it. They should let the players determine the outcome.