♪ and the home of the brave ♪ the brave >> any questions? >> the only questions were what she is going to sing at halftime of the super bowl. jennifer hudson and the sandy hook elementary school chorus. that will be a highlight of the pregame ceremonies. national anthem will be sung by alicia keys and beyonce performing at halftime. and you may not realize it, but i lip synced that entire segment. when we return to new orleans, we'll analyze the super bowl with bleacher report's behind the mic contributor and nbc analyst, cris collinsworth. keep it here.

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we welcome you back to kickoff in new orleans, a cnn bleacher report special. that is the mercedes-benz super dome. we are coming to you from fulton

street in new orleans. i'm jerryd greenburg welcome back. let's review bleacher report's top five quarterback performances in the super bowl. and kids, you too can go from bagging groceries to winning a super bowl mvp. kurt warner, three appearances, a win and most valuable player honor. from an undrafted player to a guy picked in the 17th round. nothing like setting the bar high, right out of the gate. the packers, back-to-back wins in super bowl i and ii. tom brady, three wins, twice the most valuable player. terry bradshaw, four super bowl appearances in six years. two-time most valuable player. and joe montana also a perfect 4-0 in super bowls, and his last one coming right here in the big easy. guys, you know, the super bowl is played in a controlled environment down here. right now gorgeous atmosphere. 66 degrees. 365 days from right now, we'll

be in east rutherford, new jersey for super bowl xlviii. today the forecast, o a brisk 30 degrees. there's a chance of an inch of snow. imagine that one year from now, guys. >> yeah, imagine doing the show inside that day, if we have a vote. we now bring in bleacher report's behind the mic contributor and nbc analyst, cris collinsworth, his eighth year nfl career, all with the cincinnati bengals. twice he went to the super bowl with those cincinnati bengals. he was an all-american for the university of florida. drafted by the bengals in '81. three pro bowls. at least 13 career sports emmy awards. i think that may have been last week. he's got about 462. and we welcome cris collinsworth to the proceedings here in new orleans. always good to see you, chris. >> good to see you. rachel, welcome. how about this? your new job for you, and sitting next to a legend over there. pretty good. >> i'm a lucky girl. >> know what, i had forgotten

one other thing about your biography. because of your speed, and you were a fleet wide receiver, who actually began your career as a quarterback, he's the only guy on the set who actually once raced a horse. look at this. from 1983. who was the horse? >> it was a horse called mr. hurry. >> he did -- >> he had a career of 109 races without a win until that day. beat me, yeah. >> did you challenge the horse? >> well, honoring long story. i was making fun at the local guy at the track telling him his horses weren't very good, so they set up the match race, and it didn't go so well. >> go ahead. >> we're not going to let you race any of the nascar drivers then. >> good idea. any time i get around you, i get a little nervous. i know you've got something in your hip pocket that i'm going to get hit with. >> believe me, all the guys upstairs. nothing to do with it. >> we want to ask you, of course, about the football game. talk to us a little bit about

the quarterbacks in this game, what you think we're going to see. especially colin kaepernick, a bit of an unknown quantity here. >> rachel, i really think there is a chance this game could possibly change the way we look at the national football league, and especially the quarterback position. because we have russell wilson this year, we have rg3. now colin kaepernick. and in case you win the super bowl, think about that. think about the last time there was a significant change in the nfl. and how we looked at running offenses in the nfl. it's always been the tom bradies, the peyton mannings, eli mannings. every once in a while there is a steve young that comes along that can move a little bit. but this read option is creating real problems. every defensive player i talk to talks about the same thing. because by the time you figure out who has the ball, now you've got an nfl caliber quarterback with a 94-mile-an-hour fastball, which is what he was as a

pitcher. back away from the line of scrimmage with about five seconds to throw. and his receivers are 30, 40 yards down the field. zone defenses cannot handle that. >> and questions about him. is the stage going to be too bright, is he going to be able to handle it? i want to show you guys something. this is a kid who has never lacked confidence. this is a letter he wrote in the fourth grade. they asked him to write a letter to themselves. he not only predicted that he might be playing for the niners, that's in there, but he said he was 5'2" at the time, and he predicted his current height, 6'4". so he's obviously got a good streak until. he can see the future. and we know he sees himself winning this super bowl. pretty amazing for a guy -- >> he needs to go to -- like wall street and start predicting the stock movement or something. >> forget the super bowl, right? he needs to get out of here. >> he's a great kid, though. he really is. i don't know if enough attention has been paid to the job jim harbaugh has done.

alex smith ended the year with a 104 quarterback rating, third highest in the nfl. he gets benched because of the potential of what colin kaepernick could be. and what colin kaepernick could be turned out to be pretty special. i mean, when -- to me, the most impressive thing he did during the course of the playoffs was against the green bay packers. he came out, threw a pick six, interception the other way, and he still went on from there to play one of the most impressive games we've ever seen by a quarterback in the playoffs. throw for 180 yards. that kind of poise got a lot of people's attention. >> when you look at this quarterback comparison -- joe flacco, we talked a lot about colin kaepernick. what is it about joe flacco's game that has impressed you, and especially his performance in the postseason, throwing touchdowns and no picks? >> eight touchdowns, no certification interceptions. has really done a fantastic job. really great watching a volleyball match going on while we're talking here. the thing that's been impressive

with him, since they made all the changes on the offensive line, you know, they took -- >> changed coordinators. >> on the inside, come back around the other way. three different position moves on that offensive line, only four sacks allowed in three games. now when you have that kind of protection for a guy like flacco, who has been through the wars, you know. this guy has been in those big games against the pittsburgh steelers. and on the road against some of the toughest teams like the patriots and peyton manning in denver. so i think that at least historically, you would say joe flacco and the ravens have the edge. because he has the experience coming into this big game. but i don't know if colin kaepernick knows that he's not supposed to do well. you know, that's the bizarre thing about it. he is -- he is as big an x factor in this game as any quarterback, as any player i can remember in a long time, because you just don't know how he's going to handle the moment. as great as he has been in the playoffs, and i played my rookie year in the super bowl, you walk out on that field for super bowl

sunday, it's different. it is just flat out different. >> and i want to ask, we talked so much about the coaches and the fact that they're brothers. what about them coaching on the field? if this is going to be as close a game as everybody thinks it is, do you think that it's going to come down to one of those should we go for it on fourth and inches calls or some other coaching decision, and whose got the edge there? >> there will always be a moment or two like that during the course of the game. you know, these two guys for being brothers could not be more different human beings. you know, john is very corporate, ceo, button-down, decision-maker, you know, very much -- you know, you ask him any question, he sort of handles it. jim, you ask him a question, and he goes -- it's like jack in this case olson "the shining." he's an intimidator. he's a guy that you look at him as a player, and you go, is that

guy crazy or is he messing with me or what? but he is such an effective leader. has done such a tremendous job coaching these young quarterbacks. probably the coach of the year as far as what he was able to accomplish with this team, especially on offense. >> by the way, colin kaepernick predicted we were going to get "the shining" in this show, he should really go to wall street. there's always some sort of controversy that comes up during super bowl week. and this time we had cornerback on the 49ers, chris culliver, just make an off-handed remark, but it was not one that was met with a lot of people very concerned about it. he talked about how he would not like to have a gay teammate. and the 49ers came out right away, said that they don't approve of that. they would welcome anybody. but it certainly stirred a lot of opinion around the league. and i wanted to get your thoughts on sort of how you see that changing, as we move into the next decade. because we know the attitude we heard this week has been there. but what do you see for the future? >> i think the future is very

much moving in that direction, much more open society, a much more forgiving society of everybody. that encompasses everybody, that brings everybody into the family. and i think the nfl would get there. you know, sometimes you hear a little bit of this, and a guy makes an off-color comment, and you just go -- remember, these are young kids. they say things, they probably don't mean. and i think in this case it was just a mistake. and, you know, i don't think he meant it. and i don't believe that the nfl players would not be able to accept anybody in any situation in an nfl locker room. there are too many strong personalities in there, they wouldn't be able to overcome everything. it would work. >> sports is the great equalizer, right? if you can play, you can play. >> cris collinsworth, always good to see you. keep up the great work sunday night. we always love watching you. >> congratulations. good to have you here. as a reminder as we go to break, go to bleacherreport.com

for more in depth analysis, stats and opinion. also be sure to sign up for the team stream app where you can get real-time updates sent right to your phone. ♪ you know my heart burns for you... ♪ i'm up next, but now i'm singing the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is!

welcome back to new orleans where this weekend there's some folks who are ravens fans, some are 49ers fans. but everyone is a fan of this city. and wow, how far has new orleans come? we have been talking about those who live here are continuing to fight their way back from the devastation of hurricane katrina. and to take a look firsthand, we

sent out an unlikely duo, former "sports illustrated" swimsuit model, demaryius lewis, and former running back, dukes mccaliforniaster. >> the city of new orleans has hosted the super bowl ten times. it's a great location, great weather, great food and tons of things to see and do. this year having the super bowl here will mean something a little bit different. it's the first time they've had the super bowl here in new orleans since hurricane katrina hit in 2005. let's go check it out. >> good morning. nice to meet you. >> final board. let's go play in some traffic. >> let's go, elvis. >> she has been playing there for about 30 years. >> hurricane katrina. was it something that affected you in a major way? >> i was. i evacuated on the saturday before the storm hit with my two cats and a weekend bag of clothes. ten days later, i was actually

watching cnn, and i was watching my house burn down to the ground. >> after the storm, the rebuilding process, what was that like? >> one thing that struck me after katrina, everybody came together. and we've been bouncing back very strongly. i'm very proud of the city. i think we've come back stronger than most people expected. >> so we're on frenchman street. what about this part of town? what's cool about it? >> right now we're at dba. you've got snug harbor. next store, spotted cat, right across the street. all you have to do is listen for the music. >> super bowl is here. getting ready. how are the people reacting to the super bowl being here? >> we need people. for people to see this city, just really thriving after katrina, i think that you'll see, well, hey, let's go visit new orleans. it should be a tremendous game. >> who is your pick? >> if i had to pick a team, i have friends on both teams, i would probably go with the niners.

>> so there you go. you heard it. he's picking the niners. we'll see who wins. >> tell you what. if you had not had the chance, if you had not visited new orleans, put it on the to do list. great city, great people, great hospitality. more to come on "kickoff in new orleans," next. choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier.

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they've got the party going in new orleans. now, these people, some of them are going to watch the game. but everybody watching at home, not only wants to see the football, but the commercials. and everyone has their favorite, of course. i love when they replay that classic, the mean joe green. but there's some new ones this year. and got to tell you, we have one that has gotten over 4 million hits already on youtube. hasn't even run on tv yet. take a look at this ad from volkswagen. >> i hate mondays. >> yeah, they're the worst. >> no worries, mon.

everything will be all right. yeah, mon. don't fret me, brother. the sticky bun come soon. yeah. wicked coffee, mr. jim. julia, turn the frown the other way around. >> hey, dave, you're from minnesota, right? >> that's right, the land of 10,000 lakes! the gopher state! ♪ traveling along there's a song that we're singing ♪ ♪ come on get happy >> you guys are three minutes late. >> don't be no cloud on a sunny day. >> yeah, chill winston. >> sir? >> respect, boss mon. >> that's the power of german engineering. >> i've got to tell you, that commercial caused some controversy. but the jamaican government said they love it. >> yeah, mon, i like it too. definitely a thumbs up.

mean time, the actor, william de foe involved in this one for mercedes-benz. ♪ >> nice car. >> sure is. >> you can have the car and everything that goes along with it. ♪ please allow me to introduce myself ♪ ♪ i'm a man of wealth and taste ♪ ♪ i've been around for a long, long year ♪ ♪ >> so what do you say? ♪ woo woo ♪ woo woo >> thanks. but i think i got this.

>> this september, set your soul free. the seductive cla starting under $30,000 from mercedes-benz. >> all right. just a sampling of what you're going to be seeing in the commercials on super bowl xlvii. we'll be back to wrap things up here on "kickoff in new orleans." a cnn bleacher report special. when we come back. twins. i didn't see them coming. i have obligations. cute obligations, but obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes

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welcome back to new orleans. we are closing in on that time. we are almost 24 hours from the super bowl, which means it's prediction time. who do you got? >> the niners in double overtime. going to be a super bowl for the ages. rachel? >> i'm going to pick a harbaugh. how do you like that? >> oh, come on. come on! hey, it has been a pleasure. on your first show for cnn. >> thank you very much.