Kenneth L. Lam / Baltimore Sun Staff

When two football teams go up against each other in the Super Bowl there’s a helluva lot more on the line than just that whacking great big Lombardi trophy and chunky ring.

Yes, as impressive as the spoils of victory are for the combatants on the gridiron, there’s one thing even more sought after.

Bragging rights.

Ahh bragging rights, where would Fantasy Football and petty office politics be without them?

The great thing about bragging rights is the fact that they belong just as much to the fat-arse fans on the sideline as they do the sweat-drenched MVP, perhaps even more so.

Come Super Bowl’s Boxing day there will be one set of fans basking in glory and looking forward to a year of gloating, and another feeling like they’ve just been kicked in the nuts by Ndamukong Suh.

Which begs the question; Does one set of fans deserve victory over the other? Who, out of the Baltimore and Bay Area faithful, has a greater right to be proclaimed champions of the world?

It’s an interesting question, and one where  credible cases exist for both.

Let’s start with the 49ers. First up San Francisco-ites have had to wait longer than their Baltimore brethren for a Super Bowl victory, with their last coming in 1994 compared to the Ravens 2000. On top of this whilst the Ravens have enjoyed a consistently successful run for a while now, 49ers fans had to put up with a long spell of ineptitude throughout the new millennium.

The there’s the issue of their new stadium. Even in a state which hosts some dubious footballing home grounds Candlestick park has for a long time now been an eyesore, with a multitude of work needing to be done to the concrete encased facility for it to be classed as ‘outdated’. By opening their new digs the 49ers will be turning over a new page in their history, and wouldn’t a nice new Lombardi to go with their Santa Clara base be just peachy?

But hey hold on a sec there hippy, aren’t you forgetting da Baltimore boyz? Whilst San Francisco my at times care more about it’s ‘counter culture’ and ‘image’, Baltimore is a real football town. Sure it won a Super Bowl just over a decade ago, but that doesn’t come close to the devastation of having the Colts ripped from the city…and then y’know, ripping the Browns out of Cleveland. Plus, to add insult to injury, the city was so desperate for pro football that it fielded a team in the CFL. The CFL for crying out loud! Eh!

Furthermore whilst the 49ers have enjoyed a red carpet ride into the game’s showpiece event,  the Ravens have had to scrape, wrestle and fight for every ounce of credibility. No one gave them a chance a month ago, and yet here they are, one armed Ray Lewis and wannabe elite quarterback included. Don’t these blue collar toilers deserve the spoils?

It’s a tough call, and one that is bound to have fans reaching for the red challenge flag either way.

And y’know what? I think it’s perhaps a question left unanswered.

I’m sure the respective fan bases  feel the same way.

Right guys?