Following his May 9th performance when Fernando Rodney appeared to have regained his form from 2012, he revealed that he had gone back to his not-so-secret weapon, the plantain. As Rodney has pitched well since that point, looking more and more like the arrow shooting dominant closer that he had morphed into, and it seemed as though the Rays were a bit tight, Maddon took action, bringing in Sol Caribe, a Latin band from Tampa. But, perhaps more importantly, he brought in some plantains.

The fruit was in nine bunches of three, hanging around the lockers of Joel Peralta and Rodney before the game. In what may not have been a coincidence, Peralta and Rodney had excellent performances last night, as Peralta struck out a batter in his perfect eighth, while Rodney struck out the side in recording his seventh save of the season. The plantain certainly appeared to have bestowed it’s favor upon both Rodney and Peralta in their outing on Tuesday night.

By now, it seems as though the Mystical Powers of the Plantain could be real, and are certainly not something to take lightly. Credit Rodney for listening to the plantain that had spoken to him, and for spreading the news that the plantain can be an effective weapon in any pitcher’s arsenal. Also, give Maddon credit for recognizing the unstoppable force that is this tropical fruit, and ensuring that it’s blessings are bestowed upon the Rays.

Opponents of the Rays may have more to worry about now than the players taking the field. They may now find themselves battling outside forces that are truly incomprehensible in nature – the plantain.

Why has there never been overtime in the Super Bowl? Because even if overtime was a possibility, coaches would rather risk it all going for the win because it’s the Super Bowl and if they don’t play aggressively, they don’t deserve to win. Did John Harbaugh really doubt that that his defense could stop one hail mary? Wow, what the perfect way to end Ray Lewis‘ career, with his coach doubting his ability to stop one of the least likely plays to succeed in all of sports. This isn’t the classic situation of a team being on the opponent’s one yard line down a field goal with one second to go but decides to go for the touchdown deciding that they didn’t deserve to win the game if they couldn’t go one yard. Harbaugh and the Ravens had quite nearly blown a 22-point lead, but while they had wilted they had refused to break and were about to cap off a win they would know they deserved. Instead, he took the easy way out, taking no chances but also saying that he didn’t trust his team when it mattered most. He didn’t believe that the other team deserved a chance to see if a miracle would happen. He played it safe knowing that anything could happen in that last hail mary. But isn’t that why you play the game of football? Isn’t that why you play the Super Bowl knowing that anything can happen in one game but believing that your players can come through with everything on the line and find a way to win?

After the Ravens had received the Lombardi Trophy, John Harbaugh was asked what he said to his brother, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh when he met with him on the field after the game was through. He said that he told his brother that he loved him, and his brother responded “congratulations.” Anyone watching when the brothers actually met knows exactly what Jim said the John, in less flowery terms, “what the heck was that?” Jim had every right to be upset. John Harbaugh managed the Ravens to a five-point lead over the 49ers with 11 seconds to go. But he denied Jim those last 11 seconds, that last play which is the reason why everyone watches the Super Bowl every single year. In making that safety happen, John Harbaugh guaranteed the Ravens’ victory. However, he denied his team, denied the San Francisco 49ers, and denied every single person watching that game the chance to know for sure how the game was really going to end and the chance to see a moment- whether the face of the receiver watching the ball fall to the turf like almost certainly going to happen or the face of the defender watching helplessly as the receiver lands in bounds with the ball in his grasp as was unlikely to occur but not impossible- where the emotion of the players undermines everything else and the fact that the Super Bowl isn’t just another football game but a continuation of a tradition that has captivated the American people for 47 years now becomes more apparent than anything. Congratulations, John, on your Super Bowl victory. But those 11 seconds, that final play, is something you took away from everyone in that stadium and everyone watching on TV that they will never get back.

Sam Fuld, the projected fourth outfielder and defensive highlight reel, attended Stanford University, the same college where Jim Harbaugh coached from 2007 through 2010 before moving on to coach the 49ers. Before that, Jim was an assistant coach under his father, Jack Harbaugh, at Western Kentucky University, the same university where Rays prospects Kes Carter and Matt Rice attended.

There are also a few connections between members of the Rays and players on both teams in terms of the schools they played for. Luke Scott attended Oklahoma State, the same school as Billy Bajema and Ryan McBean on the Ravens, and Perrish Cox on the 49ers. Brandon Guyer attended the University of Virginia, as did 49ers linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Cam Johnson. Also, Ryan Roberts went to the University of Texas, as did Tarell Brown and Leonard Davis from San Fran, and Justin Tucker from Baltimore. Finally, there is Brandon Gomes, who attended Tulane. While neither team has a player from Tulane on their roster, Tulane hosted the Ravens practices prior to the Super Bowl.

Despite playing two different sports, there are a few connections between the Rays and both the 49ers and the Ravens. While that may not factor into which team any of the players are rooting for in the game, it is interesting to see one’s fellow alumni battle for a chance to take home a championship.