General

Blackout Bowl: Power outage prevention device blamed for power outage

The source of Sunday’s power outage at the Super Bowl has been revealed and it’s like something out of an Alanis song — you know, the one with the 98-year-old guy who died a day after winning the lottery.

Electrical experts at Entergy New Orleans say the 34-minute delay of game was caused by a device that was actually designed to prevent a power outage. (Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?)

“They are designed to keep a problem they sense from becoming something bigger, like a fire or catastrophic event,” Shabab Mehraeen told the Associated Press news service.

Apparently it worked just fine earlier in the month.

The manufacturer of the device disputes the allegations. It says that the device was not operating on the proper settings. 

Sounds like someone neglected to read the manual.

The Blackout Bowl

Storified by Maclean’s Magazine· Sun, Feb 03 2013 19:03:47

Beyonce had finished her halftime show. The Baltimore Ravens scored a touchdown to go up 28-6 in Super Bowl XLVII. And suddenly, there was a power outage, knocking out half the lights in the New Orleans Supderdome, causing a 35-minute game delay.
Wow. Power outage hits Super Bowl http://pic.twitter.com/2tWNFLiFJon Passantino
PHOTO: Players lounging during power outage at Super Bowl game. http://pic.twitter.com/e2JwlMN6Luis Gomez
Kingsport’s Daniel Kilgore of the 49ers waits on the bench during the Super Bowl power outage at the Superdome. (AP) http://pic.twitter.com/MKK8PZKTTimes-News Sports
What caused the power outage? There was no initial explanation given, but Twitter had plenty of idea, from conspiracy theories to Beyonce taking all the energy out of the stadium.
This is the same strategy San Francisco used to win the 1989 World Series.Philip Bump
I’m pretty sure Ronaiah Tuiasosopo had something to do with this. #superbowlSid Seixeiro
Conspiracy theory: CBS did this. Who had the most to gain by extending the game by an extra 30 mins????Bill Simmons
Blackout at the Super Bowl? ILLUMINATI http://pic.twitter.com/TXy4YqflBaseball Wonka
IF YOU LIKED IT YOU SHOULD’VE PUT A BACKUP GENERATOR ON ITJoe Schmidt
Dang, #Beyonce stole the power! Literal show stopper #superbowlIshani Nath
Super Bowl power outage is actually just paid commercial from General Electric.Neil MacCarthy
Others jokingly discussed the dangers of being inside the Superdome blackout.
Thousands stuck in a dark room with Ray Lewis. What could go wrong?Martin Hudson
Guys I’m AT the #SuperBowl and this power outage is no joke. Most of us have broken into small but loyal factions. I am a now a doctor.Joe Randazzo
Advertisers, meanwhile, went quickly to work on new campaigns.
Tide reacts real-time to SB blackout: "We can’t get your blackout, but we can get your stains out." http://pic.twitter.com/uAqVy4OkLeonardo Basterra
Their SM/Marketing team deserves a raise! brilliant!!! RT @Oreo: Power out? No problem. http://pic.twitter.com/RKYgozha”Sandra Marocco
Here are some of the other best tweets from the Super Bowl blackout.
I blame Gary Bettman for this.Chris Kuc
Isn’t this the part where Dr Doom appears onscreen and says "People of Earth, your precious Fantastic Four are dead and I now rule the NFL"Scott Reid
Zeppo Harbaugh, the 3rd and unloved brother, off somewhere cacklingJake Tapper
FEMA is on this. Game shld be back on around 2018Scott Reid
Seriously, if God arranges every touchdown, why can’t he, you know, turn the lights on?Dan Gardner
How about when the lights come back in Joe Montana is under center for the Niners????? #SuperBowlDan Rafael
Bane steps out onto the darkened #SuperBowl game."New Orleans, take control…take control of your city!" …Ray Nagin walks onto the fieldJeff Perera
CBS has broken the record for the longest description of a power outage.darren rovell
Ray Lewis’s facemask looks like bane and a power outage at the same Super Bowl… #coincidence? http://pic.twitter.com/v6xvdtLXJacob Berney
Ray Lewis needs to give electricity a tearful pep talk right about nowAaron Bronsteter
The solution to the Super Bowl’s power outage. http://pic.twitter.com/qCfuO92wLife As A Redneck

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