He came so close. So agonizingly close.
But the story of San Franscisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's rise to NFL fame would not culminate with the new quarterbacking sensation raising the Vince Lombardi trophy high aloft his head in a hail of confetti at the New Orleans Superdome on Feb. 3.
No, that story had a different ending written when Kaepernick--who became an NFL star with his stellar play after replacing Alex Smith at the quarterback position late in the season to lead the Niners on a remarkable playoff campaign--sailed a would-be-game-winning pass into the end zone just out of the reach of 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree with under two minutes to play (although there was a little too much contact on that play from the Baltimore Ravens' Jimmy Smith with Crabtree on that play, some say).
But had the 49ers received an extra do-over, had Crabtree managed to outrace Smith to pull the pall inbounds for that touchdown...how much different would this story have been?
Kaepernick has a fairly impressive Super Bowl debut, completing 16 of 28 passes for 302 yards--which was more than Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco passed for--and a passing touchdown.
However, Kaepernick's shining moment was the brilliant, record-setting 15-yard rushing touchdown (the most yards a quarterback in a Super Bowl has ever rushed in one play) in the fourth quarter to put his team within two points of the Ravens with 9:57 to go in the fourth quarter.
He made some mistakes. Throwing an interception to Ed Reed in the first half cost San Francisco a drive--and perhaps maybe some points that could have made the difference late in the game--and Kaepernick, the second-year NFL star with only 10 starts under his belt, looked flat in the first half when his team was down 28-6.
But after the lights went off, Kaepernick turned it up as he led his team down the field through a spectacular second half on a 23-3 scoring drive. He and Crabtree connected on a 31-yard touchdown with over seven minutes in the third. The Niners' Frank Gore took it in for another touchdown with just over five minutes in the same period to cut the Ravens' lead to 28-20.
A field goal with just over three minutes left made it 28-23, and by the time Kaepernick rushed into the end zone to cut the lead to 31-29 in the fourth quarter, he had people believing they were on the verge of seeing one of the greatest comebacks in Super Bowl history.
Not bad for a guy who had to fight just to get to the starting quarterback position early in the season. For a substitute that was largely unknown before Alex Smith got knocked out of a Week 10 game against the St. Louis Rams, leading to Kaepernick taking over and leading his team to a 24-all tie to end the game.
Yet after Kaepernick led the 49ers to a surprising win over a stifling Chicago Bears defense on Nov. 19 after completing 16 of 23 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns, fans had the feeling that there was something about this 25-year-old kid from Milwaukee, Wisc., that was special.
And he kept on starting after that, leading San Francisco to a 45-31 Divisional Playoff win against former league MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers thanks to Kaepernick's rushing for 181 yards while passing for 263 yards and two touchdowns. And after falling behind to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game, he put on another huge clutch performance by passing 16 for 21 with 233 yards and a touchdown as he led the Niners to a thrilling 28-24 win for the franchise's sixth-ever Super Bowl trip.
He might have fallen just short on Super Bowl Sunday, but one thing that Kaepernick said after the game may be a portent of things to come for the NFL's newest star.
"That we'll be back," Kaepernick said.
Indeed he could.
In just 10 games, Kaepernick turned the NFL on his head with his scrambling skills and powerful throwing arm. He came out of nowhere to finish up with just under 1,900 yards in 13 games in the 2012 season, along with 10 touchdowns. and a 98.3 quarterback rating. In the playoffs, he threw for 798 yards and four touchdowns while confounding defenses with his scrambling ability, the athletic Kaepernick rushing for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns with two wins under his belt.
More importantly, he showed that he wasn't afraid of the big moment. When the chips were down and it was all on the line, Kaepernick rose to the challenge. He didn't show any signs of trepidation or hesitation. He attacked with the aggression of a tiger chasing down a gazelle in the second half of the big game--persistent, relentless, and hungry.
Not much is known about what will happen next year yet, but Kaepernick made one thing clear--the 49ers are his team now. And he is their starting quarterback. And on a team that keeps inching closer to the prize every season, being led by a fearless young quarterback with so many weapons at his disposal can mean only one thing.
That around this time next year, Kaepernick's story could have a very different ending. The kind that storybooks are made of.