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After the sudden break in the action, many of the 71,024 fans started murmuring. The public-address announcer made several muffled statements about the power failure. Strangely, the cheerleaders for the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens continued to shake their pompoms.

The roughly 35-minute power failure, which came just moments after the Ravens' Jacoby Jones returned the second-half kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown, was one of the oddest moments in Super Bowl history.

In choosing New Orleans to host the game, the N.F.L. wanted to signal that the city was back in business after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Superdome, which was turned into an emergency shelter after the storm, had been overhauled and rebranded through to a sponsorship deal with Mercedes-Benz.

The blackout is certain to add to the legend of the Superdome. Some New Orleans residents believe the building is cursed because it was built near the old Girod Street Cemetery, which had fallen into disrepair. Some Saints fans believe this is why their team was unsuccessful for so long.

Either way, the N.F.L., which runs the Super Bowl with an iron hand and brutal efficiency, is not used to random events during games, which are tightly scripted for television networks and the hundreds of millions of viewers at home. Two years ago, hundreds of fans were denied entry to the game in Arlington, Tex., because temporary stands were not safe. Weather has been unpredictable over the years, but rarely are games delayed for anything more than the occasional hiccup.

Michael Burns, a spokesman for Entergy Services, the local utility, said that his company's distribution and transmission feeders that serve the Superdome were never interrupted. Power did not go out elsewhere in the city.

CBS, which broadcast the game, said in a statement that it had "lost numerous cameras and some audio powered by sources in the Superdome." The network switched to backup power and remained on the air. CBS said it would honor all its commercial commitments.

Entergy and SMG, the company that manages the Superdome, issued a joint statement explaining the power loss:

"A piece of equipment that is designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system. Once the issue was detected, the sensing equipment operated as designed and opened a breaker, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue. Backup generators kicked in immediately as designed.

"Entergy and SMG subsequently coordinated start-up procedures, ensuring that full power was safely restored to the Superdome. The fault-sensing equipment activated where the Superdome equipment intersects with Entergy's feed into the facility. There were no additional issues detected. Entergy and SMG will continue to investigate the root cause of the abnormality."

The power failure immediately spawned an Internet frenzy. Bobby Hebert, a former Saints quarterback, called the game the Power Outage Bowl on Twitter. One enterprising fan created the hashtag, SuperBowlBlackOut, on Twitter.

Patrick Rishe, a columnist for Forbes, said the blackout would hurt New Orleans's chances of hosting another Super Bowl, although Mayor Mitch Landrieu quickly engaged in a bit of damage control, issuing a statement.

"The power outage was an unfortunate moment in what has been an otherwise shining Super Bowl week for the City of New Orleans," Landrieu's statement said "In the coming days, I expect a full after action report from all parties involved. For us, the Super Bowl isn't over until the last visitor leaves town, so we're focused on continuing to show our visitors a good time."

Indicative of the lopsided score at the time — the Ravens were ahead, 28-6, when the lights went out — the Ravens' sideline remained bathed in light while the 49ers were in the shadows.

In the Superdome, the unexpected blackout led to several quick decisions. The players could have gone to their locker rooms, but they chose to stay on the field. Many of them stretched on the ground and tossed footballs to stay limber. A few looked as if they were relaxing on a park lawn.

"It was the first time I had to stretch in the dark with my teammates," Bernard Pollard of the Ravens joked. His teammate Cary Williams said with a smile that he thought Beyoncé, who sang at halftime, "blew out the power."

Confused fans who had been watching the 49ers try to forge a comeback started doing the wave. A number of them started screaming for the players to start playing again. As each bank of lights popped back on, the players put their helmets back on and worked out in earnest. The crowd roared as the stadium gradually brightened, and the air conditioning started blowing again, too.

"I just alerted them of the time and to stay loose, and our spark would come and we wouldn't look back," said Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers' coach, recounting what he told his team during the delay.

The break in the action may have been just what the 49ers needed. After the lights came back on, they scored 17 straight points.

After 35 minutes in the dark, a game in danger of turning into a blowout had suddenly been given a jolt.