NFL Super Bowl XLVIIl: Kobe Bryant’s a Joe Flacco fan

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Normally Kobe Bryant devotes his sports fanhood based on his hometown roots (Philadelphia Eagles), city of residence (Dodgers) or admiration for the players’ craft (Peyton Manning).

But there’s another reason why Bryant holds Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in high esteem, and it initially had nothing to do with the Ravens holding the San Francisco 49ers, 34-31, in Super Bowl XLVII.

“I saw Joe Flacco was wearing my gear during an interview,” Bryant said following the Lakers’ 98-97 win Sunday over the Detroit Pistons. “Now I’m really really big Joe Flacco fan. Go Flacco man.”

That left Bryant conflicted on who to root for in Super Bowl XLVII.

He suddenly likes Flacco and remains a “big fan of Ray Lewis,” but conceded “I do like the 49ers.” Nonetheless, Bryant had a reason for San Francisco to struggle. Two Super Bowl bets in Las Vegas before both games on Sunday included Bryant’s performance against Detroit.

One measured whether San Francisco would score more points considering Bryant’s become a facilitator. The 49ers scored 31 to Bryant’s 18. The other assessed who would have the higher number: Bryant’s points plus 5 1/2 or the amount of receiving yards minus 5 1/2 from San Francisco wide receiver Randy Moss. His 41 yards put him at 46 1/2 while Bryant finished at 23 1/2.

So Bryant lost at something. But at least the Lakers won a game for once and Bryant, like everyone else, witnessed a Super Bowl that prompted him to tweet the following:

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com