Weather delays Ravens-Broncos season opener; Twitter reacts

Ominous weather forced the NFL's kickoff game to be delayed. (Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images) Mere moments before the Baltimore Ravens and Denver

Ominous weather forced the NFL's kickoff game to be delayed. (Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Mere moments before the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos were to kick off the 2013 NFL season, a rogue storm forced a short delay due to the threat of lightning.

NBC's Al Michaels announced initially that the game's kickoff would be pushed back from 8:40 p.m. ET to 8:55. That estimate turned out to be inaccurate -- the teams did not arrive back on the field until approximately 9:05 (with the Ravens milking a couple extra minutes in the locker room) with kickoff occurring at 9:12. (Worth noting that it started pouring immediately after the game started.)

Per ESPN Stats & Info, the weather delay lasted 34 minutes -- the exact same amount of time Super Bowl XLVII was delayed by a blackout. (If you missed it, former Raven Ray Lewis believes that delay was no accident.)

The holdup left plenty of time for people to complain about the wait via Twitter ... and it did not escape most that this game would have been in Baltimore, where the weather was near perfect on Thursday night, had it not been for a scheduling conflict with the Orioles.

NFL seasons starts with weather delay, might end in one too with Super Bowl in NY

— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) September 6, 2013

waiting mths 4 #NFL football, u play "Final Countdown" & give us rain delay? Are these the PGA Officials calling this? Ha! #startthisgame

— John Daly (@PGA_JohnDaly) September 6, 2013

Wait til the lightning blizzard during the Super Bowl

— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) September 6, 2013

The weather gods are penalizing the NFL for excessive celebration with that pre-game show

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 6, 2013

Winter is coming. RT @ChrisLaw: The Farmers Almanac totally predicted this

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 6, 2013

This weather delay, brought to you exclusively by the Orioles' inferiority complex.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 6, 2013

Ray Lewis is blaming the 49ers for this delay.

— Sam Farmer (@LATimesfarmer) September 6, 2013