NEW ORLEANS — Anquan Boldin is hungry and he is grateful. Those figure to be powerful forces for the Ravens against the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII tonight at the Superdome.
Perhaps that explains why Boldin is a really good receiver in the regular season, but he borders on superhuman in the playoffs.
Boldin enters the Super Bowl having caught 16 passes for 276 yards, a 17.3-yard average and three touchdowns in the Ravens’ three postseason games. In the regular season he caught 65 passes for 921 yards, a 14.2-yard average and four TDs.
In his career, which includes more than 10,000 receiving yards in the regular season, he has played 10 playoff games and has 46 catches for 702 yards, a 15.3-yard average and six TDs.
Statistics, however, are not what drive Boldin. There are multiple layers to Boldin’s motivation to win it all for the first time in his career, and stats are at the bottom of the list.
The most powerful motivator is his memory of losing the Super Bowl as a member of the 2008 Cardinals — when Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes caught the go-ahead TD with 35 seconds left in Super Bowl XLIII.
Last week, before the Ravens departed for New Orleans, Boldin addressed his teammates about the importance of avoiding that losing feeling at all costs because, he said, it never leaves you.
“Once you lose, they’re roping off the field, herding the losing team to the locker room so they can let the winning team celebrate,’’ Boldin recalled of the 27-23 defeat. “You don’t want that feeling … going back to the locker room knowing you were this close and didn’t come through.’’
Ravens safety Bernard Pollard was moved by Boldin’s words.
“Nobody remembers the loser in the Super Bowl,’’ he said. “Anquan let us know the feeling of walking off that field and when that confetti falls on you and it’s not meant for you … that’s the worst feeling.’’
Boldin said he believes trying to avoid that feeling again is what has elevated his production in the postseason.
“There’s definitely a sense of urgency in the postseason,’’ Boldin said. “It took me five years just to get to the playoffs, so I know the playoffs are not guaranteed.’’
Boldin’s motivation also comes from a profound off-the-field experience last offseason that altered his perspective. He and former Cardinals teammate Larry Fitzgerald spent about a week in Ethiopia to offer support during a drought and starvation crisis.
“It changed me,’’ Boldin said. “It definitely made me more grateful. It made me want to help as much as I could. I’ve been trying to get the word out.’’
The beauty of Boldin is he is not one of those wealthy athletes who simply donates some money and never checks back on the cause. He wanted to see things first-hand, then physically give money, and he said he plans to go back this offseason.
“I didn’t want to just cut a check,” Boldin said. “I wanted to experience it for myself. I wanted to see what the conditions were. I can try to explain it to you, but unless you see it for yourself, you really can’t grasp the situation.
“They’re going through one of the worst droughts ever. It’s barely rained in three years. There is no water to grow vegetation, no water to drink. Everything is like desert. For people in the United States, it’s hard to wrap your mind around that.”
Boldin and Fitzgerald met with officials, watched classes being taught about farming in the drought conditions and helped build retaining walls.
“We weren’t over there just to watch,” Boldin said. “It’s hard. People make about 90 cents a day there. I remember one man who had a wife and six kids, and he had to walk three hours to work each way to start at 8 a.m.
“As a human being, any time you see people in dire situations, your heart goes out to them,’’ Boldin continued. “For me, I’m in a position where I can help. If I’m in front of a camera people will listen and that’s important.’’
If Boldin, at age 32 and in his 10th season, realizes his dream and wins the Super Bowl tonight, there will be a lot more cameras focused on him and a lot more people listening to what he has to say.
So a Super Bowl title would serve multiple purposes for him: It will sate his hunger to finally win one and strengthen his platform to help others. That’s called a win-win.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com