Every NFL fan hopes that their favorite team will play in the most iconic sporting event in America: the Super Bowl.
Beginning in 1967, the Super Bowl features two teams from the National Football League (NFL): the winner of the American Football Conference (AFC) and the winner of the National Football Conference (NFC). After a regular 18-week season, the top seven teams from each conference face off in single-elimination playoff games. The third week of the playoffs leaves four teams to duel in the AFC and NFC Championship games. The winners of each then play each other in the Super Bowl.
This year marks 59 years since the first Super Bowl. Battling for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LX are the AFC Champions, the New England Patriots, and the NFC Champions, the Seattle Seahawks. The game is to be played on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m. EST in Santa Clara, California.
Fans of both teams are highly anticipating the big game; Seahawks fans have been waiting for a rematch against the Patriots ever since their devastating loss against them in Super Bowl XLIX.
The Seahawks finished the NFL regular season at the top of the NFC conference with a 14-3 record. After earning a first-round bye in the playoffs, they went on to beat their division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, ultimately sending them to the Super Bowl.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold threw for 4,048 yards (fifth-most in the league) and 25 touchdowns. Their First Team All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 119 passes for a league-leading 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. Due to his impressive season, Smith-Njigba is the favorite to win this year’s AP Offensive Player of the Year. On the other side of the ball, Seattle’s defense allowed the fewest points in the league with 292, and is largely considered one of the strongest defensive cores in the NFL.
Meanwhile, the Patriots were led by first-year head coach Mike Vrabel and second-year quarterback Drake Maye to the top of their division, the AFC East. They were the #2 seed in the playoffs, topping the Los Angeles Chargers, the Houston Texans, and eventually defeating the #1 seed Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship.
Maye had a monster sophomore season, ending with 4,394 passing yards – the fourth-highest total in the league – and 31 touchdowns, which ranked third. He led the league with a passer rating of 113.5. The 2025 Second Team All-Pro quarterback was also a finalist for the league MVP, awarded to the best overall player of the year. Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 911 yards and nine touchdowns, earning him a nomination for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The Patriots’ defense has also excelled in 2025. They allowed just 320 points by opposing offenses, which ranks fourth-lowest league-wide.
There is great anticipation for how 23-year-old Maye will perform against such a high-powered defense in the biggest game of his life, and if the Patriots’ secondary will be able to slow down Darnold, Smith-Njigba, and company. Needless to say, it will be an entertaining game.
However, the Super Bowl is not just the football game.
The Super Bowl has become an enormous spectacle of American pop culture. There are events leading up to the big game all week prior, including Media Day, the Pro Bowl Games, and the NFL Honors. Millions of Americans sit down to watch the Super Bowl (an average of 127.7 million, according to Yahoo Sports). Viewers include non-football fans tuning in to watch the iconic commercials, spot celebrities in the crowd, and, of course, watch the halftime show. This year’s headliner is Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny.
Bad Bunny, or Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has been one of the world’s most famous artists for the past few years. In 2025, he was Spotify’s Global Top Artist for the fourth time in six years, with a total of 19.8 billion streams. The singer is expected to put on an amazing show, and fans hope to hear him perform their favorite songs, such as “Tití Me Preguntó,” “NUEVAYoL,” and “DtMF.” Fans are also theorizing that Bunny will bring out rapper Cardi B to perform their hit song “I Like It,” as Cardi B is dating New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
A combination of the most famous musical artist in the world and America’s most popular sporting event of the year is a guaranteed recipe for one of the largest audiences television has ever seen. Non-football fans will tune in just to see Bad Bunny perform, and maybe (just maybe) they will stick around for what happens on the field.
Will the Seahawks get revenge on the Patriots and win their second Super Bowl championship? Or will Drake Maye and the Patriots defeat all odds and win a record-breaking seventh title in franchise history?
I hope you’ll tune in to find out.
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