SANTA CLARA, California, Feb 8 - Under bright, sunny skies, supporters of both teams began arriving at Levi's Stadium hours before Super Bowl LX kicked off, turning the approach to the outdoor venue into a steady stream of arriving cars and foot traffic.
By midday the streets encircling the stadium were crowded with vehicles and the sidewalks a colorful display of Seahawks and Patriots jerseys, as fans paused for photos and traded good-natured barbs before the championship matchup.
Few observers had expected this pairing at the start of the season. Both the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks began their campaigns with odds of 60-1 or worse to win the Super Bowl - a trajectory that has made their meeting in the title game one of the season's more unlikely outcomes.
The Seahawks enter the game as 4-1/2-point favorites. For Seattle, the matchup carries the narrative of unfinished business from 11 years ago, when the franchise lost to New England after Malcolm Butler intercepted a pass at the goal line in the closing moments. That memory informs the Seahawks' approach this time.
Seattle's starting quarterback, Sam Darnold, is in his fifth season with five different teams across eight years of professional play and is experiencing a notable late-career resurgence. A Super Bowl victory would place Darnold alongside Tom Brady, Trent Dilfer and Matthew Stafford as quarterbacks who have won a Super Bowl in their first season with a new team.
Outside the stadium, Larry, a 48-year-old Seahawks season-ticket holder, articulated the confidence felt by many in Seattle's ranks: "We’re going to come out and punch them in the mouth," he said. "All this close game nonsense, it’s not going to happen this year."
For New England, the game represents a shot at extending a franchise record. A Patriots victory would secure an NFL-record seventh Super Bowl title and would be the team's first championship since February 2019.
New England's starting quarterback Drake Maye, at 23 years and 162 days old, stands on the brink of another milestone: with a win he would become the youngest starting quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl, surpassing Ben Roethlisberger.
Some fans made significant travel plans to be in Santa Clara. David Baik, who flew in from Mexico and was still attempting to secure a ticket, expressed optimism about a close contest: "Everybody is telling me that we are going to get destroyed by the Seahawks, but I think it will be a really close game," he said. "I think the Patriots will win by one score, maybe just a field goal."
The Super Bowl is set to start at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (2330 GMT).
Headlining the halftime show is Latino rap star Bad Bunny, who said fans can expect a show of unity and one that celebrates his Puerto Rican culture. Bad Bunny, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, did not include the continental United States on his most recent concert tour; he has said he feared federal immigration agents would show up to arrest his fans.
Contextual notes - Attendance and travel patterns around major sporting events continued to produce heavy vehicle traffic and crowded pedestrian corridors near stadiums, with the Super Bowl drawing fans from across state and international lines in this instance. The matchup's surprising nature - with both teams having started the season at long odds - was a recurring theme among fans and commentators outside Levi's Stadium.