The China Mail - Super Bowl set for Patriots-Seahawks showdown as politics swirl

More than 120 million Americans are expected to tune in for an annual pop culture nonpareil, which this year features two teams nobody expected to reach the NFL championship decider.

The Seahawks, boasting the league's best defense, are the marginal favorites. But they come up against a Patriots team who know how to win.

New England is seeking a record seventh Lombardi Trophy, and its first since the departure of Tom Brady, widely considered the NFL's greatest ever player.

It is, according to bookmakers, the unlikeliest Super Bowl match-up of modern times. Both teams began the season with odds of 60-1 or worse to go all the way.

Away from the sporting contest, all eyes will be on a historic half-time performance from Bad Bunny, the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican superstar.

He is expected to deliver the first-ever Super Bowl set sung entirely in Spanish.

One of the world's biggest artists, Bad Bunny has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Speculation is high that he could use the giant Super Bowl platform to double down.

The US president has claimed the performance will "sow hatred" and is not attending this year's game.

The Super Bowl kicks off at 3:30pm local time (2330 GMT) at the 75,000-capacity Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

- 'Evil Empire' -

A franchise once so dominant they were dubbed the "Evil Empire," New England have floundered since Brady left in 2020, but they have been reborn this season under coach of the year Mike Vrabel.

Rising star quarterback Drake Maye led the resurgent Patriots to a league-best 17 wins, including playoffs.

At 23 he would be the youngest starting quarterback to win football's biggest prize, and this week missed out on being named the season's Most Valuable Player by a single vote.

Maye is a prodigious ball-carrying runner who is also the league's best at throwing long-range passes.

But the young phenom also gets sacked more than almost any other quarterback.

And Maye comes up against a Seattle defense that loves to swarm the opposing signal-caller and has yielded the fewest points in the league.

The Seahawks have just one Super Bowl in their trophy cabinet, and their most recent appearance came in a 2015 loss to Brady's Patriots.

For Seattle to get revenge in Sunday's rematch, quarterback Sam Darnold must shed his long-standing reputation for wilting under pressure.

Journeyman Darnold passed through four NFL clubs before emerging revitalized with a superb debut year in Seattle.

"He's a resilient dude and a competitor. A winner," Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald told AFP.

The Seahawks also boast wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was named the season's top offensive player.

- 'Huge party' -

A win Sunday would be a historic seventh for the Patriots, who are currently tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl titles with six.

Some 90,000 fans have flocked to the Bay Area, which is expected to receive a $500 million economic boost from the sports bonanza.

The game is being played out against the backdrop of Trump's divisive and brutal immigration crackdown. Anger has soared over the killing of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.

NFL security chiefs this week scotched media reports that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers would have a role at the game.

But politics may not be entirely absent. Bad Bunny used the Grammys stage last weekend to condemn ICE.

Details of his Super Bowl set are under wraps, though Bad Bunny has pledged to showcase Puerto Rican culture in "a huge party."

V.Liu--ThChM