The China Mail - Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl approaches 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.

Super Bowl LX kicks off at 3:30pm local time (2330 GMT), with fans streaming into the 75,000-capacity Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara hours earlier.

"I've been a lifelong Patriots fan for more than 60 years, since day one... it's gonna be awesome," said 71-year-old Terri Carboni, who travelled across the country from snowed-in Massachusetts to the baking-hot California stadium.

Bad Bunny, the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican superstar, will give a historic half-time performance, expected to be sung entirely in Spanish.

One of the world's biggest artists, Bad Bunny has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

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

Speaking in a pre-game interview with NBC aired on Sunday, Trump declined to pick a winner.

"I like both areas of our country very much," Trump said. "I better not make any predictions. You get yourself in big trouble. But I think it’s gonna be a really great game."

- 'Evil Empire' -

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

New England quarterback Drake Maye, 23, would be the youngest starting quarterback to win football's biggest prize.

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 won just one Super Bowl. Their most recent appearance was a 2015 loss to Brady's Patriots.

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

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

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

- 'Huge party' -

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.

Half-time performer Bad Bunny used the Grammys stage last weekend to condemn immigration agents.

Speculation is rife that he could use the giant Super Bowl platform to double down.

Bad Bunny has pledged to showcase his Caribbean island's culture in "a huge party."

At the stadium, Duane Welty Rivera -- wearing a light-blue Puerto Rico flag symbolizing the US territory's "independent spirit" and a traditional pava straw hat -- said he was not bothered by Trump's boycott.

"That's his problem, not my problem," he told AFP.

"To me, it's not about politics. It's about us as a people and being unified," the 54-year-old Seahawks fan added.

- 'Firepower' -

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

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.

On the eve of the game, NFL players weighed in with their predictions.

"I've got the Seahawks to win. I feel they have a little more firepower on offense... they've both got really good defenses," Detroit Lions star receiver Amon-Ra St Brown told AFP.

"I definitely didn't expect these two teams to be in it," added Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.

"But that's how football is. You never know."

I.Ko--ThChM