Geography zaps enjoyable at subdued Super Bowl week

SAN FRANCISCO – The National Football League is thought for its grandness and being unattainable to disregard.

That’s often by no means extra apparent than in the course of the seven-day celebration every February that culminates with the Super Bowl.

But that’s not the sensation right here within the Bay Area, the place San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Jose are all internet hosting totally different facets of Super Bowl week.

No doubt geography has zapped a number of the enjoyable, with the space between San Jose and San Francisco being two hours or extra on the improper instances of day.

The ordinary gangs of followers in staff jerseys roaming the streets have been laborious to seek out, in the event that they exist in any respect. There simply isn’t a variety of Super Bowl buzz.

That’s certain to alter as the sport attracts nearer, however Thursday afternoon you would stroll down a busy road in both metropolis and never know the massive sport was occurring.

Similarly, the media contingent at this Super Bowl week feels markedly smaller than in previous years. That’s little doubt due partially to the Winter Olympics, however the total feeling this week is that issues which might be scaled again and fewer grand.

Northern California being nearly the costliest space within the nation most likely has slowed the circulation of early-arriving followers to Super Bowl week as nicely.

Presumably there might be extra Seahawks blue than Patriots purple within the crowd when kickoff hits, based mostly on geographical proximity alone.

These groups met in Arizona 11 years in the past in a Super Bowl remembered for Seahawks working again Marshawn Lynch not getting the ball on the purpose line with the sport hanging within the stability. Instead, an interception by Malcolm Butler miraculously preserved a Patriots win.

This is a brand new era of success for each groups after lacking the playoffs a yr in the past.

The Seahawks have been picked by many to be a playoff staff this season however performed distant second fiddle to the division-rival L.A. Rams a lot of the season. A dramatic December additional time win over L.A. and one other one within the NFC Championship sport is the brief model of why they’re right here.

The New England story is extra dramatic and way more hotly debated.

The Patriots performed the softest regular-season schedule of this century, then confronted three playoff opponents who’d been declawed by key accidents on offence, together with the Broncos with out beginning quarterback Bo Nix within the AFC Championship Game.

Sunday’s efficiency will both validate or expose the Patriots and all that they’ve finished this season.

There’s an expression in soccer that, “You can only play the teams on your schedule,” however power of schedule will not be an imaginary phenomenon, and the Super Bowl might largely relaxation on how a lot it reveals concerning the Patriots.

There is purpose to be uncertain, beginning with an offence that’s been acting at an traditionally low charge for a staff that’s within the Super Bowl. In reality, the Patriots’ 54 factors scored by way of the wild-card, divisional and convention championship sport is the bottom complete of any Super Bowl participant ever.

That’s been countered by traditionally sturdy playoff defence performances, with New England surrendering simply 26 factors, the fewest for the reason that Baltimore Ravens on the finish of the 2000 season.

But right here’s the distinction.

The Patriots playoff opponents have been way more impacted by accidents on the offensive facet of the ball than on defence.

Seattle is the highest-scoring staff within the playoffs and scored the third-most factors in the course of the common season. They are balanced and have one of many league’s rising superstars in receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was named 2025 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday night time.

The Seahawks are going to check the Patriots defence in methods the Chargers, Texans and Broncos merely couldn’t.

Meanwhile, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye might be dealing with the league’s No. 1 scoring defence after modest performances towards different top-10 defences the previous three video games.

It all factors within the Seahawks path, however the Patriots have made an artwork of successful this season, struggling only one loss since Sept. 21 in a sport they led 24-7 at halftime.

This sport nonetheless has an opportunity to be tremendous, even when not a lot else about this Super Bowl week has been.