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Despite being a New Englander most of my life, I’m not a big football fan. The last time I tuned into the Patriots was the last time they were in the Super Bowl, which was seven years ago.

Since then, they’ve changed coaches twice, turned over the entire roster and introduced a new crop of stars. Now, they’re back, facing off against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California on Sunday night.

If you’re like me — and want to hold your own at your neighbor’s Super Bowl watch party — a brief refresher might be in order. That’s why I’ve compiled this cheat sheet to Super Bowl LX, with a few local nuggets of knowledge that will make you seem like you’ve been following along all season:

On the field

This is the Patriots’ first year being coached by former team linebacker Mike Vrabel. He gets a lot of credit for changing the team’s culture and this year’s 10-win turnaround. Vrabel won the NFL’s coach of the year award on Thursday. And if the Patriots win Sunday, Vrabel would become the first person in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as both a player and a head coach for the same franchise.

But of course, it’s not just about the coach — especially not when you have one of the league’s most valuable players on your team. In just his second year, quarterback Drake Maye came one vote away from winning the league’s MVP award. He threw 31 touchdowns this season — the only Patriot to have achieved this under the age of 30 — and ran for four more.

The team also added veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs (fun fact: Diggs’ partner is rapper Cardi B, who’s expected to be in the stands — if not also on stage — Sunday), rookie drafted running back TreVeyon Henderson and improved their defense, even in the absence of their top defensive coach for most of the season. As Khari Thompson wrote this week for our Cognoscenti section, it’s an extraordinary comeback story after the team finished 4-13 the last two seasons.

Standing on the opposite side of the field are the Seahawks, coached by Scituate native Mike Macdonald. Macdonald reportedly dreamt of being general manager of the Red Sox as a kid, but ended up leaving baseball for football as he got older.

The Seahawks are helmed by quarterback Sam Darnold, who has completly turned around his career after early struggles; the Patriots famously used to torment Darnold during his first few seasons on the lowly New York Jets. Seattle also has a ferocious defense and one of the league’s best wide receivers, Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Another fun fact: MacDonald isn’t the only New England defector on the team: Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo is from North Andover and grew up a Patriots fan. But now, he says he’s looking forward to making it so his local friends won’t get to enjoy a Duck Boat parade.

On the stage

Puerto Rican rapper and reggaeton artist Bad Bunny, who just won album of the year at last weekend’s Grammys, is this year’s halftime show performer. One big difference from past halftime performers: his songs are in Spanish. You can get a sample from his performance last year on NPR’s Tiny Desk — alongside Boston-based cuatro player Fabiola Méndez.

It’s a rare stateside performance for Bad Bunny, who limited the U.S. portion of his world tour last year to Puerto Rico over concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

During the commercial breaks

Rates for a single advertisement during Super Bowl LX hit a record $10 million this year, according to Deadline. Expect to see lots of celebrities, like Emma Stone, Sabrina Carpenter, Adrien Brody and Elijah Wood. But as NPR reports, don’t expect to see much controversy; the early teasers suggest this year’s ads will play it safe.

Canton’s own Dunkin’ is also airing another Super Bowl ad (for better or worse, the teaser doesn’t show any signs of the “DunKings” tracksuits we’ve seen in years past). But we do have Ben Affleck (again) and three familiar faces from ‘90s network TV: Newton native Matt LeBlanc, his “Friends” co-star Jennifer Aniston and “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander. In the teaser, Affleck has a VHS tape titled “Network Pilot ‘95 v3” that he says contains “monstah cringe.” (Maybe the tracksuits are back.)

P.S.— Next year’s Super Bowl somewhat awkwardly lands on Valentine’s Day. But the good news is you still have more than a week to prepare this year — and you can celebrate with stunning Winston Flowers Explore delivery options and send a bouquet almost anywhere in New England. Check out the collection and save if you order by Feb. 10.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/07/just-catching-up-on-the-pats-here-s-your-cheat-sheet-for-super-bowl-lx/