AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will face off tonight at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California. And as Steve Futterman reports, this will be a game not many people expected.
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: Many times in sports, the teams that make it to a championship game are no surprise. For instance, when Texas and Southern California played each other in 2006 for the college football title heard here on ABC.
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Both these teams expected to get to this game. This is a matchup they've waited for, the matchup we've all waited for.
FUTTERMAN: That is certainly not the case in this year's Super Bowl. At the start of the season, the odds of a Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl were around 4,800 to 1. You think that bothers either of these teams? No way. Listen to Seattle Coach Mike Macdonald speaking on Fox just moments after the Seahawks clinched their title spot.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now, coming into the season, you're a afterthought to the Rams, to the 49ers. How does it feel to go through both of those teams to earn your trip to the Super Bowl?
MIKE MACDONALD: We did not care.
FUTTERMAN: Those four words have become the mantra for the Seahawk players. Seattle wide receiver Cooper Kupp was even showing it for all to see this week.
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COOPER KUPP: I wore this shirt. I don't know if you see this. This is the - you know, Mike's famous saying, that we did not care, you know, and I think that's the - that's what it was. I mean, we were so inward-focused. It's the belief that we had in ourselves that mattered.
FUTTERMAN: No one on the Seahawks has epitomized the we-do-not-care attitude more than quarterback Sam Darnold. He was the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft by the New York Jets. In his first six seasons, he was viewed as a bust. Then unexpectedly, he broke through with Minnesota. This season, he's led Seattle to the Super Bowl.
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SAM DARNOLD: Sometimes, hard work and all the dedication and hours I've put in in the off-season, during the season, you know, that just - it leads to this moment.
FUTTERMAN: For the Patriots, their turnaround from a year ago has been historic. Last year, they were 4 and 13. Entering today's game, they are 17 and 3. Defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga heard all the predictions in the preseason.
KHYIRIS TONGA: I don't think anyone thought we were going to win more than five games this year.
FUTTERMAN: In that situation - no one expecting you to be here - does that make it even sweeter?
TONGA: Yeah. It does. It's the over-the-moon feeling, but it definitely a chip on our shoulder with a lot of the guys in this room.
FUTTERMAN: Much of the credit for the New England resurgence goes to first-year coach Mike Vrabel. He believes overachieving connects with fans.
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MIKE VRABEL: I mean, I think I would say the majority of Americans or a majority of people probably are more underdogs than they are favorites. You know, favorites are the talented, elite, top 10%. And most groups are made out of a lot of people that are average and 80%, and we're trying to make the 80% a little bit better.
FUTTERMAN: At the end of the day, one team that was given little chance to win will be Super Bowl champion.
For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Santa Clara, California. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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