NFL SUPER BOWL LX Preview-Can Sam Darnold rescue NFL fans and NBC's Mike Tirico from Chris Collinsworth?

"Whatever doesn't kill me, makes me stronger."

- Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, 1888-

How does Nietzsche's quote apply to Super Bowl LX? Good question with a quick and easy answer: In order to achieve greatness, such as winning a Super Bowl, teams must make sacrifices. It was recently revealed in Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson doesn't get much time to spend with his family during football season. He's not alone- Seattle Seahawks coach Mike McDonald schedules 30-60 minutes each Thursday with his young son before planning for the upcoming game. That's tough on a young dad, but he has his Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

Mike McDonald is not alone making sacrifices for his team. His quarterback, Sam Darnold, the much traveled quarterback, led the Seahawks in defeating the LA Rams in the NFC Conference Championship game. Last season, Darnold playing for the Vikings, was trounced by the Rams during the regular season. Things didn't get better in the playoffs. The Rams trounced the Vikings a second time and knocked them out of the playoffs. It may have been at that time the Vikings believed Darnold took the Vikings as far as he could and it was time for JJ McCarthy to take over.

That's where the Seahawks front office and Mike Mcdonald saw an opportunity and signed Sam Darnold to a three year 100 million dollar contract. It was with the Seahawks Sam Darnold solved what is known as the "Sean McVay problem". McVay, the Los Angeles Rams wiz-coach who tormented Darnold twice last season while he was a Viking, owned Sam Darnold. It was up to Darnold to solve the McVay problem.

As a Seahawk, Darnold was able to turn the tables on McVay's Rams and defeat them two out of three times, including the conference championship game. One thing that stands out is turnovers. As a Viking, Darnold turned over the football to the Rams the same way a cook at a diner flips pancakes. A lot. Not so with the Seahawks. Darnold stopped tossing pancake batter and changed them to touchdowns. That didn't happen by itself. It's sacrificing time and making the effort with the Seahawk coaching staff developing a strategy to defeat McVay. It paid off. The Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl and the Rams aren't.

But the mental part wasn't Darnold's only challenge. During practice before the NFC Divisional Round game against the 49ers, Darnold injured his left oblique muscle. The oblique is part of the core; if it's injured badly enough, it can interfere with throwing a football. According to Darnold, the injury was no big deal and he proved it by defeating the 49ers and the next week against the Rams.

If there's a player currently playing in the NFL defining Nietzsche's quote, Darnold is it. Looking at Darnold's career, he traveled like a hobo in a boxcar to different teams. He didn't get disillusioned. He didn't quit. He simply played football to the best of his abilities and if that wasn't good enough, he worked hard to improve himself. It didn't kill him. It made him stronger. Becoming physically and mentally stronger made him successful. Sam Darnold is an "American Feel Good Story" and that feel good story brings us to predicting Super Bowl LX's outcome.

Let's start with the matchup of the Seattle Seahawks vs the New England Patriots or as "lake county democrat" (@lakecountydemocrat) posted on social media "X", the Snooze England Patriots vs the Snoozattle Seahawks. As Greg Gabriel, former Director of Player Personnel for the Chicago Bears stated about the upcoming Super Bowl on Barroom Network hosted by Aldo Gandia, "BORING!"

Lets face it, this game and its Bad Bunny halftime show appears to be a ratings-disaster-in-waiting for the NFL. The Patriots are not in the same league as the Seahawks. The Patriots are going to get massacred on Sunday. If the Seahawks are trouncing the Patriots by halftime, nobody may stick around to watch the Bad Bunny halftime show. That means a ratings disaster and ratings means everything to the NFL because of advertising revenue.

What's the NFL to do? Pray. Pray the Patriots take what appears to be an insurmountable lead of 13 or more points by halftime because Sam Darnold is struggling with his injured oblique. Bad Bunny does halftime and everybody, including the Boomers loves the Bad Bunny show. But what's the NFL to do about the second half? America needs a hero and this is where the "Sam Darnold Feel Good Story" comes in. Trailing by 13 points, Darnold leads the Seahawks down the field in a touchdown drive. The stadium comes alive with cheering Seahawks backers. Nationwide sports bars come alive too, as more beer is poured and bartenders tipped. The Seahawks are on the move and so are America's sports bettors because everybody is on the Seahawks. To the amazement of fellow sports broadcaster Mike Tirico , sports analyst Chris Collinsworth stops talking about Patrick Mahomes and talks about Sam Darnold. The next Patriots possession is a turnover and the Seahawks turn it into seven points. The game is tied and fans at the Super Bowl are cheering for the Seahawks and Sam Darnold. The Patriots lose their composure along with the Super Bowl.

Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 37, New England Patriots 20

Regular season (Circa contest): 46-42

Playoffs last week: 0-2

Playoffs: 5-7