The Super Bowl often gives British NFL fans a reason to choose a side even if their own team is not involved.
This year, the Seattle Seahawks offer a link that resonates strongly with supporters in the UK.
It is a connection rooted in British football culture and a lifelong love of the NFL.
That link has quietly become one of the most significant stories on the other side of the Atlantic heading into the Super Bowl.
Why Seattle Seahawks have a genuine British connection for Super Bowl LX
Seattle’s British link comes through their defensive coordinator Aden Durde, who is from Middlesex, England.
Long before he was preparing for a Super Bowl, Durde was a young fan growing up in England with a passion for sport.
He supported West Ham but quickly became drawn to American football at a time when the NFL had little presence in the UK.
Durde watched whichever game happened to be on Channel 4, well before streaming or regular London games existed.
As a six-year-old, he followed the Chicago Bears during their famous 1985 Super Bowl-winning season.
Players such as Richard Dent and Mike Singletary became his early heroes and helped cement his obsession with the sport.
“I fell in love with football,” Durde told the Guardian. “One day me and a kid down my street decided we wanted to play so we did. We loved it and found a team.”
Aden Durde’s path to making NFL history
Durde’s journey from Middlesex to the Super Bowl has been historic.
On 11 April 2018, he was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their defensive quality control coach under then-head coach Dan Quinn.
That appointment made him the first British full-time coach in NFL history and the first full-time coach from outside the United States.
His rise continued across several seasons in the league. On 13 February 2024, Durde was hired by the Seattle Seahawks as their defensive coordinator under head coach Mike Macdonald.
With that move, he became the first British-born defensive coordinator in NFL history, giving British fans a meaningful reason to support Seattle on the Super Bowl stage.
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