"We know who we are. We're different," said players on the Seattle Seahawks defense. "We carry ourselves way different than those guys, than those legends, and we're just trying to create and identity for ourselves."
There isn't a player on this year's Seattle Seahawks team that played for the organization in February 2015, the last time the franchise appeared in the Super Bowl.
Back then, the Hawks infamously lost to, you guessed it, the franchise they face in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, the New England Patriots. Images of Marshawn Lynch in the backfield as Russell Wilson threw an interception to Pats rookie Malcolm Butler still burn in the minds of those in the Pacific Northwest that were praying for back-to-back titles.
In that era, it was a Seattle defense that oozed with confidence and dominated like hardly no one has since. It was a team that was constructed awfully similar to how the 2025 version is under second-year coach Mike Macdonald.
So much so that this year's team has been regularly compared to the iconic "Legion of Boom" squad that featured the likes of Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner and Kam Chancellor.
"We just kept hearing comparisons to the Legion of Boom," defensive tackle Leonard Williams said at this week's media availability.
The 2025 Seahawks response? A nickname of their own.
"We kind of thought that it was time for us to have our own name pretty much. And we had a few names thrown at the wall, and I think "The Dark Side" stuck because, one of Coach Mike's messaging is, 'A play style and a place that nobody wants to wants to play.' And in Seattle, it gets dark during the wintertime, and we shut some teams out this year with no points on the board. So, we have a very like suffocating defense, I would say. And I think that's why we came up with The Dark Side."
Indeed, opposing offenses have been held helpless plenty of times this season. Including the postseason, the Seahawks enter the year's biggest game with a 16-3 record where the losses have come by a combined nine points.
While the comparisons are certainly nothing to discredit, this squad is ready to assert itself beyond just a nickname.
"There's one Legion of Boom, we know that," safety Julian Love said. "A lot of those guys are still around. We get a lot of inspiration from. But we're not them.
"The comparisons, obviously it's a great defense in Seattle, your mind goes to Legion of Boom. We know who we are. We're different. We carry ourselves way different than those guys, than those legends, and we're just trying to create and identity for ourselves."
In front of a worldwide audience in Southern California, the Seahawks will have that exact opportunity, where they hope "The Dark Side" take over.