Clash of the generations

Tom Brady will chase an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl crown this morning (Singapore time) as the New England Patriots face the Los Angeles Rams in a clash of the generations set to rewrite the NFL record books.

Patriots star Brady, 41, will become the oldest quarterback ever to lift the title if he masterminds yet another championship in the latest milestone of a career that has shown no signs of flagging.

A win would see Brady become the only player in history to win six Super Bowls, an achievement which may never been beaten in an era of ever shorter NFL careers.

A capacity crowd of 75,324 will pack Atlanta's futuristic Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the NFL spectacular, the biggest annual event on the US sporting calendar, which kicks off at 7.30am.

Grammy Award-winning band Maroon 5 will headline the traditional half-time concert, which comes after several performers reportedly turned down the opportunity to participate in protest at the NFL's treatment of activist former San Francisco quarter-back Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick has been effectively frozen out of the NFL after his "take-a-knee" protests which led to a political firestorm in 2017.

On the field, Brady is bidding to lead the Patriots to the Vince Lombardi Trophy fully 17 years after orchestrating the team's first triumph back in 2002.

"When you've been in the position I've been in, you just count your blessings every day," said Brady, who will be playing in a record ninth Super Bowl.

Records are also set to tumble in the event of a win by a youthful Rams team led by 24-year-old quarterback Jared Goff and coaching prodigy Sean McVay.

McVay, only 33, will become the youngest head coach ever to win the Super Bowl if he manages to outwit Patriots counterpart Bill Belichick.

At 66, Belichick is twice McVay's age.

Belichick, who has won five Super Bowls as head coach and two as an assistant, would become the oldest head coach to take the Lombardi Trophy with a win.

The vast differences in experience between the rivals have prompted bookmakers to install the Patriots as favourites to win a sixth title, putting them level with the Pittsburgh Steelers as the most successful franchise in Super Bowl history. - AFP