So, who ya got for the Big Game on Sunday?

Shaw Local spoke to eight football fans in the Illinois Valley, selected at random, and the pick is in: It’ll be the Seattle Seahawks.

New head coach Mike Vrabel steered the Patriots from worst-to-first, securing an AFC East title and then three straight playoff victories over the L.A. Chargers, Texans and top-seeded Broncos.

“I think it’ll be the Patriots,” predicted Alex Stafford of Marseilles. “They do usually have a pretty strong team, even without (Tom) Brady, so I’m kind of leaning toward them.”

Roger Sommer of Peru agreed it’ll “probably” be New England.

“I think they want Drake Maye to prove that he’s the successor to Brady in New England,” Sommer said. “I think America wants New England to win. I really do.”

America might want the Pats, but locally, some skeptics questioned whether 23-year-old quarterback Drake Maye – the youngest quarterback to start in a Super Bowl since Dan Marino in 1984 – is ready for the bright lights and intense scrutiny. Last year’s Super Bowl was viewed by a record 127.7 million.

Connor Keeley of Spring Valley said he is pulling for the Seahawks – he’s a Vikings fan and wishes Minnesota hadn’t given up on Sam Darnold – and thinks New England’s run of NFL championships is drawing to a close.

“Honestly, I feel like the Patriots have won way too many,” Keeley said. “So I feel like they should give someone else a chance.”

Lydia Warren of Granville thinks Sunday will be less about quarterback play than about defense and there, she said, the Seahawks have the edge.

“Their defense just looks really good, and I think they’re gonna beat the Patriots,” she said. “I think it’ll still be a good game. I just think that the Seahawks are gonna take it all the way.”

Neither team is new to the big one, however.

The Seahawks have played in three previous Super Bowls, winning one. Seattle lost Super Bowl 40 to the Pittsburgh Steelers and then secured back-to-back title berths in Super Bowls 48 and 49.

In 48, Russell Wilson and the Legion of Boom led Seattle to a lopsided win over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. In the latter, the Seahawks lost after Wilson threw a goal-line interception recovered by the Patriots – a call that then-Seattle coach Pete Carroll regretted.

New England has been to 11 previous Super Bowls and enters this weekend with a 6-5 record in the big one. In their first title game, the Patriots lost to the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl 20. Bill Parcells later steered the Pats to Super Bowl 31, which New England lost to Green Bay.

Tom Brady and Bill Belichick reversed New England’s fortunes, winning six of nine championships over St. Louis, Carolina, Philadelphia, Seattle, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Rams. The Patriots’ three losses were to the Giants twice, and Philadelphia.