After two weeks of unprecedented controversy, heavily anticipated news conferences, and predictions on a game where there is no clear favourite, it's finally time to play some football and wrap up the National Football League season.
The defending champion Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots meet tonight in Super Bowl XLIX from the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Comprehensive coverage of the championship game begins on CTV at Noon et/9am pt, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt. You can also watch the game on CTV GO, and listen across the TSN Radio Network. After the CTV broadcast, you can catch complete post-game coverage live on SportsCentre on TSN.
Fourteen days ago New England cruised to a 45-7 AFC championship win over the Indianapolis Colts, while Seattle completed an unlikely late-game comeback to overcome the Green Bay Packers 28-22 in overtime in the NFC title game.
In the time since then, "Deflategate" engulfed the Patriots organization, the league, and its official protocols when it was found that most of New England's footballs had been underweight during at least part of the game against the Colts at Gillette Stadium. Both head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady held news conferences and denied knowledge of any wrongdoing, and the National Football League continues to investigate.
On the Seattle side, most of the attention has been focused on enigmatic running back Marshawn Lynch, who only reluctantly appeared at media conferences this week, famously and repeatedly stating, "I'm here so I don't get fined" but otherwise saying very little while counting down the minutes and seconds until he could be dismissed from the podium.
With the chatter and sidebar stories now out of the way, a pair of elite clubs who both finished 12-4 this year will meet for the first time ever in the post-season with eyes on the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Seattle is the 12th team with a chance to repeat - eight have succeeded - after its dominant defence stymied Denver's high-powered offence in last year's 43-8 Super Bowl rout.
The Patriots are in search of their fourth title and if they get it, Brady would become the third quarterback to win that many championships.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has quickly risen to elite status alongside the veteran Brady, and the battle of pivots will be closely watched on Sunday.
"Russell and Tom Brady are both great winners," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll explained earlier this week. "Tom has had a long time to prove that. Russell is at the early stages of proving that to the world. But he's got a chance to be similar."
As far as betting interest goes, the game became the first in Super Bowl history to open as a "pick 'em" with no favourite. Since then the Patriots have moved to become a one-point pick with a game total of 47 points.