{"id":743513,"date":"2026-02-10T23:16:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T23:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/743513\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T23:16:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T23:16:28","slug":"seahawks-love-excites-friends-with-super-bowl-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/743513\/","title":{"rendered":"Seahawks\u2019 Love excites friends with Super Bowl victory\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"2016 Nazareth graduate Julian Love and the Seattle Seahawks played the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. (Photo courtesy of Nazareth Academy)<\/p>\n

Jacob Bartels has marveled at the athletic talents of Seattle Seahawks strong safety and Nazareth Academy graduate Julian Love for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cJulian and I grew up in Westchester, playing basketball and football,\u201d said Bartels, who then played both sports with Love at Nazareth and also graduated in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, along with myself and all of my buddies, you kind of get numb to it, watching him excel at Notre Dame, (the National Football League). You shouldn\u2019t be used to the Super Bowl but you\u2019re used to see him do so well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now an offseason LaGrange Park resident near the high school, Love was among the heroes in the Seahawks\u2019 29-13 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots to add to their first championship following the 2013 season.<\/p>\n

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Love is the first Nazareth graduate to play in, much less win, a Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just funny. You\u2019re watching on TV and oh, look, there\u2019s Julian,\u201d said Matt Prendergast, another 2016 Nazareth Academy graduate and former teammate. \u201cSuper happy for him and his family. It\u2019s extremely well deserved, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Seahawks (17-3) leading 19-7 but the Patriots driving in the fourth quarter, Love delivered more excitement.<\/p>\n

Love had an interception and 35-yard return to the Patriots\u2019 36-yard line. The Seahawks converted the possession into another of a Super Bowl record five field goals for a 22-7 lead with 5:35 left.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seattle\u2019s Uchenna Nwoski then made a 45-yard pick-six interception before New England (17-4) scored a TD with 2:21 left.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so cool (for Love). He\u2019s accomplished so much in his career and that pick in the Super Bowl, that\u2019s some legendary status right there. So few people have been able to do that,\u201d Prendergast said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Julian Love (left) with Nazareth Academy head football coach Tim Racki and his retired No. 20 jersey. (Courtesy of Nazareth Academy)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he got that interception, my phone was blowing off the hook so that was cool,\u201d Bartels said. \u201cI don\u2019t think he knows how many people he impacts. People who don\u2019t know him but know that I know him were texting me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The three have remained friends and are part of a group chat with other former Nazareth players. Yet neither Bartels nor Prendergast has seen Love play an NFL game.<\/p>\n

When Bartels played baseball at St. John\u2019s University, Love got tickets for him and friends who loved Notre Dame to see the Fighting Irish against Syracuse at Yankee Stadium. During those college football days, Prendergast was busy playing for Lehigh.<\/p>\n

The group of Love\u2019s friends gathered Saturday for simulated golf but had separate Super Bowl plans. They look forward to congratulating Love personally for his latest football accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure I\u2019ll reach out some point this week but I\u2019m sure his phone is blowing up,\u201d said Prendergast, who texted Love after the NFC Championship victory.<\/p>\n

Love is in his seventh NFL season and fourth with the Seahawks. A 2023 Pro Bowl selection, Love began this season in the starting lineup and returned Dec. 18 after missing nine games on injured reserve.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Love was the Seahawks\u2019 2025 Steve Largent Award winner and nominee for the NFL\u2019s annual Walter Payton Man of the Year award, both based on dedication and character on and off the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cJulian is a guy that you can tell nothing\u2019s changed,\u201d Bartels said. \u201cHe\u2019s always checking in when something\u2019s going well (for you).\u201d<\/p>\n

When reflecting on Nazareth sports memories with Love, Bartels and Prendergast pondered before mentioning his performance \u2013 both offense and defense \u2013 in the Roadrunners\u2019 35-21 Class 5A state quarterfinal victory over Joliet Catholic to avenge a regular-season loss. Nazareth eventually beat Lincoln-Way West 42-21 for the program\u2019s second state football championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many (moments), right? Basketball, (besides) football, he did something extraordinary,\u201d Bartels said. \u201cYou\u2019d get used to it because you\u2019d see him do great things for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

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