The San Francisco Bay Area is a booming Northern California region. It incorporates major cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose along with their greater metropolitan areas. In the latter half of the 20th Century, it became known for its diversity and inclusiveness. And in the early 2000’s up to the current day, it has become a Mecca for technology and innovation. It is also the region that raised both Super Bowl LIII starting quarterbacks.

The Seasoned Vet

Nestled on the Bay Area’s peninsula roughly 20 miles south of San Francisco, is the town of San Mateo. This town of somewhere around 104,000 people is where New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was born and raised. He attended Junipero Serra High School, a nearby private Catholic school from 1991-1995. There he showed off his arm as the Padres starting quarterback in his junior and senior seasons.

In addition to football, Brady excelled in baseball. He played catcher and was a power hitter. His baseball prowess was duly noted by Major League Baseball scouts. And in the 1995 MLB Draft, the Montreal Expos snagged him in the 18th round.

Brady however had his sights set on NCAA Division I football. After graduating from Serra in 1995, he would leave the Bay Area, going on to attend the University of Michigan. There his football legacy would begin to take shape.

The Young Pup

On the opposite end of the Bay Area, 30 miles north of San Francisco, and across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, sits the town of Novato. This town in Marin County of approximately 56,000 residents was the birthplace and childhood home of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff. He attended Marin Catholic High School in the neighboring town of Kentfield from 2009-2013.

Goff had a storied career at Marin Catholic, throwing for 7,687 yards and 93 touchdowns during his three varsity seasons as the starting quarterback. In those three seasons, his teams would come away with a 39-4 overall record, going 20-1 in Marin County League play. Also, Goff led those teams to numerous conference and league titles and even one appearance in the state title game. His dominance led him to be named a four-star recruit by many of the ranking outlets for the recruiting class of 2013.

After high school though, Goff’s Bay Area sports legacy would not be finished just yet. He opted to stay in the Bay Area and attend the University of California, Berkeley, the alma mater of parents.

Goff would kick-off his career at Cal becoming the first true freshman to start at quarterback in the season opener in school history. In three seasons at Cal, Goff would start all 37 games possible. He set various school and Pac-12 passing records in the process. His prolific career at Cal earned him high praise from NFL scouts leading up to the 2016 NFL draft. The Rams traded up in the draft to the #1 overall pick to select him. No longer in his comfort zone, Goff traveled down highway 101 to LA to join his new team.

Just realized that the two starting Quarterbacks in Super Bowl LIII are Tom Brady and Jared Goff. Two Bay Area guys that grew up about 1 hour away from each other. Northern California is a football factory! — Coach Al Netter (@AlNetter) January 29, 2019

The San Francisco Bay Area is best known as home to companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter. But on Sunday February 3rd, 2019 it reign supreme in the football world with two quarterbacks in the Super Bowl. And no matter how the game turns out, after the clock hits 0:00, one of the Bay Area’s prodigal sons will be hoisting the Lombardi trophy.

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