SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Diya TV) — For Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, returning to the South Bay for Super Bowl week feels less like a corporate obligation and more like a family reunion. As the region prepares for the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots to clash in Super Bowl LX, Young finds himself looking back at the transformation of the place he calls his professional home.
In a recent conversation with Diya TV, Young recalled his early days with the San Francisco 49ers, when the team’s Santa Clara headquarters sat in a significantly quieter landscape. “When we first got there, there was nothing down there,” Young said. “Then in ten years, Silicon Valley had exploded, and we were the beneficiaries in many ways—the players of that growth and the relationships and the people.”
That explosion eventually led to the construction of Levi’s Stadium, a venue Young admitted he initially struggled to visualize. He joked that when the project was first announced, he and his former teammates wondered where the massive structure would even fit.
“I didn’t know they could do that,” Young said of the decision to build on what was once overflow parking for the Great America theme park. “We used to run donuts in our cars out there… just have some fun. But now it’s the stadium. It’s so cool.”
Beyond the steel and glass, Young is particularly impressed by the modern playing surface. Reflecting on the “ruddy” fields of his youth, he noted that the high-tech turf at Levi’s Stadium represents a shift in accessibility. “It can be played on every day year-round and it doesn’t get run down,” he said. “The key is that… I grew up on a field that was available more than yours.”
While Young is busy this week serving as a head coach for the AFC in the 2026 Pro Bowl Games—facing off against his legendary teammate Jerry Rice, who leads the NFC—his focus has also turned toward the next generation of athletes.
Young, who serves as the 49ers Foundation’s Honorary Captain of Girls Flag Football, described the rise of the female game as a “revelation.” Having coached his own daughters, he remains a staunch advocate for the sport’s expansion. “I was shocked by how quickly the girls took to the game, how much they loved it,” Young said. “Football is made for girls and they are all about it. I just think next generations won’t remember how many went without it.”
The Hall of Famer also sees a bit of his own journey in Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. Like Young, who spent years in the USFL and with a struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers team before finding his footing in the 49ers’ system, Darnold has found a “second chance” in the Pacific Northwest.
“You need a lot of help to be any good in the NFL,” Young explained. “If you don’t get the help, you can’t find out how really great you can be. That’s what I love about Sam… it’s a revelation to him, too.”
As the Bay Area hosts its second Super Bowl in a decade, the Super Bowl XXIX MVP is soaking in the atmosphere with the same intensity he brought to the field. Whether coaching against Rice or watching the “revelation” of modern quarterbacks, winning the ultimate game is something that stays with Young to this day.
“The Super Bowl became that proof point about how good we could really be,” Young said. “And I think that’s a great memory.”
