Feb 5 (Reuters) - European football's most prestigious prize found itself rubbing shoulders with American sports royalty this week, as the Champions League trophy made its first-ever appearance at Super Bowl festivities in San Francisco.
The National Football League - as part of its international outreach to other sports leagues and competitions - invited the UEFA Champions League to bring its trophy to pre-Super Bowl celebrations ahead of Sunday's showdown between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks for the Lombardi Trophy.
The gleaming European silverware was in the media room where global news outlets were interviewing athletes from across the U.S. sports spectrum, from NFL legends like Michael Irvin and Donovan McNabb to World Wrestling Entertainment's CM Punk.
Across the Atlantic, Champions League drama continues to unfold. Following the league stage of the competition, last month's draw set the two-stage knockout matches scheduled for February 17-25 for the teams ranked ninth to 24th.
The draw produced some compelling matchups, with Real Madrid to face Benfica again after losing to the Portuguese club in their last group stage match. Last year's French champion Paris St Germain will take on fellow Ligue 1 side Monaco.
The winners of these two-stage matches will join the top-eight teams in the round of 16.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in San Francisco; Editing by Tom Hogue)
