The Beginning of Football-Mania

It is absolutely shocking that we are in February and still talking about the College Football Playoff Championship from over a month ago. Everyone knew during the lead up for the championship game that it wouldn’t be an ordinary postseason and the Georgia vs. Alabama final did not disappoint. Characterized by booming passes, field-goal-skimming kicks, and spectacular defensive plays, it is easy to say that sports analysts will be constantly referring to this one game. Quarterbacks Bryce Young (Alabama) and Stetson Bennett (Georgia) faced off in the pocket, slinging passes left and right in stunning displays of athleticism, narrowly avoiding the advancing defensive line falling in for a sack. Yet the ball always seemed to make its way out of the hands of Young and Bennett and find wide receivers for long gains along the gridiron. 

The constant back and forth of this game that left football fans drooling came to a halt in the fourth quarter when Georgia pulled away 33-18 to finish off the Crimson Tide. Georgia coach Kirby Smart was quick to praise the young Alabama quarterback’s performance against the Bulldogs saying “We talk about him as Houdini, because he can make people miss.” Smart also spent some time praising the famed Alabama coach Nick Saban in his utilization of all the tools in the Tide’s belt, despite their devastating fall to Georgia (ESPN.com). 

The highlight wasn’t just this one game, though. The end of the college postseason was just the beginning of a long string of awe-inspiring football games. The conclusion of the college season only meant the birth of the NFL postseason for football fans. The games that would start this bracket would be historic. Ramapo Junior, Mikey Kayal when asked about the games “It’s just fun to watch. You never really know what’s going to happen next and it just leaves you glued to your screen.” There were no boring games to start the trek towards Super Bowl LVI and the constant competitions brought narrow wins and devastating losses for the many teams across the board. And to top all of this off, Tom Brady, labeled by many to be the greatest quarterback to play the game, had announced his retirement from the Buccaneers after falling short to the LA Rams after coming off his 7th Super Bowl win in 2021 accumulated over his impressive 22 seasons.  

In a conversation with Engineering teacher, Mr. Russo, he claimed “The Packers were robbed of the playoffs. Completely robbed.” Regardless of my opposing opinion to this statement, I loved the passion that he had while we discussed the game of football and it was a grand testament to all football fans. Football is an escape of all the stresses of life and when life is at its toughest, football is there with all the emotions and excitement to pick you right back up. Mr. Russo reminded me of this and despite my disappointment of the results, I won’t stop watching. With the long string of extraordinary football games starting from the astounding Georgia-Alabama CFP Championship, it is safe to say that the future of football looks bright.