For many Norrix students, National Football League (NFL) Sundays are one of the most anticipated days of the week. Not many feelings can compare to the excitement and joy that can be felt when your favorite team succeeds.
Although there may have been many fans who got to enjoy that feeling, only 14 teams can make the playoffs, meaning not everybody gets the luxury of enjoying their team’s success past January.
With the 2023 season coming to a close on Jan. 7th, 2024, many Loy Norrix students have had to deal with the heartbreak of their favorite team’s season coming to an end.
While many teams’ seasons have come to an end, though, that doesn’t mean the fans can’t celebrate the memories made along the way. For some, the excitement is yet to end.
“My favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys. I’m originally from Texas and it’s the team I’ve been watching since I was little,” said sophomore Itamar Santos. “I feel like we had a really good season, but when it came to the postseason we did horrible. We need to improve on stopping our opponent team’s run game and our on-man coverage.”
Santos was correct: Dallas’ run defense ranked 18th in the NFL last season, allowing nearly 114 rushing yards per game.
“I look forward to my team hopefully making a Super Bowl run again next season and to having better coaching decisions made,” continued Santos. “Dak, our QB, had an MVP-level season and he will be much better next season. Same with our top receiver CeeDee Lamb, one of the best if not the best receivers in the league. So we should have a dominant offense as well.”
Although Santos is holding out hope for next season, he understands the struggles that can come with bad team management.
“Our owner Jerry Jones is horrible at managing our team,” said Santos. “His decisions are questionable, like keeping our head coach Mike McCarthy. Mike has been here for five years and hasn’t been able to get us into an NFC championship game which is disappointing. In my opinion, he should have been dismissed this year.”
While the Cowboys have been competitive for years, Santos knows that the current coaching issues the Cowboys have faced will make it much more difficult to complete their ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl, and he’s not the only NFL fan in the school who is frustrated with poor coaching of his favorite team.
“I’ve been an Eagles fan since I was a kid. They’ve always been my favorite team,” said senior Noah Allen.
Allen has gone through all the ups and downs of being a Philadelphia Eagles fan, from their 2017 Super Bowl win to their 2022 loss to the Chiefs.
“We ended the season 11-6, and I feel like even though we had a winning season we played horribly in comparison to last year,” said Allen.
The Eagles finished their 2023 season with a 1-6 record, including their 9-32 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wildcard round of the playoffs.
“I think the biggest areas we need to improve would be our offensive and defensive play calling. We need new coaches, the staff this year just wasn’t good enough,” said Allen.
Even though the Eagles have struggled, Allen still holds hope for the future.
“I think once we get some new coaches, we’ll be able to turn this around and play better next season. We still have a great team, we can still compete,” said Allen.
While many fans have had to deal with defeat, not all have had the same issue.
“My favorite NFL team is the San Francisco 49ers, Deebo Samuel is my favorite player and their colors are really cool,” said sophomore Aquarius Johnson.
Johnson has been following the 49ers since Samuel’s rookie season.
“We finished the season 12-5, and I feel like we had a great season. We overall have an amazing team. There are no major flaws on either side of the ball,” said Johnson. “The only thing we could really improve would be our DB’s.”
The 49ers finished with the first seed in the NFC and earned their way into the Super Bowl defeating the Lions 31-34 in the NFC championship game.
“This team is just one of those teams. I think we could get back next year, too. People don’t realize that Mr. Irrelevant [Brock Purdy, the 49ers quarterback] is one of them,” said Johnson.
Johnson has gotten to live the dreams of many, watching his favorite team compete for a championship and dominate the NFL all season long.
While many fans’ seasons have come to an end, the anticipation for next season is already at an all-time high. The 2024 NFL Draft will take place from April 25th to the 27th, and free agency will begin on March 14th. The 2024 NFL season is set to begin in early September, and even though the offseason just began, these fans are ready to sprint toward their team’s future.
