Sports

Autumn Lor

Staff Writer

If you didn’t already know — because you’ve been living under a rock — the Philadelphia Eagles won their first ever Super Bowl on Sunday, February 4th. Fans from across the Philadelphia area were extremely excited throughout the whole week after the win. After the Birds’ triumph over the Patriots, two huge celebrations erupted throughout the city. The first was on the night of the win where students came out just to have fun. The following Thursday, over a million people came to watch the team ride on top of buses and dance around to celebrate their victory.

The School District of Philadelphia gave all schools the day off because the transportation for students would be differefult with everyone coming in and out the streets. Students were grateful for this because they’re weren’t planning on going to school on the day of the parade. This allowed students to go without it having to mess up students’ attendance.

In 2008, the Phillies won the World Series where, Counselor Intern Tess Lieberson came home from college for one night just for the Phillies’ parade. She said that she is a bigger baseball fan than football but because the Eagles are a hometown team, she had to celebrate it and enjoy the city’s victory.

The night of the victory, Lieberson went out on Broad Street. She was able to be in a safe place throughout the whole parade, but there were times where the crowd got hectic. However, it never got to the point where anyone was able to hurt her. The biggest problem that she had was walking home because the trolleys were packed. She didn’t live far so she was able to walk home.

For others, it wasn’t that simple. Junior Sharron Norton stated that on the day of the parade,  she had trouble knowing which stop to get off and which way to go. This was her first time getting off at Race-Vine on Broad Street Line and Norton ended up walking the wrong way. She and her friend needed to walk towards City Hall but ended up walking to the Spring Garden. Despite  the benefits of free train rides, trying to walk anywhere was nearly impossible.

After the parade, Norton went to Chinatown to find something to eat. People were waiting outside of Jefferson Station for the regional rail trains.

On the night of the Super Bowl, Senior Jhazzelle Majarucon threw a party for friends to come over and watch the game. Majarucon lives in Center City, so at the end of the game, her and her friends came outside and danced alongside with other fans, blew air horns, and screamed, “F– Tom Brady!” This chant echoed throughout the night and even made its way to Tess Lieberson.

Lieberson admitted to participating in the chant but stated that. they only pointed out to Brady and not the whole team was because Brady being the main man of the team makes him a very easy person to hate so for the fact that he was the reason why the we lost the Superbowl in 2004.

Not only did the city glow with green lights everywhere, the other Philadelphia teams have been experiencing a lot of victories as well. The Philadelphia Flyers haven’t lost a game since the Super Bowl. The 76ers are 8 win and 2 losses since the Super Bowl, and the Phillies are ready to get back on the diamond with a new team.

Overall, students and teachers all had a good time at the celebration and it didn’t affect the students the next day for school.

The Philadelphia Eagles have made a real comeback in the  2017-2018 National Football League (NFL) season — and SLA is celebrating!

On Sunday January 21, 2018, Quarterback Nick Foles Number 9, lead the Philadelphia Eagles to victory and taking the team to Minnisota for the 52nd Super Bowl, on February 4, 2018.

People on social media were overly excited before, during and after the game. Students and other citizens/fans, come outside their homes and sang to the Eagles anthem all night long. SLA is located in the heart of Philadelphia This home game really showed how hard the eagles worked for this season and students weren’t scared to should that. Students on Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram showed their loved.

Some students at SLA are delighted about what is going on in the football world. Some students are very straightforward and open to talk about the team, while others could care less about the Eagles or football in general.  

During the normal NFL season, the Eagles’ record was 13 wins and 3 losses and went playoffs. In week 12, Quarterback Carson Wentz got hurt during the game against the Seattle Seahawks but was also announced as the NFL Midseason MVP. In week 13, Wentz tore his ACL and is out for the rest of the reason but Foles was ready to come in. In the past 10 seasons, the Eagles made it to playoffs 4 times. The last time they went to the Super Bowl was 2004, 13 years ago.

There are definitely students at SLA who have all this information memorized. During the regular season, SLA was not overwhelmed with kids in green jerseys, but there were a handful of students who faithfully repped for the team every week. 

“People on the team have really stepped it up this season… I was really scared with Jason Peters tore his ACL and MCL. Halapoulivaati Vaitai had to take Peters place but ended up doing a job well done. There really is no star player when it comes to the Eagles,” Junior Leo Cassel-Siskind said with confidence.

Students who watch every game of football have a lot to say about the Eagles. However, not everybody shares their enthusiasm.

Every Monday, English Teacher Joshua Block asks his classes who has good news. The first person to raise their hand is Cassel-Siskind. He gives a recap of their game that happens within that week.

Other students who walk around school with Eagles’ gear did not have the same passion as Cassel-Siskind but still said good things. When students around the school were asked if there was one thing they could say about the Eagles, many responses were given.

Senior Jorin Gerveni screamed, “E. A. G. L. E. S!” And then laughed. “I think this year is one of the greatest comebacks by the Eagles,” he continued. “We’re making it to the Super Bowl.”

Other people who are very excited about the Eagles are Freshman Payson McConnell, Junior Kamil Kielar, Senior Justin Mack, and Senior Addison Zheng.

Zheng believes that this is their breakout season, while McConnell says that Carson Wentz is the best. Others believe that they are unpredictable. Former student Jahmar Askew states, “The Eagles are underestimated compared to other NFL teams. When people throw shade at them, I have to protect my city and our team.”

“The team is really young, talented, and is a playoff caliber team this year,” Mack Stated.

However, other students aren’t as interested in football. Junior Eric Valenti believed that football lacks in culture and doesn’t show sportsmanship. Other students were upset about the noise from last night’s celebration on and around Broad Street.

The game before, the New England Patriots took the win and will be facing the Philadelphia Eagles for the Superbowl. The big question is: who is playing at halftime?

Keith Hodge

Staff Writer

The Lady Rockets wrapped up an extremely successful season this past November — and now they have to say goodbye to Captain Emily Stephens.

The team finished with a 10-2 record, finished 1st place in the Double-A Division, 2nd overall in their league, season ending with a Double-A Gold Division Championship with a seesaw win against Palumbo.

While they lost their playoff game to qualify for states,  Stephens said she was happy because of “how far the team has come and there was nothing to be disappointed about.”

“ I was so proud of the team and my personal goal was to win the Double-A championship and they did that, “ she said. . “It was one of the closes team we’ve had and we didn’t really let anyone fall or struggle and we lifted everyone up and I would say it was one of the best seasons I have been a part of since I’ve been here.”

As for the 10-2 record, she had this to say: “It felt really good because I know how hard the team works and also SLA is a new school and has not been around very long and we are playing schools like Centeral who have been playing for about 200 years.”

Stephens was well aware of the differences in how Central and how SLA works.

Stephens then said the best win of the season was the one where they beat Palumbo 3 to 0 in the regular season. “The Palumbo regular season win, because almost every year we always alternated them with wins, Palumbo won freshman year, we won sophomore year, they won junior and we won senior year”. Stephens also added

“This was the best game of the year because everyone was playing to their best ability and really pushed themselves”.

What are Stephens’ plans for life after SLA?

“In college I plain to join the club or intramural team so nothing to competitive but just for fun,” she said. Stephens also said to look out for future SLA volleyball bake sales later in the year to because this year’s team will not stop trying to set next year’s up for success.

Stephens and the rest of the team are looking to buy jackets to show that they won the Double-A Division and Championship for the 2017 season.

Kai Bradley-Gutierrez de Teran 

Staff Writer

If you follow Seniors Malachi Johnson or Jorin Gerveni on Snapchat, then you surely know what Coach Talk is. If you don’t, let me explain.

Coach Talk is something that Malachi and Jorin post  when they are together and supposedly talking about the soccer team, which they co-captained this past year. However, it has become more than that. It has become a symbol of their friendship and unity not just as the leaders of the soccer team but as individuals.

Coach Talk originated from Captain Talk which was basically the same thing except that Malachi and Jorin did not have the same responsibility that came with the titles Coach. However at the beginning of the 2017 Fall season there was no coach and it became a deal with Coach Johnson and SLA Principal Mr. Lehman that Jorin and Malachi would take on the role of the coaches for the soccer team until one was found, a job that Malachi and Jorin would take on and create Coach Talk.

While Coach Talk originated around soccer it has extended to whenever Jorin and Malachi, the coaches/captains, are together, as Malachi said “It’s [Coach Talk] just become whenever me and and him [Jorin] are together, which is like all the time.”

Being the captains

Jorin and Malachi have been co-captains of the soccer team for the past two years, the 2016 and 2017 seasons. When you’re out on the field with them, as I have been, or just watching them play and lead the SLA Boys Varsity Soccer team something glows up inside of them and their attitude spreads. Malachi said “Being the captain 2 years in a row, it was definitely like a high school dream and something that you tell your kids.”

Jorin added that “It is a privilege,” to be the captain of soccer team and represent SLA by playing his favorite sport.

Even though they love being the captains they both said how it was hard at times. They said how it’s tough to make decisions that are going to affect the whole team because not everyone can be satisfied and that they don’t always have the answers.

When I asked what they thought was the best tip for captains of sport teams they both said that having positivity and patience were key. Jorin went on to add that it is the job of the captain to represent their team and/or school as best as possible. Malachi also said that being the captain you are held at a higher standard and have to be your best self at all times because you are a role model whether one realizes it or not.

Jorin also said that positivity was the best for a good and successful soccer player and team to which Malachi added on that confidence in yourself and the team was very important but “Yeah, we want to win games but never underestimate any type of opponent or task.”

Friendship and Soccer (Futbol)

One can naturally assume by seeing Malachi and Jorin on the soccer field that they share a special friendship, which is very true. They stated that their friendship formed during their freshman year on the soccer team, something that Jorin stated was special about being part of the soccer team. Malachi said they were friends “But no where near as close as we are now, until we were both captains and had to talk and talk, did we truly get close.”

Jorin said how he was grateful for soccer because of the ways it has positively impacted his life, helping him relieve stress, gain confidence and form friendships. Jorin said,“Every problem goes away when I have a ball at my feet.”

When I asked why they loved soccer so much they both brought up the fact that they grew up and have spent a lot of time in other countries, Malachi in Nigeria and Jorin in Albania, and are part of very different cultures than that of the typical American.

Malachi went on to speak in depth about the effect of soccer. “The feeling you get when you score a goal is the most uplifting feeling you’ll ever feel in any sport because it’s so difficult and it’s the reason why Americans aren’t interested in 1-0 games, they don’t understand the importance of it.”

Jorin and Malachi both said how being a member of the soccer community is truly a wonderful experience and how it can connect you to complete strangers all over the world.

“It’s like a different type of humans, the people who love soccer,” Malachi said.