For the past six months, fans across the country, and here at Sacred Heart University, have spent their Sunday afternoons catching their favorite teams battle on the field. After an exciting season, featuring the Chiefs fall into oblivion, the Colts finishing the season on a 1-8 slide after starting 7-1, and the unlikely reemergence of Sam Darnold on the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks, that communal feeling of gathering around the couch, turning red zone on and complaining about the commercials will surely be missed. But, without 15 games preceding the school week, how will SHU Students spend their Sundays now?
Source: Will Morgan, Audrey’s Corner Editor
For sophomore Blake Mattessich, his New York Giants were tough to watch at times, but he is optimistic about the future.
“It was a rough season for my New York Giants. We went 4-13, the second worst record in the league. But, we have Dart and Skatt, and we just got Harbaugh, so the future’s still bright,” said Mattessich.
Mattessich said that there is a trade-off between enjoyment and productivity on Sundays when the National Football League (NFL) season ends.
“Without football on Sundays anymore, I’ll probably sleep in later; I don’t have to be up by at least 1 p.m. anymore,” said Mattessich. “I always used to do a lot of homework for the week while watching games, but it’ll be easier to lock in without fantasy stats to watch out for. I think my Sundays are going to become much less interesting but far more actually productive.”
The brutal season for the Giants was also a sore spot for sophomore Sergei Cicogna, who is ready to move on to disappointment with a different team now that the NFL season is over.
“4-13 is inexcusable. I don’t care how fun the games were. Now, my hopes and dreams are going to get crushed by a different team, the [New York] Rangers,” said Cicogna.
Cicogna’s Sunday schedule will become significantly less crowded without any NFL games to watch.
“Sundays without the NFL are going to be different, I’ll miss that camaraderie that was shared by everyone watching together,” said Cicogna. “But these games also took up huge amounts of my free time. I’m going to take more advantage of having nothing else to do and just nap and rest.”
Sophomore Kyle Maguire, a Steelers fan, will enjoy not having the stress of watching his team playing every Sunday.
“Sunday’s are going to be a lot more peaceful now that my sanity isn’t dependent on how my team is doing. I’ll probably fill that gap in my day with video games and basketball, because I tend to get my classwork done during the week,” said Maguire.
The Steelers made the playoffs as a result of Ravens kicker Tyler Loop missing a 44-yard field goal to win the game in a week 18 matchup between the Ravens and Steelers that was for the American Football Conference (AFC) North title. Sophomore JP Buitrago experienced frustration by the abrupt ending to the Ravens season.
“If [Ravens quarterback] Lamar [Jackson] wasn’t out for weeks, we should have made it. Instead, everything depended on a field goal at the end. Well, the suffering is over now,” said Buitrago.
Buitrago’s Sunday homework schedule likely won’t change much despite the lack of football on Sundays.
“I’d always wait until after the games wrapped up each Sunday and then get my work in. I’ll probably still wind up doing it later without any games on,” said Buitrago.
The 2025 NFL season concluded with the Seattle Seahawks defeating the New England Patriots by a score of 29-13 in Super Bowl LX, and NFL fans are now left without football to watch on Sundays until early September
