The champion of the National Football League was decided on Sunday, February 13th, in a showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.

After not achieving a playoff win since 1990, the city of Cincinnati and the majority of the country were all rooting for Joe Burrow, or Joe Cool as they call him, and the Bengals as they fought their way to the Super Bowl. After overcoming the future of the league in players like Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Derrick Henry of the Tenessee Titans, the Bengals were faced with their greatest challenge yet in the superteam of Los Angeles. 

The Los Angeles Rams, led by stars like Arron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and NFL Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp, marched their way into the Super Bowl, confident no team in the league could stop them; Joe Burrow had other ideas. The Cincinnati Bengals were led by their young offensive unit of Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, Jamarr Chase, and other stars, all of whom were under the age of 25 years old. The Bengals are also the first team in NFL history to have a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher, and two 1,000-yard receivers that are 25 years old or younger. 

Their young talent appeared to be the only match for the Rams and their superteam, but they were no match. 

The Cincinnati Bengals lost Super Bowl LVI with a score of 23-20. The Bengals did hold the lead at one point in the game, giving hope to all who were watching, but they could not pull through on a controversial fourth-down conversion that was stopped by Los Angeles’ Arron Donald, which lost them the game.

Aside from the Cincinnati defeat, it seems that almost all of Gen X won that Super Bowl Sunday. With performances from Snoop Dog, Eminem, 50 Cent, Mary J Blige, Dr. Dre, and Kendrick Lamar, every parent in the world was dancing to music from the 90s during the Super Bowl Halftime show. 

As the world mourns the retirement of many legends around the league, it is always good to see the future of the NFL taking the league by storm.