The 2024-2025 NFL season has been a tumultuous one for fans of the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, with various feelings of victory, jubilation, and defeat culminating in a respectable 11-6 record for Green Bay and a great 14-3 record for Minnesota. Both teams comfortably made the playoffs representing their NFC North division alongside the Detroit Lions, but were met with opposition that resulted in unexpectedly humiliating defeats.
The Green Bay Packers, for instance, had been touted throughout the season as one of the brightest up-and-coming teams; the youngest roster in the league, the supposed star quarterback Jordan Love who had recently been paid with the second-most amount of money out of all quarterbacks, and the solid team around him all made it seem to Packers fans that 2024 would be the year of great success.
“I honestly thought that we would win the Super Bowl. I still think that Jordan Love is the best quarterback in the league, and he can beat anyone all by himself,” Noah Ladew, junior and longtime Packers fan said.
These thoughts were not completely unfounded, and had basis in the season’s progression which saw multiple exciting victories and moments that were “fun to watch.”
“My favorite moment from the season was probably when our terrorist kicker Brayden Narveson got cut from the team and we hired Brandon McManus, who was better, even though he’s also a domestic abuser,” Ladew said.
As the wildcard game between the Packers and Philadelphia Eagles approached, Ladew felt a great sense of optimism and expected a clear victory from his Packers.
“I really thought the Packers would win. Even though the Eagles are really good, I thought that Jordan Love would throw five touchdowns and have an incredible game,” Ladew said.
Unfortunately for Ladew and his fellow Packers fans, Jordan Love had an abysmal game with aero touchdowns, three interceptions, and a horrid passer rating of 41.5 as the Packers lost in embarrassing fashion 22-10 to the Eagles.
When asked to identify the reason for the blowout, he answered, “Bad refs and unlucky injuries” Ladew said.
As for the Minnesota Vikings, their loss to the Los Angeles Rams was done in embarrassing fashion as well, with their hot 14-3 team falling to the underwhelming 10-7 Rams in a 9-27 blowout.
“I had felt really good about our odds during the season but always felt like we would sell in the end, like what happened,” junior Austin Pae, fan of the Vikings said.
The Vikings had been playing well before this wildcard game.
“I thought that the coaching had been really good and that the chemistry between the group was like a bunch of friends,” Pae said.
Due to his initial optimism, the game caught him off guard and made him feel very sad.
“I was considering shutting the game off at halftime,” Pae said.
Pae had been so demoralized watching the blowout that he even commented on his regret watching the game at all.
“After it ended, I felt like I should have been studying for the physics test I failed the day after instead,” Pae said.
When asked to recall the one play that represented the course of the game, Pae had a clear answer in mind.
“I’d say the worst memory from that game was when Sam Darnold fumbled the ball and it was returned for a Rams touchdown on a play that otherwise would have given the Vikings really good field position,” Pae said.
Such humiliating games for both the Packers and the Vikings have not only been noticed by their own respective fans, however.
Jacksonville Jaguars fan Ryan Pham commented on both of these games, “Yeah, if I was a fan of a sucky team like the Packers or the Vikings, I would feel sad right now. Luckily, I am a fan of the Jaguars (4-13) and could have seen these games coming all along,” Pham said.
Pham also seemed to not think very much about these teams’ chances of winning in the first place, but still favored the Vikings out of the two.
“I would’ve given both of these teams very low chances to win the Super Bowl anyway, but I probably would’ve given the Vikings a slightly higher chance because they wear purple, and purple is a cool color. I love purple,” Pham said.
The NFL playoffs are fickle, but even though any team can win or lose at any given time, all fans of participating teams hope that any loss isn’t one that is embarrassing or one that feels underwhelming after a season of high expectations.
“I just feel very disappointed in how the season ended. I was excited for the Super Bowl and don’t want to have to wait another year,” Ladew said.
Luckily, these teams are not completely without hope and have aspects of their team to look forward to in the future.
“I still see Jordan Love as our long term quarterback, and we have some of the best young players in the league that can all turn into stars,” Ladew said.
For Vikings fans, they see JJ McCarthy, rookie quarterback sidelined by injuries, as the answer to their woes in seasons to come.
“I’m going to be looking forward to the future with our king JJ McCarthy. I already know he’s going to be the greatest of all time,” Pae said.
