Trinity Prep students are lucky to find themselves in a national hub of athletic activity. We can cheer on the local NBA team, the Magic, or even nearby collegiate teams. UCF is right down the street, and many students have ties to college teams all over the state, whether it be the University of Florida, Florida State, or Miami. Even professional baseball associates with Orlando, with many teams hosting spring training throughout central Florida.
While Orlando enjoys a plethora of sporting options, the one league they are missing, which also happens to be the most important sport in the minds of most of the country, sticks out like a sore thumb.
Central Florida is sorely lacking an NFL team, and the students of Trinity Prep are being affected. Students are forced to choose between 32 teams from cities all over the country, including three here in the Sunshine State.
What is Trinity’s favorite NFL team? Because we have no hometown team to root for, there is no obvious answer to this question. Do students like teams based on where they grew up? Is it the team’s proximity to Orlando? Or did some kids just pick their favorite team out of a hat?
Eighth grader Talha Ahmad is one of few fans of the New Orleans Saints on campus. According to Ahmad, the Saints are his favorite team because “I was born in Louisiana and I like [Saints quarterback] Drew Brees.”
Ahmad understands that it can be difficult to cheer for a team that is so far away. He said, “It’s hard being a fan. There aren’t a lot of other Saints fans in Orlando. It’s harder being a fan when there aren’t a lot of other fans around you.”
He added, “If Orlando got an NFL team, I would like both.”
Senior Brock Lilley has a very different view of the NFL. Lilley doesn’t have a favorite NFL team; rather, he is a Florida Gator fan. He believes that it is much easier to be a college fan because there are no nearby NFL teams. Lilley said, “Everyone can connect to a college, everyone knows someone who went to an area school.”
Lilley prefers college fandom to that of the NFL. “Being a college fan is a much more enjoyable experience, especially going to games. It is a much more family friendly atmosphere,” he said.
Lilley compares the thought of having a nearby NFL team to the Orlando Magic. “If the Magic weren’t in Orlando, I would not really be an NBA fan at all,” he said, “but because they are in Orlando, I pay attention to the NBA. Likewise, I would be more interested in the NFL if there was a team in Orlando.”
Anyone who has ever had Steven Krueger as a teacher knows that, as a fan of the Denver Broncos, he bleeds blue and orange. Krueger explained, “I grew up watching the Broncos because my dad went to school in Denver for college, so when I was a little wee tike… I just kind of adopted them because he was watching them. Once I got attached, it was done, it was all over. I was a Broncos fan for life.”
Krueger admits that being a Broncos fan all the way in Orlando has its ups and downs. “I don’t think it’s lonely, but it would be fun to have other fans around to have that collective rooting thing going on.”
While Krueger agrees that it would be nice to have an NFL team in Orlando, he is a Broncos fan tried and true. “I would not switch my allegiance. I would probably support the team, but it wouldn’t be as near or dear to my heart as the Broncos.”
Even though there is no local NFL team in Orlando, students and faculty on our campus still follow the league closely, rooting for their favorite team week after week.
The lack of pro football nearby does nothing to inhibit our school’s passion for the sport.
