The Super Bowl has been a yearly tradition for football fans since 1967. It’s a time when people come together to have parties or go out and watch the game with friends and family.

This year, the game will be ground out on the gridiron by two teams that have worked tremendously hard to get to this point. The Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) and the Los Angeles Rams (12-5) are set to square off on Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium, also the home of the Los Angeles Rams. Both teams have battled it out all year to achieve this moment, but these were not the two teams many expected to see in the end.

The Rams have been waiting for this moment for a couple of years now, and finally arrived at the Super Bowl after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game. According to the NFL website, the 49ers previously had beaten the Rams six straight times. The Bengals, on the other hand, played with heart and perseverance all year, and carried their positive attitude into the playoffs, defeating teams such as the Tennessee Titans and 2020 Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Guilford senior Bryce Vestal and junior Dylan King both provided their thoughts on the game.

“The Rams are full of superstars on both sides of the ball with Stafford coming in this year from Detroit and Odell Beckam Jr. coming alive in LA…the Bengals with Joe Burrow solidified himself as an elite QB, but their offense and defense have struggled at times,” Vestal said.

He predicts that the Rams will win with a score of 27-13.

King expressed his opinion that “The Bengals had a tough road to the Super Bowl as they had to defeat the Raiders, Titans, and Chiefs…On the other side of the ball, the Rams traded for Matt Stafford before the season, then (traded) for Von Miller and OBJ,” King said. “The Rams will try to get to Joe Burrow with the Bengals’ O-Line being below average.” 

He predicts that the Rams will win with a score of 21-17.

“The Rams leveraged future picks to get players to win now, such as Stafford and Jalen Ramsey…The Bengals, however, used their draft picks to strengthen their lineup in Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase,” said Zach Booker, the head coach of Guilford’s baseball team. “I don’t have a favorite, per se …both are good stories and (I) would not be upset with either winning, but I believe (the) Rams (will) win 31-24”.

The Bengals and Rams are two completely different teams with the same goal: being crowned the Super Bowl champions. No matter who wins, for many of these players, this will be their first Super Bowl ring. The Rams were built and manufactured to be champions and according to the NFL website, the Bengals are ahead of schedule. Each team has its eyes on the prize, but only one of them will be able to reach the top, and the other will be outplayed.