Story by Amelia Lawrence

The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers competed in the Super Bowl on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas. The Chiefs were victorious in a nail biter overtime game, leading them to win back to back super bowls which hasn’t happened for 20 years. While the 49ers seemed to dominate in the beginning of the game, the Chiefs prevailed with the power of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Throughout the school several people voiced their opinions on their thoughts and feelings about the outcome of the Super Bowl. Senior Jack Deutsch said “I was rooting for the 49ers big time, it was such a close score and I was disappointed with the final outcome.”

Some other highlights of the game included the Usher halftime show. This got a lot of backlash from viewers; several people were disappointed with the show and wanted more. There was a lot of dancing and acrobatics by Usher, 45, and his backup dancers. He was joined by Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Ludacris, and Lil John. The 8 songs he played were “Caught up,” ” U dont have to call”, “Superstar”, “Love in this club”, “Aint got you”, “My Boo”, "Confession parts ll”, and “Nice and Slow.” After asking around, Senior Candy Zhou stated, “Love in this club is one of my favorite songs he played during the halftime show. The dancers, huge mosh around the stage, and lights were a colorful and booming addition .” The star of the night was Taylor Swift. She was cheering on Travis Kelce and the Chiefs with Kelce’s family and some famous friends like Blake Lively and Ice Spice. Senior Owen Lawrence proclaims, “Taylor Swift is taking over the super bowl! Football has changed so much because of the Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift drama."

This year’s Super Bowl had a little bit of everything for everyone. Great sports moments, pop culture moments, and exciting musical entertainment. The NFL community is excited for what they have to bring for next year.

Story by Quinn Palmer

All of AA’s winter sports teams had great seasons. Some won more than others but everyone had fun and that is what's important.

Varsity Swimming

The swim team did an exceptional job at their sectional championship. They came in third over all and there were many significant time drops. One pleasant surprise was when a swimmer from another team was unable to swim in the 100 meter backstroke, allowing Senior Katie Claire to swim in the event. This allowed all seven seniors to swim on the second day. The team went to Applebee’s afterward to celebrate. It was sort of a last hurrah for the team's seniors as it was their last time swimming together. Even though they didn’t win, the team had fun and know they all swam their best.

Boys Varsity Basketball

The Boys Varsity Basketball team had an eventful sectional game against Notre Dame. They scored the first points of the game with a spectacular three pointer from Nolan Palmer. Unfortunately, this lead was short-lived. Senior Noah Heffley suffered a leg injury early on in the game and was unable to continue. Sophomore Jackson Jucianiec said, “the score doesn’t show how much we improved but we improved a lot.” Despite the loss, the whole team seemed satisfied with their performance.

Girls Varsity Basketball

The Girls Varsity basketball team fought valiantly at their sectional game. Unfortunately, they were subject to the same fate as the boys team. They had a hard fought loss against Keshequa. Freshman Mia Hildreth says that the team felt good about their performance and believe they did their best. Hildreth stated that the team’s six seniors all did incredibly well. In the end, everyone improved their skills and enjoyed playing basketball.

Varsity Wrestling

The Wrestling team crushed the competition at their sectional championship. Freshman Will Levey said that four people placed. Senior Kanye Cumberbatch qualified for finals, a terrific way to end his high school wrestling career. Freshman Cohen Cumberbatch also managed to win a sectional title having three more years of wrestling ahead of him. Overall, all the wrestlers did a spectacular job at sectionals and showed the other schools who’s boss.

Varsity Skiing

The Skiing team did incredible at their sectional championship. The team traveled to Swain and gave a marvelous performance. Junior Grace Harris stated, “everyone made it down the hill.” It is really easy to get hurt skiing so this was terrific. Other team members like Luca Reginio and Khiyah Ball also had great runs down the hill. The Skiing team is the only sports team that isn’t losing any Seniors this year.

All the winter sports teams did a fantastic job at their sectional championships. Every one of these amazing athletes proved themselves worthy of representing Alfred-Almond. All the seniors graduating this year will surely be missed. The other members of these teams better get ready for another epic season next year, go Eagles!

Story by Joey Taggart

On January 26, 2020 a helicopter crash took the lives of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter Gianna. It was a death that shocked the world. Over four years later, Kobe finally gets a tribute encased in bronze outside of the crypto.com arena in Los Angeles where he used to play.

With fans worldwide it was important that he got the recognition he deserves.“I think it's good to keep his legacy alive” senior Kanye Cumberbatch on how he feels about the statue. The statue itself has received mostly positive reviews in terms of appearance. “I like the statue, I think it looks nice” 7th grader Tyler Smith comments. “It's pretty cool,” adds 7th grader Tommy Davidson. 

The actual pose of the statue was debated very heavily online, however the final decision ended up being much deeper than most people know. The pose depicts Kobe in his Lakers uniform and Kobe is holding his hand over his head holding up one finger. This pose comes from a photo taken the night Kobe scored 81 points against the toronto raptors, the second highest in NBA history. Kobe said that if there ever was a statue of him, that photo would have to be the pose they chose. "For the record, Kobe picked the pose you're about to see, so if anyone has any issues with it, tough [expletive]” said by Kobe’s widow Vanessa Bryant following the uproar of internet debates regarding the statue’s pose. Kobes reputation on and off the court solidifies him as a legend deserving of this statue.