ADVISOR’S NOTE: The Yellowjacket Football team finished the season with an 8-3 record, were National Runner-up and ranked #2 in the final NJCAA DIII football poll. The 2023 NJCAA DIII Football National Runner-up Yellowjackets had five players selected to All-American team. OL Gavin Layton and WR Terrence Isaac Jr. were offensive First Team All-American while DL Seth Thomas and LB Martell Williams were named Defensive First Team All-American. Rodrigo Castaneda was named NJCAA Special Teams Second Team All-American; his 10 fieldgoals were the most by any kicker in DIII. What follows is a retelling of their season by our Editor-in-Chief, Jessica Cormican, a swiftie previously uninterested in football.
♥ 
“I’m standing alone in a crowded room.” ♥
How’d we end up this way?
Football. That’s how. As a Yellowjacket, because our 💜 enchanting 💜 football team won the MCAC Championship game. As a Swiftie, it’s because Taylor Swift is dating National Football League star Travis Kelce.
So, as someone who identifies as both a Swiftie and a Yellowjacket, I’ve been having a fun autumn, watching the ❤️ “leaves falling down like pieces into place . And I can picture it, after all these days.” ❤️
I still know next to nothing about football, despite growing up with avid football fans. There’s really not much to do in Wisconsin besides watch football and eat cheese.
If you find yourself in a similar position, this article is here to help you. Or, at least entertain you. If you’re already a football fan and are cringing so far, my apologies in advance. Hopefully you’ll read something entertaining in here, too! Hold out hope!
I attended my first Yellowjacket football game earlier this year. There were two football players in my Creative Writing class, and one of them had invited the entire class to their upcoming game. I admired the courage it took to stand in front of a group of strangers (in a writing class, nonetheless – not exactly known for being huge sports fans) and ask their blank stares (or 💙spaces💙) to come to a game. So, I decided to go. (P.S. – shout out to Trello!)
Vianney Cortes and I went to the game, which happened to be the Yellowjackets’ first game against the College of DuPage, who they later played in the Championship game. We had fun! We were so confused! We giggled when the football players cropped their cute little jerseys when they got too hot! We ate overpriced loaded fries and screamed when the rest of the crowd did!
Towards the end of the game, which ended in a close loss of 24-21, I remembered that I loved watching sports in person. The adrenaline of the athletes and their diehard fans is contagious. I found myself gripping the edge of the bleacher, anxiously awaiting the next play.
So, you can imagine my excitement when our Yellowjackets were headed to Glen Ellyn to play in the National Championships. 🖤 “Are you ready for it? Baby, let the games begin.” 🖤
By the time the championship game rolled around, I walked into the All-American room still fairly clueless in the world of football. I knew these four things: 1. according to my little brother, being #2 seed was a good thing; 2. there were six Yellowjackets from Wisconsin, so they were immediately my favorites; 3. Travis Kelce would not be playing; and 4. even though there are only four quarters of 15 minutes each, I would not be leaving in an hour.
So, let’s clear my (and possibly your) confusion. 💙 “We’re happy, free, confused, and lonely in the best way.” 💙
First things first: what the heck is a seed?
I am not above using Wikipedia as a resource here.
According to that fabulous little website, a “seed,” in sports, is “…a competitor or team in a sport or other tournament who is given a preliminary ranking for the purposes of the draw. Players/teams are “planted” into the bracket in a manner that is typically intended so that the best do not meet until later in the competition, usually based on regular season.”
As a plant mom, how cute is that! Now I’m just picturing all of the macho football players with little sprouts on their heads.
Next, the announcers kept talking about conversions. Did they mean conversions from my 11th grade science class? Were they talking about stoichiometry??
No, Jessica. They were not. A conversion, from what I have gathered, is just an attempt to score an extra point or two after a touchdown is scored. Alright, cool. I get it. Loosely.
At this point in my viewing of the championship game, the announcer referred to DuPage as a “broadcaster’s nightmare,” which I thought was hilarious. He also noted that the Yellowjackets “…have not played scared,” which was obvious to even the most football-illiterate fan in the room (me).
I was feeling pretty hopeless for our fellows in yellow (please laugh at me) by the time halftime (intermission, for you theatre people out there) rolled around. The score was 24 to 7, and I was convinced that DuPage made their jerseys green to use as a camouflage technique, which was the key to their success. Camouflage is a thing in football, right?
Anyways, apparently our Yellowjackets were hiding something up their sleeves. The sleeves of their yellow jackets, if you will. 💜 “You never know what people have up their sleeves.” 💜
After a disappointing (nonexistent) halftime show with no Taylor Swift (or anyone), our magnificent football team gave us a third quarter that made up for the lack of Taylor. I watched in awe as the Yellowjackets scored touchdown after touchdown. The score slowly evened out, and the fourth quarter started at 21-26, with DuPage just barely ahead.
I spent the next quarter apparently very stressed. I say this because there is a severe lack of notes in my notebook from this point on. I only wrote down scores and “Jessica is very stressed.”
The Yellowjackets continued to inch towards victory. Another touchdown scored, the score at 27-26 with only five minutes left. Another score, 29-26, left me celebrating early. The emotion in the room buzzed more than the anticipation of a new Taylor Swift album.
But, alas, I should’ve had my “sad swift :(” playlist queued up. DuPage managed to score one last touchdown in the last minute and a half, tipping the score to 29-33.
This was when ESPN+ decided to cut out, citing technical difficulties. Raj, if you’re reading this, you should get a refund. Luckily for us fans, someone in the room FaceTimed (is that a word?) their buddy who was at the game. We listened as he gave us a play by play laced with expletives (which was hilarious, by the way ) and were left disappointed when he told us the game was over.
To clarify, I don’t think any of us were disappointed in our Yellowjackets’ loss. We were disappointed that DuPage won, and I do think there is a difference between the two. 💙 “And baby, we could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at us.” 💙
The RCTC team played their absolute hearts out and gave us the most entertaining football game I have ever seen. 🕛 “From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes, they gave their blood, sweat, and tears for this.” 🕛 It was impossible to not feel every players’ passion for the game. The Yellowjackets gave us a display of what I feel encapsulates an RCTC Yellowjacket the most; determination and perseverance in the face of hardship. To any Yellowjacket footballers who may be reading this, you should be nothing but proud of your performance in the championship game. I know I am.
I also learned that no, quarterbacks do not stand at the back of the field and throw coins at the opposing players.
But I do understand now why Taylor Swift loves her football-man. They’re pretty cool dudes.
By the way, if you’re wondering what’s up with the emojis and the cryptic quotes throughout this article, they’re Taylor Swift lyrics or references. According to our playlist, RCTC is in its Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) era:
- 💜 Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
- “The Story of Us”
- “Enchanted”
- “Ours”
- ❤️ Red (Taylor’s Version)
- “All Too Well”
- 💙 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
- “Blank Spaces”
- “22”
- “New Romantics”
- 🖤 Reputation
- “…Ready For It?”
- 🕛 Midnights
a. “You’re On Your Own, Kid”
by Jessica Cormican