2012 NFL Season

Ed Reed cherishes the Lombardi Trophy.

The 2012 NFL Season has come to a close.  Its epic finale is over as quickly as its preseason began.  And yet, the crusades of all thirty-two teams will forever be enshrined in the hearts and minds of many.  From the first training camp of the summer to the final whistle of Super Bowl XLVII, the world of football witnessed incredible performances, tragic losses, and dramatic finishes in its 43rd NFL Season.
It began with a bang.  On the emotional 11th anniversary of 9/11, teams scored a combined 791 points, a record high for week 1.  We saw the return of two of the best players at their positions in NFL history.  We saw a rookie quarterback become a league favorite in a day.  We saw all 32 teams begin their pursuit of that coveted championship.
As the season rolled on after its chaotic opening slate of games, new story lines formed.  Replacement referees nearly caused a boycott.  A quarterback who was a phenomenon the previous season struggled to bring in victories, until finally showing his passion and true skills by ending the teams rough season with a four-game winning streak.  A tie game occurred.  Two age-old records were broken, as  Drew Brees broke Johnny Unitas' consecutive games with a touchdown pass record, and Calvin Johnson blew past Jerry Rice's receiving yards in a season mark.  Many playoff games came down to the final seconds.  A head coach made a risky decision to sit his talented starting quarterback for a young athletic leader, who ended up one play away from a championship.  Finally, we saw one of the greatest ever to play the game ride off into the sunset with the Super Bowl trophy in hand.

As the autumns come and go, memory becomes history.  Most teams feel a sense of defeat after a championship-less season, and the melancholic feeling that comes with starting all over again sinks in before being replaced with the hope and aspirations for the upcoming year.  The NFL landscape is ever-changing, and surely enough, players, coaches, executives, and other NFL staff will return before long, and once again begin this momentous journey towards football glory.