The Bachelor Franchise

Franchise

The Good The Bad The Ugly

By: Janelle Suriaga Editor-In-Chief

Chris Harrison, the stately host of The Bachelor franchise, is known for saying his infamous phrase, “This is the most dramatic season yet,!” for almost every season of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. And yet, I would agree with Harrison’s statement for season 16 of The Bachelorette and season 25 of The Bachelor.

The Bad: Clare Crawley and Dale Moss’s Breakup

Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly that The Bachelor franchise had to offer.

The Good: Casting People of Color as Leads

These past two seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have been historic in many ways. First, Tayshia Adams, a former contestant on season 23 of The Bachelor, was brought in after Clare Crawley decided to cut her season short to chase after Dale Moss, the season’s frontrunner. Former Bachelor contestant Tayshia Adams was brought in to fill out the remaining part of the season. Adams is the franchise’s first biracial lead and the second black female lead after Rachel Lindsay, the first Black Bachelorette, according to ABC. Adams is half-Mexican and half-black, so conversations around current race relations in America and interracial relationships occured on her season. Conversations around Black Lives Matter and racial prejudice in prisons are rare in the franchise. ABC was able to foster these discussions because Adams and her contestants came from diverse backgrounds.

The following season of The Bachelor turned out to be even more historic, as Matt James became the first Black male lead of The Bachelor. With 2020 centered around denouncing racial prejudice, there was an increased call for leads of color in the franchise. James recognized that while this decision took a long time, he felt that it was better late than never. According to Us Weekly, James says, “I don’t think it’s ever the wrong time to do the right thing. I think a lot of people are in that situation where they’re uncomfortable dating outside their race. It’s a conversation starter for a lot of people. And hopefully again it paves the way for a lot of diverse love stories, because those are beautiful stories.”

I am going to be completely honest. I am not surprised about the breakup of season 16 Bachelorette Claire Crawley and her choice, Dale Moss. Previous seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelor in Paradise (its famous spin-off show) have shown Crawley as an genuine, yet over-emotional, woman who chooses men that are just not good for her. This idea was reinforced by her abruptly ending her Bachelorette season after only three episodes to pursue an engagement with Moss. Many viewers (myself included) were extremely hesitant about this couple, as the pair only had two weeks to explore the relationship before their engagement.

The Ugly: Bullying on Matt James’s Season

Despite Matt James’s history-making run on The Bachelor, his season will notably be remembered for the amount of bullying that occurred between the contestants. When producers decided to introduce four new contestants during the fourth week of filming, this upset the current contestants on his season and the bullying truly began. One particular instance is when contestant Anna Redma spread rumors about one of the newer contestants, Brittany Galvin. Redman accused Galvin of being an escort despite having no concrete evidence and no relation to Galvin by any means. There are countless other instances of bullying on the show, most of which were instigated by Redman, along with fellow contestants Victoria Larson and MJ Snyder. The toxic atmosphere created by the contestants makes the show unbearable to watch at times and puts a damper to an otherwise historic season of The Bachelor.

SUPER BOWL LV

HIGHLIGHTS

By: Cosme Lozano Staff Writer

It is now a sad time in the NFL for all fans (unless you are a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan). The underdog Tampa Bay Buccaneers spoiled the Kansas City Chiefs and their hopes of going back to back in the Super Bowl by beating them 31-9. This victory came from a strong team effort, but it would not have been possible without the G.O.A.T. himself, Tom Brady. Brady would go 21/29 on the day, throwing for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Leonard Fournette led the way with 16 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown. Rob Gronkowski would be the Bucs leading WR with six receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Brady and Gronk prove yet again to the NFL world that they are indeed one of, if not the greatest, duo in NFL history. The Buccaneers defense went into this game hungry and they feasted. The defense would generate two turnovers and make life uncomfortable all night for Patrick Mahomes. I have to give a lot of credit to Buccaneers defensive coordinator, Todd Bowles, who schemed the perfect game to stop the seemingly unstoppable Kansas City Chiefs offense.

Switching sides, Patrick Mahomes would go 26/49 for 270 yards, 2 interceptions and zero touchdowns. It is quite a rarity to see Mahomes play this poorly but the blame does not all fall on him. The Chiefs’s WRs really let him down, dropping some of Patrick Mahomes best throws of his career. Travis Kelce was really the only receiver to get the job done by catching ten passes for 103 yards. Tyreek Hill was second with seven receptions for 73 yards. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the team's leading rusher with nine carries for 64 yards. Looking at the Chiefs defense, they started strong in the first quarter but fell off afterwards. During the night, the defense only sacked Tom Brady once. They also failed to force any turnovers. It seems the defense truly fell apart after Chiefs Safety, Tyrann Matheiu, got into a heated altercation with Tom Brady. Matheiu claimed after the game that Brady said something to him he couldn't repeat over TV. He ended the discussion by saying, “Listen, Tom Brady's a great quarterback. I never really saw that side of Tom Brady, to be honest. But whatever. No comment. It's over with. I'm done with it."

It was a very disappointing day for Chiefs’s players and fans alike. There is still a strong sense of optimism about the Chiefs among fans of the NFL. USF Senior Jordan Missing states, “The Chiefs need to get one more playmaker on offense and just run it back”. The Chiefs have the foundation for multiple Super Bowl runs in the future, so it is almost certain that this will not be the last we see of them. This is in large part due to phenom QB, Patrick Mahomes. His game is electrifying and is like nothing I have ever seen. Each game he does something new that makes you question how it is even possible. It is expected that he will be the new face of the league once Tom Brady retires and the league will be in good hands if this is the case. In the meantime, Tom Brady continues to defy time and just keeps winning championships. With his most recent Super Bowl, Tom Brady now has seven rings. With more rings than any franchise in the league, he is the undeniable G.O.A.T. of the NFL.