Bear Bowl 2025

by Cara Plover '29

Bear Bowl is a flag football tournament across all four grades in which each class has a chance to take the Bear Bowl Champion title and trophy. OnNovember 6, students, faculty, and staff watched the games take place on the athletic fields, cheering for their respective teams.

First, the sophomores and seniors matched up. The sophomores took the win, which brought them another step closer to the championship.Meanwhile, the freshman and junior teams went against each other. The freshman tried, but they could not hold off the opposing team. The juniors, clad in pink, went on to the championship.

The championship began between the sophomores and the juniors. In a thrilling conclusion, the juniors took the win and the Class of 2027 became the Bear Bowl 2025 Champions for the second year in a row. I sat down with Alex Ratner, the wide receiver of the junior team, to discuss the event and flag football overall.

When asked about her favorite part of Bear Bowl, Alex replied, “Playing a sport I love with my best friends is my favorite part of Bear Bowl. We can all just be together and mess around, and in the moment, during the game, we’re all best friends and sisters.” She continued speaking about her stance and feelings on Bear Bowl, saying, “It’s really good team bonding, and it provides me with a place to be myself in a world where you feel like everything is filtered. The joy I get at Bear Bowl is a feeling which I wish I could experience more, which drives me to make a club because of that feeling that I strive for.”

When asked, what was your favorite moment of Bear Bowl 2025?, Alex’s answer was simple yet sentimental: “Nothing was better than the feeling right after we won when our entire grade came out, and we were jumping up and down together. That is a memory that I will hold near and dear to my heart. I’m excited to see what the future will hold.”

Bear Bowl brings all of Merion Mercy Academy together, which in turn deepens the sisterhood. This event is important to many, and I can’t wait to see what the games look like next year.