Women’s final: On Saturday, in the first US Open final in the Open Era to ever feature two unseeded players, 18-year-old Brit Raducanu defeated 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez. 

• Raducanu, who entered the tournament as a qualifier, won 20 straight sets on her way to claiming her first major (of many, we’re sure).
• And while Fernandez’s fairy-tale run didn’t end quite the way Canadians had hoped, her eloquent post-match speech — which included a tribute to New York on 9/11 — proved why she was already a winner to many.

Men’s final: On the flip side, yesterday’s men’s final featured two of the world’s best, No. 2 Medvedev and No. 1 Novak Djokovic, with Djokovic looking to complete the calendar Grand Slam after winning the year’s other three majors.

But it was Medvedev who shocked the tennis world with a quick three-set win...and the oddest on-court celebration we’ve ever seen.  

🏎F1: Yesterday’s Italian Grand Prix (GP) was a trip. The Lewis Hamilton–Max Verstappen rivalry finally came to a head yesterday when Verstappen caused a crash that took them both out of the race (don’t worry, he was penalized), before Drive to Survive sweetheart Daniel Ricciardo won his first GP since 2018 and celebrated with a traditional Aussie shoey. Crikey.

⚾️Baseball: Unfortunately there’s no mercy rule in the MLB. If there was, the Baltimore Orioles wouldn’t have been subjected to a 22–7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday, which included a home run from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that tied him with LA Angel superstar Shohei Ohtani as the league leader. O-K! *O-K!* Blue Jays!

🏀WNBA: The Seattle Storm will have to finish the regular season (all seven days of it) without their best player. Breanna Stewart suffered a foot injury last week and will be reassessed prior to the playoffs (which are set to begin on September 23rd). Rest up, champ! 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

We could call it the Terrible Towel...Yes. And I can go on radio and television proclaiming, “The Terrible Towel is poised to strike!”

— The late Myron Cope, discussing his idea for the now iconic “Terrible Towel,” a staple among Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Boy, did the radio host’s idea strike.

💦 Gatorade showers

As a coach in the NFL, you haven’t truly won a big game until you’ve been soaked in a bath of flavored electrolytes. Gatorade showers aren’t unique to one particular team, and they aren’t unique to football anymore either, but they remain a popular NFL tradition. The bigger the game, the bigger the bath.

While there are differing opinions about when the tradition began, the New York Giants popularized the trend in the '80s. It began in 1984, when defensive tackle Jim Burt received criticism from head coach Bill Parcells before one of their biggest games against the Washington Football Team.

• After the squad pulled off a 37–13 victory, Burt surprised Parcells with a Gatorade shower in response to his harsh coaching leading up to the game, a gesture of cold revenge.
• His teammate, Harry Carson, was his accomplice and continued the baths in celebration after each Giants win from that point on, including their Super Bowl XXI championship in 1987.

The tradition has been so cemented into football culture that gamers can even dunk their coach in some Madden video games. And we can’t forget one of the most popular Super Bowl prop bets: the color of the Gatorade poured over the winning coach. Hint: orange is a good guess.

💛🖤 The Terrible Towel

Possibly the best-known tradition in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Terrible Towel, or the “luckiest towel in sports,” first appeared in 1975 thanks to the aforementioned Cope.

• In an effort to excite fans at Three Rivers Stadium and “soak up the competition,” Cope waved a yellow dish towel from his radio booth during a playoff game against the Baltimore (now Indianapolis) Colts.
• Cope encouraged fans to bring towels of their own to the game too, and when they all began waving their yellow rally rags, the Steelers produced big plays, resulting in a 28–10 victory. And thus, the magic of the towel began.

The Black and Gold had a great season that year, making it all the way to Super Bowl X, where the team provided fans with specially printed towels that read: “Myron Cope’s Official Terrible Towel.” Sure enough, the fans waved and the Steelers performed, securing a 21–17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, all “thanks to the Towel.”

• Superstition soon followed as opposing teams or players that dared disrespect the towel become subject to its “curse.” In 2008, the Tennessee Titans felt the wrath of the Terrible Towel after a group of players stomped on one after beating Pittsburgh.
  
• Tennessee went on to lose their next two games, just barely missing a chance at playing in Super Bowl XLIII. Who did make it to the Super Bowl that year? You guessed it, the Steelers. Oh, and they won, no less. Spooky.

The towel’s magic continues today. In 2010, Pittsburgh began inviting a celebrity to do a “Terrible Towel Twirl” before kickoff at each home game, and many recognizable names have had the honor, including Channing Tatum and Wiz Khalifa. Black and yellow, black and yellow.

🧀 Lambeau Leap

At Lambeau Field — home of the Green Bay Packers — there’s only one appropriate touchdown celebration: the Lambeau Leap. It all began in 1993 when LeRoy Butler launched himself into the stands after he scored his first career NFL touchdown.

Today, seats in the “Jump Zone” are the most coveted in the stadium. But players who jump often have less than ideal experienceswith fans. Some have been covered in beer, ketchup, popcorn and in true Wisconsin fashion, even cheese curds.

• Worst of all, there have been reports of inappropriate touching by unruly fans. Um, not okay.
• Also, the leap is actually pretty high, with most of the wall around 6 feet tall. Imagine scoring a touchdown and then making a jump like that...

The NFL cracked down on excessive touchdown celebrations in the early 2000s and has consistently made changes to the rules since. But, lucky for Packers fans, the Lambeau Leap was grandfathered into the rules, allowing for the tradition to continue.

• In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the first six to eight rows of seating in every stadium were off limits to fans last year, making the leap at Lambeau Field impossible in order to protect players and fans alike.
• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he expects stadiums to be at full capacity, but with the Delta variant and a handful of unvaccinated players on the roster, maybe this tradition can wait another year.

💙💚 The 12s

The Seattle Seahawks’ first stadium in the late '70s was the Kingdome, a concrete-covered facility that echoed with the cheers of fans for the home team. In preparation, visiting teams trained with special noise systems in an attempt to mimic the loud rumble experienced during games.

• Seattle fans quickly earned themselves a reputation as some of the loudest in the league.

In a tribute to the fans and their vocal support, in 1984 Seahawks president Mike McCormack retired the No. 12 jersey. The number symbolized the “extra player” (the fans in the stands) that contributed to every Seahawks win.

• In a 2005 battle with the NY Giants at the Seahawks’ new home, Qwest Field, the 12s created so much noise that the Giants’ offense couldn't hear their play calls, forcing 11 false start penalties.
• The Giants’ kicker also seemed to be affected by the crowd, missing three game-winning field goal attempts, and the Giants lost in overtime. Oof.

In 2011, the 12s turned the volume even higher during a battle with the then-reigning Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. During a game-winning 67-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch, eruptions from the stands registered as a 1-to-2 range magnitude earthquake. Can’t make this sh!t up.

Before every home game, the Seahawks invite one person — a celebrity, beloved community member or former player — to hoist a number 12 flag. So special.

🦃 🍽 Thanksgiving Day

Dating all the way back to the league’s inception in 1920, the oldest tradition in the NFL is the annual Thanksgiving Day game. Since 1934, the Detroit Lions have always played on the holiday in November, only missing the tradition due to World War II between 1939 and 1944.

• The Turkey Day contest tradition for Detroit began as an effort to attract more fans and, with network ties at NBC, owner George A. Richards solidified the slot for the Lions.

Not long after, in 1966, the Dallas Cowboys joined the Thanksgiving Day club when general manager Tex Schramm took a page out of Richards’ book and sought out a way to get more national attention and more fans in the stands for “America’s Team.”

• Most NFL teams have now played on Thanksgiving against either the Lions or the Cowboys, but the two squads have become synonymous with Turkey Day. Gobble gobble.

🔵🔴 Bills Mafia

One of the newer traditions in the NFL, Bills Mafia has already made its mark. As some of the most committed fans in football, Bills supporters have endured a lot. After four consecutive Super Bowl appearances in the 1990’s, the squad hasn’t seen similar success for a while, but their support system has only gotten stronger.

• The name may be misleading, but the “Mafia” has no relation to illegal activity. The term instead points to the lifelong commitment it is to be a fan of the Bills and their legacy of defending “the family.”

In November 2010, Bills fans came to the defense of wide receiver Stevie Johnson after he dropped an important pass during a game against the Steelers. Stevie tweeted about the drop and received criticism from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

• Crowds of online Bills fans, defending their family, responded to Schefter with criticism of their own. Thus the Mafia was born.
• With this year looking bright for Buffalo, will the Mafia get the chance to cheer their beloved Bills on to a Super Bowl win?

MOVE ASIDE, BASEBALL. 

America’s real pastime is here: the NFL season begins today! And we have everything you need to know before Opening Night kickoff...or before your GIST-exclusive FanDuel fantasy draft.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

They basically stole our chance to go to the Super Bowl. Stole it away from us. Hate you, Tom Brady.

— Green Bay Packers linebacker Za’Darius Smith, talking about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ win over the Packers in the NFC Championship. You’re not the only one, Za’Darius.

⚙️ Season setup

The NFL kicks off tonight — the Thursday after Labor Day, like clockwork — with a game hosted by the reigning Super Bowl champs. At 8:20 p.m. ET, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will welcome the Dallas Cowboys to Raymond James Stadium.

• A quick refresher on the league setup: the NFL has 32 teams split into two conferences, the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).
• Those conferences are further divided into four divisions: North, South, East and West.

For the first time ever, each team will play 17 regular-season games — one more than last year — over 18 weeks (including a “bye” week), in which they play each divisional rival twice.

• The top team in each division will move on to the postseason, as will the three next best teams from each conference — known as “wild cards” — for a total of 14 playoff teams.
• And all of these teams are playing for one thing and one thing only: Super Bowl LVI (or 56), set for February 13th, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California — home of the LA Rams and LA Chargers.

🏈 Last season’s final four

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The reigning Super Bowl champs are ready to go back-to-back. Dream duo quarterback (QB) Tom Brady and tight end (TE) Rob Gronkowski are in prime positions to lead the Bucs to another championship, and with the fourth-easiest schedule in the league, they could become the second Florida team to record a perfect season.

Kansas City Chiefs: After losing the big one to the Bucs, KC is looking to get back to their 2019–20 Super Bowl–winning ways. Five of the NFL’s Top 100 players — including No. 1, QB Patrick Mahomes — are on the squad and their core group hasn’t changed much in the off-season. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a Bucs vs. KC Super Bowl again.

Buffalo Bills: Ever since Josh Allen became starting QB in 2018, things have been looking up for the Bills. Last season, he led the team to their first AFC Championship Game since 1993 and first AFC East divisional title since 1995. We’re predicting the Allen era will bring many more celebrations.

Green Bay Packers: Though things were looking shaky this offseason, with QB Aaron Rodgers reluctantly back at the helm, the Packers are looking primed to return to the NFC Championship Game this year. With Rodgers locked in for likely one more season, this could be the Pack’s last good chance at a championship for a while.

🥊 The contenders

Baltimore Ravens: We’re not going to let star running back (RB) J.K. Dobbins’ season-ending knee injury stop us from including the Ravens here, because there’s a back-up plan.

• Gus Edwards has the size and force to break rushing records as the Ravens’ starter this season, and rumor has it they’re trying out RBs Le’Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman to make a pair.

Cleveland Browns: After ending a 17-year playoff drought last season, the Browns have almost everything they need to return to the postseason: an incredible roster, a steady coaching staff and a dog as their mascot.

• The only uncertainty? QB Baker Mayfield. He’s good, but this year, he’ll need to be great.

Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks are poised for greatness once again. Though their last Super Bowl win was in the 2013 season, they’ve consistently performed well in the regular season and haven’t missed the postseason since 2017. If QB Russell Wilson is firing on all (or at least most) cylinders, they’re in good shape.

San Francisco 49ers: This team is good. And it seems like QB Jimmy Garoppolo will be the leading man in SF this season. He led the team to a Super Bowl appearance in 2019 but was plagued with injuries last season. This should be interesting.

👀 Players to watch

Joe Burrow, QB: The Cincinnati Bengals are probably not destined for the playoffs, but if anyone can prove us wrong, it’s 2020 first overall draft pick Burrow. Before a Week 11 knee injury ended his rookie season, Burrow was breaking records like it was his job, and now that he’s healthy again, he’s already a favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

• Other QBs to watch: Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens), Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys), Justin Herbert (LA Chargers)

Dalvin Cook, RB: The Minnesota Vikings aren’t the most exciting team: if they were wings, they’d be honey garlic. But Cook is extra hot ‘n’ spicy, and he’s poised to best his 1,557 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns (TDs) from last year. There’s just one thing that could hold him back from recording another career-high season: he’s not vaccinated.

• Other RBs to watch: Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans), Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts), Christian McCaffrey (Carolina Panthers)

Darren Waller, TE: The Las Vegas Raider has all the talent to be the best TE in the league...with none of the pressure. With Kansas City’s Travis Kelce — aka No. 5 on the NFL Top 100 — stealing that spotlight, No. 35 Waller can flourish as QB Derek Carr’s No. 1 receiver.

• Other TEs to watch: Travis Kelce (Kansas City), Mark Andrews (Baltimore), George Kittle (San Francisco)

Stefon Diggs, WR: We give QB Josh Allen a lot of credit for the Bills success last year, but a QB is nothing without someone to pass to. Enter Diggs. Allen’s top target hit career-highs in receiving yards and receptions last season — his first in Buffalo — and has everything in place to best his career TD record this year.

• Other WRs to watch: DeAndre Hopkins (Arizona Cardinals), Terry McLaurin (Washington Football Team), Chase Claypool (Pittsburgh Steelers)

LA Rams, Defense: With defensive tackle Aaron Donald leading the D-line and cornerback Jalen Ramsey leading the secondary, the top defense in 2020 has high expectations to repeat. That said, they’ll need to do it without former defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, who will share a stadium with the Rams as the Chargers’ new head coach...awkward.

• Other defenses to watch: Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers

📖 Season’s storylines

Rookie QBs: Every new season comes with a handful of bright-eyed young QBs ready to make their mark on the big league. Some will flourish, some will flounder, only time will tell. This year, we’ll be watching Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence, New England Patriots’ Mac Jones, Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields and New York Jets’ Zach Wilson.

Schedule changes: COVID-19 did a number on the NFL’s schedule last season, so the league is cracking down this year, warning teams that outbreaks among unvaccinated players could lead to forfeited games.

• Meanwhile, climate change is already shaking things up: the New Orleans Saints have had their first game moved to Florida due to recent damage from Hurricane Ida.

📺 How to watch

The fun starts now. Tune in to NBC in the U.S. and TSN in Canada at 7 p.m. ET tonight to catch Ed Sheeran ring in the new season (weird flex, but okay) before opening kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET. And then check out the full schedule and TV coverage for your favorite teams and players here. Hut hut!

Women’s draw: After downing two former world No. 1’s in Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, unseeded Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez upset yet another top contender, world No. 5 Elina Svitolina, in yesterday’s quarter-final action. 

• With maple syrup and the love and adoration of the New York fans behind her, the 19-year-old underdog will take on world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka (who beat Barbora Krejčíková in yesterday's other quarter-final) in tomorrow’s semi.
• Two more quarters are on tap today: 18-year-old Brit Emma Raducanu plays Belinda Bencic at noon ET, and Maria Sakkari and Karolína Plíšková face off at 7 p.m. ET.

Men’s draw: Another Canadian also made his way to the semis last night. Twenty-one-year-old Félix Auger-Aliassime (FAA) won after Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz Garfia retired during the second set, so FAA will now play world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev Friday.

• Meanwhile, quarter-final action continues today with Alexander Zverev and Lloyd Harris at 1:15 p.m. ET, followed by Novak Djokovic vs. Matteo Berrettini in primetime. 

WTF: It’s not all sunshine and roses at the US Open though. The online abuse faced by many women is shocking and saddening, with American Shelby Rogers anticipating death threats after her loss to Raducanu, and Sloane Stephens revealing she received at least 2,000 racist and sexist messages after her third-round oust. 

And with athletes like Naomi Osaka hinting at taking an indefinite hiatus from tennis, it makes you question whether being a pro female athlete with good mental health is even possible.