TychoBrahe
Well-Known Member
EVERYTHING.
Team ends prior year underachieving in big end-of-season blowout, losing multiple star players to the pros, leaving the trophy-case empty, and its coach on the hot-seat. He has one last chance to prove himself or maybe he's out.
Established QB transfers to a rival "posh" school with an arrogant new coach. Meanwhile, this team has a new unproven "gunslinger" at QB who will take the reins, and no one knows what will happen with this dude (from down South of all places!) running the offense. But we don't really expect much from them this year, do we?
Team proves to be a scrappy bunch of misfits, hardly any of whom were strongly recruited. Their most highly-regarded player gets hurt on a routine play and is out for the season, to be replaced by an undersized freshman no one has ever heard of. Their gunslinging QB works miracle after miracle though playing hurt; yet somehow, despite being in multiple tight games, always finds a way to bring home the "W". Their RBs are banged-up, but it doesn't matter who gets the ball, the job gets done. Their kicker boots an impossibly long FG to win an early game, but starts having troubles with extra points, yet somehow it still doesn't cost them. As a result, every kick, no matter how routine, becomes a nail-biter. A new leader of the defense emerges: some kid from a small-town program, an unheralded walk-on from upstate, who's now seemingly everywhere on the field to make big plays. Commentators call him "The Outlaw".
The wins pile up, over rivals and non-rivals alike. Meanwhile, this team's hated rivals in the other division, including the team that has their old QB, and another team that has a coach their fan-base despises, continue to look good and win. An end-of-season meeting for all the marbles looms.
The team's most exciting player starts to exhibit some prima donna behavior. He is suspended for a quarter in the crucial last game of the regular season. When he returns, he immediately makes a huge mistake that might have cost this team everything, but redeems himself in the end with a critical fumble recovery. Perhaps he finally has his head on straight again, and can once more be the player he was earlier in the season when he was so good.
The national media continues to put-down this team of upstarts, the players nobody wanted, yet this team remains undefeated despite the insults. Some commentators start to see the light, and begrudgingly give this team the respect they deserve. But some of the loudest and most prominent voices remain staunch disbelievers.
When the sun sets on the regular season, only two teams are left for the Big Game: this scrappy band of misfits coached by a man who was on everybody's hot-seat, versus a team that has, in the past, not only played down and dirty, but also faked injuries to their advantage at the end of a contest. A team that's won this championship game multiple times in the past, led by a big pro prospect at QB, and a bunch of inhuman monsters on defense. An established power who gives no quarter, led by the very face of evil (well, maybe he's not THAT bad, but sometimes it seems that way).
There you have it: a battle between Good vs Evil, the have-nots vs the haves, David vs Goliath, Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader (not Disney but go with it), Camp North Star vs Camp Mohawk, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi vs the Cobra. You get the idea.
The only question left is: HOW WILL IT END?
Team ends prior year underachieving in big end-of-season blowout, losing multiple star players to the pros, leaving the trophy-case empty, and its coach on the hot-seat. He has one last chance to prove himself or maybe he's out.
Established QB transfers to a rival "posh" school with an arrogant new coach. Meanwhile, this team has a new unproven "gunslinger" at QB who will take the reins, and no one knows what will happen with this dude (from down South of all places!) running the offense. But we don't really expect much from them this year, do we?
Team proves to be a scrappy bunch of misfits, hardly any of whom were strongly recruited. Their most highly-regarded player gets hurt on a routine play and is out for the season, to be replaced by an undersized freshman no one has ever heard of. Their gunslinging QB works miracle after miracle though playing hurt; yet somehow, despite being in multiple tight games, always finds a way to bring home the "W". Their RBs are banged-up, but it doesn't matter who gets the ball, the job gets done. Their kicker boots an impossibly long FG to win an early game, but starts having troubles with extra points, yet somehow it still doesn't cost them. As a result, every kick, no matter how routine, becomes a nail-biter. A new leader of the defense emerges: some kid from a small-town program, an unheralded walk-on from upstate, who's now seemingly everywhere on the field to make big plays. Commentators call him "The Outlaw".
The wins pile up, over rivals and non-rivals alike. Meanwhile, this team's hated rivals in the other division, including the team that has their old QB, and another team that has a coach their fan-base despises, continue to look good and win. An end-of-season meeting for all the marbles looms.
The team's most exciting player starts to exhibit some prima donna behavior. He is suspended for a quarter in the crucial last game of the regular season. When he returns, he immediately makes a huge mistake that might have cost this team everything, but redeems himself in the end with a critical fumble recovery. Perhaps he finally has his head on straight again, and can once more be the player he was earlier in the season when he was so good.
The national media continues to put-down this team of upstarts, the players nobody wanted, yet this team remains undefeated despite the insults. Some commentators start to see the light, and begrudgingly give this team the respect they deserve. But some of the loudest and most prominent voices remain staunch disbelievers.
When the sun sets on the regular season, only two teams are left for the Big Game: this scrappy band of misfits coached by a man who was on everybody's hot-seat, versus a team that has, in the past, not only played down and dirty, but also faked injuries to their advantage at the end of a contest. A team that's won this championship game multiple times in the past, led by a big pro prospect at QB, and a bunch of inhuman monsters on defense. An established power who gives no quarter, led by the very face of evil (well, maybe he's not THAT bad, but sometimes it seems that way).
There you have it: a battle between Good vs Evil, the have-nots vs the haves, David vs Goliath, Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader (not Disney but go with it), Camp North Star vs Camp Mohawk, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi vs the Cobra. You get the idea.
The only question left is: HOW WILL IT END?
