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*The Greatest Games - Blasoon - 05-22-2020
The Greatest Games:
Second Line vs Hawks Ultimus Bowl XI
We’re in overtime in the Ultimus Bowl. The dry heat of the Meme Coliseum in New Orleans, Louisiana is suffocating the air. There’s one minute and forty-four seconds left before we head to double overtime. The field is covered in purple and gold; but this isn’t the first time we’ve seen these two teams face off against each other in the biggest game of the year. For the past three years, New Orleans and Baltimore have squared up against each other, both vying for immortality. In the first game, New Orleans assembled what some call the greatest squad in National Simulation Football League history, and in the process won their first Ultimus Bowl, thirty-seven to twenty-four. In the rematch, one year later, the Hawks were able to vanquish the Second Line’s secondary and win their franchise’s first Ultimus Bowl. Now here we are in overtime, with the Second Line looking to be one play away from winning the rubber match and claiming their second Ultimus Bowl win in three years. But before we can watch this play, we need to do a deep dive and find out how both teams made it here for a third straight year.
First let us look at the team about to snap the ball. Draped in the imperial purple, the New Orleans Second Line are looking to win their second title in three years and reclaim the glory they achieved at Ultimus Bowl IX. Over the last season, this team has shown why they have made the two prior Ultimus Bowls, achieving the best record in the league, with eleven wins and losses. Linebacker Julian O’Sullivan described the team’s play throughout the season with a call back to the success of the 2024 team, stating “that 2024 team is by many considered to be the best team of all time. That being said, obviously we wanted to win more, and we still had a lot of that same core from S9 and some other newer guys. We still felt like we could win another title” The Second Line’s journey to the status of serious playoff contenders was cemented in week seven of the regular season when they defeated the incumbent champions, the Baltimore Hawks, in overtime, kicking a fifty-three yard field goal with sixteen seconds left. O’Sullivan would later say ‘we beat the Hawks in week 7 on the road, which must have felt like that was the point in which we knew, beating the reigning champs on the road.’ And here we are again. Same teams. In overtime. NOLA has the ball to snap, and the chance to put this away in the biggest game. Time is the enemy, and unlike last time, failing to do so here will not end in a tie, it will give the Hawks a chance to put the game away in double overtime.
Before the Second Line can snap the ball, we need to look at the team trying to keep their hopes of a repeat alive. Coated in the regal gold, the Baltimore Hawks are looking to repeat the success they achieved in the last Ultimus Bowl and go from perennial contenders to a dynasty. Unlike the New Orleans team that they have faced for the past two years, this year for Baltimore felt more like a swan song, and one last chance to give their best players a good farewell tour. A good portion of their core roster were nearing the twilights of their career. Avon Blockside, Owen Taylor, Turk Turkleton, Antoine Delacour, and Willie Woodson were all veterans reaching the end of their career. To see this team, make their way back to the Ultimus Bowl again, may have come as a shock to many. Avon Blockside said later that the season felt like a ‘victory tour’ and that the rest of the team were waiting for ‘the curse’ which saw them, despite being one of the best teams in the league, never make the Ultimus Bowl for four straight seasons, even watching their rival Philadelphia Liberty win their first ring. But that was the past, and in the present, the Hawks were securing their conference and breaking franchise records in the process. Quarterback Ryan Applehort set a franchise record for passing attempts, completions, and completion percentage. And here they are now, hoping to get one crucial block or turnover that will allow them to cement a perfect end to a season that no one could have predicted.
But how did these teams get here? Well to be brutally honest, they both got here very easily. In the American Simulation Football Conference Championship Game, the Second Line crushed the Orange County Otters, forty to thirteen; putting up two consecutive quarters of seventeen points. Not to be outdone, in the National Simulation Football Conference Championship Game, the Hawks would massacre the Colorado Yeti, forty-five to seven; responding to the Yeti getting the first touchdown of the game by never letting them score for the rest of the fifty-one minutes of game time.
In the last two games between New Orleans and Baltimore, we ended up in overtime. How did we end up here again? Well for New Orleans, we have to look towards Vladimir Fyodorovich. Putting up arguably one of the greatest Ultimus Bowl performances ever, Fyodorovich started his game by returning a fifty yard punt for a Second Line touchdown. He would remain consistent, scoring in all four quarters of the game. Eight seconds before the first half ended, he took a pass from Maximus III into the endzone to give New Orleans the lead. In the third quarter, Fyodorovich took a twelve yard pass into the endzone for six. Finally, in the fourth, he was there to take the ball in on a second and goal passing play. In the two point conversion attempt, he was again there to make sure that the Second Line were three points clear, with four and a half minutes left in the game. After the first quarter, he was the sole figure in the New Orleans offence scoring points.
From what I have just said, the Second Line clearly appear to be world beaters, so how did the Hawks manage to stay in the game? Well remember those grizzled veterans I brought up earlier? They played like grizzled young veterans tonight. Baltimore’s first touchdown came as a result of capitalising off of a turnover on downs after Darren Smallwood, running back for the Second Line, dropped a pass directed at him on fourth and six. It did not take long for Applehort to send Baltimore to the end zone. On their next touchdown drive, Taylor started with a thirty-one yard return, then rushed in the red zone to keep Baltimore alive. Although, it could be seen that Baltimore’s decision to go for a two point conversion in the fourth was greedy, as its failure left the lead at only five points, which New Orleans quickly reversed into a three point deficit. However, there is one crucial old dog who I have not talked about here yet. Kicker Turk Turkleton has been coming in clutch all night for the Hawks. Previously making thirty-six and a twenty-seven yard field goals, with just under two minutes left on the clock, he kicked the thirty-seven yard field goal that led us to overtime.
Since overtime, we’ve seen a stalemate between these two powerhouses, with both teams’ defences making sure that the other would not be able to snatch victory whilst they were on the field. Yet here we are, with one minute and fifty seconds left on the clock, with the Second Line about to snap the ball and potentially end the game. But there’s one more person we need to talk about. The figure standing next to Borkus Maximus III, running back Darren Smallwood. Smallwood’s performance in this game so far has been one to forget, to put it nicely. Don’t get me wrong, as a runner, he’s been adequate, even scoring the first touchdown for the Second Line on a one yard run, but tonight he’s been given plenty of chances to play receiver, and he’s come short in all of them. He notoriously dropped the ball on a fourth down in the first quarter. With the exception of one eight yard pass, Smallwood has mostly completed passes for one or two yards, or dropped passes.
So here we are in overtime, with under two minutes left, and the New Orleans Second Line having one last big chance to put an end to the greatest trilogy in Ultimus Bowl history. In the trilogy that has seen teams rise and achieve their full potential, a trilogy that has seen new powerhouses emerge and take the step up from contender, a trilogy that will allow one of these two franchises to stake their claim for greatest roster of all time.
Welcome to the Greatest Games.
“Ball gets snapped to Maximus III”
“Maximus is dancing around the defenders now”
“Dodges one defender”
“Dodges another! This is incredible!”
“Sends the ball flying into the endzone”
“Smallwood has it! Touchdown! Touchdown!”
“New Orleans has won the football game! NOLA has won the football game!”
“The Second Line are World Champions!”
I would just like to personally thank @JuOSu @iamslm22 and @majesiu for helping me learn more about this game’s history, and for entertaining all of my dumb questions.
1575 Words.
*The Greatest Games - JuOSu - 05-22-2020
Love the article, happy to help whenever! Wonderful to read it all back and love your enthusiasm and interest in this game and the history of the league!
*The Greatest Games - iamslm22 - 05-22-2020
This was great! Awesome read! Glad I could help
*The Greatest Games - Jay_Doctor - 05-22-2020
This is so cool! I enjoyed this very much and can tell you put quite a lot of effort into this. I think it would be cool to hear you rank all the Ultimus games based on excitement factor, but that might be a large task.
*The Greatest Games - Blasoon - 05-22-2020
(05-22-2020, 11:59 PM)Jay_Doctor Wrote:This is so cool! I enjoyed this very much and can tell you put quite a lot of effort into this. I think it would be cool to hear you rank all the Ultimus games based on excitement factor, but that might be a large task.
Hey there. I'm really glad you enjoyed it! I think once I have a few more of these done, I might rank the best playoff games. But I think that's definitely a good idea. Finding these nail biters, and getting more people into the league's history is ultimately the number one goal with these articles. If you've got any games that you'd like me to cover, please send em my way. I'd love to have a go at them.
*The Greatest Games - Blasoon - 05-22-2020
(05-22-2020, 11:59 PM)Jay_Doctor Wrote:This is so cool! I enjoyed this very much and can tell you put quite a lot of effort into this. I think it would be cool to hear you rank all the Ultimus games based on excitement factor, but that might be a large task.
Hey there. I'm really glad you enjoyed it! I think once I have a few more of these done, I might rank the best playoff games. But I think that's definitely a good idea. Finding these nail biters, and getting more people into the league's history is ultimately the number one goal with these articles. If you've got any games that you'd like me to cover, please send em my way. I'd love to have a go at them.