It has all the ingredients for a battle royale. Two teams claiming to be favorites, fans split down the middle as to where to pledge their loyalties and the players speaking out at every opportunity. Their comments have given fodder to the experts who chime in daily with analysis and predictions. But the question remains, what’s at stake and who will benefit the most by winning?
As the teams prepared for battle, the concern of most was how each team would respond to the passion of their fans. The cheers were loud when the home team led by their young and somewhat inexperienced quarterback took the field. But it wasn’t long before jeers from the opponents drowned out the home team's excitement. Halfway through the first half no one could hear the cheering but started to listen to the ever increasing chorus of boos coming from the visitors dressed in red. It was almost as if the fans in the stands had no voice except to complain.
Some of the fans at the game would cheer only when the message on the scoreboard said “CHEER NOW!!,” almost as if they were being told what to think and say. Others were loyal to the team who seemed to have promises of hope for seasons to come. But if history tells us anything about this game, the trash talk will most certainly start as soon as the clock strikes zero and the victor never really has a chance to celebrate. Throw away the record books and end the speculation, it’s time for Red vs. Blue!
As the two teams struggled for an early lead, it was quickly becoming obvious to the boisterous fans this would be a back and forth, mudslinger of a match up. The home team dressed in their bright blues appeared to be the favorite after their historic win two season ago, but lately had fumbled away opportunities leading up to this match up and their status as the nation’s leader in the polls seemed to be slipping.
Their opponents appeared to be confident despite missteps prior to this challenge. Often these miscues led to embarrassing moments and at times, the red on their faces was as bright as the uniforms they wore. Their biggest obstacle going in was trying to develop some sort of a game plan and also to avoid tripping over simple things like who their mascot would be.
Once called the Mavericks, they seem to begin leaning towards the Grizzlies as this match up neared closer. Some fans even thought a Newt should be their mascot, but no one seemed to know what that stood for. To further confuse their fans, they sometimes appeared as if they played with their hands tied behind their backs, and liked it like that. Then without notice team members would appear at parties where tea was being served to guests and then tried to fit in. These apparent public boners by team leaders could be a major reason for their underdog status leading up to this match up.
For about the first 100 seconds of the game, the home team led by their young quarterback out of Chicago appeared confident, but was sacked early and often and had to rely on trick plays to bail themselves out of trouble. The former Mavericks were quick to try and take advantage of what appeared to be mistakes and even tried mocking the other teams quarterback teasing him about his looks, his mother and his ethnicity. Fans seemed to get behind this more and more, especially when the former Mavericks new mascot, a Fox came running onto the field and the visitors were starting to take control of the momentum.
As the game wore on the health of the home team was a concern and once again, the Grizzlies, er Foxes try to seize control. But too often they relied on intimidation and finger pointing to get back in the game and finally it looked as if the home team had scored but they settled only for a field goal.
Despite their efforts to bring new change to their offense, the home team struggled in the 2nd quarter and fatigue was playing a factor-possibly due to the massive loss of jobs that hit the team soon after becoming champions 2 years ago. It seemed no matter what they tried, they could not move forward and the confidence of their fans was waning.
Without a win, more jobs could be lost and the Grizzlies, sorry Foxes- had a new defense to throw at the home team, the Blitz and Punish, nicknamed BP.
With the 1st half nearing an end, the home team seemed lost, almost as if they spent too much time on golf vacations and not prepared to respond to what the Mavs, or is it Newts, oh yeah, Foxes led by their self appointed leader Beck, were using against the home team in order to stop their winning ways. The Foxes were beginning to march and the home team didn’t seem to have a prayer.
With the game just half over it was becoming obvious to many in the stands and watching on TV , all who had much riding on the outcome of this game, that the visiting team and their not so quiet leadership had only one thing on their mind-Win and it did not matter at who’s expense.
During their pre-game pep rallies, they claimed a victory would be for their fans, but their defense throughout the first half was creating a great deal of anger on the field and off and concerns were being raised about the amount of dirty play they were getting away with.
As the home team limped to the locker room at halftime the question would be how could they remain on top if a majority of the players don’t return for the 2nd half and would a win by the visitors really be a win for the fans?
