Year 67 Team by Team Previews

Dobo (Owner: N/A, Player Captain: Wahwmah of House Taccew, Team Nickname: The Claymen): The defending champions had a happy offseason, full of celebration after having stunned the league with their upset championship run last year.   While also happy, Wahwmah as certainly not allowed his athletes to get fat and happy though, keeping up the intense physical regimen during Training Camp.   Once again, Dobo figures to be a team that relies on physicality and ball control to edge out victories.   They don’t have anyone offensively that they can count on to step up in the big moments to score most of the goals, so it’ll take a team-wide effort of standout performances for Dobo to score more goals than last season (scoring is a real problem indeed, seeing as Dobo already had scored the 3rd least amount of goals last year).   The team still doesn’t have an owner yet, but they do finally have a nickname, taking inspiration from local mythology.   During the War of Immortals (taking place in the beginning of the 1st age), the legend in Dobo states that their god, Dobotitus, created an army of clay figures, designed in his image.   He then sacrificed himself by bleeding out, his blood flowing into the figurines, which came to life.   Through their sheer numbers, they overwhelmed the rest of the Immortals, allowing the clay creatures to become the rulers of the world.   It is believed in Dobo that those clay men (and women) would slowly evolve into humans.  

Silagnak (Owner: Shonnie of House Bochwiller, Manager: Mendo of House Tydent, Team Nickname: The Black and Blues): Shonnie’s reign as Silagnak’s first owner came with sweeping changes.   The first coming from in the way of a new Manager.  The former captain, Borky of House Silvor, is still on the team, but he’s no longer allowed to make decisions after leading the team to an all-time worst defensive showing.   New Manager Mendo has made several changes on that front, even changing the team’s strategy, now employing 5 defenders at a time, which should help prevent so many goals getting scored against them.  However, while that does mean there’s less of an offensive approach, it’s worth noting that star striker Boba of House Coldsteek seems to have spent some time getting stronger physically.   He's always been very fast and athletic, but there’s been times that he’s gotten pushed around a bit due to his skinny frame.   Now that he’s filled out a little, the hope is that he can be more than just a vertical scoring threat, now maybe he can muscle his way into a few goals too!   He’ll need to, because he’s really the only true offensive threat Silagnak has.   Rather than spend a bunch of time thinking about a clever team nickname, Shonnie decided to just use the team colors as the inspiration.   Silagnak, who have long been famous for its heavy physical and brute force approach to football, have already always been known as the Black and Blues anyway.   Shonnie figured why not just let that be the official nickname now?  In any case, since the Black and Blues finally put some effort in rebuilding the defense, it's expected that Silagnak will be a better team next season, it just depends on if the offense can step up, especially knowing that the team has a defensive minded formation now.

Henix (Owner: Gal of House Zakariah, Manager: Dobi of House Almen, Team Nickname: The Firebirds): The brand new Henix football team is taking a very different approach to the game than fellow expansion team Baelanholme is.  Henix has already hired a full time manager, Dobi, who’s never played professionally before.    Dobi’s first step as manager has been to instill a squad that’s confident enough to take chances on offense, wanting to avoid playing it too safe.   He’s certainly going to have to hope they can outscore opponents, because their defense is a bit on the weak side.   Other than Defender Carlin of House Fandanno, who figures to be an excellent tackler and passer, the rest of the defense and goalie are subpar.   The midfield game is so-so, but at least their center midfielder, Endru of House  Adib, is capable of either helping on offense or supplying good pressure on defense.  Forward Ewick of House Poulser is plenty willing to drive right into the opponents defenses, being very physical for that position and has the leg power to shoot from far away.   The Firebirds are likely to struggle this year, having a big experience gap, but there are some set pieces in place.   Even if they’re not expected to contend this year, perhaps in a year or two, they could make a run at the championship.

Jahnsel (Owner: N/A, Player Captain: Derrec of House Smyt, Team Nickname: The Jackrabbits):  Jahnsel certainly was disappointed last year at their poor performance at the end of last year, the big moment getting to them.   However, from what is being said, their captain, Derrec, has been predicting big things from the newly christened Jackrabbits (a local pest that has been a source of annoyance for many a Jahnsel farmer since time immemorial, often responsible for eating many a crop-they sure are tasty though!   Derrec liked the idea of small town Jahnsel being a thorn in the big cities’ sides, being tired of hiring about how weird it is for such a small town with limited resources to be able to contend for the football championship).    Bili of House Yelbow returns of course, but this time, Jahnsel has partnered the short forward with a much taller partner, Jimm of House Tomacka, who’s a promising rookie.   Jimm is 6’4”, very tall for the position, but is surprisingly quick too.   He’s expected to provide some much needed height for those cross passes by the opposing goal.   Between Jimm and Bili, Jahnsel likely has the best pair of forwards in the league, talent-wise (to make room for Jimm, Derrec has volunteered to step back into a midfielder role, still a very important position to be sure).   Perhaps even more importantly, the defense figures to have improved, thanks to a change in goalie.   Nedham of House Velcross is another tall guy, at 6’6”, the tallest goalie to ever start in the Avornian Football League.   He’s pretty green at the position still, usually playing as a Defender, goalie is definitely not a natural position for him to play.   However, Derrec liked his height and wingspan, thinking it could help prevent Jahnsel from allowing so many goals this year.   Nedham will have plenty of eyes on him to be sure, if he succeeds, expect to see more teams utilizes taller men to be their goalies.  If they can get over the mental hump of not letting the big moments get to them, Jahnsel is going to be a big threat to win the championship.

Petorvale (Owner: Benwah of House Ailian, Manager: Hammen of House Tong, Team Nickname: The Hammers):  Aside from the drama involving new owner Benwah, (who, to his credit, has surprisingly not gotten too involved with team building or strategy, leaving that to Hammen.   Not that Petorvale has cared much), not much has changed with the Hammers.   Not much, except for goalie.   For the second straight season, Petorvale has had to adjust to a new goalie.  Barnar of House Mubel surprisingly retired after starting at goal-keeper for just one season, stating that he was still dealing with side effects from the head injury he suffered last year and wanting to spend more time with his family.  Enter Morses of House Knapper, last year’s backup who struggled at the position when Barnar was injured.   There’s more pressure than ever on the defenders to prevent opposing teams from getting too many shots on goal.   Unfortunately, there’s still not much athleticism or skill there.  Manager Hammen has elected to take the old Silagnak approach with his defenders, play guys who aren’t scared to push opponents around and who can do nothing else.   At least the offense figures to be as good as it usually is.  Svontal of House Dors tied for the league lead in goals scored last year and he could do it again.   Ceecil of House Ackerberry has recovered from his injuries from last year and once again should provide support on offense, likely to score a few goals too.  However, the Hammers’ title hopes rest on the defense being able to overachieve.  

Anjocca (Owner: Connavonn of House Duvaloi, Manager: Tan of House Browse, Team Nickname: The Sabercats):  After a surprising 2nd place finish last year, Anjocca looks like a threat to win the championship this time.  The duo offensive threats, Tobyas of House Stonner and Shaggu of House Khaldrem provided most of Anjocca’s scores last season and that isn’t likely to change.   There’s a couple of new starters that Tan wanted to push to give the team a freshening up.  This includes new midfielder Dunne of House Werewilf, a highly athletic guy who’s will be able to handle both ends of the field, he’ll take on the critical center position at midfield.   He’s more likely to get an assist on offense than he is to score, but were his real strength will be is assisting star defender Gailor of House Omakyt on defense.   Speaking of which, the team is very excited about Gailor’s expected improvements, he’s already made waves with his brutally physical, yet smart, play.   With Gailor and Dunne, opposing teams are in for a nightmare if they try to score from the center of the field, their presence means teams will more likely have to try to make drives from the sides of the field instead.  Xaxi of House Pentuna returns, the one eyed goalie had a career year last season and clearly wants to show it was no fluke.   The only other noteworthy change is that the team has a nickname now.  While the obvious pick would have related to Anjocca’s status as a key defense fort protecting the rest of Avornia (Guardians, Defenders, and Soldiers all could have worked), Connavonn wanted to take a play at a local wild beast that he felt would give the team a unique identity.   Sabercats are big, vicious animals that hang around the area.   Incredibly, despite their wild status, Connavonn actually owns one as a pet himself (named Purrcy of all things).  Things are exciting at Anjocca, this could be the best team in Avornia in Year 67.

Baelanholme (Owner: Candor of House Blusal, Player Captain: Shanto of House Sayloor, Team Nickname: The Pirates): Baelanholme and Henix will be compared to each other a lot this year, not only because people are curious as to which of the two will be more successful, but because both are taking different approaches to their first season.   Candor chose not to hire a full time manager due to the fact that managers still actually take up a spot on teams’ 18 man rosters, (He’s been arguing against the rule since he bought the team, the Avornian Football Committee supposedly will be looking into that next offseason), electing instead to make midfielder Shanto his player captain.   Shanto seems to have a good head on his shoulders, but he’ll have to pull a miracle if Baelanholme is to contend this year.   Unlike Henix, who wants to play aggressive offense, Baelanholme has selected a similar ball control, defensive play style like what Dobo employs (not a bad idea, it worked for them last year!).  This is likely in large part due to the Pirates having absolutely no legitimate talent at the forward position.  Shanto is likely the best midfielder on the team and even he’s clearly more defensive minded than he is offensive.  Goals will come at a premium at Baelanholme, so hopefully the defense can hold up.   They’ve decided to test out brand new rookie Lian of House Reddish as their goalie, figuring since the team isn’t likely to contend for the championship in their first season, Lian might as well learn goal keeping on the spot.  He's a pretty good athlete for the position, so he might be able to keep scores low, although the Baelanholme defense isn’t super talented either, so he may be in for a long year anyway.  Either way, the Pirates are keeping their expectations pretty reasonable, just don’t finish in last place, then work on improving next season. 

Leorux (Owner: N/A, Player Captain: Asa of House Waiselen, Team Nickname: The Elves):  There are real concerns at Leorux, many of those issues being directed at the captain.   Asa once again captains the team, though that’s likely only because he’s the only remaining player left from the team’s first season and seniority ended up ruling.   It’s likely that once Leorux gets an owner (no interested parties just yet), he could get axed, as his own skills are starting to decline as he gets older and he clearly doesn’t have any real skill at getting the team off the ground.   The only legitimately good player on the team now is forward Carles of House Yalmount, but teams already have figured out that as long as they keep defenders stuck to him like white on rice, Leorux essentially has no real offensive threat.  Worse, Asa is STILL insisting that an all-out offensive approach is the key to victory, despite the strategy failing miserably last year.  Asa is convinced that the defense is better this time, but we heard this last year too.   As the icing to the cake is the team’s new nickname, the Elves.  Elves are a local mythical creature that supposedly live in the Leoruxian forests, but no adult has ever seen one.   Asa thought the kid friend nickname could inspire younger fans to try out for the team once they grow up, but even if that works, we’re years away from baring any fruit.   Plus, now fans of the other teams have been laughing the silly nickname up ever since.  Nobody expects much out of Leorux, least of all the adult fans, who hate the Elves nickname.  There’s some concerns that their audience isn’t on par with the rest of the league and if they aren’t bringing in money, there’s a chance the Avornian Football Committee may feel they shouldn’t have a team (many in the Federation of Avornian Football already felt that way, which is partially the reason it even exists in the first place).  Leorux is in for another long year. 

Earch (Owner: Seesar of House Rommi, Player Captain: Dennai of House Endear, Team Nickname: The Falcons): Earch flat out disappointed last season, its offense failing miserably to generate many scoring opportunities, putting all the pressure on the defense.   New owner Seesar has made it clear that there must be improvements in Year 67, he bought a contender and he expects to contend indeed.   Luckily, a talented, (but aging) defense has been given a jolt of live in the form of new left center defender, Hobbs of House Vinicius.   Hobbs is a giant of a man, at 6’5”, offenses will have to contend with the idea of beating this man out for headers, which will prove a daunting task.   He’s already impressing the team with his leadership too, with a maturity far exceeding his young age of 21.  Also helping is the fact that embattled midfielder Daivan of House Banswell (the nephew of Avornian Football Commissioner Ravael) has changed positions to become a defender after Dennai noted his skills at deflecting passes, (which far exceeded his offensive capabilities, which were next to nil).   Earch once again figures to have a rock-solid defense.   On offense, the search to replace former star Dabu of House Namacka (off to join the Federation’s Earch team) was a short one.  Aili of House Fendeleeni  has been in the league for a couple of years already, usually coming in to replace Dabu when he was injured or as a substitution for when Dabu had a bad game (an increasingly common occurrence towards the end of his run last year).  While he doesn’t have the star power Dabu had, Aili may already be the better player.  He can get some air with his jumps, useful in header situations.   He’s not as fast as Dabu was, but he is a better passer and likely more accurate shooter.  Overall, Earch should once again be one of the stronger teams in the league.

Hanuna (Owner: Cyboar of House Eliason, Player Captain: Lellochatnim of House Gull, Team Nickname: The Bluefins): Hanuna had hoped that last year’s disappointing drop in the standings was just a bit of bad luck, as the Bluefins had several key players getting injured at various points in the season.   However, the misfortune has continued as fans learned the fate of one of their more promising players.   Guacheemo of House Siwee had missed all of Year 66 due to a freak leg injury sustained in a fishing accident.   Sadly, he has never fully recovered from the injury, which had gotten infected during the offseason.   After all the time he spent trying to get it better, he ended up losing the limb anyway in the end, doomed to never play football again.    This leaves the main attacking threat as Alfenz of House Mohr, who’s was good while he had Guacheemo around in Year 65.  However, last season proved he’s only adequate by himself and with no other major scoring threats, Hanuna’s offense is in a lot of trouble.   Hanuna’s defense has historically always overachieved, as besides Garlen of House Richenaan (who’s already believed to be one of the top 3 best individual defenders in the entire league) nobody has ever stood out, their good performance being largely because of how well captain Lellochatnim has trained them.  The Bluefins are hoping they can surprise again on defense in order to have a shot.  Lellochatnim is one of the best in the business at playing and coaching at the same time, but the time is starting to come where he may need to step back from the playing field, as training camp is proving that he's clearly declining in quality play.   There’s a chance Year 67 is his final one, though it’s pretty clear the team would just make him a full time manager once he retires.  There’s a feeling of apprehension within the Hanuna fanbase, they feel the team should be pretty competitive, but if the bad luck continues, who knows where they’ll end up in the standings?

Chalmblaank (Owner: Pyppan of House Steelow, Manager: Deagu (Dee-A-Goo) of House Sanchor, Team Nickname: The Knights): Pyppan’s first season as owner is making waves early on.  He’s already removed Frazciscle of House Ailian as the team’s player captain after being unable to lead the team to contention last year (despite Chalmblaank generally performing well), choosing to hire a brand new full time manager, Deagu.   Deagu had played for Chalmblaank in Years 64 and 65, mostly coming off the bench as a defender before deciding to retire last year.    Deagu had always impressed Pyppan with his football smarts (the two have been friends for years now) and Pyppan wanted to give him a chance to lead the team over the mentally frail Frazciscle.   However, this decision may be biting him in the butt already as the team is pretty ticked off.  Frazciscle may made some key mental errors that cost the team critical games the last 2 seasons, but he is still highly respected in Chalmblaank.   Worse, while Deagu is indeed a smart guy, he isn’t a well liked whatsoever, it is known that while playing Deague proved to be an irritating little weasel that would try to undermind his teammates.   Feeling burned at the demotion and shuddering at the thought of having to play under Deagu, Frazciscle chose to retire altogether from football, leaving behind a complicated legacy as a good leader but who’s failures in the big moments will likely haunt him forever.   Losing Frazciscle hurts Chalmblaank’s very good midfielding game, but at least they still have the excellent Alajandrus of House Capeburgh, who’s likely entering his prime now.   He can make drives at the goal, and also prove useful on defense, but his elite passing game is what really sets him apart from the most midfielders, he can find open players through the tiniest of passing lanes.    It helps when he’s passing to Sirge of House Einna, a solid striker that loves and expects to be giving the ball at all times when Chalmblaank is near the opposing goal.   He’s courageous/cocky enough to try a shot from just about anywhere, and he can usually get the ball on target.   Defense is a concern, as for whatever reason, Deagu has chosen to keep the entire aging group of defenders.   They do have a new goal keeper, Ricko of House Aerie, who’s pretty quick and athletic, but seems a bit short for the position, only being 5’5”.   Considering that Jahnsel had picked their new goalie strictly on the basis of height, it’ll be interesting to compare the results these two teams have at goal keeping.  Finally, Chalmblaank has an official team nickname, selecting Knights in respect to Avornia’s legendary Leorux, the legendary Commander of the 1st Battalion that protected the kingdom during the War to End All Wars.   As Leorux and the 1st Battalion all hailed from Chalmblaank, the team feels it’s the most historically appropriate name they could have chosen.  The Knights are at a cross-roads this year, can the new owner and manager pull the team together to finally live up to their potential?   Or will all the meddling end up hurting the team?

Tomen (Owner: Knoan of House Whitley, Manager: Loeb of House Gammiz, Team Nickname: The Rivermen): Contrast that with Pyppan from Chalmblaank, Tomen’s new owner Knoan has taken a backseat approach to the offseason.    Granted, with Tomen trending in the right direction after shockingly contending last year, there wasn’t much for him to address.   Loeb is a highly popular manager not just with the team, but with the entire city, so Knoan has wisely allowed him full reign on running the team, wanting to focus more on the financial side of things anyway.  Loeb has had to provide inspired leadership to squeeze every last drop of potential out of what had honestly been one of the least talented collective teams in the league for a year and half now, all while building up the next wave of athletes.   His hard work is finally paying dividends, as there are signs of some promising youngsters on the team.  Chief among them are the brothers from House Sammsoon, Argill (age 24) and Cragnus (age 22).   Argill, the older and stouter of the two, is responsible for manning the right center back position on defense.  He’s very good at pushing offensive players just enough to derail potential drives without committing too many penalties.   He’s got a cannon for a leg too, and he can blast a football across half the field pretty quickly, useful for turnover situations when Tomen steals the ball and wants to counter with a strike of their own very quickly.   Argill is definitely a good prospect, but Cragnus could be special.   A tall and slightly skinny kid, Cragnus already has elite levels of ball handling ability, mesmerizing defenses with all sorts of little bounces and jittery moves before zooming past them in a direction they weren’t expecting him to go.   While his leg isn’t the strongest ever seen, he has such a nice touch on the ball, that he seems capable of sending any shot to any part of a goal that he wants to.   It’d be nice if he bulked up just a little bit to handle the physical side of football, but there’s every reason to believe that Cragnus will still be one of the best players in the entire league within a year or two.   He’ll be handling an interesting role on the team, acting as a sort of merged midfielder and forward as he’ll assist Tomen’s other great midfielder Mishakl of House Floddergrove with passing and other general responsibilities until the team is near the opposing goal, where Cragnus then takes on striker duty, being meant as the main target on offense to score goals.   There’s definitely some excitement in Tomen this year, they’re not going to surprise anyone this year but now there is some expectation that they can make another run at the title.   The team’s new nickname is the Rivermen, a nod to Tomen’s location by the Tomen River being so important to the city’s trade heavy market. 

Next: Year 67 Season

Last edited by Stickman (12/11/2022 11:12 am)

Avornian Football League Year 68 Offseason

Life in Jahnsel used to be so simple.   Work on the farm (or other small business your family owed), eat a hearty meal, gaze at the stars after a night of cow tipping, and watch the Jackrabbits play great football.   Year 67 had been the climax of a city’s hopes for a title, finally achieving something several much larger cities still hadn’t.    The hopes were there for their beloved Jackrabbits to contend again and possibly even repeat as champions.    Unfortunately for the team, the Federation of Avornian Football had other plans.

The Football War, the so called battle for sporting supremacy between the Avornian Football League and Federation of Avornian Football has been heating up for the last two, especially after the Federation put teams in Earch, Tomen, and Silagnak, in an effort to leach into the rich cities finances.   Thanks in part to the Federation swiping some players, this worked pretty well, encouraging the upstart league to begin to really crank up the pressure.    While the Federation did lose 4 more teams (once again in tiny cities that probably shouldn’t have gotten a professional football team to begin with), two new teams were added, one of them boldly being placed in Jahnsel.   The new Jahnsel team, like all of the Federation teams, offered more money to the League’s players in order to entice them to join their side.   While up to this point, the results had been only mildly successful (Dabu of House Namacka, from Earch, was the only legitimately great player that had switched leagues), for the small town boys, the increased paycheck was an offer that could change their lives.    Unbelievably, both star forwards Bili of House Yelbow and Jimm of House Tomacka, along with standout giant goalie Nedham of House Velcross and a few other players jumped ship.   In the span of just a few days, Jahnsel went from being the most feared team in the Avornian Football League to one of its weakest.  The Jackrabbits weren’t the only team to lose players, (Tomen lost a couple of budding defenders and midfielders, Earch lost a goalie and forward) but they definitely were the most impacted.  The League is now in a rough situation with multiple teams losing stars.   They now start to run the risk of being left behind by the Federation and need to change the trajectory of momentum back in their favor.   

While that was going on, the League had finally gotten some new owners for the remaining three teams with none.   Dobo finally started work on a simple stadium (which takes advantage of a nearby hill, building stands into it) and also a new owner.    Jephard of House Obuis is a local Dobotitus minister that operates the largest church in the kingdom.   He claims none of the funds from the church went into the team’s purchase, but one has to wonder where he got all his money from.   He appears to be a somewhat hands on person and that could be interesting how that plays out with Dobo’s proud player captain, Wahwmah of House Taccew, who’s ran the team uncontested up to this point.  Small town Leorux’s future had been in some jeopardy, given their lack of playing success up to this point.   To the Elves good fortune, Herrad of House Hoopmeister, a rich lumberyard businessman, is a huge football fan (not to mention one of maybe five adult people in the entire town that actually likes the Elves moniker) and decided to purchase the rights to own the team from the Avornian Football Committee.   He’s already using excess supplies from his company to get a small stadium put together for Leorux.  Finally, and most controversially, is Jahnsel’s situation.   Ryne of House Ewickson, owner of the largest farm in the country, had purchased the team before the Federation of Avornian Football swiped most of his best players.    Almost immediately afterwards, Ryne tried to back out of the deal, but money had already changed hands and by Avornian business law, the weakened team was his to deal with.   No doubt put off by the affair, he’s decided that he wouldn’t put a penny down on the team, declaring they could fold for all he cared.   Commissioner Ravael of House Banswell had to spend a lot of time trying to convince the stubborn farmer to not give up on the team.   Eventually it was decided that to make up for the unfortunate timing, the Avornian Football Committee would pay for Jahnsel’s stadium, this being the last time they will finance one, in exchange for Ryne at least trying to put some effect into the franchise.  

In addition, after seeing how popular Baelanholme’s striped jerseys were among fans, a few of the Avornian Football League teams decided to make some updates on their jerseys.    Petorvale abandoned their plain green shirt with white sleeves and went for a hooped green and white shirt, they’ve kept the green pants.  Tomen decided to keep the white shirt, but instead of blue sleeves, went for a more literal play on the Tomen River reference, opting to wear a white shirt with a thick blue line in the middle of it.   Jahnsel’s new jersey is more of a practicality than anything else.   White shirts take a lot of effort to clean and having to hire people to do it every week gets a little costly, (at least in Ryne’s eyes).   To reduce the relatively small costs to clean the jerseys, he opted to change the Jackrabbits look to now wear a navy blue shirt (which was originally the team’s pant color) with white collar and cuffs, deciding those would need cleaned less often.   He decided to choose orange as a pant color, liking the combination of navy and orange, (granted, orange shorts will be difficult to clean too, but Ryne figured people would notice stains less on pants than they would on shirts).  Luckily, Jahnsel isn’t a very superstitious town, so other than fans initial confusion over the new look, it’s gone over fairly well.  



Next: Team by Team Pre-Season Previews (This may be getting delayed until after the holidays, but I’ll work on it while I can)

Last edited by Stickman (12/18/2022 10:58 am)

Has television arrived in Avornia yet?

YEAR 68 AVORNIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE TEAM BY TEAM PREVIEWS:

Jahnsel (Nickname: Jackrabbits) (Owner: Ryne of House Ewickson) (Player Captain: Derrec of House Smyt): There’s no two ways around it.   Jahnsel, last year’s champions, are going to be much, much worse than they were last season, thanks to the Federation of Avornian Football’s Jahnsel team poaching of nearly every single good player on the team.    The only real question is how much worse.   Derrec is the only recognizable name coming back.  He had moved to the midfield last season to make some room for another forward, but will be returning to the Left Wing position (forward).  The Jackrabbits have decided to lean into the offensive side of things with it’s new 3-4-3 formation that in theory should make them an offense threat.   It certainly would have put fear into defenses’ eyes last year, but with a much less talented and inexperienced crew to work with, Derrec had better hope his offensive minded strategy can score early and often and not leave the defense too vulnerable.   New rookie Goalie Tophar of House June is another tall and lanky guy at 6’2”, and he’s also more used to playing as a Fullback (defender) before he went professional but that’s where the similarities end between him and last year’s goalkeeper, Nedham of House Velcross.   Tophar is nowhere near as athletic and early rumors coming from training camp are that, unlike Nedham, he’s struggling badly with transitioning into his new position.   If lightning doesn’t strike twice, Jahnsel will be in trouble.   Considering that ornery new owner Ryne isn’t being too supportive of the team (he’s already stated on record that he will not watch any of the games in person, “What’s there to watch?  A bunch of sheep boys running around aimlessly?  I’d rather get real man’s work done on the farm!”), and it’s likely the players and fans will want this year to get over with as quickly as possible.

Anjocca (Nickname: Sabercats) (Owner: Connavonn of House Duvaloi) (Manager: Tan of House Browse): After finally winning their first ever championship (albeit a King’s Cup rather than the more desired League Championship), Anjocca seems ready to contend for the real thing this year.   Knowing that Jahnsel suffered an all-time worst offseason certainly clears the way.   Utilizing the common 4-3-3 formation, Anjocca has quality players everywhere.   On offense, Shaggu of House Khaldrem (Right Wing) and Tobyas of House Stonner (Center Forward/Striker) make for a formidable attack and defenses will have their hands full dealing with both of them.  The midfield is fairly solid, thanks mainly to Dunne of House Werewilf (Center Midfielder).   The plan is to have him be more of a defense support guy as that’s what he’s better at anyway.  But if he’s feeling frisky, he can add some more pressure on offense with his good passing game.  On defense, the Sabercats are always grateful for Left Centerback Gailor of House Omakyt, likely among the most aggressive defenders in the game.   Meanwhile, grizzled one eyed veteran Goalkeeper Xaxi of House Pentuna is back again, looking as grumpy as ever.   It’s becoming clear that’s he’s getting older and he could be past his prime now, but if he has another good year, Anjocca will be one balanced team.   Tan, the Manager, tends to be pretty hands off in his coaching and after the year the Sabercats had last year, nobody is questioning his style.  Overall, expectations are high in the fort city of Anjocca.  Connavonn has made it clear that he fully expects Anjocca to win their first League title in Year 68, though even with Jahnsel’s likely collapse, there will be plenty of tough competition to deal with for sure!

Earch (Nickname: Falcons) (Owner: Seesar of House Romi) (Manager: Dennai of House Endear): The Falcons took a blow right after the Year 67 season ended when Longtime Player Captain Dennai shocked everyone by suddenly retiring from football, citing a previously unknown constant pain in his legs.   He had been known to play through pain before, but nobody had realized how much agony he had been through until now, unable to walk anymore without limping badly.   Not at all surprisingly, Seesar immediately promoted Dennai to full time Manager, choosing to trust his excellent leadership.   While it’s clear Dennai will coach the team to playing disciplined, mistake free ball, he’s going to be missed hugely on the field, as it’s likely he was the greatest midfielder in Avornian Football History.   Earch’s 4-3-3 formation has always relied on its midfielders being able to handle running all over the field and passing the ball around quickly.   That won’t be so easy now that the Falcons’ depth at that area is much weaker.  Replacing Dennai is Neuten of House Claybill, who the new manager had taken it upon himself to place under his wing.   Neuten should be ready to handle the demanding responsibilities that a Earchian Center Midfielder, but nobody knows yet if he’s got the natural chemistry with his fellow midfielders that Dennai had.   He certainly is bossy enough to act as a captain.   The defense as usual should be the strength of Earch, with giant Left Centerback Hobbs of House Vinicius and Right Fullback Daivan of House Banswell likely to frustrate many an offense with their skills at intercepting passes.     The offense is still leading by their Center Forward/Striker, Aili of House Fendeleeni, who had a breakout year in Year 67.   He’ll be under pressure to do more as Earch has had some turnover at the forward and wing positions and it could take some time to get them up to speed.   Falcon fans always have high expectations, the benefits/curse of Earch having won the first two League Championships.   However, other than a reliable defense, there are legitimate questions about how quickly Dennai can get his many new players to gel with their teammates, especially now that he can’t get onto the field himself anymore.

Tomen (Nickname: Rivermen) (Owner: Knoan of House Whitley) (Manager: Loeb of House Gammiz): The story of Tomen has been one of surprisingly good seasons and the squad rallying behind charismatic manager, Loeb of House Gammiz.  The man has always had an innate ability to inspire courageous (and frankly better than expected) play out of his usually average players.   Last year showed that with a few key additions, the Rivermen could contend for a title, though they fell short after a weak ending to the season.  Cragnus of House Sammsoon had electrified Tomen’s offense with his innovative dribbling skill and ability to handle a rather complicated role on the team (Tomen uses an unusual 3-7-0 to 3-6-1 formation that requires Cragnus to play both midfielder and striker when making vertical drives).   Fans are already salivating in anticipation of watching the improvements he makes as a player in his 2nd season.   Often the man reponsibile for passing Cragnus (and in theory, the other offensive midfielders), Mishakl of House Floddergrove has been the glue to Tomen’s cramped midfield game for years and shows no sign of slowing down, his jack of all trades approach to football has long made him a problem for opponents to deal with.   Argill, Cragnus’ brother and Right Centerback of the team, will lead the defense, which will have plenty of pressure on them as usual from any opposing team that can break clear from the congested midfield.   There’s a lot of excitement in Tomen as the team has moved up in the standings every single season so far and if that trend continues, that would guarantee either a 2nd place finish…. or maybe even the Rivermens’ first ever League Championship.   With Loeb leading the team with his usual spirited guidance, with a still youngish team that’s gelling together, and with possibly the most exciting player in all of Avornia, that dream could be a reality. 

Silagnak (Nickname: The Black and Blues) (Owner: Shonnie of House Bochwiller) (Manager: Mendo of House Tydent): Silagnak, with its new 5-2-2-1 defensively minded format, had greatly improved last year.   The hope is that they’ll finally find some consistency, seeing as they’ve finished 10th, 4th, 10th, and 4th in its history, the fans really don’t want to finish in the bottom part of the standings again.   With their star Striker, Boba of House Coldsteek, coming off of a career year where he finally beefed up a little and was able to handle playing a more physicial game to compliment his fast paced style, there’s always hope that he can inspire just enough big moments to keep the Black and Blues up in the game.   It helps that he’s finally got a talented assistant in Varner of House Patracks (Right Forward).  Varner is a skilled dribbler that seems able to get a pass off into the middle of the field effectively, being able to predict where Boba and any other attacking player will be, (Varner and Boba already have a great chemistry together).   He’s got a strong leg too, but does have a bad tendency in trying to get too cute with his shots on goal sometimes, aiming right for the corners always and hitting the crossbars quite a bit.   Still, with a more balanced offense, Silagnak is looking good on that end of the field.   With five defenders, the Black and Blues are able to crowd and push around offenses and it’s really hard to break through the formation.   2nd year player Lenzlo of House Amburs, anchoring the squad as the Centerback, broke out big time and had an excellent first season, getting around him in particular is a task most strikers dread.   The Black and Blues’ highly physical play no doubt is a chore to deal with, and nobody epitomizes tough guy ball quite like Borky of House Silvor, the Right Wingback and former captain.   Known as one of, if not outright THE dirtiest players in the game, Borky has made a career out of pushing his luck on physical plays just enough to not get penalized by the referees, (though he’s been known to cause a flagrant foul outside of the penalty box to send a message to the other team).  He’s never been the most skilled player and is probably not quite in the right position for the 5-2-2-1 format, but his toughness makes him a fan favorite.   Silagnak’s weakness by far is the midfield game.   The formation already makes it tough for a team to dominate the midfield, but Silagnak’s wingbacks (which are often responsible for handling both the defense and the midfield) are rather one dimensional.   This means Silagnak could run into a risk of constantly losing the ball control game.  Still, with the tough defense and added offensive help, the Black and Blues have plenty enough talent to stay near the top of the standings.

Henix (Nickname: Firebirds) (Owner: Gal of House Zakariah) (Manger: Dobi of House Almen): Year 67 was an encouraging one for the expansion team from Henix, as they always seemed to keep up with the other teams.   Setting a league record for ties, they didn’t even truly threaten to contend last year, but the thought is that if the team’s aggressive offense can keep up the good work from last year, the team should have enough good fortune to turn some of those ties into wins.   The offense is led by the breakout star Striker, Ewick of House Poulser, who’s quickly turned into the cocky bad boy of the league with his constant trash talk (that he thankfully backs up by being a really good shooter).   New Left Wing forward Roh of House Quake is supposed to help the Firebirds by balancing the offense to not just be all Ewick and nothing else, but early reports are that he’s a bit timid for the forward position and might be more happy to just pass the ball when the pressure’s on rather than make any risky drives himself.   That will suit Ewick just fine, but the team manager Dobi really wants Roh to take part in shooting goals too.   Stay tuned to see how that plays out.    The middle of the field is still commanded by Center Midfielder Endru of House Adib, who is expected to continue to be the battery that drives the offense in drives.  The defense is still a concern for Henix, as other than Carlin of House Fandanno, there’s really no talent on that end of the field whatsoever.   Carlin is likely one of the league’s better defenders, as he’s so good at making intelligent challenges for the ball when he slides at other people, without him, the Firebirds would probably challenge for the league record of most goals allowed.    Dobi did a great job last year in keeping the upstart franchise competitive and happy with his laid back and buddy-buddy demeanor, but now that there’s expectations to improve, can he dig into his players to get the most out of his one dimension team?

Chalmblaank (Nickname: Knights) (Owner: Pyppan of House Steelow) (Manager: Deagu of House Sanchor): Chalmblaank looks to push Year 67 in the backs of their collective memories after a frustrating season of bad defense, underwhelming offense, and tons of drama.   At least there’s hope that the first issue could be improved.   Ricko of House Aerie is out as goalkeeper, as Deagu felt he was too short for the position and wanted to copy Jahnsel’s strategy from last season by inserting a taller goalie that could have an easier time diving at shots.    He found his goalkeeper, but at a shock to the entire city.   Matrick of House Cattlebottle is indeed a very tall man, at 6’4”, and he’s considered a solid athlete too.   The problem for the fans is that, unlike most of the other members of the team, Matrick doesn’t come from a family of nobility, in fact, the Cattlebottle family is considered about as low end as a family can get, with little money and even less influence within the kingdom.   The stuck up fans won’t like him, but as long as his teammates do, it won’t matter.   Hopefully they do, because Deagu actually added a 2nd lower classed citizen to the team just weeks before the season is to begin.   Arlo of House Pixsan was inserted into the defensive line to replace an injured player and will take on a Centerback position, in particular as a Sweeper, responsible for “sweeping” up any long balls that get behind the rest of the centerbacks and fullbacks and is the last line of defense protecting Matrick.   Arlo was seen running after a goat by the Knights’ arena.  Running very, very fast.  At 6’2”, he’s pretty tall too for such a fast guy, so Deagu decided to take a chance at him, figuring he could figure out how to play football as he went along.   At least the offense remains the same, as top Striker Sirge of House Einna returns, though his relationship with Deagu is going to be something to watch for, as their fights constituted approximately 100% of the drama in the team.   Sirge is just as cocky as ever, and still seems to believe he alone can solve all the team’s offense problems if they would just give him the darn ball.  It’s known by now that Deagu has owner Pyppan’s full confidence, with them being close friends.   However, if Chalmblaank has a year like the last, Deagu could find himself very squarely on the hot seat real quick, especially after ruffling some feathers by signing non nobles to the team.  

Hanuna (Nickname: Bluefins) (Owner: Cyboar of House Eliason) (Manager: Lellochatnim of House Gull): It was long expected, but Lellochatnim has finally retired as a player and moved onto a role as the manager of Hanuna.    It’s known that Hanuna has seen better days and the expectation is that he’s got some pressure to bring about some better results in a hurry, and he knows it.   Quickly deciding to update the team formation to a new 4-2-3-1 spread, he’s spent the entire offseason working 1 on 1 with individual players, deciding it would be far faster to tutor the players he already has instead of hoping to get lucky with prospects.   Early training camp rumors suggest this was a wise move, as several players on the team seem to be just better in general.   Alfenz of House Mohr, the Bluefin Striker that often has been seen as mediocre without a 2nd Striker to take pressure away from him, looks completely different.  It’s no secret that Lellochatnim spent a month with him alone to work on dribbling and passing mechanics.   Whatever went on behind the scenes is clearly working, as he’s looked far more confident and dangerous as striker.  It will help that previously unknown Osnardo of House Zahn, a Right Wing Forward, is also showing some promise after a Lellochatnim tutoring.   He’s been with the Bluefins since the beginning of the league, but until now hadn’t impressed anyone with his shoddy play.   Besides coming to camp in by far the best shape of his life, he’s looking much quicker than ever and has learned a thing or two about how to create offensive pressure on a defense while not being too impatient about trying to force feed Alfenz the ball.    In general, the attacking midfield game at Hanuna looks much more coordinated than before.  It appears that they will be pushing hard for a ball control approach with five people at midfield, passing to each other several times to open the field up before the two wingers suddenly attack the opposing end with Alfenz, the ball getting passed to one of them in the hopes that whoever gets the ball can make a quick shot at goal.    Garlen of House Richenaan has long been known as one of the best defensive players in all of Avornia, which some of the cleanest tackling the league has seen.   However, to everyone’s surprise, after working with him, Lellochatnim has changed his position from a Centerback to a Defensive Midfielder.   This means that in addition to being defensive minded, Garlen is now responsible for being a part of the five midfielder attack.   However, he’s smoothly adjusted to the role and his natural ball hunting aggression really seems to be working better for him in the midfield.   The Hanunan defense has long had to rely on Lellochatnim coaching them up, but they finally have someone who’s a good athlete back there.  Shend of House Illard, Left Centerback, is very quick to intercept passes and has enough sense to avoid stupid penalties in the Penalty Box.    Overall, there is some quiet optimism that this team is finally ready to step back up to the top of the standings after two years of underperforming.    They’d better be up for the task, otherwise, Lellochatnim might have a short reign as Manager, despite his reputation as a football strategical genius.  

Petorvale (Nickname: Hammers) (Owner: Benwah of House AIlian) (Manager: Hammen of House Tong): The story of Petorvale is a tale as old as time, the offense is usually good to great, the defense is usually terrible, and Hammen the Manager gets even fatter.   The ever popular coach of the Hammers is certainly not missing any meals, as he’s now over 300 pounds but just as boisterous as ever.   With mounting pressure from Benwah to improve the team, Hammen spent a lot of time trying to find new prospects to help the team when he came to a realization.    Instead of hoping that some plucky up and comers happen to apply to join the team, then also happen to immediately be good enough to make the squad, why not make up a team entirely of rookies that can learn together?   The big man liked the idea, and so, the invention of the Youth Academy was made.    While it won’t help Petorvale this season, in theory this will make turning rookies into seasoned pros ready for the big time much easier and could make the Hammers a team to watch in the near future, (of course, most of the other teams have already caught wind of this and have been scrambling to set up their own Youth Academies, so Petorvale will only have so much of a head start).   As for the players on the current team, Petorvale looks much the same, except for one major handicap.   Star Forward Svontal of House Dors, always a huge scoring threat, suffered a bad knee injury lifting an anvil.   He’ll get to play this season, but even after a mage did his best work to fix the knee with magical healing spells, it won’t be able to handle the demands of the football field for at least half the season.   The absence of Svontal is going to hurt, but at least Ceecil of House Ackerberry (Right Center Midfielder) returns and should provide some oomph to the attack.   Encouragingly, the defense finally appears to be improving somewhat.   While there will definitely be some pressure on the goalie, they’ll be helped by new Left Centerback/Sweeper Norty of House Peaweedle, who’s a natural ball hawk, (and apparently a legitimate hawk trainer too!) and has a strong leg that can accurate pass the ball quickly up the field.   Morses of House Knapper is gone as a goalie, which was no surprise.   However, this does mean that Petorvale will be starting its 4th different Goalie in as many years, which is rather stunning (and funny, considering that Hammen himself was a Goalkeeper in his brief playing days and still the only man to have started as Petorvalen goalie for more than one year).   Cooma of House Niccagua is one of the largest men to ever step foot on a football field, at an astonishing 6’8” tall and probably 250 pounds of weight.    He’s doesn’t quite have the most impressive reflexes for the position, but he’s certainly an intimidating sight to see charging towards a bouncing ball in front of you.   Hopefully, the curse of the Petorvale Goalie ends with Cooma, because if he’s the answer the Hammers have been waiting years for, and if the team can stay competitive despite the loss of Svontal, Petorvale could have a good season.

Dobo (Nickname: Claymen) (Owner: Jephard of House Obuis) (Player Captain: Wahwmah of House Taccew): After the year that Dobo had last season, it’s fair to question just how good the Claymen really are.   Are they as good as the team that stunningly won the League Championship in Year 66?  Or are they the team that’s routinely failed to impressed, having never finished above 7th place otherwise in its history?    Based on talent alone, there isn’t much to be impressed with, as Wahwmah (Left Centerback) is the only defender that’s considered to be an above average player (after his season ending injury, the rest of the defense played so badly that one really can’t say much about them).   Wahwmah’s brother, Nahnquan (Center Midfielder) has been a sore disappointment so far in his two years in the league.   He’s got clear athleticism and strength, but has never put it together in terms of dribbling, passing, and all the technical aspects of football.   The midfield, which is heavily relied on with Dobo’s ball control and heavy passing style, is otherwise not noteworthy.  The only other notable player is also a question mark.   Goalkeeper Tumac of House Sashtane has really only had one good season so far, (in Year 66), but has otherwise been a below average goalie for years now.  He’s aggressive at charging at a ball when it’s in the Penalty Box, but he’s sometimes too aggressive, which leads to easy shots if an attacker were to get to the ball before Tumac does.   The offense has never been a strength of Dobo’s, in the past, the Claymen have relied on the team being selfless enough to give all the forwards their shots at goal.   While a nice idea on paper, it’s not a threatening strategy when none of the forwards are all that good at what they do.   Meanwhile, there’s plenty of reasons to be concerned with team chemistry.  New owner Jephard has been openly pushing Wahwmah to change his training approach, noting that using Slap Wrestling Tournaments (which the Taccew brothers had been using to build up the team’s physical toughness) to determine who gets on the team really has nothing to do with football playing skills, (plus, it’s known that the local Dobotitus worshippers-remember that Jephard is a minister of that religion- have historically always turned their noses up to Slap Wrestling, considering it barbaric.   It’s possible this fact could be a core factor in Jephard’s disapproval).   For his part, Wahwmah has always been prideful and has refused to change anything, citing that the Slap Wrestling is more of a comradery building exercise that keeps everyone in the locker room close.   Once he knows who’s tough enough to play football, Wahwmah has relied on coaching up the players on all the technical skills needed.   It’s also known that Jephard will be watching this season’s results very closely.   If Dobo struggles again (and more likely than not, they will), he’ll be pushing for a total team rebuild, and that may start with the longtime captain.

Baelanholme (Nickname: Pirates) (Owner: Candor of House Blusal) (Manager: Danotto of House Fongo): After a decent first season where the Pirates played very competitively after a rocky start to the season, it’s going to be fun to see how they grow.   Staring off, although Shanto of House Sayloor did an admirable job as the player captain last year, Candor decided to hire a full time manager for this season (seeing as he’s probably the biggest reason why teams don’t have to use a roster spot for their manager anymore, that makes sense).   During the offseason, young Danotto, a backup midfielder that was often too injured to play any games, worked with several members of the team to work on their mechanics.   Knowing this, Candor choose to hire Danotto full time as the manager.   Danotto will be keeping Shanto’s 3-3-3-1 tactic since the team was already familiar with how to operate that strategy, saving him time to worry about tweaking the roster.   And tweak he will have to because Goalkeeper Lian of House Reddish surprisingly retired after just one season, having decided he didn’t really love playing football all that much.   Replacing him will be last year’s backup goalie, Traxton of House Blackharth.   He isn’t quite as good of an athlete as Lian was, but Traxton has solid leadership qualities, able to direct his defensive traffic to where they need to go.    He’s also a taller goalie, at 6’4”, so he fits the bill for what is now starting to become a mandatory trait for the position.  Assisting him on defense will be rookie Centerback, Tyfir of House Angelbacc.   Tyfir is another tall guy, 6’6”, and he’s got some height in his jumps.   He’ll be handy for headers on either side of the field and even better, he loves getting physical with strikers, being just smart enough to disrupt their attacks without committing too many fouls.   His presence will really help the Pirates out.  Shanto provided additional defensive support as a defensive minded Center Midfielder, but he’s worked hard on his passing and dribbling over the off season so he’ll be better on offense too.  The offense has been drawing a lot of excitement over the offseason.   Waen of House Harbage, a Striker, came off the bench halfway into the season last year and really took advantage of his newfound playing time.   With a full season to work with this year, the Pirates are expecting him to draw most of the attention on attacks, but that’s just what they want in order to utilize a newfound weapon.  Mehcka of House Bhasha is a rookie that shows a ton of promise as an attacker.   He's got a heck of a lot of power in his legs (and he’s left footed too, which could throw defenses off) and is already displaying a knack for knowing when to pass to Waen and when to take the shot himself.  If he lives up to his potential, Baelanholme’s offense might be scary good this year.    Most experts had figured out of the two expansion teams, that Baelanholme would take longer to become a contender as their roster last year wasn’t impressive.   However, with all the improvements the roster has already seen in just one year, the Pirates seem like they have leapfrogged Henix (and several other teams) in promise.

Leorux (Nickname: Elves) (Owner: Herrad of House Hoopmeister) (Manager: Herrad of House Hoopmeister): A team that had never finished any higher than 3rd from last, Leorux has been the most consistently bad team in the Avornian Football League, their status as a professional club being questioned routinely after an all time worst season in Year 67 where they only earned 13 points in the standings (a record low).   Change was needed and a lot of it.   New owner Herrad, a life long football fan, definitely understood that and has made quite a number of waves since he took over as the Elves’ owner.  To the chagrin of many fans, he’s keeping the Elves nickname, but to their joy, he’s not keeping the man who named the club.   Asa of House Waiselen, after years of mismanaging the roster, is off the team altogether, not even being kept as a player, (he’s not very good anymore anyway).   In an unusual move, Herrad himself will take on the responsibilies of being the manager.   The Avornian Football Committee wasn’t too thrilled to hear about this move, wanting him to stay focused on the business side of things, but they’ll allow it for one season, next year Leorux will have to employ a new manager or player captain.   Despite the large amount of work on his plate, Herrad has done rather well in developing players, and there is some hope that the defense (long a source of embarrassment for the team) is finally improving.   Two rookie Centerbacks, Kade of House Nush and Azaroth of House Belock, make their debuts this season.   Both are strong, tall kids, and both are quick to jump all over attackers.   They’ll need to work on situational awareness (both will likely cost Leorux a game or two with dumb penalties) but their athleticism and aggressive play are most welcomed in Leorux.    The midfield isn’t anything too special, but Herrad at least gives them an interesting positioning with a 4-3-3 formation that has the midfielders in a unique triangle formation.   It’ll give defenses a new look to worry about at least.   The offense still has Carles of House Yalmount as its Center Forward.   For years, poor Carles has had next to no help on offense, making it far too easy for defenses to hound him exclusively.    That will be alleviated somewhat this season.   3rd year player Hemly of House Raber has always been a great athlete in excellent conditioning, but former player captain Asa never developed him properly.   Herrad has figured out how to use Hemly’s athleticism in a great way, changing his position from a midfielder to a Right Wing Forward.   The 4-3-3 with Triangle Midfielders approach relies heavying on the Wing Forwards being able to run back and forth on the field, handling both offensive and defensive responsibilies.   Hemly’s history as a forward helped the learning curve a little, but what’s really improved was his shooting.   Part of the reason Asa had kept him as a midfielder was because Hemly didn’t have that great of accuracy with shooting at the goal.   Herrad spent plenty of time working on Hemly’s goal scoring game, knowing Carles needs another threat alongside him to really be effective.  The results could be promising.    Overall, Herrad had quite a busy offseason, but his hard work looks like it could pay off.    The Elves are certainly not expected to become a contender overnight, but for the first time ever, breaking out of the bottom three in the standings looks both possible and realistic.

Next: Year 68 Season

(Comments and Critiques always welcomed)
 

Last edited by Stickman (12/29/2022 11:30 am)

ZO82 wrote:

Does this world have a magic base system where they can use portals?

There is a way to travel quickly using a teleporting spell that only your local and friendly mage knows.  However, it's far from a perfect system, as only one person at a time can be teleported and there's no guarantee that they'll end up exactly where they're supposed to be.  It's possible to be teleported up to a mile away from your destination, which thankfully has only resulted in inconvenience so far, nobody's been teleported to their death or anything like that.   

Due to its unreliability, most football teams don't trust having their players sent by teleporting, preferring more traditional transportation like sailing and horse drawn carriages.  The only exception so far have been when a team has to travel very far to a game (such as from Hanuna or Baelanholme to Dobo or Anjocca for example).  

The only people who consistently use teleporting are messangers hired to quickly warp from city to city in order to announce football results to nearby fans.   This allows everyone to find out the results of an important game within hours of it ending.  

Hope you're enjoying the series!
 

Last edited by Stickman (12/29/2022 11:45 am)