From the Ground Up

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Goalkeeper dreams - Wayne Oborobinson hopes to stay in the program as Columbia Hills struggle to make an MAFL club.

As season 2 approaches the midpoint, the pressure is on expansion teams to get their teams off the ground and ready for entry into the 3rd MAFL season.

Of the two new clubs, Columbia Hills faces an uphill battle. With a population size of just 3000, it is the smallest of all of the other settlements in the MAFL. Working with a limited talent pool has already slowed progress and unlike Wendland, they are not in a position to recruit back local residents, like Sulzberger and Marysa Waaijer, to bolster their ranks.

They do have a few local heroes like Alan Sawyer who gained fame for his excellent performance in the Marineris Pathfinder Marathon, but they are far from meeting the minimum 14 player roster requirement from the league.

“At this point, we have 6 players confirmed,” said Tod Dodderham, “We have a lot of work ahead of us. It isn’t the same as the original 8 that were able to easily recruit across colonies.”

New regulations and processes adopted by colonies makes it prohibitive for Columbia Hills to hire in players from its larger neighbours, namely Marineris and San Olympus, however, they are actively trying to attract ex-pats back for tryouts.

Leaning on loyalty may be their best hope.

Hanging up the Cleats

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Season 2 is finally underway, but could there be troubles with player retention in the MAFL? 

In the off-season, 7 players made the decision to hang up their cleats and walk away from the game. In the grand scheme of things, it is only 7 out of the more than 140 players across the 8 clubs, but there are serious fears that this could be just the beginning of a much larger exodus.  

Professional sport culture is a new phenomenon and in the absence of career athletes in the general population, the MAFL had to start from scratch to recruit colonists to fill in the ranks.  With the exception of the younger players, 90% of the players are coming from typical occupations and roles.

"I'm a scientist, damn it", says Dr. Meghana Singh.  Born in 2045, she is one of the 'original 100' the first one hundred native Martians. Born in Marineris and finishing her studies in Amrita, Singh was raised to follow in the academic footsteps of her parents.  Two years ago, however, she took an unexpected MAFL detour. After making the 2nd round try-outs, she put her career on pause to join the Comets training camp.

"I was lured by the 'what if'," she explains, "The MAFL opportunity and what it meant for the colonies just resonated with me. I knew it was something that I had to be part of."

Her former Comets teammate, Ellis Black, had similar motivation, describing the MAFL as a 'miracle'.

"I was 13 when we arrived on Mars," he says, "And as you grow up, you let go of many Earth memories, until something like this happens. It was completely improbable and irrational, but it happened."

But after dedicating more than 2 years to the league, Ellis confesses he was never going to make a career out of it.

"Back in the day, super stars would make fortunes playing for the major leagues.  Then, inevitably, they would score less or get the career-ending injury, and that was it. Even in a time when there was incredible wealth and celebrity in it, the life of an athlete was always short-lived.  I'm leaving on a high, proud of what I was part of, but it's time for me to get back to work."

"You will certainly see other exits, especially the specialized individuals who came to Mars with greater purposes and goals in mind," says Aiger Masing, CEO of the MAFL. "Joining a club shouldn't be like serving time in a detention centre. The idea that an astrophysicist, logistics engineer, cargo pilot, or machine programmer can make the cut to play a year or two in the MAFL should be what's great about life on Mars."

Others, like Titan's Eduard Rotaru, left for other reasons. At 25, Rotaru is a San Olympus born native who should fit the bill for an eager, next generation colonist looking to break ground in a new career path, but after season 1, he simply washed out.

"I had a hard look at myself and where it was all going," he said, "And I realized that despite all the great experiences of playing the game, it isn't who I am. The constant competition isn't for me."

Other young players have expressed similar sentiments, particularly with the unexpected pressures on and off the field. Though there is nothing the league can do when a colonist has another calling or a change of heart, according to Aiger, they are taking retention seriously. 

"There are many things we have and will continue to improve for the benefit of our players. Last year, the long road trips were a major complaint from players, but working with club owners and partners, we've come up with solutions to significantly reduce travel times for this season, shaving days off the long haul trips between the furthest colonies. "

Even if trouble is stirring, the MAFL and other sporting initiatives are still in their early days.  It may take some time to see how the whole 'professional athlete' space shakes itself out, but as long as there is enough players in the the MAFL pool, there is certainly no shortage in demand to watch them play.

Outfits and Upgrades for Al'amal

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MAFL clubs have been upgrading equipment to meet new specifications and updates for safety, but some clubs have taken the opportunity to come back for season 2 in style.

In a recent outdoor training session, Al'amal players were seen sporting completely new EV suits.  The reported capacity increases for life support are not significantly noticeable against the new design and colours .  Style-wise, Al'amal has definitely stepped up their game.

Abandoning their previously green and gold palette, the club has added grey and introduced handsome Teal accents. 

"These [uniforms] make us feel powerful," said team captain Musaddiq Baddour, "A number of issues we had with the previous equipment has largely been addressed, so this is a huge improvement that will contribute to performance across the league."

Tech pack components extend life support capacity and will include newer safety countermeasures.  The packs are reverse compatible with the propulsion systems integrated into previous generation EV suits.

Al'amal Sport Club has proudly announced they are returning with 100% of their original roster from season 1.  After rumours from Marineris earlier in the week that the championship team will be losing multiple players, this was welcome news for Al'amal fans.

"Trades were just not interesting to us.  If we learned anything, it is how our team embodies and represents our great colony," said club manager, Haajid Nasr, "We did spend a lot of time looking at local recruits over the break.  Though we won't be adding anyone to the lineup, we intend on investing in top candidates to grow the talent pool for the future."

Al'amal SC will officially fund a junior club program starting in parallel with season 2.  An inter-colony junior league remains unlikely due to the tremendous costs and time commitments associated with cross-Mars transport, so actual benefits of a local junior program will have the same limitations as recreational sports clubs. 

Where's the Beef?

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Where's the beef?  Well, apparently, it's on its way!

Huacheng, Tiangong and Osumi will become the first colonies to introduce Organic Dairy products at significant volume.  

Duke Riddlestone, owner of Riddle Farms Texas Company, is one of the primary suppliers of genetically engineered livestock.  He and his team arrived on a temporary work visa early in Mesha and have been working with local operators to ensure a smooth transition when the cattle arrives.  All 3 colonies will have dedicated massive underground facilities for the venture.

we won't see cows on the surface of Mars anytime soon, rather, they will inhabit dedicated facilities in Huacheng, Tiangong and Osumi.  Other colonies will be eagerly observing the outcome of this  new program. Suppliers of the genetically engineered bovine claim the load on resources fall within the same parameters as other adapted livestock.

The livestock is en route and a large portion of the test-tube calves will be 'born' on the final approach to Mars, after a 250 day gestation period.   The total herd size will be 120 cows and is expected to produce in excess of 200,000 litres of milk each year.

Riddlestone, formerly an all-star NNFBL player (and later in his career, a coach), praised the consortium responsible for opening up the market for his livestock and the achievements of Martian colonization.

“It’s a remarkable thing to come to this world and witness how people live here,” Riddlestone said in a recent interview, “I’m impressed with how far you’ve been able to push agriculture and how it has afforded colonists with a relatively diverse diet.  I'm happy that my cows are a new milestone.”

How this will affect the synthetic milk sector remains to be seen, but many are eager to welcome cow milk over the low-volume from human milk sharing programs available in some colonies.

When asked of what he thinks of Martian sports, he said, “It’s great to see a budding sporting culture, especially with the decline back home.  I still can’t get over how tall everyone is.  I am looking forward to seeing how that translates into actual play.  I want to see it with my own eyes, so I plan on being at the Dong Ji opening game.”

Riddlestone has been welcomed as a sport celebrity and multiple MAFL clubs have extended invitations for him to visit, however, he has, so far, declined due to his immediate business obligations.

Tales from the Pitch: Fanatical

While everyone is hyped about the emergence of ice hockey on Mars, I wanted to inform our readers of what has been going on during the off-season of the Mars Aero Football League. Of course, there has been some trading of players, and some new acquisitions, but I’m more fascinated by the emergence of local fan organizations throughout the settlements.

Every team has its fans, but what we saw in its infancy last season was the coming together of like minds who wished to support their team with incredible passion and overwhelming zeal. These ad-hoc groups met infrequently last season, but still enough to recognize a shared vision and during the past few months we’ve seen a solidification of club rules and the creation of local fan support groups. Wishing to know more, I decided to visit the supporters of my team, The San Olympus Titans.

Calling themselves the Cronus’s Crew, these superfans make sure that every game they are present and loudly supporting their team. The local establishment in Sans Olympus broadcasts every game and fills up with the Crew whenever they can get a ticket to one of the games. I head there to see for myself and raucous debate between fans fills the room. If I didn’t know better, I would have never suspected that MAFL was off season.

I’m greeted by three men and two women who in turn introduce me to Amzi Jones, the current President of Cronus’s Crew. They are quite the sight. Their bodies and faces are painted with Titans purple. On their heads sit a comically oversized laurel wreath in Titans gold. I was later told that they normally only dress in that fashion for a game but had wanted to give me a real feel of what the Crew can do.

Amzi tells me that they started with five or six of them meeting up to watch a game, but has quickly grown into a little under fifty card-carrying members. Whenever they attend a game, they make sure that they are the loudest, rowdiest group and that their team can hear every cheer through the spectator bus speaker systems.

It doesn’t take long for the heartache of last year’s final to come up in conversation. There are a few murmurs of how we were robbed, but the reality is that the Titans were simply too hurt, and bad luck ended an amazing inaugural season. Wanting to lighten the mood, I mention that we’ll get them this year to which the group cheered loudly and told me I was welcome back any time.

Cronus’s Crew is joined by the Golden Dragons in Huacheng, the Novyimir Dynamaniacs, and the Cometeers in Marineris. I expect more fan clubs will be popping up soon. History is filled with disturbing tales of football hooliganism, but, while Cronus’s Crew aren’t teetotallers, I didn’t get the sense that these were people out looking for a fight or would pose any concern to Mars’s security forces. These are just a bunch of fans who love their teams and who want to show it in the craziest, loudest way possible.

MAFL Takes to the Air!

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z-388's have traditionally been used for industrial transport, but will soon be carrying mafl players & equipment across mars.

Sports are now the driving force behind the development of intercolony leisure travel and tourism. Previously, travel between colonies was dominantly for business purposes due to the prohibitive costs and regulations, but with the Global Transport Commission lifting commercial restriction on the use of the industrial purpose-built crafts, the MAFL has already signed up to purchase 2 zepplocarriers.

Traveling by “air” has been impractical due to the thin atmosphere of our world. This physical constraint render traditional Earth aircrafts ineffective on Mars. Rocket pods and Hovers (anything launched by rail cannons) still provide the fastest means of transport on the planet, but limited load capacities, questionable safety, and prohibitive costs make it an exclusive option.

Though zepplocarriers are not currently designed for speed, direct flight paths and the ability to forego recharging stops make them more time-effective compared to current land-based travel.

For example, MAFL players travelled an average of 12,000 km a month—totalling 8 days on the road. Even in the protective shielding of a transport, there is increased risk of radiation exposure.

“Players have complained of the long and gruelling road trips.”, expressed an MAFL spokesperson, “Our intention is to test zepplos and if all goes as planned, subsidize the acquisition of one for each club.”

Zepplos will be able to ferry teams, their supporting staff, and potentially spectators between colonies. Travel by zepplocarrier will reduce the typical 3-day journey between Huacheng and Europa, to a single day.

This is big news to players like Edouard Rouselle of United. “I have a family and kids. Anything that lets me have more time with them in a week is a godsend!”

Service air carriers, that do not rely on principles of lift and drag have been an industry solution for more than two decades to transport resources and equipment and inaccessible regions, but, until now, they have never been deployed public use..

“There hasn’t been a need,” says Vakhita Blackwell, CEO of zepplocarrier manufacturer, Helionus Inc.,  “Quite frankly, there hasn’t been the demand. Until now, we were previously content with waiting for the tunnels to be completed to connect colonies by loops.”

Indeed, intercolony tourism has been historically small, with only a fraction of the approximate 120,000 Martian inhabitants needing transit between colonies—the majority of that for work purposes.

With Pandora’s box now open, the once insular majority is suddenly demanding regular transportation for leisure purposes. The first championship match drew a record-breaking 5,000 colonists from all corners of Mars out of the safety of a stationary settlement to congregate at Marineris stadium.

To put that in perspective—workers in natural resources, “explorer” companies and research expeditions (that are effectively nomadic settlements) only represent about of 3,000 people, planet-wide, that need to be outside at any given time.

Underground transport tunnels are in the works to provide a reliable means of transportation between colonies. The first such tunnel, a highway between Marineris and Europa, is expected to be completed within 7 months and spans just over 3000 km. It’s estimated that linking the vast distances between far reaching settlements will take decades—if at all.

It will still be some time before there is a major disruption in public transport with the proposed hyperloops, but in the meantime, blimps can fill in the void.

Training Day Flash Backs

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Cezar Vadvua, assistant manager of the Amrita Immortals.

On sub-level F of Amrita, through a nondescript set of unmarked doors is Gymlu-F,  this is where I first met the Immortals 15 months ago.

"It’s a fine day for football."

At least that’s what Cezar Vadvua, the club's Assistant Manager, told me. 

“Actually, it will be much better when we get outside, but with dust season, we will spend many days in the gymnasium.  Either way, we meet here daily to work-out and practice,” he explained.

The beauty of that first training camp was the sneak peek into the making of a team.

“Where’s Andam Mirza today”, I asked.  Then, Andam had only been appointed the Manager for the Amrita Immortals two months prior.

“Andam left me in charge as he had meetings at MAFL headquarters”, said Cezar. “Better him than me. I prefer to be with the players instead.”

There were 11 of them who showed up that day. “This isn’t your full squad, is it?” I asked their scouting director Ivo Zapletal.

“Not at all”, replied Ivo. “Today’s practice was optional because some players are still transitioning from their jobs.  Don’t worry, we’ll have a full team suited up when the season starts.”

I noticed a few players helping each other with their EV suits.  I point this out to Cesar who looked up their numbers: Laurien Hagendoorn and Ronald Donovan.

“We practice in full gear as often as possible.  Even when indoors,” explained Cesar

Ivo proudly pointed out another pair practicing deft dribbling and passing.

“I found Ran Naik and Akkilic Talpur from the Kingfisher club," beamed Ivo,  "A few of the players came from that recreational athletic group. We were quite selective with who we recruited.” 

Cezar drew my attention young woman who was mid-jump.  It seems like she hung in the air for an impossible amount of time, almost touching the gymnasium ceiling.

“That’s Chamunda Badal. She's on our shortlist for goalkeeper.”

I noticed another player who was kicking the living hell out of a neatly placed row of balls. He was in standard indoor trainers, making thundering shots at the wall.  I vividly recall his posture and obvious natural abilities with handling the ball.

"He's new, a local lad," said Ivo, "He came in from the top, through a connection with the owner.  He's definitely got moves."

The three of us approached him. 

"I’m Uday Lanka," he introduced himself to me with a confident smile.  

Yes, that is the day I met season 1's Most Valuable Player.

Of course, it came as no surprise to me when Mirza eventually announced Lanka as team captain, though I may not have been able to predict then that Lanka would become the league scoring leader with an unbelievable 14 goals. 

“It’s going to be a fine season for football,” Cezar said to me.

Indeed it was, but that was only the beginning.

It has come full circle as I have been invited to visit Gymlu-F yet again.   

"We are hosting trials and early training camp," wrote Cezar, "You never know who we might discover."

The beauty of training camp days... A sneak peek into the making of a team.

MAFL Chronicles - China Crisis?

Before the start of the inaugural season, MAFL Commissioner Aiger Masing gave each team the task of chronicling their experiences over the 21 week season.  Each team was given the liberty to record their stories in the format of their choice.  This series shares some of the excerpts from these chronicles.   In this edition, we look at the captains from Tiangong and Huacheng.

Season 1 of MAFL will go down as a historic event for many but for the two Chinese teams, it wasn't a very encouraging start.  For the majority of the season, both teams languished at the bottom of the standings despite strong support from respective colonies.   

The following are excerpts from independent interviews with Stanislas Hachette, Captain of Tiangong Wuji, and  Qigang Lian, Captain of Huacheng Dong Ji.  

What were the expectations at the beginning of the season?

Hachette: Expectations were much higher than they should have been in Tiangong.  Being part of a new professional sport league was the buzz, so boasting about it pre-season got out of hand.  I warned everyone to be more careful about it. Most of my teammates had little exposure to football and I can honestly tell you that our exhibition games weren't strong indicators.

Lian:  It was very high... too high especially when you look at our actual performance.  That is why I and the whole team feels like we failed Huacheng.  I personally felt we would do better.  We brought together our team quickly compared with other clubs, so we felt well prepared from our extensive training as a unit.  We were able to demonstrate that with a strong start, but in many ways, this made the rest of the season very frustrating for us.

When did things started to unravel for your team?

Hachette: In the beginning, we were not very good. We lost our first three before we finally winning a match. And then, before we could get any momentum, we went on to lose 6 in a row.  There wasn't a defining moment, it was bad from the very start.

Lian:  We were 2 and 1 in our first three matches but then our pain began as we lost our next 6 matches. Many of our losses came at the hand of overtime.  This is what is upsetting because we could hold our own during the halves, but consistently lost in the shootouts.  We lost all seven overtimes. Even our very last match of the season against United went this way. 

Were there any distractions that stood out?

Hachette: I never expected so much pressure would come from a game. For us, our inexperience and a lack of dynamic, skilled players was one thing, but dealing with it mentally was our nemesis. We scored the fewest goals in the league and things like that really get to you.

Lian: There was no shortage of reports about Darkeem Dennis by the middle of the season.  He was a good teammate and he had the ability to score, but he was not happy.  He was recruited to our team and left his family and friends in Wendland for the opportunity to play sports.  It was hard for him to transition to life in Huacheng. He was becoming very lonely and distant the more we lost.  I think Darkeem going to Europa was a best move for everyone.

What were the highlights of Season 1?

A joyous moment in an otherwise dismal season - Dong Ji upsets Titans 3-1 at Olympus Park.

Lian: Our win over the Titans in Week 18 was glorious.  It was a definitive win and it showed us that we can compete against the elite teams.

Hachette: The passion and support from the fans has been unbelievable. At first, I wasn’t sure if people would care, but they did.  And they kept caring even though we weren't a winning team. I can't tell you how much that means and how much it motivates the entire team to be better next year.

Are you looking forward to next season?

Hachette:  Absolutely.  Despite the challenging year, the game an the fans are incredible.  I wouldn't trade going back to my old job for the world.  We are going to come back with a vengeance in season 2. Our manager is reviewing all our matches, so I am expecting a lot of positive changes.

Lian: We showed much promise in the 2nd half with some of our younger players improving significantly. But we have to learn how to win close matches. After we beat the Titans, we lost the next three matches to the Comets, Dynamo and United all in overtime. If we fix that issue next season, we can be contenders.

MAFL Chronicles - Titans Before & After

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Before the start of the inaugural season, MAFL Commissioner Aiger Masing gave each team the task of chronicling their experiences over the 21 week season.  Each team was given the liberty to record their stories in the format of their choice.  This series shares some of the excerpts from these chronicles.   In this edition, we take a glimpse at interviews with key players at the beginning, mid-point, and post season, featuring their top players: Readale Nash, Jube Terrell and Icilio De Sisto.

They were asked the same question at different periods of the season:

“What is it like to be the first generation of pro athlete on Mars?”

Pre-season

Nash demonstrated his abilities early in the season becoming Titan's more feared striker.

NASH

Tomorrow is our first match and I'm feeling a lot of anxiety.  

When I was recruited, it was a dream come true, but the last 6 months training with older players has been humbling.  Almost everyone is coming from some important job at the colony, so I don't feel like I belong here. 

I think I have the skills, but it isn't like playing with my friends back at school.  We've only had a handful of exhibition games, so it barely feels like we're a team.  I think the other players are suspicious of me because I am young.  That doesn't help.

If it wasn't for our coach [Salgado] I probably wouldn't be able to keep it together.  There's no backing down.  This is just too big a chance to do something different on this planet.

I'm just going to do my best for as long as this MAFL thing lasts.

TERRELL

This is a gamble, so it is exciting.  I really love teaching, so leaving that behind was difficult, but this is the biggest opportunity to impact the youth of our world.  I am completely onboard with the vision of MAFL and how this could stem some of the issues we are having culturally. 

I was born in 2047, so as one of the 1st gen Martian-born, I can tell you for a fact how difficult it growing up in a culture dominated by what our parents did and what life on Earth is like.

Being a professional athlete on Mars is something I am proud of and hope it will contribute far beyond whether we win or lose games.

DE SISTO

I lived in Spain on Earth as a child, so I do have memories of playing sports.  At that age, I'm not sure I would have thought about it as a job or a career.  Funny, I wouldn't have thought of it as a profession here on Mars either until last year.

When MAFL was announced, I thought it was a joke; a cruel one too since it sounded too good to be true.

I am scheduled to be starting in tomorrow's match, so it is an important one for me.  Unlike most of the other clubs, we have two goalkeepers on the roster, so there is internal competition.  I want to win and prove my worth.

We've never faced Wuji in exhibition, so we only know what we've researched about them, but, overall, I'm feeling confident.  I think we have the talent and the chemistry.

Editor's note:  Titans took the game 2-0 over Wuji.  De Sisto was awarded a goal at 18 minutes after Wuji goalkeeper, Seaton, misplayed his long kick.  Nash scored his first goal at 21:00.

Mid-season

Editor's Notes: Titans have an 11-1 record at the midpoint.  Nash is at his peak having 7 goals (only 2 behind Immortal's Lanka).  Terrell has yet to blossom and De Sisto holds the lowest goals allowed in the league.

Late bloomer – Terrell finds her legs after a slow start to the season, eventually becoming a force to be reckoned with.

TERRELL

If you asked me last month, I won't have had the same answer.  As a forward, getting goals is the mission, so even when your team is winning, if you don't score, you don't feel like you've done your part.

I didn't get my first goal until week 7 against Agre.  That was our 1st game against the Comets and I'm never going to forget it.  Since then, my confidence has been building and my control continues to improve. 

I certainly feel much more like a pro when I am able to get the ball in the net.

DE SISTO

I have fans.  That is something unusual to say, isn't it? Being recognized, strangers coming up to you, seeing colonists wearing our colours – it's all pretty amazing.

So far, I've started in goal for 9 of our 12 games.  I'm really proud of our standings and being the goto goalkeeper.

We were thrashed in our first go against the Immortals.  Both Usian Busara and I gave up 2 goals a piece to Lanka in the 3rd week.  I was pretty stressed leading up to our rematch on Dhanus 15th.  Lanka's a proven killer on the field, but I couldn't let that put me off my game.  We took that game 2-1.

Feeling like a pro has a lot to do with handling the defeat and the head games.

NASH

I love being a pro aero baller! 

I don't know if a lot of other players can say that.  You can see a lot of them are struggling out there.  This is what you get when you hang up a lab coat and get thrown on the pitch. Just because you are healthy, doesn't make you good. This is where I know being young has played to my advantage.

As a team we have a great rhythm and everybody knows what I can do.  In the beginning, I could tell people didn't want to pass to me, but now, I'm the striker.

Post-Playoffs

Editor's Notes: Titans lost 4-1 against the Comets in the MAFL Championship Finals. Coming into the match with key players already on the injury list, they suffered additional casualties through the 1st half that factored into the loss.

Goalkeeper of the Year, De Sisto carried the Titans to the end-game, only to miss the final match.

DE SISTO

Losing the championship was very hard for me, even more so because I was in the sidelines. 

I have many conflicting feelings.  Getting injured in the last few minutes of the semi-finals, that was a raw deal.  I felt very angry, especially because it was such a stupid accident between teammates.  I never would have imagined the scenario where Nash and I weren't in the match.  I feel tremendous disappointment.

From the other angle, when I think of what the Comets were dealing with after losing a teammate, it puts it back into perspective.

I think the only thing that will make me feel better is getting back on the field.

TERRELL

Beyond the letdown of losing the championship match, I feel a lot of personal gratification from what we achieved as a team and as a league.  

If you asked me before the season started if I could get 5 goals and an overtime win, I wouldn't have believed it was possible.

I do feel like a professional athlete and I think the world has changed dramatically after this season.  I think everyone involved in the MAFL should feel a sense of Martian pride.

NASH

I'm disappointed they wouldn't let me play in the finals.

A lot of people are saying we fell apart and everyone is asking why. All the haters out there are spreading vicious conspiracy theories, and it’s sad.  Look, we were the best team all season. Injuries took its toll on us and that’s why we lost.

End of the season I became a human target, but now I know what to expect for next season.  I’m young and growing stronger, so trust me, the Titans will be back.

---

Next in the series, we'll look at Tiangong and Huacheng's experience through the eyes of their respective captains.

Ex-employee Points Finger at Titans Owner

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Though Kamden Lewis is an icon, he isn’t free of blemishes.  His organizations on Earth and Mars are no strangers to controversy and he, himself, has been regarded as a volatile and temperamental businessman.

A most entertaining MAFL game is being played many weeks after the season finale.

This game involves attacks and volleys aimed straight at the Titans, but unlike Aero Football, these focus on the possible reasons why their dominating season did not translate to success.

The latest entrant to the game is one Gibb Brubeck, the former Operations Director from Titans’ head office. 

Brubeck claims Titans’ owner Kamden Lewis was aggressively looking to sell the Titans.  This distracting tone from the top was ultimately the trickle down theme that contributed to the demise of the Titans’ championship aspirations.

Were the Titans for Sale?

At 82 years of age, club owner Kamden Lewis isn’t getting any younger.  His lifetime achievements put other billionaires to shame – from the tech empire he build from the ground up, to championing the independent consortium for Mars colonization that realized San Olympus, to funding the start-up of MAFL and the creation of the Titans franchise.

While no clear succession plan is evident, the Lewis Empire is in no financial trouble according to its latest financial statements.

Brubeck however, points back to the fan appreciation night Kamden held as the genesis for talks with prospective buyers. 

 “The night was nothing more than an orchestrated sales platform for target prospects: Chen Tzu of the Tiangong, Darius Johnson of Columbia Hills, and Daniel Efferton of San Olympus”, said Brubeck. “These guys have also been tied to Lewis’ strip mine scandal. You just have to put 1 and 1 together to see something was cooking.” 

In response, Lewis' lawyer issued this statement, “Mr. Brubeck was recently released from his duties with the Titans organization. Clearly he did not take the separation well.  Mr. Lewis has no intention of selling the Titans."

Titans Manager, Salgado, also shared his skepticism of Brubeck’s allegations.

“I never got that impression from my interactions with Mr. Lewis”, said Salgado, “ In his frequent visits to the club house, there wasn’t any indication that he was looking to sell.  He’s deeply passionate about the sport, about San Olympus, and about Mars, so it makes little sense to me that he would consider flipping the club mid-schedule in our first season.”

When reached for comment, Efferton added, “I’ve never heard of this Brubeck guy. How would someone so junior be privy to any of Mr. Lewis’ business affairs?”

Perhaps MAFL Commissioner Aiger Masing put it best: “If you look at Mr. Lewis’ track record, he has always been about building something larger than himself.  Even if he had such intentions, when it comes down to why the Titans didn't win the championship, the simple matter of fact is this – the Comets were the better team that day.”

MAFL Chronicles - Q&A with the Champions

Pisces 6, 2078, m249

Before the start of the inaugural season, MAFL Commissioner Aiger Masing gave each team the task of chronicling their experiences over the 21 week season.  Each team was given the liberty to record their stories in the format of their choice.  This series shares some of the excerpts from these chronicles.   In this edition, we begin with the Champions, the Marineris Comets. The Comets documented their season with weekly post-game interviews.

The following is the last Q&A interview they made the week following their championship victory on Kumbha 17.  It features Manager Gordan J. Pryce, Captain Liddell Bradley, Stephen Liu, Samantha Park, and Zaida Agre.

Stephen Liu, Defender of the Year.

How does it feel being the MAFL Champions? 

Bradley:  It’s a phenomenal experience. The championship has given the entire colony an enormous boost of energy that you can feel everywhere you go. We were the first colony on Mars and now we’re also the first MAFL champion – that can never be taken away from us. 

PRYCE: The reality of it all still amazes me. Honest truth is if you had told me we would be champs before the start of the season, I’d tell you, your oxygen supply must be a bit low. In an unproven game with rookie clubs and no precedence, no one knew what the outcome would be.

When in the season did you start to think, we could really win the whole thing?

PRYCE: Well, you have to remember, we were a .500 team for the first third of the season. We’d win one lose one, win one, lose one, we had no momentum in the beginning. 

BRADLEY:  It was around Week 9, when we went on this fantastic run winning our next 5 games. That was the first time I let myself think, hmmm, maybe we have a shot at the whole thing. Then the Titans come into our house and beat us in Week 14 – our 2nd loss to them that season!  So long as they were around, there was doubt in our minds.

LIU: It’s easy for me to say now but those doubts started to disappear for me when we outgunned Al’amal 7-3 in the Semi-Finals. That was when I started believing we would win the whole thing, even with the Titans awaiting us in the Finals. 

The Titans were clearly your biggest opponent. How did you really feel about Ware’s infamous, “We Own them” comment? 

LIU:  I wanted to throttle her!

PARK: That type of braggadocio I expected from her teammate Readale Nash. 

AGRE: As the only Woman captain in the league, Raenia is someone I look up to. She carried herself with class all season, so it was really disappointing.  The timing couldn't have been worse considering what the league was going through.

BRADLEY:  I called her once I heard the comment. “You’re better than this”, I told her, and to her credit, she apologize. 

PRYCE: It wasn't a good display for her, but in many ways, it motivated us through the playoffs.  That little comment may have made the ultimate difference.

Were the Titans the biggest obstacle in your championship run? 

PRYCE:  I’d say we had three big obstacles. Early on, it was our lack of consistency, searching for our team identity. Mid-way, we released it was the Titans who would be the team to beat so what do we do. Later on, it was Yamen’s death that really took a tole – overcoming was probably our biggest obstacle. 

Tell me about Warren’s tragic death?

AGRE:  Devastating. He was part of our little family… it was just so surreal and so sudden… we prepared all season for all types of scenarios, but there was no way to prepare for what happened.

BRADLEY: It’s never a good time for these kind of thing to happen, but with just one match before the start of the playoffs? A number of us were still in therapy that week leading up to our final regular season match with the Titans, which we lost. Somehow were were able to channel the grief into winning and doing it in Yamen's memory made it that much more meaningful.

Any truth to the mid-season rumour you were close to bidding for Darkeem Dennis? 

LIU:  I think Gordan should answer that question. 

PRYCE: Nice defence, Stephen.  Full disclosure, we were really considering acquiring him from Dong Ji. Credit to our Chair, Elizabeth Foster, who was ready to pull the trigger, but we didn’t for a few reasons. First, even though I like Darkeem, I was concerned about his game breaking ability as he hadn’t scored in 7 matches. Second, Europa was desperate and we weren't interested enough to engage in a bidding war... because we would have won.  Ultimately,  Marysa Waaijer was a better fit.  

BRADLEY:  At the time, I thought we blew it and I let Gordan know that.

PRYCE:  You weren't shy about that.  One thing is for sure, neither Dennis or Europa got what they needed from that transaction.  And clearly, things worked out alright for us.

Going back to the very beginning, what was it like playing Football on Mars?

PARK:  If you mean the first time playing outdoors, it was weird.  The equipment made it awkward and unnatural.

AGRE:  The first time I had to face one of those boosted shots was an eye opener.

LIU:  Eventually around the 3rd week, it just felt right to me, like we were just playing football. 

What’s next for the Comets? 

AGRE: Rest.

PARK: See my loved ones. You'd be amazed with road trips and training how little time you spend with your family.

PRYCE:  Well enjoy it wile you can,  we'll start practicing next month. 

BRADLEY: Come on, Coach!

PRYCE:  A championship just doesn’t defend itself. But, I guess we can make it a month and a half.

---

Next in the series, we will look at the Titans and what might have contributed to their undoing.
 

Tragedy and Triumph.

Unbelievable! What drama! What triumph! The first season of the Mars Aero Football League was a resounding success. This tiny little idea that people would be interested in a new Martian sport created a  greater impact than anyone could have imagined.

Of course, personally, I’m still crushed.  My poor Titans. My wonderful, sweet Titans. They made it the entire way to the championship only to be defeated. And on home turf no less. Now, the Comets played a great match, so I can’t be too miffed, but the Titans were saddled with a series of injuries. Their aggressive style of play got them through the season at the top of the standings, but it came at cost, and I would love to see how a fully healthy Titans team would fare against the Comets.

The arena was packed. I’ve never attended any event like it. There is an energy that is created when you have a crowd of that size, even when we are gently packed into spectator transports. With every goal there was a thunder from the five-thousand-plus crowd. People were having a great time and they knew that they were part of history.

The population of Sans Olympus swelled by fifty percent, with sports tourists from every colony wanting to see this main event of the season. I will be interested to see if MAFL can build upon this, and be a driver for inter-colony tourism. The tourism economy is small part of overall Martian GDP, but it is growing exponentially with each passing month.

I’ve heard that Earth has also been overwhelmed with excitement about this championship match. Earth viewership of the event was more than twice as high as the next most watched game, and proves that interest in Martian sports goes far beyond our colonies on the Red planet.

So what is next for MAFL? The Commissioner has been coy, but there is no doubt that a 2nd season will occur, and with it will most likely bring some changes to rules, team rosters, and even league size. I don’t want to start any rumours, but there has been some interest from a few colonies to field an additional team. This might be smoke and wishes, but eventually we will need to talk expansion.

And what about my Titans? Even though they lost, Sans Olympus held a hero’s parade for them to show our love and support. We also got to see why these athletes are role models to so many Martians.  As I mentioned, there were a number of injuries so a group of players, including team caption Ware, needed to visit the hospital in Sans Olympus.

Medical breakthroughs have been rampant over the last century, and prevention against disease was one of the main problems Earth scientists looked at before anyone ever set foot on Mars, but sickness and injury still occur. Most of the medical work is done by robots, but human doctors are still the main force of diagnosis and treatment. The human touch is calming for the afflicted, especially when they are children.

Now, there aren’t many sick children in the Sans Olympus hospital, but when Captain Ware heard that there were some in the wing next to her, she gathered her teammates for a visit that these young fans will never forget. The look on their little faces was priceless, even for XX (insert name) who happily told them that the Comets were his favourite team. Each child got an autograph, a mini game ball toy, and a team picture. It was a fun time that was honestly needed as much for the Titans as it was for the kids.

It should serve as a reminder that MAFL isn’t just a bunch of people playing a game; it is a new part of Martian culture that has reverberated all throughout our society. I can’t wait to see what next season will bring.

Comets Claim MAFL Championship!

San Olympus – Saturni, Kumbha 7, 2077, m249

Over 5,000 football fans descended on Olympus Park for the largest single gathering ever for a Mars event to witness the Marineris Comets stun the favoured San Olympus Titans with a decisive 4-1 victory to capture the first ever MAFL championship.

Residents from across the colonies congregated at San Olympus, inflating the usual 12,000 population to almost 18,000 these past days. This unforeseen population spike had officials panicking all week on whether they could keep the colony afloat.

So crews worked around the clock to transform public areas and even cargo bays into event facilities.

Surplus air, water and other supplies were ordered weeks in advance in anticipation of this potential final. However, the sheer onslaught of visitors moved the other colonies to offer their support to help San Olympus breathe more easily. 

The inter-colony audience overflowed the parkade at Olympus Park, which was bursting at the seams. Never had so many Spectator transports been packed so closely before as 5,128 fans watched and proudly displayed their favourite MAFL colours.

And no two colours shined more brightly than the Titans’ Purple and the Comets’ Blue as the two teams put on a scintillating classic that delivered drama and action throughout the match.

While San Olympus A-list socialite Sasha Bayley made her appearance with her rendition of the national anthem, her boyfriend would not.  Readale Nash, the Titans leading scorer, reinjured himself during practice and was not suited for the match. Also missing in action, MAFL goalkeeper of the year, Icilio De Sisto of the Titans who suffered a shoulder injury in the semi-final match against the Immortals.

This made for a naturally frenetic match and the Comets poured on the offense to take advantage of the Titans’ key absences.

The genesis of a chance emerged with pressure from Stephen Liu on a loose ball that ultimately opened an opportunity for team-mate Luz Obregón, who sought the far right corner with a low drive from an acute angle, but dragged the effort a bit wide of the net.

Titans’ defender Alberto Rubio went down with injury in his feverish pursuit of Obregón on the play.

One less Titan allowed for the Comets to dominate possession for the better half of the quarter-hour as in succession: Liu and Liddell Bradley had reachable targets inside the danger zone but were left bemoaning their efforts as Titan goalkeeper Usian Busara was looking sharp.

After narrowly holding off the early burst of Comets’ intensity, the Titans finally rallied back.

With 20 minutes on the clock, it looked like Jube Terrell opened scoring as she controlled a Raenia Ware delivery and quickly blasted it past Zaida Agre. But luck would desert her as the officials rightly adjudged her offside to keep the match goalless.

A minute later, Terrell collected a pass from Baja Avdi just inside the penalty box and tried to guide home the ball with a side-foot past Agre who managed to poke the ball out of harm’s way.

And just as it looked like Ware would put her team on top with a rush down the right flank, the Comets Vitor Vargas Medina played her a snug too tight causing both players to crash to the ground.

While Medina got up, Ware did not. Ware’s ankle, injured for a significant portion of the season, couldn't hold up. Ware refused to go to the locker room and demanded to remain on the sidelines to give her teammates ongoing encouragement.

But the Titans’ injuries continued to piled on.  Backup goalkeeper Usian Busara was taken out at the 27th minute, forcing Titan manager, Paulo Salgado, to insert unproven defender, Satsaroop Saprai, into an unbelievably high stake, high pressure situation.

In efforts to protect their untested goalkeeper, the Titans overcompensated which led to defender Terry Park overexerting and becoming the next victim to injury with 3 minutes remaining in the half.

With Rubio, Ware, Busara and now Park all gone (in addition to Nash and De Sisto being out), the Comets could smell blood.

Despite this, Titans’ Tarik Lema Girma fought back with a well-timed boost that propelled a stunning strike that flew into the top left corner from just inside the penalty area for the 1st goal of the match.

Titans 1 Comets 0.

Unfortunately, this momentum would not last as the Titans would display a slew of uncharacteristic mistakes.

The first came in the final minute of the half as a weak clearing attempt from Saprai was intercepted by Liu who fed a pass to Amanda Coronel who thundered a header precisely into the right post corner as a hesitant Saprai watched.

Titans 1 Comets 1.

The pace from the outset of the second half was relentless.

On the sidelines, Ware encouraged her teammates on.  Despite the Comets focus on containing Terrell, she caused some alarm by galloping along the right touchline and to the near post before finally getting crowded out by a combination of defence and goalkeeper.

With each passing minute, the match became increasingly stretched, with neither team yielding in their attacking ambitions.

Then at the 74th minute, the decisive moment arrived. Liu intercepted an errant pass from the Titans, dribbled from the halfway line past three Titans defenders and then clipped the ball to Luz Obregón. The 24-year-old used exquisite technique to cushion the ball on his chest and then watch his cool side-foot drift over Saprai and into the top right corner. 

Comets 2 Titans 1.

That goal would open the flood gates as the Comets rushed through with another goal two minutes later.  Another misplayed pass from the Titans landed onto Bradley’s foot where he sent a cross from the right, which was met by Jonathan Elliot with a sliding volley into the lower left corner.

Comets 3 Titans 1.

The Titans tried to mount an attack, but were met by a swarm of Comets.  A series of crisp pass combinations would allow Alessandro Ferraz to finish with a low shot that easily beat the hapless Saprai.

Comets 4 Titans 1.

The tired and crippled Titans valiantly fought to the end, but the final whistle marked a stunning ending to their season and redemption for the Comets.

“They said we couldn’t beat them but we did when it counted most,” said Bradley as he was showered with champagne by his jubilant teammates in the locker room. “They can have the MAFL Team of the Year Award – I’d rather be hoisting the Championship!”

“We’ve developed a team spirit which has been unbelievable based on the tumultuous season we’ve had with Warren’s death,” said Comets Manager Gordan J. Pryce, “I think it’s just fitting that the first Mars colony would also be home to the first ever MAFL championship.”  

“My players were warriors and I congratulated them afterwards because, beyond the disappointment of the result, they played their hearts out”, said a dejected but composed Titans Manager, Salgado. “When you lose key players, you know it's difficult to turn it around but it's clear they gave everything for the Titans jersey today. However, I congratulate Marineris on winning the title.”

As would Commissioner Aiger Masing during the championship trophy ceremony.

“First off I would like to thank San Olympus for a fabulous job in hosting this week of festivities. However, this could not have happened without the help of all the colonies pitching in. We started this project ten years ago and what has happened today is the result of many years' of planning and failed attempts, but we never gave up. Today was a shining example of what we can all achieve here on Mars. Join me in celebrating your first ever MAFL champions, the Marineris Comets!”

And as Masing presented the Championship trophy to Captain Bradley, the broadcast channel erupted with applause from all the combined feeds including Spectator Transports, public gatherings, and home viewers across the colonies... followed 10 minutes later on Earth.

This concludes Season 1 of the Martian Aero Football League.  Though season 2 is not slated until Mesha, 4 Martian Months away, fans will be eager to see post-season activity within the clubs and follow whether the MAFL will expand with any of the proposals from Wendland, Korolev and Osumi.

Play on, Mars!

Championship Anticipation

Kumbha 7, 2077, m249

Bradley's Comets face Ware's Titans at Olympus Park tomorrow.

Hundreds boarded transport vehicles earlier this week to make the pilgrimage to San Olympus to see who would rise to be the first ever MAFL champion.

“I’ve given my vacation notice for the week because this is going to be one party I don't want to miss.”, said one Europa fan boarding a transport, much to the roaring cheers of her fellow travel mates.

The flow of traffic between Marineris and San Olympus is unprecedented with transport agencies working round the clock shuttling fans the 4500 km distance.  In addition to Marineris residents, hundreds of visitors who came from abroad for Pathfinder Marathon have stuck it out to make the stop to the mountain colony even though the likelihood of acquiring tickets is virtually impossible.

The few scalped tickets that have become available onboard an PTV have reportedly sold for as much as 20 times the original fare.

With PTVs coming in from the colonies, Olympus Park will be at true stadium capacity for the first time.  They have found a way to park an additional 25 visiting transport vehicles, making this the largest single gathering outside a colony facility with more than 5000 spectators expected.

For those who can't make the stadium event, they will be able to enjoy the Championship match through the many parties being held throughout the colonies.  San Olympus itself is being completely transformed to host the surge of visitors; the main promenade, marketplace, and even cargo facilities have been retrofit to support the event.

"We are preparing our infrastructure to handle a population increase of 20%," said Steve Ulytaria, "We will have more than enough air and water, but there is only so much we can do about space."

Interest has also spilled over to Earth as a growing Earth fan base has resulted in a spike in planned coverage with double the resources deployed to cover the event.

“Our viewership numbers have increasingly grown since we started covering MAFL”, said World Associated Press President, Jada Mattata. “We acquired the necessary resources months ago once we saw the early returns. Our fans are in for a treat when they see our superior coverage.”

And will fans be treated to a superior match between the league’s two top teams – The Titans and Comets or will it be a case of the same old, same old?

The Titans are undefeated against the Comets in regular season play, having won all 3 matches.

For the Titans to continue that streak though, they will need to lean heavily on their league leading defence and their reigning MAFL goalkeeper of the year, Icilio De Sisto as their offensive game will be challenged with leading scorer Readale Nash, still bothered by a late season leg injury.

“If Nash can go, that would be huge as he’s the offensive game breaker that can help put us over”, said Ware. “If not, our team has depth and we’ve been successful all year in pulling together to cover off injuries.”

For the Comets, if they bring the same offensive fire they unleashed on Al’amal last week, they could very well overpower the Titans’ air tight defense and goalkeeping.

To help bring that fire, Ware’s infamous words, “We Own You”, have been posted up in the Comets locker room.

“Are we using it as motivation - absolutely,” said Comets Captain Liddell Bradley. “Talk is cheap though so we have to go out there and just do it. Come this Saturni, we’ll see who owns whom”.

Comet's Sail To Finals

Solis, Kumbha 1, 2077, m249

Today' battle for the last ticket to the MAFL finals became a high powered shoot-out between the league’s top two scoring teams.  In the regular season, Al’amal scored 36 goals  vs the Comets’ 34 goals.

It took just one minute of play for the scoring to begin; a deep cross from Mussadiq Baddour from the left flank was met by Hamad Fayad who crushed a volley into the top corner past Zaida Agre. 

Al’amal 1 Comets 0.

Earlier this week, it was unclear if Agre would be fit to return for the semi-final match after sustaining injury in the final regular season match against the Titans.  But before any uncertainty could set in, Comets Kemina De Marco would respond just minutes later with the equalizer.

Al’amal 1 Comets 1.

And the goals kept coming.

Stephen Liu, MAFL Defender of the Year,  won the ball from Mahmood Rahimjust outside the penalty area and unleashed a shot into the top far corner for the go ahead goal.

Comets 2 Al’amal 1.

After such a blistering start to the match with three goals in the first six minutes, the pace slowed down, until the Comets dialled up the offence at the 15th minute mark.  After Liu intercepted a weak clearing attempt from Lana Gonzalez, he moved into the penalty area and hit an powerful low shot into the far corner for his second goal of the match.

Comets 3 Al’amal 1.

Right off the ensuing kickoff, the Comets Aba Samma met a deep cross from Liu and back-heeled it past a hapless al-Pour.

Comets 4 Al’amal 1.

With an endless barrage from the Comets, it was fortunate Al'amal was able to hold the rest of the half with just a three goal deficit.

During the halftime interval, Al’amal manager Haajid Nasr tried to motivate and reinvigorate his squad.  When play resumed, he switched strategy from a balanced attack to a more aggressive strategy, borrowing a page from Paulo Salgado’s move that lead to yesterday's Titans come-from-behind victory. 

But alas, that was yesterday.

Today, that move backfired as the Comets exploited their deficient defensive coverage. It took only 4 minutes for Luz Obregón to surge past the shallow defence and connect with a pass from Bradley, which he finished with an acrobatic bicycle kick over a leaping al-Pour.

Comets 5 Al’amal 1.

9 minutes into the 2nd half, Liu gave the Al’amal defence the runaround and beat al-Pour once more to complete his hat-trick.

Comets 6  Al’amal 1.

The Comets started to tighten their defence, nursing their lead.

Desperate to instill some life in his team, al-Pour boosted a charged kick that sailed across the field, landed just past the Comets’ penalty area where it took a freakish bounce past Agre and into the net.

Comets 6 Al’amal 2.

Just 15 minutes later, Fayad found another opportunity to close the gap.  Dragging the ball behind his planted foot with the inside of his crossing foot, he turned and accelerated away from Liu before slotting home Al’amal’s third goal of the match.

Comets 6 Al’amal 3.

With 20 minutes remaining Al’amal’s  poured on the offense with two near scoring chances – one over the Comets net, and another that went wide.

At the 84th minute, Bradley, Liu and Samma drove in the final dagger to shatter any home for an Al'amal comback.  With intricate passing around the edge of the penalty area, Bradley set up Samma, who placed a clean into the Al’amal goal.

Final: Comets 7 Al’amal 3.

“Titans said they owned us in the regular season,” said Bradley. “But the past is the past. It will only take one win next week for them to eat those words.  Based on today’s match, I like our chances."

Next week, Comet's make the Journey to San Olympus Park for the first MAFL Championship Match!

MAFL Titans vs. Immortals Semi-finals

Saturni, Aquarius 28, 2077, m249

After a festive awards celebration last week, the questions leading up to the first semi-final match began.

Who would prevail? The Best Team or the Team with the Best Player?

Would the Titans, recipients of the MAFL Best Team Award, climb another step closer to the mountain top, or would MAFL MVP Uday Lanka, lead his Immortals to a shot at Championship Immortality.

Would MVP Lanka shine as he did in their Week 3 matchup in San Olympus, with a legendary 4 goals that day?

Or would the Titans deploy their league leading team defence to neutralize the Amrita offence and hold them to a single goal like they did in Week 10 and Week 17.

Many questions which were finally answered today; The Titans responded with another 2 – 1 win.

“Sorry to spoil everyone’s expectations but the prevailing wisdom in any team sport, especially in Football, is that the best team usually prevails over the team with the best player,” said a happy Titans manager, Paulo Salgado in the post-game interview.

But Salgado wasn’t always smiling throughout the match.  In fact, Salgado wasn’t smiling for most of the match, as his team narrowly escaped defeat at the last minute.

At the 17th minute, a sliding tackle on the Immortals’ Tia Mancebo from Titans defender María Carballal, led to a Yellow Card given to Carballal and a Free Kick awarded to Mancebo.

And Mancebo delivered a fabulous free kick that whipped over the wall of Titans players, over a leaping IcilioDe Sisto, and into the far top corner to give the Immortals the 1 – 0 lead.

And things got worse for the Titans. Ten minutes later, the Titans’ Tia Shandu was given a Yellow Card for a questionable push against the Immortals’ Uday Lanka. Shandu’s disdain for the call escalated into a heated discussion and nudge of a referee-bot, which led to a full on Red Card and dismissal from the match.

The Titans were unable to gain any control over the 1st half. While Titans’ leading scorer Readale Nash was suited up, he was in the sidelines nursing the injury he suffered two weeks ago.

His absence was missed as the offensive malaise continued into the 2nd half as the Immortals were able to keep the Titans off the scoreboard for the next twenty minutes.

Thirty Minutes.  

Forty Minutes.

Thankfully, the Titans defenders were able to neutralize Lanka and the Immortals offence for an equal period of time.  

With only 6 minutes remaining in the game, disaster struck in front of the Titan goal.  An accidental collision between Titan defender Tarik Girma and goalkeeper, resulted in a dislocated shoulder for De Sisto.  Usian Busara was called in to finish match.

This turned out to be the pivotal moment.  With five minutes left and their season on the line, Salgado made his move as he shifted to an offensive attack formation – 3 forwards, 4 midfielders, and 3 defenders. No risk, no reward.

Titans mounted wave after wave of pressure on a tiring Immortals team in the dying few minutes.

And it paid off as the Immortals’ Jag Parker committed a foul outside of their own penalty area which resulted in a free kick awarded to the Titans.

After a quick team consultation, Jube Terrell took the kick.

Instead of taking the more frequently used inswinger kick, Terrell delivered an outswinger kick that bent away from the goal, out of reach from the startled wall of Immortals players and from the goalkeeper who instinctively lunged after the ball.

Captain Raenia Ware, criticized for not producing goals in the regular season, gets the all-important equalizer to keep Titans alive.

Raenia Ware streaked in from the left side, leaped and connected with a deft header that sent the ball the other direction, top right corner, and away from an overly committed goalkeeper on the left side.  Goal!  And the game was tied 1 -1 at the 89th minute.

Just when it looked like regular time was over, with both teams resigned to Overtime Penalty Kicks to decide their fate, a fantastic long pass out of the Titans defence by Maria Carballal caught the Immortals players off guard, and caught the foot of a rushing Tarik Lema Girma who controlled the ball and dispatched a superb chip over the Immortals goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty area.

For the deciding goal and win! 2 – 1 Titans over Immortals.

And as the Titans players jumped all over Grima to celebrate, the Immortals players and manager rushed the referee to confirm that the game ending whistle and signal had indeed been delivered before the goal.

No whistle, no signal. Goal stands. And then the game ending whistle and signal came shortly afterwards.

“We had control for the majority of the match but we let this one slip away in the final minutes,” said a dejected Lanka afterwards. “I wasn’t the best player today and I will take full blame for our team’s loss.”

“It ain’t over till it’s over,” said a jubilant Ware in the post-match locker room celebration. “In this game, you play hard until the final end. Our team never gave up. The Best Team won today.”

Titans advance to the Finals and await results from tomorrow's Comets vs. Al'Amal Match.

MAFL Award Night

Aquarius 22, 2077, m249

Last night in Europa was Party Time for the MAFL!

For one night, all MAFL players, coaches and officials could cut loose and be free as they celebrated the season with the first ever MAFL Awards Dinner, hosted by Aiger Masing.

It was an extravagant gala held at Masing Hall, complete with red carpet and flowing champagne.

Free and uninhibited was one Readale Nash, as he adorned a flamboyant purple tuxedo with matching boots.  Nash with 8 goals of the season was up for the MVP award against Al’amal’s Musaddiq Baddour (10 goals) and the Immortals Uday Lanka who led the league in goals scored with 14.

“I feel lucky tonight,” said Nash as he arrived on the red carpet, accompanied by San Olympus A-list socialite Sasha Bayley, 21.

The nominees were submitted by peers in the organization and the winners were selected by an executive committee led by Masing.

"This is an important night to recognize our peers," opened Masing, "But before we do that, we must celebrate what we have accomplished together.  It wasn't easy to bring the MAFL to life.  We had many nay-sayers, so completing our first regular season, in itself, is an achievement we all must be proud of."

Defender of the Year

The first award presented on the evening was for Defender of the Year. Two Comets players, Stephen Liu and Samantha Park were up against the Titans’ Maria Caraball.

The award went to Stephen Liu who anchored the team’s air tight defence and led all defenders with 5 goals for the season.

“I’m thankful for this award but honestly, it easily could have gone to Samantha or Maria as well,” said Liu.

Goalkeeper of the Year

The goalkeeper nominees were Titans Icilio De Sisto, Al’amal SC’s Ahmed Pour and surprisingly United’s Yvonne Barnato who moved to a forward position after Week 15.

De Sisto and Pour both led the league with fewest goals allowed at 19. Barnato was one of the leaders at Week 15 and also led her team with goals scored at the time.  

De Sisto ultimately took the award based his league leading 9 shutouts.

“Thanks to my teammates for their solid defence all year to help me get this award”, said De Sisto.

Best Team

De Sisto returned to the stage shortly after as his team, the San Olympus Titans, ran off with the Best Team of the Year award over the Marineris Comets and Al’amal SC.

The Titans ended up with the best overall record in the league at 16 and 5, gave up the fewest goals in the league (tied with Al’amal) and at one point had a 12 game winning streak during the season.

Which then came as no surprise that Titans manager Paulo Salgado would take the Manager of the Year award over the Comets Gordan J. Pryce and Al’amal’s Haajid Nasr.

“I tip my hat to Paulo” said Nasr. “Our team scores the most goals this year (36) and let in the fewest goals (19) and we still end up with 5 less wins that the Titans. I’d love to know Paulo’s secret to success.”

Most Valuable Player

The most coveted prize of the evening came last;  individual success would be recognized as the MVP.

And the Award went to… Immortal's Captian, Uday Lanka, not only for his 14 goals which helped lift his team to a playoff spot, but also for his leadership and excellent conduct as an ambassador to the sport.

“It’s a great honour which I owe to my teammates so tonight I’ll celebrate with them but tomorrow we get ready for the Titans,” said Lanka.

Not all were in agreement with Lanka being chosen as MVP.

“No disrespect to Uday but in our last match, he got red carded which left his team on the losing side. Not sure if that’s how you’d define sportsmanship conduct,” said Nasr.  

Immortals manager Andam Mirza shrugged off Nasr’s comments afterwards, “Al’amal has Baddour, Farra and Fayad who were all in the top five for scoring. Without Uday, we would have no business being in the playoffs, so he deserves this award like no other.”

Between drinks, Nash shared his thoughts, “Personally, I think the MVP should go to the best player on the best team. Last I checked, the Titans were the best and I had the most goals on that team. That’s okay. Do you see who I’m with? I’m the one going home with the real prize tonight!”

Most Valuable Masing

There was one unofficial award that was uncontested.  Owners, players and managers all raised a glass for Aiger Masing.  

Indeed, the MAFL would not have existed without his individual efforts and financial contributions.  He fought through the red tape with colonies across Mars and built professional sports on a planet that never planned on having it.  Though the ups and downs, he's stuck with it and tonight, he was rewarded with the respect he has earned.

Tales From The Pitch - Gamblers

Aquarius 20, 2077, m249

For over a hundred years Las Vegas has been a tourist Mecca for gamblers from all over Earth. And the faithful still flock there to play blackjack, shoot craps, or enjoy VR slots. But with a decline in non-virtual sports the city also saw a decline in sports betting. You can still bet on VR games of course, but they were never able to shake the negative assumption that VR games could be rigged, and so only the strongest-willed of gamblers lay money down.

Las Vegas bookies have been watching MAFL with great excitement; a new live-action sport that holds interest on more than one planet? The bet-makers have been all over it. It checks off a lot of boxes to hold interest for sports betting: it is an exciting game, it is not easily influenced by outside forces, and the league is large enough to make multiple game bets interesting.

So yesterday the newsfeeds from Earth announced that Las Vegas will begin taking bets on the next season of the Mars Aero Football League. While there was much discussion about taking bets on this inaugural season, there wasn’t enough data to ensure that the game was successful. Congrats Mars! Your game is successful enough that Earthers want to gamble on it! Joking aside, the fact that Vegas odds-makers are interested shows that the sport has achieved a level of legitimacy.

Betting can be done on a single game, with bets placed on either the winner of the game or who will score the first goal. This first season has provided those gambling mathematicians with enough data to set odds on the teams based on past performance, and the odds will be released during the off-season.

I’ve heard from a few sources inside the Nevada gaming commission are fielding questions from potential investors and government officials about setting up a New Vegas on Mars. All of this would only be in the idea stage, and it isn’t as if one can just hop on a bus to Mars and set up a casino, but the interest in establishing other settlements on Mars is growing.

I’ve also heard from many detractors who were not happy that there will now be betting allowed on MAFL. The sport will need to be closely monitored for collusion, and no player will be able to place bets on the sport themselves. There is also worry that the may lead to problem gambling on Mars, a vice that has not quite yet made it to the Red Planet (there is already lots of betting overlooked by local authorities). These concerns are real, and it will be up to the league and to settlement governments to ensure that for all the positive things that this change may bring, we must ensure that the negatives don’t detract from the successes we’ve built here.

Expansion has growing pains, and not everything that growth brings will be universally loved but it all, but it is part of this grand experiment. So I would encourage any doubters to keep an open mind. I’ve already got my money on the Titans for next year!

Then There Were Four

Aquarius 16, 2077, m249

It took the final day of the season to determine the final four teams to advance to the playoffs:

• 1st seed: Titans - 16 and 5 final season record.
• 2nd seed: Comets - 13 and 8 final season record.
• 3rd seed: Al’amal – 11 and 10 final season record.
• 4th seed: Immortals – 11 and 10 final season record.

Al’amal goes over the Immortals due to their 2-1 record over them in regular season play.

And despite having a similar record to Al’amal and the Immortals, the Dynamo will not advance to the playoffs due to a technicality: they did not score as many goals this season as Al’amal and the Immortals.

“We can hold our heads high as we went out winners”, said Dynamo captain Ilya Petrovich. “Before the outbreak, we were going nowhere. Once it started, we were able to rally and win 7 of our last 8 matches beating some of the best teams in the league. We have a strong foundation”.

Also just missing the playoffs – Europa United who ended the season on a 3 game winning streak to finish 10 and 11 for the season.

“If we had made our moves a bit earlier, i.e. getting Darkeem Dennis and moving Yvonne Barnato, maybe we could have made it,” said United manager Matthäus Reinmann.

But alas, in a highly competitive season, Dynamo and United will have to look forward to next season. For the playoff teams, they look forward to the next two weeks to prepare and heal.

Titans are 3-0 against the Comets in the regular season.

Aquarius 28th

The well balanced Comets will host the high powered offence of Al’amal. This will be the Comet’s first home match since the tragic passing of Yamen Warren.  How will the team respond? For Al’amal, will they be able to get all their injured players back for a full on attack?

Kumbha 1st

The Titans will host their bitter rivals, the Immortals. In their week 3 matchup, the Immortals Uday Lanka embarrassed the Titans scoring four goals to secure an Immortals win. In the next two matches, the Titans won and nullified Lanka’s presence in both matches.

 “We learned from our mistakes in week 3 and made adjustments and proved we can shut Lanka down when we need to”, said Titans captain Raenia Ware. “Two weeks also gives time for Nash to recover, so we’ll be ready.”

Will they? Which Titans team will show up? The one that went 14 – 1 to start the season?  Or the team that crawled their way down the stretch losing 4 of their last six matches?  Will their leading scorer, Nash be ready to play despite suffering what appeared to be a serious leg injury?

And which Immortals team will we see in two weeks? A confident, high powered offensive team with Lanka leading the charge? Or one prone to errors which resulted in a late season slide from a potential 2nd seed to the 4th seed?

Are you ready for some playoff action?

Owned

San Olympus - Aquarius 15, 2077, m249

In a battle between the league’s top two teams, the Titans defended home field advantage by beating the Comets 2 – 1.

With both teams having secured their playoff spots and rankings weeks before, this match was all about sending a statement to each other should they meet down the road in the playoffs.

“The rumours of our demise have been greatly exaggerated”, said Titans captain Raenia Ware. “I think we sent a strong message to the 2nd place Comets! We own you.”

And one could hardly blame Ware for her bravado as the Titans have beaten the Comets in all three of their regular season matchups.

Early on though, the Titans looked like they would continue their poor play of late as the Comets came out aggressively, inspired by Jayden and Mirna Warren’s pre-game speech delivered from Amrita.

In just the 2nd minute, Stephen Liu teased the Titans defenders on the left wing before sending a perfect cross to the back post, where Luz Obregón finished with a header. Comets 1 Titans 0.

And just as the Comets were building momentum, the Titans’ Pualin Cambeiro crashed into the Comets’ goalkeeper Zaida Agre at the 12th minute. Cambeiro would receive a Yellow Card for her reckless play while Agre was taken off the field with an injury that could jeopardize Agre’s future playoff participation.

And another key injury would take place, this time with the Titans at the 42th minute. The Comets’ Joel Brooks tackled a streaking Readale Nash who crashed to the ground. Nash limped off the field, arm around a trainer, with an apparent leg injury. Nash is the Titans leading scorer with 8 goals.

This awoke the Titans who were able to respond by quickly applying pressure on the Comets’ substitute goalkeeper Alessandro Clemente Ferraz who flubbed a pass to his own defenders which ended up erroneously going into his own net to give the Titans the equalizing gift. 1-1.

At the 52nd minute, the Titans would put in the decided goal as a long pass from Raenia Ware was met by Jube Terrell who drove a left-foot volley past a diving Clemente. Titans 2 Comets 1. 

And the Titans were then able to nurse that lead for the remaining 40 minutes to put the match to rest.

After the match, when relayed Ware’s comment around being, “owned by the Titans”, Comets captain chuckled, “That’s the type of arrogance and lack of respect that will kick them right in the butt come playoff time.”

Ware later issued an apology for her comment after blow-back from her own fan-base that regarded her statements as insensitive considering the circumstances with the unprecedented number of injuries.  In this regard, the Titans are also not immune as the extent of Nash's injury still unknown.

“They say I may be done for the season but they don’t know me,” said a defiant Nash in a full leg brace during the post-match interview. “I don’t care what the doctors say, I will be there for the playoffs.”