Tales From the Pitch: Ice #4

Aries 28, 2078, m249

When the Mars Aero Football league began its inaugural season there was already buy-in from across Mars, with each settlement fielding a team. It was a huge risk starting something like soccer on Mars, but it started big. ISMO took a very different strategy and decided to build their fan-base slowly from a small number of intimate exhibition games.

These games would allow the organizers to work out any kinks in the sport, and (hopefully) generate some sort of interest in the sports-watching populace of the red planet. I’m not sure that they’ve fully succeeded on either front, but the ISMO has decided to take the sport to other colonies. Born in Korolev, it is now time for ice hockey to leave the nest and go on the road.

The exhibition game period has been extended and Martian hockey is coming to Marineris, Wendland, Europa, and Noviymir. And just like a bird leaving the nest we are about to see if this sport can fly on its own.

MAFL’s success has proven that there is interest in competitive sport on Mars. But there is always a chance that the interest lies in only that specific sport; there has always been something more relatable about football than hockey. Even a century ago on Earth, football was the dominant and most played game in the world, whereas hockey, while popular, was restricted to far fewer countries. Some of this is due to the age of the respective sports: ice hockey as we know it is only about three hundred years old while football (or some variation) is thousands.

Then there is also the specific equipment and area needed to play ice hockey. Yes, MAFL needs quite a large area, state of the art stadium, and specific equipment, but ISMO games need even more (technology, not physical space). Similarly, hundreds of years ago the sport was mostly popular in countries and settlements were you actually had ice for a good chunk of the year. And, in many cases in Earth’s not so distant past, for soccer all you needed was a ball to kick and a patch of grass to kick it on. Boom, you have a football match.

The other obstacle that ice hockey will need to conquer is that interest in a sport tends to develop faster when spectators can learn the sport themselves and play a variation with their friends. Now, it won’t be played at the same professional and competitive level, but they at least get to put the rules into practice firsthand.

The average Martian isn’t going to be able to get ice time and just play with their buddies whenever they feel like. I’m not trying to be a downer; I just want to paint a clear picture of what an uphill battle ice hockey faces, and how the stakes are pretty high if they want to move past exhibition games and develop a real, professional league.

So, travelling to new settlements is about showing off the sport and attracting new fans, but it is also about showing off to those investors who may share the same vision as the ISMO and think that it can grow beyond its humble origins.

I hope it works out for them.

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!

Tales from the Pitch - Sport as Art

Jovis, Aquarius 6, 2077, m249

The name of this piece is “Lament in Red”, and the artist is Taylor Kaur-Williams, a die hard Al’Amal fan born and raised in the settlement. This is a very personal piece, for it represents a new phase in Taylor's career and allowed her to become Mars’s first break out artist.

Working as both a painter and sculptor, Taylor had previously used traditional materials to create her pieces. Her early career was less than notable, but full of simple still life images set against discordant coloured backgrounds. Art critics were not impressed. Taylor was in an artistic funk, and on a lark decided to check out the new sport in her home settlement, MAFL.

“I was hooked from the first second of play,” she said. “Everything about it was amazing. You have action, tragedy, triumph – drama on the field was the inspiration I was hoping for.” After that first match Taylor began to think about using this new sport as a muse, but was wary of how her (admittedly) small number of fans would react.

“I wasn’t making much money, but my fans were putting food on my table,” she said. “What if they decided they hated MAFL?” She began to fiddle with a small piece of stone with the intent of carving a player image into it, all the while worrying more and more what the art world would think of her change in direction and theme.

“Lament in Red” is an expressive self portrait of an artist who found herself at a crossroads, and creates something new to overcome that fear. The atmosphere of Mars surrounds and envelopes her; red dominates the piece.

And for good reason: Martian soil  was mixed in with her paints giving everything a heavier red tone. While at first dismissed as a gimmick, this quickly set her apart from other Martian artists. Subsequent pieces dealt specifically with aspects of the game and images of players and in game action, but this first, quieter, piece is really what unleashed the floodgates of creativity.

I chose this as the topic of this week’s article not simply because I’m a fan of Taylor work, but rather to show further evidence of the importance of the Mars Aero Football League and the impact it is having on the citizens of the proud colony of ours.

Sports is often considered inspirational, but usually as a model for physical prowess or exceptional athletic skill. Sports is not as often considered an inspiration for art and culture, but, beginning with “Lament in Red”, Taylor has created a new genre.

Several piece of homage and outright copying followed, but it is the work of Taylor that is the most sought after.

Every innovation we make, every new path we forge on Mars has continuous ripple effects. MAFL didn’t set out to create a new art genre here on Mars, but that is what happened. This inaugural season has proven more popular and more important than any of us would have thought possible. As you view the playoffs with anticipation think of that, and take pride in the pioneers and explorers that are every Martian.

Ghosts of Mars

Martis, Makara, 24, 2077, m249

Dynamo Mariya Nikitovna, Comets Liddel Bradley, and  WuJi's Stanislas Hachette.

When you live on Mars, you live with multiple calendars and timezones.

Birthdays and most traditional holidays follow the Gregorian calendar; thus today is Halloween.

As festivities celebrating this day of masquerade unfold across many of the colonies, a handful of players from United, Wuji,  Comets and Dynamo  gathered in Europa for a youth program fundraiser.

“This is a special event.”, said Hachette, Captain of Wuji, fully dressed in a skeletal-clad EV suit, “This is the first time we [the players] have participated across clubs to support a cause.  I’m so happy to be involved. “

A total of 12 players supported the event.  Their morning began with a photo shoot at Europa Stadium and included some hands-on-training for VIP sponsors and students.   The afternoon was spent visiting schools prior to the main reception hosted at Europa's Town Square.

“This is great fun for us and the kids!”, said Karaasia of the Dynamos, her costume drenched in fake blood.

The intensive schedule of the MAFL has left little opportunity for players to intermingle, so this reprieve was a rare occasion for them to let down their guard and engage in social interaction.

According to Comets' Bradley, “Halloween is supposed to be scary, but if you are looking for a real fright, wait for the last two weeks of the season for some real gore and disembowelment.”

Happy Halloween!

Tales from the Pitch #5

Lunae, Makara 23, 2077, m249

Earth to Mars, Mars to Earth

The other day I was reading through some old NASA reports (I know, I know, but it is the life I chose), and there was a curious line that has stuck with me, not because it was especially profound, but because it turned out to be so amazingly wrong.

It is the expectation that, due to the extreme distance between the two planets, Earth and Mars will become fully separate cultures, and will quickly forget about each other.

I will concede that yes, eventually, Mars has become its own distinct culture, but even here on Mars each settlement is its own distinct culture. That is just what happens when different people end up living together. You don’t need to be some brainy anthropologist to figure that out. The part of the above quotation that surprises me is the idea that the two planets would quickly forget about each other just because we are far apart.

First, technology makes it pretty easy to make contact with our Terran brothers and sisters. Sure, it isn’t as perfect as contacting your neighbour here on Mars, but it is hardly some slow plotting interstellar pony express.

And second, NASA scientists have grossly underestimated how super cool MAFL is and how much it interests people on Earth. A few weeks ago the Earth-World Associated Press ran a piece about how much the Earthers are loving the Mars Aero Football League.

And why wouldn’t they? In it they can see aspects of the original game of Earth football, and therefore have an immediate connection with rules and aspects of play. Sure, natural sports have been on a decline on Earth, but I’d argue that is more for environmental reasons than lack of interest.

After Earth’s World War II, immigrants from all over Europe made their way to North America. They didn’t suddenly forget about their customs or the family they left behind, but instead they built a new set of customs and a new life. That is what we are doing here on Mars, and MAFL is the perfect example of how we’ve brought something from Earth with us and made it our own.

Hearing about how their favourite MAFL team is doing isn’t just having Earthers follow some sport. It is teaching them about us and our life here on Mars. Every time they get to view a match they are learning about our settlements, our atmosphere, and how technology, hard work, and ingenuity have made our lives here possible. MAFL represents the success of the Mars mission. Implicitly we are telling everyone on Earth that we have the basics covered (air, food, shelter), and now we are able to create culture and civilization.

I can’t wait to hear more about Earth-based fandom: to find about where on Earth my beloved Titans have the most fans, to see how they react to our first series of playoff, and then to our first championship match.

MAFL isn’t just some league. I hope that people are seeing that more and more. It isn’t just changing Mars; it’s changing Earth too.

Tales from the Pitch: Necessity

Jovis, Makara, 13, 2077, m249

Spectator Tour Vehicle by Altia Heavy Machines, Marineris, configured for media.

There was an old Earth saying that necessity is the mother of invention, but up here, Mars is the real mother of invention. Everything that we’ve built has come out of a necessity to live, eat, work, and play in the greatest scientific feat that humanity has ever known.

I was thinking about this as I watched my Titans unceremoniously fall to the Dynamo at Korolev Stadium. Not wanting to focus too much on the game I looked around at the rest of my colleagues in the Press STV, or, Spectator Tour Vehicle. You see, it would have been both too costly and a drain on resources to cover the stadiums and create an artificial atmosphere, so the MAFL stadium are all open air. But humans can’t breathe on Mars so the players have the EV suits.

This all works well for the players because there aren’t that many of them, but when you want to fill your stadium with hordes of fans you can’t really give out hundreds of EV suits. So the Spectator Tour Vehicle was invented. In general the STV is large vehicle with rotating seats, life-support systems, and elongated windows that allow the passengers to enjoy viewing a match from the comfort within.

The press STV isn’t much different than a standard STV designed for regular spectators. It's a much smaller vehicle, of course, but with space for all of us to work and file stories, but the same basic design is there. Every STV comes equipped with a state of the art onboard game diagnostic system. This populates the heads-up display (HUD) on the windows, but also allows for an individualized data feed in each seat.

The HUD provides important game information such as current score, time remaining, and players on the pitch, but it is the personalized data feed that I love. Let’s say you want to know the home town of your favourite player, or how many penalties they’ve received this season, or what’s their favourite song? It is all there at your fingertips. I can have a personalized announcer feed, or I can even add my own soundtrack. And I love watching a couple of minutes of a game to classic music. You’d be surprised how well a match syncs up with the 1812 Overture!

Of course all of this pales in comparison to STV Megabox. Patterned after the box seats of yore, these vehicles fit only a handful of spectators, but what a ride they get. Plush seats, gourmet food, referee cam feed, and all the opulent extras that make watching the game merely a secondary endeavour. I’ve never gotten a chance to life live in one of these fancy moving parties, but I heard from a guy who heard from a guy that they are worth every penny.

And one day I’ll find a way to catch a match in these golden boxes, but for now I’m happy to sit with everyone else, shoulder to shoulder, enjoying the common bond as we cheer (or boo) the teams on the pitch. Sure, we could just be at home enjoying the virtual feeds or data sets from the camera-bots, but nothing beats being right there and seeing the players in front of you. Don’t let this season pass by without seeing at least once match dear reader. You won’t regret it.

Tales From the Pitch: Game Ball

Well sports-fans, have I got a treat for you this week! Today we are talking about balls. And not just any balls, but the piece of technological wizardry that makes the Mars Aero Football League the must see sporting event of the Red Planet!
 
As the game was patterned after the Earth football, the size of the ball was maintained from those standards, sitting at approximately 22cm in diameter. But that is where the comparison ends. I wanted to know more about the key piece of equipment, so I visited the designer, Amanda Jacobsen, in her Sans Olympus workspace.
 
I’m greeted with a huge smile by Amanda who immediately shows me the first prototype she ever made (it sits on her desk).  It is a sphere of skeletal wires, and looks nothing like the sleek illuminated final version that greets players on the pitch each week.
 
“I knew that we would need to have something that would work in Mars’s atmosphere,” she said. “So I wanted it to be durable, and to be able to provide tech support to the referees and the league.”
 
And durable it is. Despite only weighing in at 1500 grams, the ball can withstand the harshness of Martian conditions to ensure that the delicate computer systems housed inside can provide all the necessary data.
 
This is where the genius of Amanda truly begins to show. The problems encountered by referees in traditional Earth games were somewhat solved by having a primitive video recording of the match that could be referred to in case of dispute. However, the MAFL ball takes this concept to a whole new level.
 
The ball is connected to the game infrastructure to provide officials with immediate data such as location of ball relative to out of bounds areas, players, and the goal. This allows a referee to immediately be able to provide an accurate call on offside rules, boundaries, and scoring. This in turn speeds up gameplay.
 
“I knew that other teams were working on the EV suits, but I had wanted to ensure that players were exposed to the atmosphere for as short a time period as possible,” Amanda said. “So a lot of the tech was designed to cut out waiting times that suspend play.”
 
Various sports have had basic computer systems in balls for a while, but one of this design’s functions that sets it apart is the auto-return.

“The ball itself has propulsion and hover capabilities that can be engaged when it goes outside of a set perimeter. So any errant kick will just result in the ball being returned to the closest referee.”

Amanda had taken her inspiration from the MAFL rulebook, and had wanted to create a device that would complement the core fundamentals of the game but in a way that didn’t detract from the sport.
 
“We want people watching the players after all,” she laughed. “I didn’t want my design to be disruptive so that fans care more about the ball!”
 
Mission accomplished Amanda and on behalf of all fans I salute you. My visit was illuminating and I hope that all you readers found it as educational as I did.

Tales From the Pitch: My Brush With Greatness

Capricornus 20, 2077, m249

I have butterflies in my stomach. I haven’t been this excited/nervous since I was kid. Hanging in front of me is an official MAFL EV suit, and I’m about to suit up and see firsthand what it feels like to barrel down the pitch and score a goal before legions of my adoring fans.

At least I hope that is what will happen. It is also equally likely that I’ll fall flat on my face or suffer some sort of compound fracture. Or a combination of the two.

To start off here is a science lesson: Mars’s gravity is 38% of Earth’s. That means if I weighed 200 lbs back on Earth I weigh 76 lbs here. Moving to Mars is the best diet I’ve ever gone on. It also means that if I could jump a meter on Earth I can now jump almost 3 meters here. That’s why that John Carter guy was able to jump around and rescue a princess in that old-timey story.

All the MAFL stadiums are open air, and because we humans haven’t been able to exist without oxygen yet all players are required to wear a EV (environmental) suit that houses life-support, communications, and propulsion systems. You’d think that all the tech would make the suit bulky and cumbersome but it fits like a glove. And I look amazing, like I’m some kind of superhero! Staring at myself in the mirror gives me the confidence boost I need so I put on my helmet and race out to the pitch. Today, I’m an official Titan, clad in purple and gold.

I’m not alone though. There are a handful of other reporters and, I think, a couple of contest winners who are also getting to participate in today’s festivities. We are greeted by Jamarico Benson, the team's assistant coach and trainer, who starts us through some warm up drills.

And here, dear reader, is where I learned that wind-sprints and burpees are awful even at 38% gravity. Sure, I felt cooler doing them in my EV suit, but after about five minutes I thought I was going to need the life support system because of an infarction.

My demeanor totally changes though when we are greeted on the pitch by a familiar voice. It’s a voice that we’ve heard in countless interviews and sound bites: team captain Raenia Ware has come out to run us though some kicking drills.

This is where I start to lose any bit of professional cool I once had. I’m grinning like an idiot at how excited I am. She runs it all down for us and we each get a regulation MAFL ball. I place it on the ground and line up my shot, thinking of the thousands of screaming fans channeled through the com that must assault the players’ ears during a real match. I envision that this kick with determine a championship win for my team during a high-pressure shoot-out.

Running up to the ball, I perfectly connect and see soar through air against a red sky. I don’t want to blow my own horn but is perfect, a postcard image.

“We end up playing a short friendly match where I prove that I am the least useful player but I don’t care. That one perfect kick is everything I needed today.”

Being out on the pitch has given me a greater appreciation for what the athletes do, and not just because they have flashy tech suits. Everything about Mars is alien. We needed to retrain ourselves even with simple tasks like kicking a ball, and that is what MAFL ultimately represents: our victory as a new people. Every aspect of this game demonstrates how we came together as a people as tamed the red planet. And I think that’s awe-inspiring.

Tales From the Pitch: Our Beautiful Game

San Olympus, Capricornus 13, 249

My grandfather was a sports writer. He loved words and he loved sports, so it was a natural fit for him. I guess that is why I am now in this business, not just because I want to follow in his footsteps, but because of the love of sport he had instilled in me.

Every sports enthusiast can point to that exact moment that made them a lifelong fan. Maybe it was seeing your favourite team come back from insurmountable odds, maybe it was seeing your favourite player score an impossible goal, or maybe it was being present when sports history was made.

My grandfather was born in 1988 back on Earth (obviously) in the United States of America. When he was six years old the USA was a first-time host to the World Cup of soccer. The rest of the world called it football, but my grandfather called it calcio like the rest of the Italians. Football really was the world’s game back then but the USA didn’t have much love for the sport, but that all changed in 1994.

Matches were held all across the country, casual fans were introduced to football, and attendance averaged 69,000 spectators per match. And in the finals Brazil faced off against my grandfather’s team, Italy. The match was scoreless and went to a shootout, but unfortunately for the Italians it would be Brazil who would win that day.

Now how could a match in which my grandfather’s team lost be the event that gave him the love of sport? Because he got to see his team, play in his country, and advance round after round. He was invested in that final match, and at the age of 6, wanted his team to win more than anything. It was that moment, that passion, that would drive him throughout this career.

This past week I decided to take my daughter Maisy to her first MAFL match.  We made the trip to Al’amal. We live in Sans Olympus so I told her that we were contractually obligated to cheer for the Titans. My daughter could not have been less enthused. But the boredom of seeing her dad work melted away when she stepped foot in that stadium.  

She bombarded me with questions: How long can they be outside? How can they jump so high? Who is the best team? And when the match started she felt silent, mesmerized by the action on the pitch. The game had barely started when forward Jube Terrell scored a fierce goal. If my daughter were writing this article she would tell you that it was the greatest moment in sports history. Her face exploded with joy. Her team had scored a goal! Not that other team, but hers! And I look at that elation and I thought of my grandfather and saw him in my daughter’s smile. The rest of the match was a back and forth with strong defensive plays, but the Titans held on for the win. To Maisy they were now legend.

That whole night my daughter talked about how when she grows up she wants to play for the Titans and how Jube Terrell is her favourite player and I’m reminded that what MAFL is building on the Red Planet is special.  With every match new fans are created, family moments are built, and that passion is ignited.

Earth called football “the beautiful game”. Well this is our game, my daughter’s game, and it is beautiful.