Any dreams of a play-off spot for our home team was effectively dispelled tonight by a brutally efficient Erengrad team. More on this from our reporters at the "Crimson Pool" who has finally managed to get the two quarterbacks and the Coach nailed down for an interview.

Hertha: "We have just witnessed our home team getting demolished by the visiting Vikings from Kislev. Everybody had expected a fight tonight, but our team was not at all where they have been for most of the season. In the most important game of the season our team was outclassed, it actually looked as if they were not in the game at all." Hertha turns to the young, blond back-up quarterback, Inga Dedekind. "How does this feel, Inga?"

Inga: Shakes her head. "It's simply awful. We (she nods towards Anders Hoffman) simply let the guys down tonight. We couldn't pick up the ball, and when we finally did, our passes were off." Inga hesitates, then splurges on. "It's... it's like in a nightmare... you struggle to run, you work as hard as you can and then some, and you get absolutely nowhere."

Anders: (Looking more serious than usual)"And it builds too, you know. Once we are bad off, we need to take more chances, and when they do not pay off, we get trounced." Anders nods to himself. "And we need to give credit to the Vikings as well. They have had a horrible time after the mid-season break, and it shows class that they can then come here and be totally focused in this important game, hitting hard and playing it smart!"

Günther: "You talk as if the play-off Place is lost, Anders! But really, you are now even with the Vikings, each with a 4-5-3 record. With excellent performance in the final two matches, you can still get into the Play-offs, or...?"

Anders: Shakes his head. "I guess there is always a chance, but we have no expectations any longer. We will do our best to win the final two, of course, but realistically, the Vikings have the easier schedule and the head-to-head tie breaker, and they won't let go now. They are too good for that, and the way they were playing tonight, they surely deserve to be in the Play-offs!"

Inga: (sadly) "And we definitely don't!"

Günther: Looks at the slender, average-looking person dwarfed beside 6'3" athlete Anders Hoffman. "Do you agree With that Coach, Vatn?"

Vatn: Shrugs. "Of course! This was our chance. Now it is more about building the squad for the next season. We will look at how to give more experience to the players we will keep, and we will try some Plays that we haven't used so far, just to see if we can make them work."

Hertha: "Martin is on his way to the Sharks. Who else will not be with the Cascade next sason, Vatn?"

Vatn: "We have strategised with the players, so they already know that we will be looking to add five new players. We'll keep the two quarterbacks (he nods to Anders and Inga), Friedrich, Althoff, Turbin, Ballard, TJ, Nicola, Erwin and Raoul, and we have traded for Joe Adams from the Sharks. That makes 11. So if they all make it through the last two matches, we have a pick we are looking to get rid of. Otherwise, we will pick up three linemen, a blitzer and a catcher, if we can."

Günther: "And all in all, are you happy with the season, Anders?"

Anders: "Definitely! The Board set us a goal before the season started, and that was two wins and four draws. We did that in the first half of the season, and have gathered even more points after that." He hesitates. "But it's the thing with expectations... you get lucky, you win some games, you are in contention of the divisional title, and suddenly you expect more of the team and yourself... and you get more sorry when something like this happens."

Inga: Grins. "That's why we are going out celebrating tomorrow!"

Hertha: Surprised, (actually, that's a mild word for it). "What? Are you celebrating losing the divisional title in a 1-4 rout?"

Inga: Grins wider. "Yeah. It's what Anders here says. It's expectation management! If we let this loss get to us, we will brood for days or weeks, and that's energy spent on useless activities." She waves her hands enthusiastically. "So we are not. Instead we celebrate! Celebrate our first season among the big teams! Celebrate our one nice TD by TJ! Celebrate Dietmar's third kill of the season! Celebrate anything we can find worth celebrating! And if the Vikings drop by before they leave for Erengrad we will celebrate them as well. If we can find enough vodka, that is. We have heard that these Kislevites are hard on vodka...!"

Vatn: Murmurs... "But surely after this celebration, we have more training to do..."

Brought to you by Hertha Wendlinger and Günther Schiele, Carroburg Tageszeitung