This morning, I applied to the GLT. I'm pretty famous for being loud about Majors, and more specifically, the faults I find with them. I've been known to go on and on about how they're there for power gamers, those with the most time, elfballers, etc. Luckily for you few who take the time to read these things, that isn't where this blog is heading!

I'm having a go at the GLT mainly for the reason that I don't bother normally, Majors just aren't my thing. This is a bit of a one-off with a team that so happened to be ready-ish.

Or more specifically, most Majors aren't my thing. The exception to this rule was last years' FUMBBL Cup. The sight of 512 teams battling it out was enough to thaw even my ice cold heart, and somehow, it elevated the competition above the grind of what now seems to be constant [R] who-can-get-the-Count competition you can view any time you load up the 'Games' page. People were in the FC for the right reasons. They were in it for fun. They brought varied races, not just play-by-numbers Elves or Orcs or Dorfs. It felt like being a part of the thing was almost as important as winning it.

Sure - it suffered from the age old issues. Team development before the big kickoff, your dice and the draw you got were still way more important than how you coached. I still booed elfballers, bemoaned my own poor fortune upon my exit, and heckled the cherry pickers. But there was so much more good than bad in that competition that you just don't get in the standard 128 team fare that we get for the rest of the year. Upsets aplenty, Vampires winning games, low CR coaches dumping out established names, and more than anything else, the place was alive with the tournament, it buzzed, it crackled, there were always 10 or more games to dip in and out of. It was almost as fun as [L]eague!

I suppose somewhere around here, I need to quit waffling and come to a point. And the point rests in broken record territory, I'm afraid (another of my hobby horses that some will have gotten fed up of me moaning about!). We're currently in the midst of GLT applications, meaning there is this Major, and one more before the FC this year. It's crept up on us swiftly, huh? For those coaches out there that care about this stuff, that view it as the dividing line between good and elite, there are two chances here before everyone else gets interested. NOW is the time to bring out those birthday teams. Let's get it over with. Here are your two chances to mix it with your peers that live for this kind of thing, that sniff glory, that care. If you are a coach clinging on to a birthday team ruthlessly pimped, get them out, and get them involved. You'll draw my banged up Woodies first round, no doubt, give me a kicking, and advance. If you are sitting on a big name birthday team (I shan't name names, but there at least 10 I could reel off right now, without even researching it), get them in the game. Because if you don't, if you are steadfastly clinging onto them for the FC, you're going to ruin everything that was good about last years' event. Sure, you'll give yourself an excellent chance of winning, but that competition is about the mass participation, it's about the buzz. If you draw some cool 1st round Rotters and beat them senseless, I'm sure you'll feel big and clever, but you'll be eating away at the fun and togetherness that underpins that whole 2 months of fun for everyone.

And I'll boo you, a lot. Get those birthday teams out now, for this GLT. Level that FC playing field for everyone that fancies a go. Go on, your conscience will thank you for it.