“And so it finally came to pass. The opening game of the forced teams tournament. A forty two thousand strong crowd shuffled into the stadium hoping to see blood, guts, and horrible errors. As the Team Captains Stargazer and John Major led their men out the crowd didn't seem that interested, two rookie coaches, two rookie teams. It would be violent, that was a given, but they were hardly expecting anything special.

bang, john major stomped on the ground
Bang, The madmen nearby joined him
BANG, All the madmen were doing it now
BANG! The crowed joined in

BANG! BANG! BANG! The stadium was starting to shake and as the madmen fired the ball into the Heroes half the crowd erupted. Spurred on by the fans Madmen Blitzer Goldberg fired himself down the wing and into a Heroes catcher, bending him over double and sending him crashing to the floor. The crowed roared, this might be an interesting game afterall.

The ball landed in the already crumbling wing, it was hardly the start the Heroes wanted. Luckily with some quick thinking and quicker wood elf hands the ball found itself safe on the opposite wing. Or so it appeared, the Madmen were up fast and before the the Heroes could do anything with the ball their carrier had Gordon Brown breathing down his neck. Things weren't going well for the heroes on the LOS either. Stargazer was holding his own against Major and fellow Blitzer Truebreeze had rendered a lineman unconscious, but somewhere in the mess Leawin had fractured an arm and had to be stretchered off.

With one wing totally broken, a crumbling LOS and a blitzer too close to carrier Goodwin for comfort the Heroes began to panic. The entire team began to fall back, when the elf retreat was over they had formed a sort of loose cage/protective wall with Goodwin tucked away at the back of it. things hadn't gone their way so far but if they just held firm and calmed down surely they would be able to fashion some sort of offense. Gordon Brown however was having none of it, he knew he almost had the ball last time and he'd be damned if he didn't get it, as the rest of the madmen set up in defense he darted round the side of the cage with Skree in tow. Between the two of them they hammered the elven rear guard into the turf and just like that he was back on the ball carrier. He was denied the ball again as Goodwin dodged away from him and into the wood elf cage.

"FORWARD YOU PANSIES FORWARD!" The heroes coach cried from the sidelines. And spurred on by his motivating if not inspiring words the Heroes exploded outwards hammering the defense, fighting tooth and nail for a gap. But it was not to be, the madmen soaked up the assault and as they pushed towards the elves again they removed another from the field, three of them combining in a horrible, literally bone crunching tackle. As the humans closed around the cage Gordon Brown hurled himself into the fray once more, the cage splintered as he launched himself at Goodwin, this time there was no escape, as the elf went down the ball bounced free of his limp arms. And before the heroes could react it was scooped up by the human thrower Malone. The elves had been turned over! There was nothing the Heroes could do, the Madmen had closed right around what was once their cage. The crowd roared as elf after elf was downed and Malone ran home the opening touchdown.

The elven lineup for the restart was an unusual one. Several players on the LOS with only the two throwers and one remaining catcher deep. Once again the ball came to Goodwin and in a flash Goldberg was right on top of him. This time though Goodwin stood strong in the tackle and darted down the wing. The elf had darted into trouble though, all potential support had been tied up on the LOS and the madmen had players deep waiting for him. Two humans grabbed him, Malone on one arm and the Grey Ghost on the other. As he desperately tried to struggle free John Major shot out of midfield and smashed into him, firing the unfortunate elf into the crowd. As he was pulled into the teeming mass of bodies the whistle blew and the half ended.

The first half had went badly for the Heroes and the start of the second half was even worse. A poor defensive setup left Skree totally unmarked on his wing, a pass, a run, and it was 2-0. The ease of the touchdown got the crowd riled up and as the Madmen kicked the restart they stormed onto the field. Once the crowd was back under control, as much control as a bloodbowl crowd can be anyway the game continued. The elves moved quickly, seeking to burst through a gap in the wing left by the crowds rampage. Unfortunately for the elves, one man on the field was thinking just a little bit quicker than them, once again Goldberg made his presence known, he flew across the field from his wing and took the Heroes ball carrier to the ground. The bounce was favorable though and the ball made its way into the hands of Stargazer. The Wood elf captain knew he had to do something to raise the spirits of his team, a win was looking beyond them but right now they just needed something to believe in, something to carry into the next game. The humans closed in around him but he stood strong, not even Goldberg managed to bring him down,He spun and weaved, breaking free of the cluster of humans, the crowed roared urging him on, perhaps that was his downfall. He could have dropped back and considered his options, but he chose to run, and as he darted down the wing the Grey Ghost clipped his legs bringing him crashing down. As if to add insult to injury the ball bounced up, right into the arms of Ghost, who quite easily produced the third touchdown of the game. Meanwhile back on the LOS the elven thrower Rightstuff had been isolated, fouled and injured. It was another horrible drive for the elves.

In the final drive of the game Goodwin fumbled his attempt to pick up the ball and the ever present Goldberg swooped on it, the relief of the final whistle came as he ran for the line. The humans had won and they had made a strong statement that they were the team to beat in this tournament.



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