Fictional History of SFL (AFA Universe) 1975: The SFL will return in November 2016

[neo_prankster]

Yeah, I would change that logo immediately if I were the Helsinki ownership group.

[FFWally]

The problem is, to them it is a heritage thing... the symbol predates the Zazi's by hundreds of years. So it is a sticking point.

If you look at the background image, this is what I expect the team to go to, as the Turisas is literally a giant octopus, much like the Kraken.

So... right now, they are pushing back, and there is no name association, that causes issues, unlike our real world issues with the Native American mascots.

[FFWally]

Helsinki - According to sources within the Helsinki Bid committee, there has been a breakthrough on the logo, with the creature replacing the original 4 Arrows symbol.

This is an leaked image of an early Turisas design that could replace the offensive logo.

Nikki Turpstra - SPR

[Burmy]

I like...should this be approved, I expect Helsinki to get voted in with no problems.

[FFWally]

Dublin Gaels

Gaelic Federeation of American Football

established 1965

5X GFAF Champions

33,726 Seat Stadium

Dublin Youth Football League

Owner: Peter O'Toole (silent), John Guinness IV

Irish American communities in the US cities of Chicago, Boston, New York, Savannah, Philadelphia and New Orleans have led to many Dubliners being fans of American sports teams.

Paddy O'Doul from Dublin, family emigrated in 1937 when he was 5. He grew up in Chicago, played football at Northwestern as a Linebacker. Undersized, but fast and hungry... hung around with the Butchers players and had a chance to try out for the team in 56 when he was 24 years old. He was too everything, too small, too slow, too little talent... but he impressed the head coach with his tenacity, and he made the squad as a practice team player...

Paddy lasted a season and a half before he was injured midway through the 57 season, and he was kept on as an advance scout. Going to the next opponents game and taking notes, and putting his "trends report" together every sunday night, to be ready for the staff on Monday morning.

HIs idea was to game plan for the next opponent, and use their own play calling against them, but Butchers coaches saw him as an annoyance, and after 2 seasons of trying to get the team to utilize his work, left football to return to Ireland and work with Guinness as a market analyst.

In 64 when the SFL was being launched, O'Doul was in Stockholm looking at how to grow market share for Guinness. He was invited to the announcement by the Guinness distributor and saw a way to take his ideas and put them in motion, without the roadblocks he encountered in Chicago.

When he returned to Dublin a week later, he had a plan in place, and went to his employer with a marketing idea...

Since 1965 the Gaels have been the premier American Football Club in Ireland, having won 5 Irish championships, and 3 British Isles Championships.

While there is no U21 team domination, the Dublin Youth League has grown from 4 teams in 1965, to over 40 teams in 1974, with other leagues breaking away as the league grew, and Ireland now has over 150 youth teams that began play for an Irish Championship in 1970.

Top Players:

#89 DE Gilbert Sullivan - All Ireland and the first Irish player to be selected by an SFL team in the Draft (Helsingborg 1970)

#54 DT Randy Kite - All AFA for Texas. Left over contract extension. Dominant Tackle, nearly unstoppable.

#7 QB Bob Reilly -Boston College QB, and another reclamation project who tore an ACL in rookie camp and spent 68 on IR with the Captains (AFA)

#44 FB Mack Brown played with Detroit from 64-70 as a backup fullback, and special teams, as well as LB during the 68 season.

#51 LB Kevin Cougan - another product of the Dublin youth program, Cougan was a hooligan until local firefighter Johnny Johnson redirected his aggression. Adding him to his team, "The Plug Uglies". Cougan was a standout in his first game, and along with teammate Gilbert Sullivan, led the Plug Uglies to 4 trait Dublin Championships, and won the unofficial Gaelic Championship their last year of youth ball.

Outlook: Dublin is a priority, SFL leaders feel that a London Dublin rivalry will be great television, and could help with the Northern Ireland troubles.

[FFWally]

Background on the expansion bids:

Early in 1971 rumors began to circulate around Europe that the SFL was going to London, and Europe would be included in the 1974 expansion.

This led to an arms war among the bigger teams, who could grab the best SFL and AFA players on the market... and money was being thrown around that made zero sense based on the current athletes salaries.

Contracts to American players who were either washed up, trouble or injured were double to triple what the top soccer players were making, and were solely based on getting into the SFL as it expanded. Being the first German, Irish, French or Dutch city in the SFL was all that mattered.

By 1973 talks were ongoing to bring all the major players under the SFL umbrella (with a new name to be announced after expansion) and standardize not only the rules, but give teams a pathway into the league that was based on finances AND sporting level, with sporting level taking priority. The league would help fund under-sourced teams that had elite sporting programs.

The SFL owners under Anders Bergstrom's leadership leaked a lot of information through scouts, agents, and players, in hopes of bringing the foreign teams up to the level of play needed to compete in the SFL. And it worked...

1972 was the breaking point, where the top teams began to look more like the SFL and less like national leagues, though a few American and Swedish players had already found homes in France and Ireland in the late 1960's.

The league set out a mandate to bring all of Europe under the SFL brand before a French or German league began expansion and made the SFL irrelevant, and in order to assure the leagues dominance, partnerships with current AFA teams to develop players, and unofficial partnerships with foreign teams to grab their best talent became vogue in the early 70's.

Bergstrom and Ekdahl were firmly behind the curtains pulling strings around the continent.

[Burmy]

LOVE that Gaels design...my votes are still Dublin, Helsinki and Paris.

A Bulldogs-Gaels rivalry would be LEGENDARY.

[raysox]

I read through this entire thread today. It's so good, and really well done. The best part is Carl Carlsson being the owner of the Reactors. Nice little Simpsons reference there.

Will be following along interested in seeing where this league goes!

[FFWally]

I read through this entire thread today. It's so good, and really well done. The best part is Carl Carlsson being the owner of the Reactors. Nice little Simpsons reference there.

Will be following along interested in seeing where this league goes!

Thanks! and there are quite a few pop culture references in the series... I always look for a way to throw on in there!

[CodeG]

Hmmmm interesting. Just got caught up in this, so far great work. As for expansion I like either Dublin, Helsinki, or another team in Norway or Danmark

[raysox]

I read through this entire thread today. It's so good, and really well done. The best part is Carl Carlsson being the owner of the Reactors. Nice little Simpsons reference there.

Will be following along interested in seeing where this league goes!

Thanks! and there are quite a few pop culture references in the series... I always look for a way to throw on in there!

Oh for sure, keep it interesting. What's even better is that it's canon that Carl was raised in Iceland. So I guess it was always bound to work out like this.

[sparkychewbarky]

Holy crap...where have I been?

This is excellent Wally.

You weave an intriguing yarn.

Great stuff...I'll be tuning in on a regular basis.

[FFWally]

Amsterdam, Antwerpen and Koln coming up this week...

All these Tier 1 cities have major pluses, but only 3 will make the cut...

After the Tier ones are posted, Tier 2 will be in one post... 2 teams from Tier 2 will make the first cut, then we will cut down to 6 teams, and finally 4.

The Expansion committee, is sold on Paris, Dublin and Helsinki currently... but a surprise could happen.

I cant imagine Dublin or Paris not making the selection, its really 8 cities for one last spot, but there could be a surprise.

And 76 will see another 2 team relegation play in.... don't be surprised to see two of the more competitive cities play in.

There is also the potential for movement from current teams in not so solid situations making selling their franchise rights to another city. The Expansion committee wants to see an expanded footprint, and competitive teams make the move to SFL.

And remember the 76 Expansion will include 2 English teams as part of the London agreement. leaving 2 cities vying for slots.

Holy crap...where have I been?

This is excellent Wally.

You weave an intriguing yarn.

Great stuff...I'll be tuning in on a regular basis.

Thanks Sparky...

[FFWally]

Antwerpen Monks

BENELUX Federation American Football

established 1966

4X BFAF Champions

70,000 Seat Stadium (Football/Soccer)

Antwerpen U21 Program 1969

Owner(s): Jan Van Den Boeck, Eddie Merckx

Antwerpen has a rich history in sport, with international competitions regularly taking place in the city. So it was no surprise when they followed cities in France and the Netherlands to invest in the American game, and immediately reached out to US servicemen serving with NATO, primarily officers stationed at the NATO HQ, who had played for the service academies.

Antwerp was not an immediate success, and struggled against their neighbors in Brussels and Bruges, with the French speaking teams winning the first Belgian Championships, but when the BENELUX leagues merged, it was Antwerpen that found the combination that worked...

Bring in American Military officers as coaches, officers who played at the three service academies, and several other major military focused Universities, including Texas A&M, VMI and the Citadel. Many of these officers were stars in college, but due to their commissions, were unable to continue their football careers. One of these officers was Defensive Tackle, #64 Jordan Plante, an All American at Texas A&M, who was drafted by Houston, and attended their summer camps in 69, 70, and 71, but after returning from Southeast Asia, was sent to Belgium to serve as a Aide to Major General Jack Carson, another former Aggie football player.

When Carson learned of the new American Football league, he sent Captain Plante to meet with the Coach and GM in Antwerp. As many of the Americans in NATO had in the conflict in SE Asia, the NATO gig was a needed break, and General Carson found his legacy in the league. His first move was to put Plante on temporary assignment with the Monks, and along with him went 6 other US military officers, tho not all were players, and one Sergeant, Jimmy Jackson had been a High School All American in Georgia, and a two year starter at Savannah State before getting his girlfriend pregnant and leaving school, only to be inducted into the Army after his deferment was rescinded.

Plante and Jackson were an odd pair, the stocky Texan with a drawl, and always a pouch of tobacco in his pocket, and the intercity Atlanta running back who pushed the uniform code with his barely regulation Afro and sideburns. The two could not have been mode different visually, as well as their backgrounds, but they both lived and breathed football and were incredibly gifted athletes.

Plante had AFA talent, and had spent time with Houston before leaving for SE Asia, and was as sure a bet to be a star in the league as there was, but his dedication to country came first, and his AFA dream died in the year and a half fighting in the jungle when he lost 50 pounds and most of his bulk. But he was still the most physical player in this new league, and he excelled along with his new best friend.

Jackson was not a physical runner, and he made people miss just as he had in Savannah and there was not a running back outside of the SFL and AFA who could touch his talent.

Over the course of the next 3 years the Monks went from being an also ran to the most progressive team in European Football.

In addition to taking advantage of the presence of American College stars, Antwerp used General Carson's connection to owners in Vastaras to add additional talent to their roster with an exchange program that gave the Reactors (SFL) a place to grow up their young talent.

Top Players:

RB #24 Jimmie Jackson - US ARMY (BENELUX rushing leader 72-74)

DT #64 Jordan Plante - Colorado - US ARMY, Sack/TFL leader 72-74

LB #57 Jarno Maes - Home Grown talent, and leading tackler on the team

DB #4 Bengt Ahlstrom - Young DB on loan from Vastaras

Outlook: Antwerpen is intriguing, but likely 4 years away from getting into the league, unless they can play in via L2. Definitely a final 6 City.

[Burmy]

I'd have to agree...they'd be a good pick a few years down the line and certainly are solid enough, but nothing which would shake my Top 3.

[FFWally]

Koln Withdraws their 1974 Expansion Bid

In a surprising turn of events, the Koln expansion committee abruptly decided to pull their bid, and instead apply for L2 status in the Danish division of the SFL.

Koln owner Johann Hölzel announced the move via press release early Monday morning.

"After much deliberation within the club, we made the decision to enter the Danish Division of L2 and work to develop our team structure naturally, rather than make a push too early in our development, and not have the desired results.

Joining the SFL and being behind the curve on the sporting side would have been a disaster, and we cannot carry the hopes of all of West Germany into the toilet. It is for this reason that we have spoken to Der Kommissar Ekdahl and the rest of the Expansion Committee about making an immediate move to L2 and forgoing the remainder of the expansion process."

- Johann Hölzel

​News of the withdrawal was met with surprise in Paris, and Dublin, but immediately after the news broke, rumors of other expansion cities not named Dublin or Paris speaking with the SFL about L2 options began to run rampant.

More as the story develops...

[Darknes]

Interesting move by Koln, it this is a good for those who were a long shot to get in.

[FFWally]

Update - Chaos

By allowing Koln to make a lateral move to L2, the SFL opened pandora's box.

Tuesday night, all tier II teams voted to forgo the expansion process and join the SFL as L2 cities. This would virtually destroy the national leagues, as the top teams from each of the developing countries would overnight jump to the SFL.

The SFL has in place a timeline for all the developed countries to fold into the league over the course of several years, but this move by the Tier II and lower Tier I teams to make a move en mass could set American Football back a decade, if there is not a swift resolution to the crisis.

Check back for Updates and the Commissioners response.

[Burmy]

Dun-dun-DUNNNNNNN...

[FFWally]

SFL has decided upon three Cities for Expansion in addition to the London Bulldogs.

The remaining Tier 1 Cities will all join L2 for 1974, and 3 of the Tier II cities will also join L2, the rest will return to their National Leagues, and resubmit for 1976.

The cities will be announced early tomorrow, as will the Divisions, which will be broken into two Conferences.