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

[Burmy]

And it looks like Svartflödman wins!

[Darknes]

Guess that makes me an Orebro fan!

[FFWally]

Much to Carl Lindholm's pleasure, Svartflödman won in a runaway landslide. Since this was a late entry into the naming contest, only the team Logo has been released, and Uniforms will not be announced for another few days. Lindholm had initially put his efforts behind the Lynx name, and a more colorful scheme, but with the Svartflöd coming into play, the colors went to a darker, nefarious design.

The crest is a very typical Swedish Sports crest design, and Lindholm went back to his Swedish Soccer roots for the design, adapting his hometown crest to American Football.

Look for a Black Silver and White uniform combination, and a Silver Helmet... black for black sake is out in Orebro.

As part of the contest, a 1% ownership stake goes to the entry of Darknes (need a background story for you!) as well as Odin Cup Owners Suite tickets, and 4 lifetime box seats.

[Darknes]

I'll send you a story in a pm tomorrow

[FFWally]

I'll send you a story in a pm tomorrow

perfect... thanks

[Darknes]

I hope Orebro fans embraces a Blackout color scheme for the playoffs, A Svartan looping through the stands.

[FFWally]

Lindholm is working on a Svartflödgäng concept for the diehard fans...

[Darknes]

That 1% is going to Alexsandr Ravitzky is the 23 year old son of 66 year old AFA Super Agent and AFAEC member Henrik Ravitzky. Alexsandr has been wandering through Europe for now 3 years after finishing Business school in Boston. Now he goes through Europe looking to make investments in the SFL as he tries to emulate what his Father did in the AFA. He submitted the name Svartflodman to the contest after spending a week in Orebro and staying at a little inn on the Svartan, picturing men floating down the river. He is savvy enough to potential in players is assisting the Orebro scouts.

[FFWally]

Lindholm and Ravitzky struck up an instant friendship, and Carl is well aware of the potential benefits to his upstart club with an AFA insider attached to his team, and is already utilizing his knowledge of the workings of the AFA to accelerate the development of his new team. That along with is backdoor entry into the league at the chagrin of league founder and arch nemesis Anders Bergström makes his club a blacksheep. Something Lindholm will exploit, and utilize in his marketing.

While not a small market team, in comparison to Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm, as well as Göteburg, Lindholm will play the little guy bucking the system with fans. In comparison to the Oslo and Helsingbörg template, Carl will buy his way to a championship... because, while his market is much smaller than the Capitol cities, his bankroll is in the top three of current owners, and unlike Eskilstuna, which is owned by the citizens of the Kommun, the Svartflödman will have no issue in paying record contracts to Americans looking to make a name and use the SFL to garner huge contracts in the AFA.

[FFWally]

Leaked image of the Orebro helmet and Uni:

and a little better look at the Helmet

[Burmy]

LOVE the classic Raiders look this has...their fans will be like no other in the league!

[FFWally]

LOVE the classic Raiders look this has...their fans will be like no other in the league!

While I have never been a fan of said Raiders, I think they may have the perfect uniform, and I am also not a fan of monochrome unis (Spurs...ack!) But it really fits with the personality of the very Al Davis owner type. This team could be the most fun to document. And with the Eskilstuna Stålman we have two gritty blue collar teams in one division and really close proximity.

Likely the leagues most natural rivalry... look for players that have gotten in trouble, are questionable personalities, and the ones with huge chips on their shoulders to migrate there. And an explosive offense, and with the inside connection to an AFA super-agent. some crazy great and gigantic trainwrecks also

[Darknes]

It should be a true Black and Blue rivalry to see between the Stalman and the Flodman. It smells almost like a Broncos, Raiders Rivalry already.

[FFWally]

That will be a great rivalry due to location, but the Uppsala v Orebro games will be hate fests. Nothing will make Carl Lindholm happier than destroying Bergström's Hammers.

Look for an update to the Uppsala uniforms and logo in the next year.

[neo_prankster]

Leaked image of the Orebro helmet and Uni:

and a little better look at the Helmet

Very nice job.

Can we expect these guys to be the renegade team of the SFAF?

[FFWally]

1971: A Season of Change

Helsingborg

After losing both Zak Wahlstrom and Fuzzy Williams to the AFA, the Berzerkers came into the 1971 season with no offensive identity, and to compound the situation, two of the top defenders retired after the paid announced their move to the USA.

Curtis Hissam and Jack Jungblod were two of the cornerstones of a stoud Berzerker defense every season since 1967 and both had short careers in the AFA before moving to Sweden in 65.

Hissam had been a MLB at Tennesee Tech before being selected with a late round pick in 1963 by Detroit, and never made his presence felt during two seasons in the AFA, but he did make appearances in two Championship games, and earned a ring in 1964, before being released after the season.

The move to Sweden looked to be the thing he needed to get better and earn a return to the AFA, until he was went down in Odin's Cup I with a gruesome ankle injury, then left unprotected by Uppsala with the first round of expansion. and moved to Helsingborg with two Championship rings and is the only player to have played in every Odin's Cup. After the move he became the rock that centered the Helsingborg defense and ends his career as the all-time leading tackler in Berzerker history, and the only player with 5 Championship rings. And unbelievably, he played in two AFA Championships with Detroit, as well as 6 in the SFA, every season of his career.

Hissam was offered the LB's coach position in Orebro the day after his retirement, and after speaking with Berzerker HC Steve Schiele, took the job and went back to work the following day.

Jungblud like Hissam came over from Uppsala in 67 and if not for sitting out the 1968 season with mono, would be the only other player to see action in every Odin's Cup.

Jack spent 4 seasons in the AFA as a serviceable defensive end for the Cleveland Ghosts, and was looking to sign with the Krewe until Bergström offered him a $12,000 1 year to be the starting LB for the Hammers. When the first expansion draft came around Jungblud was 28 and looking for a contract that would end his career in Uppsala, but instead the ever frugal Bergström took a young Greg Jones out of Rutgers and left Jungblud unprotected.

When the Berzerkers took him in the seventh round he commented to the Skåne press that he would make it his mission to show Bergström that leaving him unprotected would be a mistake. Four seasons and 2 Championships later, as well as a 5 year total of 65 sacks, and 14 forced fumbles, two of which he returned for touchdowns in back to back games during the 1967 season.

Schiele knew there was going to be a big drop off in production from the first four seasons, but when you lose your leaders on both offense and defense, sometimes its just better to rebuild, and give veterans a chance to help other teams.

So the 1971 season began with 5 returning offensive starters and 7 defensive starters, and the youngest average age in the league.

New QB Casey Taylor ® Arkansas is a lanky pocket passer with a big arm, and little mobility, rather than taking a 7th round pick salary in the AFA Taylor chose to make the move to Sweden and earn a promotion to the AFA as well as keeping the Championship tradition going in Helsingborg, but the loss of star players was too much to overcome and even the emergence of second year running back Sven Ekström and his 1200 yard season couldn't save the 'Zerkers.

[mamiller99]

If you ever plan on expanding to Finland, I'd love help with the backstory for the team! The series is great so far.

[FFWally]

If you ever plan on expanding to Finland, I'd love help with the backstory for the team! The series is great so far.

Helsinki is on the short list already, as is Turku (not the short list however)

[FFWally]

1971 was the first year without a repeat Odin Cup team playing for the Championship, and yet another Expansion team making it to the title game, only to fall in the final minutes and spoil what to that point had been a Cinderella season.

With Helsingborg struggling to find an identity following the loss of 4 key players, and 3 likely Hall of Famer's, it was up to Oslo to get back to the Cup for a second consecutive year, and that looked to be a lock until QB Aaron Stanton was taken down by Goteburg's Greg Jackson early in a key division game played in Oslo. Stanton popped up then fell again as his ankle folded under his weight. This time it looked to be a career ending injury, as players from both teams huddled midfield as medical staff spent a full 20 minutes stabilizing the foot, and carting him off the field.

Oslo lost the game on a late Interception return of second year QB Drew Soicher, (Colorado) and went on to lose their final 5 games, never scoring more than 14 points in any of them.

Eskilstuna returned to championship form again in 71 and looked to be the walkover winner of the Semifinal contest after dominating Orebro, their new rival in both regular season meetings, but a mid season signing by the Rivermen changed the course of the season, and the new QB from Texas completed an unbelievable 83% of his passes from week 7 thru the Semifinal matchup with Eskilstuna.

Orebro came into the season having been a power running team, with Sam Herd (Jackson State) leading the way in L2 the previous two seasons, and scatback Speedy Johnson (KU) gave the Rivermen a potent pass catcher out of the backfield. But, the Black and Blue division proved to be more than the upstart Rivermen could handle early on, leaving them with a 2-4 record 6 weeks into their inaugural season in SFL play.

Carlson was not going to see his plans go down in flames, and signed former Texas Stallions backup QB Billy Tarkington to a hefty 3 year $22,000 a season contract, with a $5,000 signing bonus, and Billy did not fail to live up to his contract.

Tarkington replaced two time All L2 QB Stan Wisnewski in week seven and led the Rivermen to a 38-7 crushing of Helsingborg, with a short route passing game the relied on slants, and swing passes out fo the backfield, making Speedy Johnson the newcomer of the year, and Tarkington a second team All SFL QB.

Stockholm showed signs of life with a 6-6 record under their new head coach Gabe Roman, recently fired head coach of Florida State. His defensive minded approach to football blended well with his decidedly Scandinavian defensive unit, and allowed the offense to play with short fields a majority of the time.

Linebacker Knut Lundin, a product of the Helsingborg football academy led the league in Tackles for Loss, and earned All SFL honors for the first time.

First round selection Linus Stewart a massive OT from Alabama signed with Stockholm when his agent informed him of the impending strike in the AFA, and with a sick mother, he needed the money and a chance of not playing for a season gave Stockholm a premier lineman that could be the beginning of a turnaround in the Capitol City.

Around the league, the season ended quietly for perennial playoff teams, Eskilstuna, Uppsala, Helsingborg and a week later Gavle, blown out by Kopenhagen 38-6.

Eskilstuna and their run stopping defense kept Orebro to its lowest point total in 7 weeks, but couldn't keep the Black Rivermen from ending their run and it was the Orebro defense that broke the Steelman's backs with a 4 down stand inside the Riverman 2 yard line.

Goteborg rode their triple option offense to the championship game, grinding out win after win and holding Kopenhagen to a season low 14 points in the semi final game by controlling the ball a shocking 42 minutes.

ODIN CUP VII

In the first Odin Cup game held in Eskilstuna, it was the Expansion Orebro Black Riverman who jumped out front early on a Billy Tarkington TD pass to rookie wide receiver Jan Hellstrom that went for 81 yards and a 7-0 lead 3 minutes into the championship, and it looked like the Riverman were going to continue their hot streak, but Goteburg responded with a 68 yard drive that ate up 8:02 and ended with a 12 yard TD run by fullback Knut Knutsson (Uppsala Univ) and a 7-7 game at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter began with a 15 yard personal foul on the Orebro kickoff return team and the ball spotted at the 6. Goteburg went all in with a jailhouse blitz and Tarkington made them pay with a second long TD to Hellstrom giving the rookie 162 yards and two TD's on 2 catches, and nearly 3 Qtrs to play.

The extra point snap sailed over the holders head and kicker Bengt Stenerud ran to the left and threw a prayer into the end zone that Speedy Johnson grabbed for a 15-7 lead.

Goteburg QB Carl Bergman found TE Toby watts late in the second quarter for 15 yards and a needed first down at the Riverman 34. aging RB Bjorn Bjornsson took the next snap for a 34 yard touchdown and a 15-14 score at halftime.

The third quarter was a slugfest with neither team finding any kind of rhythm until former Hammers LB Noah Wahlstrom crushed Tarkington on a Sam blitz and scooped up the ball for an easy score to put the Trolls up 21-15 late in the third.

With momentum swinging to the Trolls, it looked like their ball control offense was going to put the game away with a fourth quarter chip shot field goal and a 24-15 lead and only 3:09 left in the game.

Goteburg up by nine decided to kick deep and Sam Herd went around the right side for a 103 yard kickoff return, and cut the lead to 2 points at 24-22, with 2:53 remaining.

Goteburg went three and out for the first time all game and Orebro used 2 timeouts to get the ball back with 2:00 left and a chance.

Tarkington had been held to less than a 50% completion rate for the first time in his SFL career and drops by both Hellstrom (4 for 221 yards 2 TD) and Speedy Johnson left Tarkington with a 3^rd and 10 from his 13 when Noah Wahlstrom again blasted through the line to drop Tarkington in the end zone and a safety that ended Orebro's cinderella season.

Former Uppsala RB Bjorn Bjornsson was named the offensive MVP and Noah Wahlstrom earned Defensive MVP honors, as well as OCVII Player of the game, for his 13 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 defensive TD and game sealing safety.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Postgame: Noah Wahlstrom, younger brother of Wolves QB Zak Wahlstrom showed why he feels he should be the next SFL player to migrate across the Atlantic, and has stepped out from the rather large shadow of his brother.

Orebro, having seen their win now program make it 3 minutes from a championship doubled down and sent Alexsandr Ravitzky to New York to meet with is father and begin scouting for missing pieces to the puzzle.

[Darknes]

Damn...Orebro was inches away from a year one Championship...boy that would have pissed Bergstrom off. Aleksandr is looking with his father at a mix of aging veterans who can teach the Swedes the game through drills, and High-Risk High-Reward Prospects that teams cut or passed in the draft.