Thursday, January 31, 2008

Night of the Hooligans

The Dungeonbowl season kicked off last night with two great matches. The first match saw newcomer teams the Day's End and the Woad Warriors square off against each other, while the second pitted the veteran squad the Meathooks against the reigning champion Dusk Hill Dirt Bursters.

The first match started awkwardly for both squads. Many of the Woad Warriors seem to have shown up a bit shaky and fell down with regularity. Conversely, the first fatality of the season came not at the hands of an opposing team, but from the same squad as the casualty, as The Prince of the Nine, resplendent in his uniform and cape, briefly lost control and drained the life of the thrall known simply as Robust. This apparently served to motivate the Day's End, and the game was theirs from that point on.

Touchdowns were scored by the thralls Like-Chicken and Bland, and by The Prince of the Nine himself. We are unclear as to what the Nine is, or why there are Nine of them, but after his display of both monstrous appetite and top-notch game sense, his fans are certain that it's a combination of unpleasant hells and a mix of herbs and spices. The Woad Warriors came close on a couple of occasions, but couldn't stay standing long enough to get into the end zone. Unfortunately as well for the Warriors, a riot erupted and saw a great deal of time lost and a great deal of fans depart on a rampage to who-knows-where.

Injuries were suffered by both squads, including the second fatality of the season administered by Duncan Donuts, the overweight, overbearing and over-the-top lineman of the Warriors. To the woe of the Day's End, he took down Bland, one of their touchdown scorers from earlier in the game. The thrall known as Tinny added a serious injury of his own, knocking berserker William Wallops our of the match. Lineman Kilt Chamberlain fell down while trying to escape a pile-up at midfield, and will miss a game due to a smashed knee.

The final score was 3-0, and MVPs for the match were the thrall "Sour" of the Day's End, and Ewen McGrogger of the Woad Warriors, who recieved this season's first equipment sponsorship from Ironplaid Industries.

Game number two of the night was another brutal affair, not especially because of violence, but because of the parade of errors on the pitch that led to the match ending in a 1-1 draw. Most of the first half was spent in a perpetual scrum at midfield, as neither orc nor zombie seemed capable of picking up a ball that may as well have been covered in soap. The game was played in bright sunshine that gave way to blizzard conditions eventually, resulting in even less offense. In fact, not a single score was registered in the first half of the game.

The second half was a more interesting affair, with touchdowns being run in by the star players of each team. Ol' Teabagger brought it in for the Dirt Bursters, and Beef Bigaxe made the score to tie it for the the Meathooks. On the next kickoff, however, the rioting fans from the first game of the night made their way to this stadium as well, and the clock wound up running until only a few seconds remained. The game ended with a whimper instead of a bang.

MVPs of the match were Pickles of the Meathooks, a thrower who managed to...well, we aren't quite sure what he did this game, and Ned Gummers the ghoul for the Dirt Bursters, who has followed the exercise regimen pioneered by his teammate Ol' Teabagger and increased his mobility. No word on the current whereabouts of the angry mob that stormed through both games, but other teams and leagues are advised to be on the lookout.

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