There's an old adage in sports that says "defense wins championships". In the championship game of Ballocki Bowl Sunday, the BCL's Atlanta Peaches proved that the old saying is just as true in the virtual world sport of ballocki as it is in real life.
In what was a stunning result, the underdog Peaches won Ballocki Bowl Sunday with a 57 - 40 victory over the New York Firemen in the tournament championship game. The Firemen led early, and even when trailing were never far behind until the final minute of play, but the Peaches were gradually able to take control of the game by double-teaming and defending heavily around the corner goals in between their own scoring opportunities.
The Peaches actually did the bulk of their scoring on their center court red goal, where each individual goal was worth fewer points yet easier to score and harder to defend against. Meanwhile, they defended heavily against the Firemen on the corner goals while the Firemen failed to take advantage of easier opportunities to score a few more points on their own green center court goal. The difference was 28-7 in favor of the Peaches for points scored on the center goals. Every goal scored by both teams was hard earned and contested in what turned out to be a low scoring and defensive oriented affair.
The Peaches reached the championship by way of an 82 - 38 first round win over the London Lions, and the Firemen defeated the Sydney Kangaroos in round one by a score of 68 - 35. For their victory playing for the Peaches team, DawnRose Ruby and waelya Tenk earned L$1000 in prize money along with bragging rights as the first ever champions of Ballocki Bowl Sunday. Hopefully, this will be the first of many years in which Ballocki Bowl Sunday will be held one week prior to the real life Super Bowl.
The Peaches actually entered the tournament winless in 5 previous BCL league games, so their championship effort in Ballocki Bowl Sunday was quite a surprise. The Peaches had been steadily improving of late, though, including a couple of close games and an overtime loss to the Firemen. Nevertheless, the Firemen were still the overwhelming favorite to win going into the tournament, especially after the formidable Glasgow Scots withdrew from the competition. When the games were played though, some recent practice and improvement combined with excellent teamwork was enough to turn the tables in favor of the Atlanta Peaches.
Players who participated in the tournament included a mixture of new and experienced players, and all of the Ballocki Champions League teams participated in the event except for the Glasgow Scots. Willis Loopen and Tanya Rubble played in one tournament game each for the New York Firemen along with Dude Gilruth who played in both games. The Peaches played with the same lineup of Ruby and Tenk for both of their games in the tournament. Meanwhile, Eleanor Balbozar and Danann Parx represented the Sydney Kangaroos, and August Lusch teamed up with Sante Klees for the London Lions. Along with the tournament games, the Kangaroos and Firemen also played a second game against each other early on Sunday morning.
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2010 Ballocki Bowl Sunday Results:
New York Firemen 90 - Sydney Kangaroos 31 (pre-tournament game)
New York Firemen 68 - Sydney Kangaroos 35 (First Round)
Atlanta Peaches 82 - London Lions 38 (First Round)
Atlanta Peaches 57 - New York Firemen 40 (Championship Game)
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As of Sunday's games, the league standings are as follows: New York Firemen 11-5, Glasgow Scots 4-3, Atlanta Peaches 2-5, Sydney Kangaroos 0-3, London Lions 0-1.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the stadium Sunday to participate in and watch the games!!!
Well, this year's Ballocki Bowl Sunday event is in the books, but don't forget that the Ballocki Stadium is now open 24/7 for free practice and scrimmages any time you want to stop by there to play. We will also be hosting more BCL league matches soon(mostly in the 8PM SL time frame nightly and at 12PM SL time on weekends), so we hope to see you soon at Ballocki Stadium in the Celestial Game Tower game park inside of the Second Life virtual world!
Scenes from the first annual Ballocki Bowl Sunday (1/31/2010):
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