Nomination: "The One That Mattered" Corona Bowl V victory vs The Tuckfards, the first victory vs Coach Merritt in Coach Burdett's career
There have been many a great team in the LOC through the years, ones that easily spring to mind are Bear Necessities 2009 team, Tom's Tyrant's 2012 team, but Burdettinators 2013 team is certainly in the same conversation, and can be argued that it should even be above them. With the changes in the league through the years and the expansion to 12 teams since, Burdettinator's 2013 all time high season total of 1729.50 points isn't likely to be bested any time soon - perhaps even ever. And rightly so - as this team was damn near unstoppable at their peak, and if we had the points left on the bench data from that season this would have also I'm sure been a high figure. But this nomination isn't about that season, as great as it was. No - this nomination is for the final chapter in that story - Corona Bowl V.
Coach Burdett and Coach Merritt's rivalry is an age old tale that appears throughout history. David and Goliath would certainly be a suitable tale to compare it too, as Coach Merritt dominated this fixture for the first few years of the league. Before Corona Bowl V, Coach Burdett had never beaten Coach Merritt. The on the field rivalry was as compelling as the off the field rivalry, as the heat exchanged between these two is a great spectacle to behold. Since, Coach Merritt has turned his focus to a bigger foe that was not present at the time, Coach Allen, but Burdettinators vs The Tuckfards will forever be a classic and one that is circled on every LOC schedule reveal.
Burdettinator's 2013 season was truly spectacular - amassing eye watering point totals, they cast their opponents aside en route to an 11-3 record and a regular season title. They bested ADRZ in the first round of the playoffs 138-110 where they would face the #2 seed Tuckfards in Corona Bowl V - one of the few 1 v 2 seed games to happen in the LOC. Entering this game, Burdettinators had never beaten The Tuckfards, and even notched a week 3 loss against them earlier that season.
The start of Corona Bowl V appeared to be history repeating itself. How could Coach Burdett possibly overcome a Coach that just has his number? The Tuckfards sprung out to a 25 - 10 lead early on in Corona Bowl V courtesy of superstar Jamaal Charles. But that would be the end of The Tuckfards domination of Burdettinators, as they not only went on to erode this lead, they launched the monkey that had been on their shoulder off the edge of a cliff, reaching 100 points at the start of the 9pm games vs 74 for The Tuckfards.
At that point, Burdettinators would not turn back, as they amassed an additional 60 points through to the conclusion of the game, whilst The Tuckfards only managed an additional 23, leaving the final score as an eye watering (and the highest score and widest point disparity in a Corona Bowl) 162-98. They had finally done it, with a 40 point performance from Peyton Manning, 28 and 21 points for LeSeaon McCoy and Eddie Lacy respecitvely - they had defeated their white whale in The Tuckfards, not only beating them for the first time, but claiming their first Corona Bowl victory in the process.
Imagine the mental difficulty, the pressure of facing an opponent you'd never beaten before, when you are trying to win a title. It was a momentous end to a momentous season - and one that now you, the voter, must decide if it deserves to be enshrined in the hall of fame.
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