2021 Hall of Fame Nomination: The Tuckfards "The Fantastic Five"

 Team: The Tuckfards

Nomination: "The Fantastic Five" five consecutive playoff appearances in the first 6 years of the league

There have been no great dynasties in the LOC thus far - some have come close, but none have quite achieved such a lofty title. But if you narrow the focus to just the regular season, a strong argument can be made that Coach Merritt's Tuckfards were the first Dynasty of the LOC. 

A founding team, like many others The Tuckfards had a humbling start to the league with a 6-8 record. But clearly, this was just the year they were finding their feet, in anticipation of the years to come. 2010 saw The Tuckfards first winning season at 8-6, taking the Rookie Division title and punching their first trip to the playoffs. They would lose to current champion Bear Necessities in the first round 122-101, but it was an admirable finish to an admirable season.

The next year saw The Tuckfards return in the same way, again notching an 8-6 record in 2011 and another trip to the playoffs. This time they would lose to eventual Corona Bowl champion Tom's Tyrants in another contested affair, 106-92.

But the third time was the charm for The Tuckfards, as in 2012 they would improve their win total to 9-5, and this time make it all the way to the Corona Bowl for the first time in their career. They would sadly lose this affair to an interim head coach who took over midway through the season, 128-98 in Corona Bowl IV - but The Tuckfards had shown they were a perennial force to be reckoned with.

In 2013 they would again improve their win record, achieving a career best 11-3 record and their first division title. They would face a team that they historically owned and never lost to in Burdettinators, but unfortunately Coach Burdett solved the puzzle and managed to overcome Coach Merritt when it mattered most, winning 162-98.

Coming off 2 straight Corona Bowl appearances and 4 straight playoff appearances, 2014 brought Coach Merritt a 10-4 record and another division title and their first regular season title. But unfortunately for Coach Merritt, they would face a Tom's Tyrants side that was destined to win their second Corona Bowl in the first round of the playoffs, losing 131-82.

That would be Coach Merritt's last appearance in the playoffs for a number of years, until 2019 when they went 9-5 and returned to the promised land. It looked like the stars were aligning this year, but fate again interfered, dealing The Tuckfards a cruel blow against Forge Flyers in the first round - who had they been able to overcome, would have given them the Corona Bowl they sorely deserved after their first 5 years in the league. A clearly distraught 2020 season would be the final chapter (for now at least) in Coach Merritt's LOC journey, as he decided to hang up the coaching headset after the season.

While Coach Merritt could never seem to navigate the Playoffs successfully like so many NFL greats (Dan Marino for instance), there is no taking away from the achievements The Tuckfards had in those first 6 years of the league. Five consecutive playoff appearances (which later wound up to be 6 total playoff appearances, the most in LOC history), still a record to this day. Two Corona Bowl Runners up (currently tied for the most in history). One regular season title, 3 division titles, and one coach of the year award. They also boasted one of the most formidable win loss records in the league over that span.

Whilst they may have never one the big one, surely this nomination deserved to be in the LOC Hall of Fame, as such unrivalled success has still not been achieved. 

2021 Hall of Fame Nomination: Tom's Tyrants "The Play"

 Team: Tom's Tyrants

Nomination: "The Play" Victor Cruz scores a 99 yard TD in Corona Bowl III to ice it and bring TTY their first Corona Bowl, and the first Rookie team to win the Corona Bowl

This ones gonna take us all back. We now know through the story of history that Tom's Tyrants is one of the great teams of the LOC, and came ever so close to becoming the first Dynasty the league has seen. But this nomination takes you right back to the start of all that (well, near enough to the start anyway).

The year is 2011. The LOC is just about to enter its 3rd year. Coach Barnes enters the season without an accolade to his name, featuring in the Rookie division after going 5-9 and 6-8 his first 2 years in the league. But the first winning season in Tom's Tyrants history at 9-5 would be good enough for a Rookie Division title and a trip to the playoffs against current champions Gridiron Gang.

What wound up happening was that Tom's Tyrants would win Corona Bowl III 141-92, a then highest score in the Corona Bowl. But there was one key, history defining play in that game (as there often is in games of such magnitude) which would ultimately put the result beyond doubt and bring the Stubbs trophy to Colden Common. Victor Cruz.

Victor Cruz was a relatively unknown player that year, added by Tom's Tyrants in week 4. He would go on to be a feature of the side having a dominant year. But none more so than in the Corona Bowl, where he absolutely hosed a 99 yard catch to the house with a 16 point play. This of course did not make a difference to the final result, but did come at a pivotal time in the game where the result was still in the balance. Great plays and great players are often the difference in Bowl games, and Victor Cruz delivered with his scintillating 99 yard TD.

There is no single play in the LOC Hall of Fame - nor until now has their even been one nominated. But it is truly fitting that this is the first. What you have to decide is dear voter - is it worthy of being in the LOC Hall of Fame? 

2021 Hall of Fame Nomination: Burdettinators "The One That Mattered"

 Team: Burdettinators

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.

2021 Hall of Fame Nominations: Gridiron Gang "The No Name Heroes"

 Team: Gridiron Gang

Nomination: "The No Name Heroes" Highest scoring team in 2016 featuring a bunch of no names, comprising of 8 straight weeks of 90+ points to open the 2016 season

Gridiron Gang has long been a disciple of the consistent scoring teams (outside of the terrible years), as opposed to going for the high point getters. Rarely in the highest amount of points in a week or a season, this stoic approach has paid off with some reward, but also can end in spectacular failure. 2016 was no different, but is arguably the most underrated and arguably one of the best seasons of Coach Stubbs's career.

Coming off back to back 8-6 seasons, Coach Stubbs had a so so draft (as is often the case), yielding good returns from David Johnson, Mike Wallace, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins and Marvin Jones, while flaming out on Doug Martin, Randall Cobb, Jeremy Maclin, Eric Decker, and Matt Jones (yeah, remember him? Me neither).

But the similarities between many Gridiron Gang seasons ended there, because in Week 1 they actually one. Yes, you read that right, Gridiron Gang actually won a week 1 game. It wasn't flashy, but a 93-85 point victory vs ADRZ was enough to secure an elusive week 1 win for Coach Stubbs. Even rarer, Gridiron Gang would spring out to a 3-0 start, dropping W' on Tom's Tyrants (103-88) and The Dream Team (123-85). Not only is a 3-0 start eye brow raising, but the scores are fairly eye popping by Gridiron Gang's standards also.

But...that's when it started to slide back into a classic Gridiron Gang season. Over the next 5 weeks, Gridiron Gang would only win 1 game, seeing their fast start quickly slide to .500, and eventually finish the season 6-8 without the playoffs.

At this point you might be asking "why did Naithan nominate a season where he went 3-8 in the last 11 weeks of the season"? Well dear fans of the LOC - it's because much of those losses were far from Coach Stubbs's fault.

Across those 5 weeks from weeks 4-8, Gridiron Gang's lowest score would be 92 points, followed by 135, 102, 103 and 103. Aside from the 135, those scores aren't necessarily eye popping, but fellow coaches of the LOC know all to well that on a week to week basis it's easy for mud to slide down hill fast, and stringing consecutive good performances together can be harder than it sounds. In those games, Coach Stubbs's side conceded 104, 106, 113, 127 and 105. All in all, Coach Stubbs Jr achieved 8 straight weeks of 90+ points, a rarity in the LOC. 

The pain wouldn't end there - as the injuries for Gridiron Gang started to pile up the second half of the season saw a few blips, while the opposition scores did not let up. After Week 4, Gridiron Gang would only face one team that scored less than 100 points against them, finishing the season with a league high 1482 points conceded.

But the true crown of this nomination is not that Gridiron Gang went 8 straight weeks with 90+ points, nor was it that they were the highest scoring team that year (and would have made playoffs under the new league rules). It was more about who they did it with. Below is a list of players that featured in Gridiron Gang's highest scoring team that season:

• Derek Carr
• Dontrelle Inman
• Malcolm Mitchell
• C.J. Fiedorowicz
• Ryan Griffin
• Kirk Cousins
• Kapri Bibbs (who?)
• Antone Smith (who?)
• Christine Michael
• Late period Dennis Pitta
• Late period Randall Cobb
• Late period Jeremy Maclin
• Late period Doug Martin
• Late period Eric Decker

While that's the list of those who featured, it's not even counterbalanced by a particularly strong starting line up. David Johnson was the only non-QB player to top 202 points for Gridiron Gang, Jordan Howard was the second highest with 201. The next closest was Mike Wallace with 131. Yet despite that, Coach Stubbs Jr cobbled together a team and extracted the utmost consistency from them - and not only consistency but achieved the highest scoring team. 

The opposition conspired to torpedo Gridiron Gang's season, but this nomination is to recognise the impressive achievement of being the highest scoring team with a bunch of no names AND going 2 months in the LOC without scoring less than 90 points (a feat very rarely achieved). It's unlikely we'll ever see such a sorry bunch top the league in scoring again, and they truly are the forgotten highest scoring team. 

2021 Hall of Fame Nominations: The Dream Team "RGIII"

 Team: The Dream Team

Nomination: "RGIII" Robert Griffin III, 9th round draft pick number 83 overall in 2012

Coach Nathwani joined the league in 2011. It was a tough first season, as is usually the case for newcomers to the LOC, but The Dream Team came through it quite well, going 6-8 in their first year. 2012 would be the sophomore leap for Coach Nathwani though, as he lead The Dream Team to a 10-4 record, a division title and a playoff appearance. A large part of that is their hall of fame nominee.

Robert Griffin III was a rookie in 2012. The dynamic dual threat QB was drafted second overall in the NFL draft behind Andrew Luck. In the LOC, he was a 9th round draft pick, 83rd overall. He didn’t start Week 1 for The Dream Team, as there was another dynamic QB by the name of Mike Vick who was the starter for Coach Nathwani, who scored 20 points. They would lose their first game against Touchdown Syndrome 102-126. Robert Griffin III would not have changed this result, but he did have a great game, netting 29 points.

This was enough to start a QB controversy for The Dream Team, as in Week 2 RGIII got the nod over Mike Vick, and it was the right call. Mike Vick got 24, but RGIII put up a terrific 32. Sadly it was not enough to bring home the W, as The Dream Team fell 140-130 against Bear Necessities, starting the year 0-2. The Dream Team would only lose 2 more games across the rest of the regular season.

In Week 3 RGIII started again, leading Coach Nathwani to their first win of the season over Forge Flyers. He got 27, and they won 120-82. The next week he scored 23 and brought home a close win against ADRZ, 117-116. Week 5 RGIII did not play well, only scoring 4 points, but The Dream Team still won against Burdettinators, 78-71. He would bounce back the next week with 37, helping down IKNAN 125-95.

Entering week 7 Coach Nathwani pulled the team back to 4-2. They’d lose that week 94-90, despite RGIII getting 27. After that week, RGIII headed back to the bench in a coaching decision for none other than Andrew Luck, who was added in Week 6. He helped lead them to a 117-69 victory over Gridiron Gang with 19 points, but RGIII still got 14 on the bench. The next week he would reclaim his starting role, again scoring 14 points and leading The Dream Team to a 121-114 victory over Touchdown Syndrome. The next week he was on a bye, The Dream Team won.

RGIII would not return to the bench for the rest of the regular season. Coming off his bye in Week 11 he posted a terrific 40 points en route to a 129-103 victory over The Tuckfards. He had an equally good outing in Week 12, scoring 37 and helping The Dream Team to a 142-96 victory over ADRZ. in Week 13 he scored 20 and again aided Coach Nathwani in a win over Burdettinators, 121-104, and in the final week of the season scored 19 in a 118-79 loss to Forge Flyers.

An injury sustained in Week 14 would cause him to miss the playoff match up against The Tuckfards, in which Colin Kaepernick started in his stead. He posted 34 points in a 107-90 loss for Coach Nathwani.

Overall, RGIII had an 8-3 record as a starter for The Dream Team, and scored 358 points for The Dream Team that season. Not bad for a 9th round draft pick. Unfortunately for RGIII, not only did an injury keep him out of The Dream Team’s playoff game, but an injury in a playoff game for the Redskins also knocked him out of the game and changed his career forever. He was never the same after that. The Dream Team has also since not been able to win a Corona Bowl, though they have made 3 playoff appearances since, including one Corona Bowl appearance in Corona Bowl VI.

RGIII will likely never have a shot at entering the NFL hall of fame, but he does have a chance of making the LOC Hall of fame. 2012 was a great season for him, in which he lead The Dream Team to the playoffs and a division title.