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.
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