Five Features From Five Years

The AD Blood Bowl league has seen a lot of change over the last 5 years and with the start of the 6th season impending, we look back to assess five of the greatest aspects of the opening five years:

Dispersal Krush

It all began back in early Summer 2003 at Anarchy Central with the 8 inaugural coaches gathering to select the players who would form the basis of their sides to challenge for the title. It hadn’t been easy but all 8 were in place. Different strategies, bluffing, and obscene amounts of banter created what is now the ADA East and ADA West and none of those teams perhaps realised quite what was to come.

Surprise Champions

2003 gave us our first big surprise with the KoPite MuGaz proving remarkably successful. The unheralded scallies upset the more heavily favoured teams to win their Conference and they continued that run to knock off a Mutineers side in the final that few believed could be halted. No team has dominated throughout and the league has seen a different winner in every season to date. Those five winners have come from four different Conferences. The level of competition has been so high that the defending champ has never reached the final in the subsequent season.

Superstars

The first five years have thrown up some players of exceptional quality. First amongst these non-equals is Speedy McSpeedy. The unstoppable scorer for the Wildmen racked up record after record for TDs and rushing yards with a team that just never quite picked up the big one. Other stars such as Svetlana Domina and Taliona Raven were both instrumental in leading their sides to the ultimate prize while securing their own places in history at the same time.

Size

From relatively humble beginnings with 8 teams, the league expanded in each of the first five years to become the largest ongoing face-to-face league in the world. The league mechanics have kept the ongoing nature viable and ensured that teams can be added without losing the community it serves.

Rivalries

Stealers vs Pain, Allstars vs Savages, Roadkill vs the ball - just some of the most bitter of the many great rivalries that have come to pass. The legend and history of teams across the league is filled with opponents to bear a grudge against and with opportunities taken and missed.