Week 4 has dawned on us finally. We are now halfway through the season, but how did we get here? Three weeks have passed, and while some trends are forming, the four leagues still seem a tad… chaotic. Let me explain.
In our most prestigious league, it is no surprise that the strongest teams are both on top in Power Rankings, as well as win/loss record. The Foxes for their 2nd week in a row are the best of the best. From your average humble beginnings with a 3-2 in Week 1, their most recent 4-1 win against the Jets was nothing short of destruction, firmly planting them at the top for weeks to come. However, while they bask in their glory, a few groups appear to be poised to take the #1 league spot. The two that are the most capable at the moment, are the Bulls and the Hive, both tied with the Foxes at 12-3, achieving a 5-0 and a 4-1 this week respectively. All three teams have absolute monsters of a star player, the Bulls with Floms, Hive with oogga, and Foxes with henrY. But hey now, the Spectre and the Canes while not having top players as good as the 12-3 crew do on paper, their recent achievements have been impressive. Having played difficult teams in the past, and losing quite hard as a result, being at a 10-5 record is a feat on its own. The Canes even faced the Bulls in Week 1, one of their biggest rivals now out of their way. With the Spectre set to play the Bulls, they are in prime position to either comfortably sit in the top 3, or let the Bulls fleet off and grab the #1 position they have yearned for, for three straight weeks.
They did it. The Bears curse is finally over. From jumping between dead last, and top tier team ever since the creation of the franchise in Season 1, they have finally been able to break through the last barrier that has taunted them for years. Are they safe though? Probably not. While they have an untied 13-2 record, many teams almost seem eager to pounce on this weekend and make a firm statement that they are the real title holders. Take the Tyrants and Dodgers for example. While they are set to play each other, any result will be a good thing for both of them. Longstanding Dodgers fans will probably agree in saying this is the strongest roster we have seen from them, period. While ranked 10 in Power Rankings, mainly due to a shaky start, they have brought out the big guns. The Tyrants, static in the top 3 for the entire season, are where they are because of a level of offensive trouncing never before seen. Either team can walk away with a win or even a loss, and feel content. For most other matches though, it seems quite one-sided. Having the Lightning play a team like the Shadow when they are at an 0-15 start seems cruel. Same goes for the Blizzard playing the Hawks. All other teams in the top 10, like the Jets, Foxes, Puffins, Elite, and Express are playing modest, decent squads. While a few matches are going to be absolute nail-biters, much like the Tyrants vs Dodgers, most others are almost NSFMLE. But who knows? It is impossible to know the outcomes until they have happened. The Puffins proved the Shadow to be fallible. The Shadow said the same to the Blizzard.
Sigh. Foxes. Foxes? Foxes, Foxes, Foxes. Seems like the Foxes just really like those top spots. Is it, I don’t know, a little possible for them to give them up? Well at this rate, probably not. Our first case of the #1 Power Ranked team not being the #1 in the league, the Foxes now with a cycle of 5-0, 4-1, and 3-2 sit 3rd in Academy standings, and 1st in their division. Having played in quite the variety of series, this will probably be their greatest test, as they will be coming across #3, the Spartans. These warriors have been hard at work proving their mirth, sitting 4th overall, as well as 2 games behind their canine counterparts. It will be a brawl of brains and brawn, as the Foxes have undoubtedly one of the strongest, if not the strongest offense in the entire league, and the Spartans have the man, the myth, the legend himself in the Power Rankings Committee, ZeeBee.
“So, while those two are off fighting, we can just take #1 right?” Wha- oh. The Demo and the Express. Right. Well, I suppose they very well could, seeing as they are quite well equipped to deal with the 7-8 Rhinos and the 9-6 Eclipse. The two are currently tied for 1st overall at 13-2, but while they might have “easier” opponents, the Foxes and Spartans can walk away with a heavy loss easily, and just have an easier end of the season. The Shadow, Elite, Wolves, Dodgers, and Flames can all walk away with good, if not fantastic weeks. But they did not play one of the best. That titan of a match can go just about any way imaginable before it gets worse for one team or the other. While things cannot be well predicted quite yet, these top 4 teams have placed themselves almost completely out of reach of the other 28 teams. It will take some very specific circumstances to see drastic shifts, but we are all fans of those kinds of stories, and we will be more than excited to see what these teams bring to the table.
Foundation League. The final frontier. 11-4 records ravage the league, two of the holders meet for a battle to conquer the Orange Conference. This is the Wizards and Bears: Civil Wa-
“Hey Zyta? Let us not get copyrighted by Marvel… Or Star Trek, okay?”
…Fine. You get the point anyway, the Bears and the Wizards have been on fire lately. The Bears had even bested the #4 ranked Sabres. Like we have seen from the Academy League, any result out of this will be perfectly fine, not even close to putting either one out of contention. However, both of them need to be aware of the lurkers that wait just below their feet. As mentioned before, the Bears handed the Sabres a 2-3 loss, but despite that blow, they sit at a very comfortable 10-5. Halfway through the season, they will be facing the 6-9 Knights, currently 14th overall, and 7th in the division. Quite the opportunity to shoot up that last little bit, right? Same goes for the Lightning, the only Blue Conference team to tie the Bears and Wizards at 11-4. They will be playing the last place Shadow, at 1-14. While they might have managed to fix the issues they have faced the past month, unless the Lightning take drastic measures, we will likely see an uncontested 1st place holder. And then, and yes I saved them for last for a reason, the Blizzard. Currently 8-7, they are in the middle of the fray for the Blue Conference. What could possibly make them special here? Well, you know how the Lightning are 11-4? You can probably tell where those 4 losses came from now. Weeks 1 and 3, the Lightning did some smacking and returned to the clouds with 5-0s. Not Week 2 though. Not Week 2. If there is one team that can hang back, play the long game, and use all of their energy in one burst for the Championship, the Blizzard proved quite easily, that they are the ones for the job.