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PostPosted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 11:36 pm 
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Shreveport Pride
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Posts: 2423
Location: Shreveport Pride
The Shreveport Pride's 2042 season was a story for the ages, worthy of Christopher Marlowe's pen. The drama began at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where Shreveport pass rusher Leland Wellins was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Tennessee running back Bart Godfrey. Wellins spent his career chasing Godfrey around the field, exchanging lippy banter with each other whether Godfrey hit the ground behind the line of scrimmage or 15 yards down the field. The two set aside the rivalry for a day, shaking hands and exchanging smiles on the podium.

Wally "Deep" Wooden, speaking at Wellins' induction, however, tried to steal the limelight - typical of his style. Wooden announced that this would be the last season, that he'd be retiring at the end of the season, and that the Hall of Fame should "start working on his bust now" because he wanted nothing short of perfection when he came back in 5 years to be inducted. Wellins quipped that it would take that long to make Wooden's mug look pretty enough to set beside his own bust.

A few weeks later, the Pride made a blockbuster trade with the Las Vegas, sending All-Pro DT Will Nickle and 2nd year DE Jon Meadows to the Rounders in exchange for a 1st, a 2nd, and a 3rd round draft pick in 2042. The death knell sounded on local sports radio shows for the Pride, who appeared to be abandoning hope in the season in an attempt to rebuild the team. The Pride had just signed Nickle to a long term deal and would have to eat the cap over the next two years.

Early, those radio shows were proven right as the Pride started the season 1-3 and analysis had already started around which QB the Pride should take with their number 1 pick on 2042 - West Georgia's Quinn Shore or Miami's Archie Blanchard. But they had a surprise in store for their fans; they did not lay down to be the Deep South's doormat.

Starting with a 3-point win over rival Tennessee, the Pride started stacking win upon win. They beat Hartford, they beat Seattle, they beat Boise. The resurgence was amazing, yet the river cats were having a hard time winning in their own division. They lost to New Orleans twice and a late loss to the Militia almost killed playoff dreams in Shreveport. Finishing the season with wins against Anchorage and San Antonio (with Wooden eclipsing the 1000-yard mark for the 15th time in his career on a 47-yard bomb with 3:30 left in the 4th quarter of the last game of the season), the Pride were able to slip into the 6-seed Wild Card slot in the Atlantic Conference with a road game against their season nemesis, New Orleans.

Shreveport was up for the test, extracting revenge upon the Raging Hoard to the tune of a 24-10 victory. The following week they dispatched Hartford for the second time of the season after falling behind 31-14 at the half. The Pride's defense congealed, holding Hartford scoreless in the second half and scored a touchdown off of fumble caused by Duane "Sour" Kraut's sack of Stephen Gietka. The offense did it's part as well and the comeback was completed as RB Phillip Freedman dove across the goal line with 1:39 left on the clock.

Spirits were high in Shreveport and the local press was already speculating about a CFL Bowl showdown against Las Vegas, who'd received two of the Pride's defensive linemen in a trade at the beginning of the year. What they didn't realize, however, was that there was a fantastic team waiting to dash their hopes waiting in North Carolina.

The Durham Bulldogs barely broke a sweat when they systematically dismantled the Pride's defense and stymieing their offense. The Bulldogs set a new CFL playoff record, allowing the Pride to gain only 73 yards in the game. Wooden's frustration with Burt McGinnis showed all game as the two regularly jawed at each other on the sidelines. In what was supposed to be a prelude to Wooden's career capstone, he caught only 1 pass for 9 yards as the Pride lost 34-0 to the eventual CFL Bowl Champions.

The offseason was bumpy for the Pride, seeing the departure of Wooden and long time anchor of the defense, OLB Cornelius Lynch. Additionally, head coach Jake Meier departed for Detroit, leaving the Pride with a lot of open questions. Burt McGinnis' performance in the Atlantic Conference championship - where he threw 3 interceptions - was the cause for much scrutiny in the press and apparently in the Pride's Front Office as well. Shortly after the season ended, the Pride announced that they had agreed to a trade with the Los Angeles. This blockbuster deal sent 3 first round picks to the Outlaws in exchange the young franchise quarterback, Brantley Gilmore. The writing is on the wall for Burt McGinnis, but as the Pride's top brass has stated: "You can't have too many good QB's. There was an opportunity and we seized it."

The book is still open for Shreveport's 2043 season, however they have a lot of questions that they need to answer.

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Deep South Division Champions
2006, 2009-10, 2019, 2023-24, 2027, 2031-32, 2034-35, 2040, 2044, 2046-47, 2051-53, 2055-56, 2058-62
Eastern Conference Champions
2009, 2031, 2055
CFL Champions
2031, 2055
Hall of Fame
Joshua Mask, Douglas Hartman, Carl Bradford, Leland Wellins, Wally Wooden (#80), Brantley Gilmore (#9)


Last edited by Raven Hawk on Wed Aug 19, 2015 11:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 11:36 pm 
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Shreveport Pride
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Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 12:19 pm
Posts: 2423
Location: Shreveport Pride
Sorry for the novel, got a bug in me to write a little and had some fun with it. I hope you enjoy.

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Deep South Division Champions
2006, 2009-10, 2019, 2023-24, 2027, 2031-32, 2034-35, 2040, 2044, 2046-47, 2051-53, 2055-56, 2058-62
Eastern Conference Champions
2009, 2031, 2055
CFL Champions
2031, 2055
Hall of Fame
Joshua Mask, Douglas Hartman, Carl Bradford, Leland Wellins, Wally Wooden (#80), Brantley Gilmore (#9)


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 5:36 am 
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Omaha Arrowheads
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Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:29 pm
Posts: 5518
Location: Omaha Arrowheads
This was an amazing read, great job..

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JJ Smitty's Record
Atlantic Division Champions - 2007, 2008, 2010, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2028, 2035, 2037, 2039, 2044, 2046, 2047
Eastern Conference Champions - 2008, 2039, 2047
CFL Champions - 2008, 2039, 2047


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 4:06 pm 
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Legend Of The Game
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Posts: 3764
Location: New Zealand
How did Wooden not win the Legend of the Game award?

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 4:38 pm 
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Shreveport Pride
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Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 12:19 pm
Posts: 2423
Location: Shreveport Pride
Quote:
How did Wooden not win the Legend of the Game award?
I'm thinking it has to do with the game playing favorites with QB's.

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Deep South Division Champions
2006, 2009-10, 2019, 2023-24, 2027, 2031-32, 2034-35, 2040, 2044, 2046-47, 2051-53, 2055-56, 2058-62
Eastern Conference Champions
2009, 2031, 2055
CFL Champions
2031, 2055
Hall of Fame
Joshua Mask, Douglas Hartman, Carl Bradford, Leland Wellins, Wally Wooden (#80), Brantley Gilmore (#9)


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