Super Bowl VIII

Last year's championship game came down to a Monday Night matchup and left the combatants in a tie. This year, the final game of the season went down to the Monday night wire too but a clear victor emerged. We probably could have seen this coming. Despite starting the season in a 0-3 hole with two very close losses, Vu's Battle Angels (briefly the Battle Nuggets) were the hottest team in the league by mid-season. After that rough start the Angels went 9-1 the rest of the way. The only loss during that time? A WK9 106-121 matchup with their Super Bowl opponent, the Chunky Monkeys.

So the stage was set for an epic battle between the always dangerous Monkeys and the upstart Angels. Evan and Vu are old high friends and were part of the original fantasy football wars that had drafts conducted on the baseball fields of Mt. Carmel. How far they've come. Since their early success our inaugural season, the Angels have suffered mostly down seasons so it was a bit of surprise this year when the Angels dominated. In fact, it could be argued that Vu's team had one of the most dominant CTDB seasons in history. While they weren't the highest scoring team (ten points behind the Monkeys) and faced a cakewalk schedule, the Angels had some of the best players of the year.

QB Drew Brees, our clear cut regular season MVP finished the year (including post-season) as the top rated quarterback. With a fierce passing attack that really started clicking after franchise stalwart Steve Smith came back in Week 3, the Angels mostly threw a run-and-shoot look at opponents. WRs Andre Johnson, Greg Jennings, and Smith all averaged 14+ points a game and were in the top ten of their position. The fourth receiver slot alternated between steady Derrick Mason (20th ranked receiver) and hot-and-cold veteran Isaac Bruce. The Ravens defense played tough all year and emerged as the top ranked squad. Even replacement Giants kicker John Carney was the third best at his position.

But what really made the Angels a formidable unit was when DeAngelo Williams replaced fading veterans Willis McGahee, Edgerrin James, and Rudi Johnson in the backfield. Williams scored 21, 25, 20, 33, 30, and 34 points in the last weeks of the season and completely dominated the competition. He even vaulted up to the absolute top of the RB rankings for the year in the final week, passing Matt Forte, Michael Turner, and Thomas Jones. If you're counting, that's the top ranked QB, RB, and defense, along with three premier WRs and a fantastic kicking game. No wonder the Angels dominated.

Their 113-104 Super Bowl victory wasn't a walk in the park however. Evan's Chunky Monkeys had a stellar lineup of his own and despite a semi-rough season, were more than capable of an upset. Despite not used to being the underdog, the Monkeys blasted out of the gates Thursday night with QB Peyton Manning's 36 points and three touchdowns. With a stable of running backs (LaDainian Tomlinson, Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, Pierre Thomas, Deshaun Foster) and big name receivers (Terrell Owens, Anquan Boldin, Vincent Jackson, and Chad Ocho Cinco), Evan's roster was no slouch.

By boldy sitting down Boldin and Forte, Evan showed his coaching savvy by going with red hot Pierre Thomas (four 20+ games in five weeks) and LDT in the backfield, while cutting Chad Ocho Cinco for WR Devin Hester, who had been sneaky consistent. By mid-Sunday, it looked like Evan's moves might pay off as all of his players scored in the low teens and gave him a nice lead on the Angels. But then it was Vu's turn to counter-punch. QB Drew Brees threw for 351 yards and 2 TDs in pursuit of Dan Marino's passing record. Isaac Bruce came through big time with 15 points. Andre Johnson and Steve Smith combined for only nine points but that didn't matter as DeAngelo Williams had a ridiculous four touchdowns and put up a monster 34 points.

Heading into Monday night, the Monkeys were up one (102-101) with Devin Hester to play versus Vu's Greg Jennings. Needless to say, Jennings came through big time, catching six balls for 38 yards and most importantly, a touchdown to put the Angels ahead for good. In a huge comeback, the Angels had vanquished the Monkeys, avenged their earlier loss, and became the eighth champions of the Catch the Damn Ball League (while finally giving the Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses division another championship representative).

To Vu, a deserved and long awaited championship! No diggity, no doubt.