Super Bowl XVIII

#3 Athena Nike (7-6) def #2 Gang Green (7-6), 141.6 - 126.5
As one prognosticator predicted, Athena Nike was the most dangerous team headed into the playoffs and then they went out and proved it, by taking down another higher seed as they romped their way to a title after putting up 135.6, 104.5, and a 141.6 points during the playoffs. (Note: The Super Bowl record for PF was 155.0 in 2001 by Buffy, which is wild since that was before we expanded starting lineups by two slots.) At the end of the day, Nike won eight straight from WK10 on, and that was after a 1-5 stretch from WK4-9, proving that perseverance is a key trait for every champion.

Their games got increasingly, slightly, tougher as they started off with a RD1 fifty-point blowout of Jammers, then a twenty-five point win versus top seeded Chunky in the Marvel finals, and finally a Super Bowl victory by “only” fifteen points. Of course, the title game was essentially sealed with a touchdown pass to Michael Thomas halfway through Sunday, and despite Ben Roethlisberger’s heroics and a comeback attempt by Christian McCaffrey, Gang Green fell short. Technically there were a lot of points left on Greg’s bench but none that would have been inserted normally, and to put an exclamation point for our year-long issues with defensive scoring, Texans defense threw up negative seven for the final matchup.

On the winning side, the heroes were many, as Baker Mayfield stepped in for an injured Cam Newton — his second start for Athena — and won a ring in his rookie NFL season. Ezekiel Elliot slowed a bit as the postseason wore on but still averaged 18+ points. The steadiest hand for Nike during the post-season was DeAndre Hopkins, who was an explosive stick of dynamite. Throw in Leonard Fournette and Adrian Peterson doing just enough, and it was a team-wide effort for this title. Heck, tight end Evan Engram was a free agent last week and then put up 14.3 points in the Super Bowl, while coach Frank also subbed out Vikings defense for Rams, resulting in a one-point increase.

In short, owner Frank’s plan worked out to perfection as he took a team that finished with only five wins in 2014 — the year Frank rejoined CTDB — and launched a rebuild that re-energized trade markets around the league and also resulted in Nike getting two #1 overall draftees despite never actually winning the Toilet Bowl.

Since inheriting a keeper core of Aaron Rodgers, Ray Rice, CJ Spiller, Alfred Morris, and Roddy White, Frank has turned over everyone to not only get younger, but also more talented. 2015 brought in DeAndre Hopkins and a RD3 for Nike's RD2 pick. That spare RD3 was then turned into Rob Gronkowski a day later. So yes, one RD2 pick brought in Hopkins and Gronk!

2016 was a mega-deal that resulted in draft picks used to grab Ezekiel Elliot and Michael Thomas. 2017 was another three-team mega-trade that involved Frank shipping off assets for Leonard Fournette and a bunch of future picks, knowing that 2018 was the year Athena Nike would mature into a contender. Three consecutive Augusts, four huge deals that laid the groundwork for this title run. There were other success stories too, like the long gestating belief in Amari Cooper’s talent if not actual production, etc. Even when stabbed in the back by GM Jon — who grabbed Calvin Ridley in 2018’s draft and gave Frank Cam Newton — things turned up roses for Frank as Newton outperformed Rodgers for most of the year.

All in all, it’s been a roller coaster ride for Frank in CTDB, split over two stints, but a short and well calculated flight to the top resulted in his first ring. Athena Nike looks stacked with talent galore and given the chance, Frank has a great shot at going back-to-back. Given the chance…

As for Gang Green, it was their fourth Super Bowl appearance but their first since their 2009 title. A third ring would’ve been nice but Greg was mostly just happy to be in the championship game after two previous seasons of getting bounced in RD1 of the Toilet Bowl. Gang Green finished the year out with the second best running back, Christian McCaffrey, and the best receiver, Davante Adams, meaning their traditionally star-less state is over. A 0-4 start to the season ended with 9-2 record until the title game loss. Being on the losing end of the highest scoring Super Bowl in CTDB history — and putting up the highest losing score ever -- is not bad at all for a runner-up season!