2054.4: Passing the Torch?

[Rubaboo]

"Do you think that bowing out to Rocky Mountain in the playoffs was a 'Passing of the Torch' kind of moment, similar to when your team finally got over the hump against Las Vegas in 2051?

It was a simple question, and probably a fair one, but I wasn't in the mood.

We had just wrapped the 2054 season. A grind of a season. Our division is rapidly becoming a blood bath. We battled with Rocky Mountain all year, finally sealing the division in the last week of the season. We earned the 1st round bye, knowing full well that, in all likelihood, we'd be seeing the Oysters again in the Double Day. That's exactly how it worked out. The Oysters disposed of the Jackrabbits and put us on a collision course. After 7 hard fought games, the last thing I wanted to think about was whether our time was up. Whether the Oyster would supplant the Aztec in the astrology of the BBA. Then, the question came. I knew it would probably come but that doesn't mean I was ready for it, that I wanted it.

Did the torch get passed somehow in this series? I know we're a team built around veterans these days, I know we've got cracks in our armor, especially defensively, and that we have some work to do to retool in the offseason, but so does everyone. That's the life of a BBA GM. There's no time to recuperate, no time to take a breath, you just keep jumping into the next task. Am I so blinded, though, that I won't be able to see when it is time?

I've always been able to have the vision. We've always been clearly competing or rebuilding, almost in exactly 5 year cycles since I joined the league in 2016. 2017-2021 we were one of the worst teams in the league, actively rebuilding. 2022-2027, 5 straight playoff appearances and a Championship appearance. 2028-2034 we were a sub-.500 team for the most part, way out of reach of the playoffs. 2035-2039, 5 straight in the playoffs again. 2040 was a weird blip as a 77 win team before back to back 88 win seasons in '41 and '42 which saw us get knocked off in game 163 in '41 and make the playoffs in '42. 2043-2048 was more mediocre baseball during an aggressive retool, 2049 to the current year, 2054, has seen the org reach unprecedented heights, including 3 100 win seasons and our first title. So, is the 5 year timer ringing? Could I hear it if it was? Or can I buck the trend I have set over nearly 40 years at the helm of this team?

I suddenly realize the assembled media is waiting on me. I take a brief moment to collect myself, mentally preparing a response.

"Well, the similarities are striking...."

My voice trails off. My non-committal, vanilla, company line response isn't gonna do it here.

"Honestly, we're not passing shit. If they want the Frontier torch, they can pry it from our cold, dead hands."

A short answer, and from the heart. That felt good. The assembled media team is frozen in a stunned silence for a brief moment. A moment so pure, so serene that I wish I could freeze it and make it last forever. If someone could take this moment, distill it down to its essence and sell it, they'd be the wealthiest person on the planet in weeks. Nothing is so perfect as this...

Then, it's over. The eruption of noise is stunning in the wake of the silence. I offer a quiet half smile before turning to my right and striding off stage. We're not going anywhere.

[GoldenOne]

The Oysters will have their day!

[usnspecialist]

The Oysters will have their day!

https://vlipsy.com/vlip/top-gun-maveric ... y-bDar6XC3

Gonna drop some Pete Mitchell on you.