Post by MasterSandman II on Aug 12, 2010 13:24:31 GMT -5
Just win, baby
Raiders win Super Bowl VIII
John Madden & Al Davis celebrating the victory.
It was a concept new to the WiiMFL...new to football. Why should every team make the playoffs? They didn't play well enough during the regular season to earn a playoff spot so they shouldn't be able to play in the "Big Dance". The WiiMFL tried it this season much to the dismay of a few owners. A few went on strike but a few grabbed the opportunity by the horns and seized the moment.
The low Minnesota Vikings ended up making it to the NFC Championship after squeaking by Dallas and Green Bay. The Cleveland Browns made it into the AFC Divisional Playoffs after ousting Houston and San Diego. There would be one better story though.
The Oakland Raiders. This group of rebels didn't fair all that well during the regular season falling well short of expectations. Al Davis even fired head coach Tom Cable and brought in one of the all time greats in John Madden. Davis expected Oakland to return to glory and win the AFC West. They fell well short and had a long road to glory heading into the playoffs.
It's always been the motto of Al Davis to "Just win, baby". It didn't matter how, it was just the fact that you won. The Raiders made it out of the Last Chance Gulch quite easily after downing the fatigued New England Patriots 30-0. It was a complete beat down and this where all beat downs ended. Oakland would have to keep playing at a high level if they were to go any further.
Up next was division rival Kansas City. It was a tough match-up to judge since they split the two meetings during the season with Kansas City winning 56-17 and Oakland winning 35-7. This game would lack offense. Oakland squeaked by 10-7 moving on to Cleveland. The Raiders made it past Cleveland 28-25 and then headed to Heinz Field to go to war with the dreaded Steelers.
Oakland has had quite the rivalry with Pittsburgh over the past couple seasons while maintaining a 2-1 record. The blemish on the record came when the Steelers sent Oakland packing from the playoffs last season. Would the Steelers prove to be the clutch team yet again? Nope. Raiders win. 28-21.
Suddenly, they're in the big dance.
"I don't think I've ever been in a tournament that has went by so BOOM!!!...err...fast," John Madden explained. It seemed as though they blew by Kansas City, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh in a mere 2 and a half hours. An odd phenomenon, indeed.
Indianapolis didn't have a very easy road either after getting by New Orleans, Arizona, and the Cinderella story Vikings so it would be a game to remember. Boy, would that cliche ever ring true tonight.
It's been said before and people will probably argue over it again but this could very well be the best game in WiiMFL history. It's good for the league, fans, and players to have this great game happen on the grandest stage of all, the Super Bowl.
Indianapolis won the pivotal opening toss and elected to kick. Oakland showed some jitters and couldn't get anything going. They were forced to punt after a 3 and out but that didn't necessarily become a bad thing. Peyton Manning didn't exactly start off the game well as the Raiders were clearly getting in his head. Tyvon Branch was sent on a blitz, he hit the quarterback, forced the fumble, and Richard Seymour scooped it up heading to the endzone to open the scoring. 7-0 Raiders. The first half would be rather uneventful and tight closing in a dead knot at 10 points a piece.
Although there was no scoring in the 3rd Quarter, we all know the 4th Quarter is where legends are made. Oakland had Indianapolis right where they wanted them. 1st & Goal on the 1. The beginning of the 4th Quarter. Oakland decided to hand the ball off to Michael Bush who fumbled! Indy recovered it at the one and at this point, it looked like the next team to score would be the champs.
The Colts, under the guidance of Manning, took a slow and methodical drive down the field making the Raiders look bad. These Raiders are playmakers though. After a nice gain from Dallas Clark, Hiram Eugene laid into him, forcing the fumble, and Nnamdi Asomugha scooped it up. Oakland ended up scoring on a 61 yard TD pass to Darren McFadden and took a 17-10 lead with 2 minutes remaining.
Being the field general he is though, Peyton Manning was not nervous. Indianapolis answered back with another Dallas Clark touchdown to tie the game with 1:35 to go.
Things weren't over there.
The Raiders figured they would go with what brought them to the dance. The masters of ball control. Short passes, medium runs, and deflating third down conversions was the name of the game. That wouldn't exactly be the case here but they weren't complaining. With :59 to go, Darren McFadden broke the plain yet again after a 47 yard romp. The Raiders had the Super Bowl in sight with less than a minute to go.
Not so fast, Raider Nation. There was a man named Peyton Manning at the helm of the Indianapolis offense and he wasn't ready to lay down just yet. With :08 to go, Manning hit Pierre Garcon on a 48-yard rope to send this baby to overtime.
Many people think if you win the coin toss in this league, you might as well chalk up a victory in the win column. Indy won the toss. Raider Nation fell silent and felt the joy of victory fading away. Indianapolis marched right down the field into field goal range.
Adam Vinatieri was in a familiar situation here. He's done this before with New England and it was time to do it again. Was it Raider Nation? Was it the pressure of the Super Bowl? Was it the legend of John Madden? Was it fixed? Whatever it was, Vinatieri missed the field goal. HE MISSED.
Bruce Gradkowski, the third stringer of two seasons ago and second stringer at the beginning of this season, took the reigns one more time. A Darren McFadden run, a Gradkowski to Bush strike, and another run would put the Raiders into range. Sebastian Janikowski, who hasn't missed a field goal in the past two seasons had his chance at glory. He made no mistake about it and pounded that ball through the uprights for a 53-yard game winner. Raiders are champs. 27-24 final.
What an amazing way to finish off the season. It looks like John Madden finally got this rogue group to work as a team and beat anyone in their path. Davis and Madden look to work together for many seasons to come and defend their championship next season.
Commitment to Excellence.
travisleecurrah
Raiders win Super Bowl VIII
John Madden & Al Davis celebrating the victory.
It was a concept new to the WiiMFL...new to football. Why should every team make the playoffs? They didn't play well enough during the regular season to earn a playoff spot so they shouldn't be able to play in the "Big Dance". The WiiMFL tried it this season much to the dismay of a few owners. A few went on strike but a few grabbed the opportunity by the horns and seized the moment.
The low Minnesota Vikings ended up making it to the NFC Championship after squeaking by Dallas and Green Bay. The Cleveland Browns made it into the AFC Divisional Playoffs after ousting Houston and San Diego. There would be one better story though.
The Oakland Raiders. This group of rebels didn't fair all that well during the regular season falling well short of expectations. Al Davis even fired head coach Tom Cable and brought in one of the all time greats in John Madden. Davis expected Oakland to return to glory and win the AFC West. They fell well short and had a long road to glory heading into the playoffs.
It's always been the motto of Al Davis to "Just win, baby". It didn't matter how, it was just the fact that you won. The Raiders made it out of the Last Chance Gulch quite easily after downing the fatigued New England Patriots 30-0. It was a complete beat down and this where all beat downs ended. Oakland would have to keep playing at a high level if they were to go any further.
Up next was division rival Kansas City. It was a tough match-up to judge since they split the two meetings during the season with Kansas City winning 56-17 and Oakland winning 35-7. This game would lack offense. Oakland squeaked by 10-7 moving on to Cleveland. The Raiders made it past Cleveland 28-25 and then headed to Heinz Field to go to war with the dreaded Steelers.
Oakland has had quite the rivalry with Pittsburgh over the past couple seasons while maintaining a 2-1 record. The blemish on the record came when the Steelers sent Oakland packing from the playoffs last season. Would the Steelers prove to be the clutch team yet again? Nope. Raiders win. 28-21.
Suddenly, they're in the big dance.
"I don't think I've ever been in a tournament that has went by so BOOM!!!...err...fast," John Madden explained. It seemed as though they blew by Kansas City, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh in a mere 2 and a half hours. An odd phenomenon, indeed.
Indianapolis didn't have a very easy road either after getting by New Orleans, Arizona, and the Cinderella story Vikings so it would be a game to remember. Boy, would that cliche ever ring true tonight.
It's been said before and people will probably argue over it again but this could very well be the best game in WiiMFL history. It's good for the league, fans, and players to have this great game happen on the grandest stage of all, the Super Bowl.
Indianapolis won the pivotal opening toss and elected to kick. Oakland showed some jitters and couldn't get anything going. They were forced to punt after a 3 and out but that didn't necessarily become a bad thing. Peyton Manning didn't exactly start off the game well as the Raiders were clearly getting in his head. Tyvon Branch was sent on a blitz, he hit the quarterback, forced the fumble, and Richard Seymour scooped it up heading to the endzone to open the scoring. 7-0 Raiders. The first half would be rather uneventful and tight closing in a dead knot at 10 points a piece.
Although there was no scoring in the 3rd Quarter, we all know the 4th Quarter is where legends are made. Oakland had Indianapolis right where they wanted them. 1st & Goal on the 1. The beginning of the 4th Quarter. Oakland decided to hand the ball off to Michael Bush who fumbled! Indy recovered it at the one and at this point, it looked like the next team to score would be the champs.
The Colts, under the guidance of Manning, took a slow and methodical drive down the field making the Raiders look bad. These Raiders are playmakers though. After a nice gain from Dallas Clark, Hiram Eugene laid into him, forcing the fumble, and Nnamdi Asomugha scooped it up. Oakland ended up scoring on a 61 yard TD pass to Darren McFadden and took a 17-10 lead with 2 minutes remaining.
Being the field general he is though, Peyton Manning was not nervous. Indianapolis answered back with another Dallas Clark touchdown to tie the game with 1:35 to go.
Things weren't over there.
The Raiders figured they would go with what brought them to the dance. The masters of ball control. Short passes, medium runs, and deflating third down conversions was the name of the game. That wouldn't exactly be the case here but they weren't complaining. With :59 to go, Darren McFadden broke the plain yet again after a 47 yard romp. The Raiders had the Super Bowl in sight with less than a minute to go.
Not so fast, Raider Nation. There was a man named Peyton Manning at the helm of the Indianapolis offense and he wasn't ready to lay down just yet. With :08 to go, Manning hit Pierre Garcon on a 48-yard rope to send this baby to overtime.
Many people think if you win the coin toss in this league, you might as well chalk up a victory in the win column. Indy won the toss. Raider Nation fell silent and felt the joy of victory fading away. Indianapolis marched right down the field into field goal range.
Adam Vinatieri was in a familiar situation here. He's done this before with New England and it was time to do it again. Was it Raider Nation? Was it the pressure of the Super Bowl? Was it the legend of John Madden? Was it fixed? Whatever it was, Vinatieri missed the field goal. HE MISSED.
Bruce Gradkowski, the third stringer of two seasons ago and second stringer at the beginning of this season, took the reigns one more time. A Darren McFadden run, a Gradkowski to Bush strike, and another run would put the Raiders into range. Sebastian Janikowski, who hasn't missed a field goal in the past two seasons had his chance at glory. He made no mistake about it and pounded that ball through the uprights for a 53-yard game winner. Raiders are champs. 27-24 final.
What an amazing way to finish off the season. It looks like John Madden finally got this rogue group to work as a team and beat anyone in their path. Davis and Madden look to work together for many seasons to come and defend their championship next season.
Commitment to Excellence.
travisleecurrah