Alright, everybody. Here we go.
So, I decided to go ahead and do this chapter, since a lot of people have said they'd like to see it. It'll be a little shorter, but should still be good. So, let's get to it.
Dalej0523: Anakin will still be joining Palpatine. And I will say some Jedi may seek refuge on Terra.
Guest DCDGojira: The second story will only cover the three movies, not Star Wars Rebels.
CT7567Rules: I won't confirm that, but I won't deny it either. You'll just have to wait and see.
Chapter 44- GAR Football League
As the sun begins to set over Coruscant, thousands of people make their way to a newly converted arena. They are coming to the arena for an event that has been heavily advertised for the last few weeks.
In the immediate aftermath of the Terran campaign, the clones that had been stationed in America had seen some of the playoff games of the National Football League. The sport had fascinated a large number of clones, and many of them had started to learn how to play the game.
In the years since, a number of clones had continued to try and learn how to play American football. Later in 1992, the commanders, per clone request, had decided to organize a league of sorts. When clone units were on leave between battles, they would be able to play games against each other.
In preparation, an arena on Coruscant had been converted as a football field, and a number of NFL coaches and players had been invited to teach clones how to play.
Now, today is the first football game between two clone units. The game is going to be played between the 501st and the 212th. Following NFL tradition, they had selected mascot names for themselves to be known by during the game. The 501st were calling themselves the Bulldogs, and the 212th were calling themselves the Tigers. The coach for the 501st is Joe Gibbs, and the coach for the 212th is Marv Levy, both having volunteered for the duty. The 4 referees are all experienced American referees.
In the locker room, the clones of the 501st who had been chosen for the team are gathered for their pre-game pep talk. Coach Gibbs, as well as two of their NFL tutors, John Elway and Michael Irvin, are in the middle of the team. The clones are all dressed in white football uniforms with blue sleeves and blue helmets with an insignia of a bulldog on the sides of their helmets.
"Alright, men. This is it. You may not have had as much time as I'd want my players to usually have, but you've come a long way. You stick to the basics, and we're gonna win this!" Gibbs shouts.
All the clones cheer loudly. "Now, let's go out there and win this!" Gibbs shouts again. The clones shout their assent, and head for the tunnel leading out to the arena.
As they walk, Rex, who is playing as a linebacker, turns to Fives, who is going to be the starting quarterback. During training, they'd discovered Fives had a great throwing arm, and he'd been selected as quarterback. "You ready for this, Fives?" Rex asks with a grin.
"You bet, Rex!" Fives says with a great grin.
The team reaches the gate leading out onto the field. Waiting patiently, they hear some pre-game announcements. Then, they hear, "And now, let's welcome the teams. First, let's welcome the 501st Legion Bulldogs!"
There's a mass of cheering as the clones of the 501st run out onto the field. The clones wave to the crowd of over 100,000 as they make their way to their side of the field.
"And now, let's welcome the 212th Battalion Tigers!"
The clones of the 212th run out onto the field to more cheering.
As the clones assemble and prepare for the game to start, Palpatine walks out onto the field. "Welcome, citizens of the Republic. I welcome you all and our Terran guests to the very first game of the Grand Army of the Republic Football League!"
Everyone in the stadium cheers wildly. After waiting for the cheering to die down, Palpatine says, "I am honored to be present for this event, and look forward to an exciting game. And now, I would like to ask the team captains to come forward!"
Rex and Cody, the team captains, make their way to the center of the field.
Palpatine pulls out a single coin. "And now, I will conduct the official coin toss. Captain Rex, call it!"
"Heads!" Rex says.
Palpatine flips the coin. Then, seeing it, he smiles and says, "It's heads."
"We'll receive," Rex says.
Palpatine looks up and announces to the stadium, "The Bulldogs have won the coin toss, and elected to receive!"
Everyone cheers as Rex and Cody return to their teams.
Within a few minutes, the kicking lines have assembled on the field. On the side of the 212th, Waxer, who has recovered from his injuries on Umbara, and who is now the kicker, lines up with his teammates. Waxer checks to make sure they're all ready, then runs forward and kicks the ball.
The whole stadium cheers as the ball flies down the field. The kick returner for the Bulldogs, Fox, catches the ball at the 11 yardline, and takes off down the field.
The Tigers are soon on Fox, and he gets tackled at the 20 yardline. Everyone begins to cheer as the teams switch out their lines, the Bulldogs for their offensive line and the Tigers for their defensive line.
As they assemble, Fives gathers his line. "Alright, men. We're gonna go with maneuver 1. You ready?"
"Ready!" the men say, and they all clap to show they're ready.
The lines assemble. Fives looks back and forth along the line and shouts, "Hut one, two, three…HIKE!"
The center, Jesse, hikes the ball to Fives, and the Bulldog line surges forward, blocking the Tigers line. Fives shuffles back, looking for someone to throw the ball to. Seeing Echo open, he throws the ball to Echo. Echo catches the ball, but is tackled at the 26 yardline for a gain of six yards.
The Bulldogs continue their advance. They gain a first down on the next play, ending up at the 32 yardline. However, they then get three straight downs while only advancing 5 yards, leaving them on 4th and 5.
The Bulldogs choose to punt the ball. Appo, their kicker, comes out onto the field with his line. They punt the ball, and the Tigers return it to their own 37 yardline.
The Tigers advance all the way to the Bulldogs' 31 yard line. Then, on their third down, Cody, who is the Tigers' quarterback, is sacked by Hardcase, a defensive lineman. Now on 4th and 3 at the 31, the Tigers decide to try for a field goal.
Waxer comes back on the field. As the ball is snapped to the holder, Waxer kicks it for a field goal.
The stadium cheers as the first points of the game make the score Tigers 3, Bulldogs 0.
The Tigers then kick off back to the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs and Tigers go through several possessions before, with 6:43 left on the clock, one of the Tigers' wide receivers, Boil, makes a catch on the Bulldogs' 28 yard line and runs it into the end zone for touchdown. Waxer makes the extra point, leaving the score Tigers 10, Bulldogs 0.
The first quarter continues. After three more possessions, with 3:51 left on the clock, while at the Tiger's 42 yard line, Fives hands off the football to Rex, who charges down the sideline, getting past all the Tigers linemen and making it into the end zone, putting the Bulldogs on the board. Appo barely misses the extra point, leaving the score Tigers 10, Bulldogs 6.
The quarter ends without any more scoring, and with the Bulldogs in possession of the ball.
The second quarter starts off nicely. The Bulldogs continue their advance down the field, getting all the way to the Tigers' 19 yard line. Then, as Fives attempts to make a pass to Echo, Gregor intercepts the ball and takes it all the way to the 50 yard line before being tackled. With only three more plays, Longshot takes the ball into the end zone, and Waxer makes the extra point, leaving the score Tigers 17, Bulldogs 6.
The game continues. At 10:08 on the clock, the Bulldogs manage to get the ball to the Tigers' 31 yardline, but are left on fourth down. They decide to go for a field goal, and Appo makes the field goal, leaving the score Tigers 17, Bulldogs 9.
On their kickoff back to Tigers, the Tigers' kick returner, Grees, gets past all the guards, and manages to get all the way to the Bulldogs' 33 yardline before being tackled. The Tigers then manage to get the ball into end zone with only two more plays. Waxer makes the extra point, leaving the score Tigers 24, Bulldogs 9.
The game continues for a while longer, until at 4:23 on the clock, Echo catches a long pass from the 50 yard line and runs it into the end zone. Appo then makes the extra point, leaving the score Tigers 24, Bulldogs 16.
The second quarter continues. Then, with less than a minute on the clock, Cody, on the Bulldogs 21 yard line, barely avoids being sacked and decides to run the ball. He manages to make it to the end zone. Waxer makes the extra point, leaving the score Tigers 31, Bulldogs 16.
The second quarter soon ends, and the teams head for their locker rooms.
The halftime show begins. Several performers have brought from Terra, mainly from America. The United States Air Force band performs a song. Then, a contemporary dance team and a clogging dance team each do a performance. Finally, there are three musical artists making performances: the Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, and Billy Joel.
As the performances are going on in the stadium, in the locker room of the 501st, Coach Gibbs is saying, "Come on, boys! We're getting beaten badly out there! What are we doing wrong?"
The clones are quiet for a few tense moments before Rex says, "We're not gaining enough distance with each play, and they keep keeping us from catching passes."
"Exactly! This half, we need more distance on our passes! And I want you all to focus more on rushing! Their line isn't as strong as ours in that regard! We can do this!" Gibbs says motivatingly.
Half time lasts for half an hour. Then, the teams return to the field amidst heavy cheering.
As the second half starts, the 501st are on their own 47 yardline with the ball.
On their first possession of the second half, Fives, still trying to get used to their new strategy, turns over the ball with a sack and two missed passes. Taking the ball, the Tigers get the ball to the end zone and make the extra point, leaving the score Tigers 38, Bulldogs 16.
Receiving the ball on the kickoff, the Bulldogs are able to take the ball all the way to the Tigers' 28 yardline before reaching 4th down. Appo comes out and makes the field goal, leaving the score Tigers 38, Bulldogs 19.
There are several possessions and turnovers before the Bulldogs finally get lucky. Getting a first down on the Tiger's 39 yard line, Fives makes a pass to Echo, who catches it on the 6 yardline and running it the last 6 yards into the end zone. Appo makes the extra point, leaving the score Tigers 38, Bulldogs 26.
Much of the rest of the quarter passes without either side scoring. Then, with just 26 seconds left on the clock, the Tigers make a field goal, leaving the score Tigers 38, Bulldogs 26.
As the third quarter ends, Rex and the rest of the clones of the Bulldogs gather on the sidelines.
"Alright, men. We're down 12 points, and we have just one quarter left to win this. Come on, men. We can do this!" Rex says to motivate the clones, who cheer in response.
The 4th quarter starts a minute later, with the Bulldogs in possession on their own 23 yardline.
The Bulldogs are able to get a first down in two plays, putting them on the 35. Then, Fives throws a pass to Echo, who catches it on the 49 yard line, and then runs it all the way to the end zone for the touchdown. Appo makes the extra point, leaving the score Tigers 38, Bulldogs 33.
The Tigers get the ball and manage to make it to the Bulldogs 45 yardline. Then, as Cody throws a pass, Hardcase intercepts the ball and runs it all the way across the field to the end zone. Appo makes the point, leaving the score Bulldogs 40, Tigers 38.
The crowd is getting very excited. In just 4 minutes of playtime, the Bulldogs have scored twice.
There are two turnovers and possessions, then the Tigers make it to the 30 yardline. However, as they try to make a field goal, the ball is blocked, and ends up in the hands of one of the Bulldog's clones, who runs it all the way to the Tiger's 45 yardline. The Bulldogs then gets it into the end zone in just two plays and make the extra point, leaving the score Bulldogs 47, Tigers 38.
The Bulldogs kick the ball off to the Tigers again, but the Tigers only make it to their own 36 yardline before they are forced to punt the ball. The Bulldogs then make several rushing attempts, with Rex taking the ball every time, and getting them to the Tigers' 13 yardline. Fives then makes a pass to Echo, who catches it in the end zone for another touchdown, leaving the score Bulldogs 54, Tigers 38.
The Bulldogs kick it off again. The Tigers get the ball and manage to take it all the way to the Bulldogs' 31 yardline. Then, they make a field goal, leaving the score Bulldogs 54, Tigers 41.
The Tigers then kick it off to the Bulldogs. Fox catches it on the 17 yardline, and evades the Tigers' linemen and runs it all the way for a touchdown, leaving the score Bulldogs 61, Tigers 41.
The play clock winds down as the Tigers take the ball. The Tigers manage to take it all the way to the Bulldogs' 9 yard line. Then, right as he's about to throw a touchdown pass, Cody is sacked and fumbles the ball, which Hardcase recovers and runs to the 20 yardline.
The Bulldogs manage to get the ball to the 50 yardline, but are down to just 9 seconds left on the clock. Deciding to go for a field goal, Appo comes on the field. After Jesse hikes it, Appo kicks it, and just makes the 50 yard field goal.
The ball is then kicked off to the Tigers, who try to run it as far as they can, but only make it to the 40 yardline before the clock runs out.
The stadium erupts in cheers. After being down 38 to 26 at the start of the quarter, the 501st Bulldogs came back to win the game 64 to 41.
Rex and the rest of the clones of the 501st team make their way back to the locker room, celebrating wildly. It was the first GAR football game, and they had won!
And, I'll end there. Hope you liked this chapter.
So, I don't think I'll do another football chapter, but I may mention it once or twice. I hope I did the chapter well. I didn't want to go into a lot more detail or this chapter could've been two or three times as long as it is, so I hope I included enough details for you. I also hope you like my choice of mascot names for the two teams, and that I had the 501st win.
So, next chapter will be the Zygerrian chapter. I may feature parts of the first two episodes, but it will mostly be just the third chapter. My reasoning is mainly just that I think it would end too soon if the Terrans were involved much sooner. I still hope to do a good job with it.
I'll hopefully have the chapter up soon. Until then, leave a review and stay tuned!