Author's note: this one is a really short piece, and as much as I'd like to say it was written to fit around the time of the Superbowl it really wasn't :o) It's set when Hogan was quite new to Stalag XIII and just setting up operations. It's just a harmless little bit of fun, really.
Disclaimer: I don't own the name of Harper (who was mentioned once or twice as one of the Barracks 2 background characters), but I own the fact that he's English. Any other character and place belongs to CBS.
Stalag by Starlight
2. Kicking off the Game
"Colonel?"
"Yes, Harper, what is it?"
"I … don't think an American football match is going to work as a diversion, sir, if I may. Or it might work a little too well."
"Care to elaborate on that?"
"You weren't there two months ago, sir. It was a mess. Davies and Saunders refused to throw the ball to each other because of some fight they'd had earlier, and Floyd caught it and ran all the way to Barracks 8 where Collins tackled him and started a fight. And I think it was about then that Newkirk and LeBeau noticed they weren't playing rugby and that they actually were on the same team."
"I see. Well, Harper, I think it's time to give the Stalag XIII Football Championship another try. After all, we got something now that you didn't have last time."
"What's that, sir?"
"A downed flyer to pick up."
Maybe it's because I grew up with Astérix comics, but there's something I've always found hilarious in the image of a great big cloud of shouts, fists, feet and the occasional strange implement (like a hammer, or fishes). Think the big fight at about the last third of Chicken Run. Well, that's how I picture the fight that followed the first attempt at (American) football in Stalag XIII :D
Of course, now that they have proper motivation, it's going to be another story entirely …
Hope you liked :o]