Before I get started on the sport, the reason I am starting this blog is to continue my markball thread from the CCSLC boards, after the news of the Sports Fan Fiction forum being shut down. I would obviously love to continue this series, so here we are.
Note: This series will also be continued on the brand-new Alternate History Sports Forum! you can check it out at http://ahsports.boardhost.com/index.php.
Now, onto the sport of Markball!
Markball (a fictional sport inspired by Australian Rules Football) is a full contact sport played on a rectangular field with round ends by teams of 15 people. The goal like it is in most sports, to score more points than the other team. To score, a player must kick or hit an oval ball (which is around the size of a Size 1 soccer ball) into a closed net which is 9 meters tall by 5 meters wide. Goals are worth 4 points. There are two posts flanking the goal where if the ball goes between one of them and a goal post, the player has scored a point, which is worth one point.
The Field
The field is usually 153 m long and 100m wide (502 x 328 ft), so quite larger than a football field.
Here are the different markings on the field and what they mean.
Penalty Arc: An arc that stretches 30 meters away from the net. Any fouls committed by a defensive player in the arc will result in a penalty kick for the offense.
Goal Square: Where kickoffs after single points take place by the team that got scored on.
Outer Circle: Main area where jump-ball takes place, only the two players competing for the ball are allowed to be in the area at the time of the jump-ball.
The Ball
The ball is oval-shaped, and much smaller than a football or rugby ball, with a long diameter of 14.8 cm (5.8 inches) and a short diameter of 11.9 cm (4.7 inches)
The Net
The net consists of one main "net" and two outside posts. The main net has a width of 5 m (16 ft) and a height of 9 m (29.6 ft). This makes scoring fairly easy. the two outer posts are 3.2 m away from the main net (10.5 ft). Because of the huge net, it isn't uncommon for goalies to rush way out to attacking players to block their shots. In the net is a silhouette of a 6 ft player if he was standing directly on the goal line.
Gameplay
Play begins when one player from each team take part in a jump-ball. Players then can run up to 10 meters with the ball, then either pass the ball or bounce it every 3 steps. If the ball goes out of bounds on the sides, play resumes with a kick-in, if it goes out of bounds on the ends, then similar to soccer, either a goal or corner kick is taken. If a player is fouled outside the arc, then a free kick is awarded. A player cannot score from a free kick. If a player is fouled inside the arc, then a penalty kick is awarded and a player can try and score. Players can pass by either punting the ball to a teammate or by hitting it with an open hand. There are goalkeepers in Markball, as opposed to none in Aussie Rules.
Positions
There are 4 main positions in Markball, and 10 sub-positions:
Forwards (Red):
- Full Forward (FF): A team's main scorer. Usually very fast and have lethal shots.
- Wing Forwards (WF): Two players that attack from the two sides of the field. Usually have accurate kicks and crosses.
- Flanks (F): A team's "garbagemen" who usually kick long shots and clean up mistakes made by the other forwards.
Followers/Midfielders (Purple):
- Rover (R): The workhorse on the team, who patrols both ends of the field to contribute in any way. Almost always have insane stamina.
- Wings (W): Two players to play mainly along the edge of the field, helping to stop rushes and create chances.
- Center (C): The player that does the jump-ball. Besides that, they are mainly a central midfielder.
Defenders (Light Blue):
- Wingbacks (WB): A team's first line of defense, Usually are fast so they can quickly start counter-attacks.
- Centerback (CB): Usually a team's best defender and leader at the back, they are usually matched up against full-forwards.
- Fullbacks (FB): The last line of defense before the goalie, usually are big, strong players.
Goalkeeper (Yellow):
- Goalkeeper (GK): The player who attempts to save all the shots, always incredibly athletic, usually tall.
Other Rules
- Goalies are not allowed to catch a shot, the ball must have hit the goalie and the field before they can pick it up.
- Offside is called if an attacking player enters the arc before the ball when the attacking team has possession.
- If a member of the defending team kicks or hits the ball out of play in the arc, a corner kick is awarded.
- If the ball goes out of bounds, play commences with a player kicking the ball in.
- Players can only pass by punting the ball, or hitting the ball with their palm.
Now that we've got the basics of markball down, here's how the league, the NAML, was formed!
Graham Urquhart was a Scottish-born, Australian raised businessman who had a love for sport. He played newly-created Aussie Rules football, rugby, and cricket in his spare time.
Graham also loved creating ideas for new sports, but nobody seemed to be interested. But then, one day, he came up with an ambitious idea. His idea was that he could create a sport similar to Aussie rules, then go to North America and introduce the sport to them, and create a new pastime. Unfortunately for him, nobody took him seriously so he found himself all alone. He took a big gamble and continued anyway.
After a long, miserable boat ride to London, then another to New York City, he finally found himself where he planned. Wanting to show his new sport off in a smaller city, Graham traveled to Washington D.C, where he offered sessions for the men there to learn this sport. It turned out to be a great success, and in 1879, the world's first ever markball team was created. The game would spread throughout the years, and eventually, in the 1920's, there were regional leagues across both the USA and Canada. 1946, on the 20th anniversary of Graham's death, his son Patrick announced that the following year, the top 6 teams from the Central and East Coast Leagues would form the first major markball league, the North American Markball League, or NAML. The League's logo was unveiled the following month. The logo consists of the league's acronym inside a shield, with four lines at the top symbolising the four posts of the net.
There's all the basics of the sport and the league, now I'll ask y'all what you want me to do from here. Since I've simulated every season from 1947 to 1971, I can post each season/playoffs/offseason individually, or would you rather that I just give quick summaries of each season by decade? (Ex. A short paragraph of for each season, complied into a decade megapost)
Leave your thoughts on this in the comments below, and I'll start with whichever on you guys want tomorrow!
That's all for now, hope you enjoyed the post!
-Noah B
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