Out With a Whimper... Rubbing Salt in the Very Fresh Wound of my Own Team

[RJMW 127]

As the curtains draw closed on another Istanbul Red Wolves season, many players and fans alike cannot help but to feel frustrated and discontent with the way it ended. This season was a historically great one for the Red Wolves, but it is historic for a multitude of negative reasons as well.

 

The curtains are not just drawing closed on the season for Istanbul but for the Red Wolves franchise as a whole. It came out just before the finals that both Istanbul and Geneva would be folding as teams. It was a shocking announcement for many players and you could feel the mood shift instantly in the Instanbul locker room. This finals matchup versus Cologne gained an even more significant meaning as it would be the last chance for this passionate franchise to take home a championship.

 

Words were shared around the locker room, the team seemed to be more pumped than ever for this series versus the Express.

 

“I will not allow the Red Wolves to go out with a whimper…”

 

“The last run of Istanbul. We will make it memorable…”

 

“Here we go⎯ a deeper meaning to this season…:

 

Were all things said in anticipation for the first game of the finals. This Istanbul team was hopeful and confident in themselves, and why not be? Lowest goals against in the regular season, best record, and of course they were hot off a 4-game sweep of Geneva, but perhaps it was the way Geneva ended their final season that would foreshadow the ending of the Red Wolves.

 

With all this anticipation entering the first game, so many emotions building in the hearts and heads of the Istanbul players, how could they ever lose? Well… they did, there can be so many different reasons why a team loses a game but at the end of it all the only thing that matters is the loss. Once you lose a game you can’t turn back the clock to try again, you have to keep pushing a fight for a win another day.

 

However, the game one loss didn’t seem to hinder the belief of the players in Istanbul, they were still confident in themselves to end the season with a bang, not a whimper.

 

“Oh man, it’s gonna be a tough one…”

 

And it would be.

 

Heading into game 2 expectations were still high, one game is one game they just needed to bounce back and close out game 2…

 

Pass to Montgomery Burns, pass to Keegan Gamble, shot by Keegan Gamble… Keegan Gamble scores

 

Cologne 3-1 Istanbul

 

And the Wolves were down 0-2 in the final series of the franchise.

“You better bet this will go all the way to 7…” (Masu must’ve angered Simon when he sent this)

 

Coming back from down 0-2 is not impossible, it’s been done many times before, just win game 3 and you’re back within 1.

 

Cameron Elsby scores 2 to bring the Cologne lead to 3 games to none.

 

But now it’s time for game 4… the start of the movie-esque comeback to reverse sweep and end the Red Wolves final series with an incredible display… We all know how this story ends, the movie-esque comeback is not how this story ends.

 

Although not many showed it, most confidence was gone after that 3rd loss, perhaps all that excitement and nervous energy got to them before the series began. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. The Re Wolves weren’t able to go out with the bang they expected, in fact, it was the complete opposite. An assuredly heartbreaking end to the season and the franchise.

 

There isn’t much else to be said here, thank yous, goodbye, and words of encouragement have been shared throughout the Istanbul locker room. You can hardly call it a bittersweet ending to the final season that Istanbul will play as almost all that sweetness was washed away by the bitter sweep of the Wolves in the final…

 

One last goodbye to everyone that was a part of this season with Istanbul, and thanks for everything.

[RJMW 127]

670 odd words... claiming for birthday triples week as well, thank you.