Cassadaigua v. Banija- Rating Banija's chase for the Dagan Grand SlamA promotional bowtie being sold by a street vendor in Baker Park, with both Cassadaigua's and Banija's national colors on it, ahead of their match in Baker Park ALTONA, LYNCHANA, BAKER PARK- Banija's match against Cassadaigua is a hugely symbolic moment. For those looking for background. For the many nations of the multiverse who are seeking excellence in multiple sporting avenues, Cassadaigua set themselves as the bar for success a long freaking time ago. They are the only nation in sporting history with what we now call a Dagan Grand Slam- winning a world title at least once in one of the five major sports of soccer, basketball, hockey, gridiron, and baseball. And, to show their emphasis, they have multiple world titles in all of those sports except for basketball, where present-day basketball dominance by Banija and Newmanistan are the only thing preventing them from pulling off a double Dagan Grand Slam(at least two world titles in all those sports) before any other nation even gets one.
But there are plenty of nations who are chasing the Dagan Grand Slam. There's great respect in Banija for what the Dagans have done. Even if the nations couldn't seem to be more opposite(the matriarchal society of Cassadaigua providing a stark contrast to Banija's deeply conservative Mormon society) the deeply obsessive sporting cultures of both nations unite them in more ways than that. And hey, there are plenty of nations chasing Dagan success. Look at Drawkland(multiple world titles both in gridiron and basketball), Ko-oren(world titles in hockey, football, and baseball, and they just made the World Cup Final), as well as the Free Republics(just missing hockey). Those are just to name a few. Quebec is chasing.
Now, we're not entirely sure how the sports structure of Cassadaigua works. But there is no 'national sporting strategy' or equivalent in Banija. There is no Minister or Ministry of Sport. There is, by and large, no national sports funding strategy outside of the heavy use of public schools, at both the use and collegiate level. But yet, individual sports have looked to Cassadaigua for inspiration in Banija. We've just picked up our second world title in baseball, and Ousman Kakay told us how when he took the job, he studied the Dagan model hard to see if that kind of success was replicable in Banija.
But here's the question- how's the chase going for us? We have world titles in three of the five sports, including what many would consider the toughest two. We won World Cup 86, and we've won a pair of World Baseball Classics, 47 all those years ago and 51 just the other day. We're also back to back IBC winners, having won both IBC 30 and IBC 31. But what about gridiron and hockey?
Gridiron
This is a sport, where many figure, we'll have to win one eventually, right? Our history in gridiron is like our history in this sport of lacrosse- a ton of close calls, but no cigar. World Bowls 29-31, three straight semifinal appearances, and we didn't podium at any of those 3 tournaments. World Bowl 36 in Ko-oren, we went back to the semis. World Bowl 40, we finally won a semifinal, reaching our first ever World Bowl Final. A chance for a world title in a fourth sport, to just have one left.
The opponent? Cassadaigua. And for a team that was 13-0 going into that game based on a running game and a defense, we got mauled by Cassadaigua in that world title game. It wasn't a blowout- we lost 7-3. But we were mauled at the line of scrimmage. Our offensive line, which had been dominant for most of the tournament, was absolutely wrecked. Our star veteran, Isaka Jawara, had no time and space. Cassadaigua's defense put on, what I think anyways as a writer, the best defensive performance I've ever seen. And our defense
almost matched it- but not quite. So of course, it was Cassadaigua who would prevent us from going to four. We're still a top 10 team in this sport, however, reaching the quarterfinals of World Bowl XLI. So we are firmly contenders.
Ice Hockey
This title was always going to be the hardest of the five. We're a country without winter. So you can imagine how hard it is to get Banijans to play ice hockey- it's nearly impossible. But, fortunately, there are a lot of Banijan migrant communities around the multiverse who do have an affinity for hockey, in nations that actually have winter, and many of those form Banija's national teams. We have the
Greater Banijan Hockey League, which has basically all of Banija's professionals.
Unfortunately, the national team, after having a number of consistent knockout stage appearances, finally saw its current run come to a close. The same head coach for over 3+ decades, Martial Odongo, announced his decision to retire after the top 10 team suffered a group stage elimination in Græntfjall.
So, its in a state of transition. Their first ever coaching search(well, technically second). A whole host of new players figure to get a new look at the national team. And of course, right now in that sport, Siovanija & Teusland seem unbeatable, as they have won three titles in a row. So while theoretically we could actually win the next World Bowl, we're probably a couple of World Cups of Hockey away from being considered true title contenders.
Lacrosse
These are the World Lacrosse Championships, you know. Cassadaigua also lacks a world title in lacrosse, same as Banija. No nation has ever won the Dagan Grand Slam + lacrosse- and that's obvious, since the only nation that has ever won a Dagan Grand Slam does not have a world championship in lacrosse. So both nations are fiercely chasing each other, and the elite(Abanhfleft & Sarzonia) to try and gain their first world title in lacrosse before the other.
What would it be called if a nation had the five plus lacrosse. A Super Grand Slam? A Super Dagan Grand Slam? Somebody's gotta do it first before we give it a name. But we've got to win one first. And that's going to inform the chatter around this game, even if none of what we've written will effect the X's and O's of what happens on the field today. Two ambitious nations, eyeing each other up, each believing that this year is their year to win their first ever lacrosse title. Can one of them take one step closer today at the War Memorial Stadium?