hockey.
Let Memories Live Forever
Hockey is a long missed sport here in the Kingdom of Eshialand. With only one signup since WCoH 46 (and nothing of memorable note since WCoH 44) there was a lot left on the table when it came to hockey in a nation that used to love this sport so much. It felt like hockey was left in the dust for the sports that the powers that be seemed to love more, like football, chess, and baseball. There was no love left to go around for hockey, and that just would not do for some. However, nobody seemed to be willing to break this endless trend of disappointment.
Until Alexander Maran got a call from a number he hadn't heard from in eleven years. "Hello? Jonas?"
Jonas Degle has had a long, long time to think since WJHC 17. All of that was such a distant memory, but yet ones that would never leave. It was where he met the love of his life, and where he went from a random kid who could skate well to a part of something so much more than himself. He yearned for the thrill of the ice once more, and he and his now-wife, fellow WJHC alum Penelope Raleigh, hatched a plan to bring back those good old days. "Hey Coach!"
"Please, Jonas, it's been so long since I was anything resembling your coach, come on now... just call me Alex."
"Alright then, Alex... I was just wondering if you wanted to do some sort of reunion for the old team. You know, get to see each other again, I know everyone would appreciate it..."
"Uh... sure I guess, did you have anything in mind?"
"I was thinking we could all head to South Newlandia to watch the Campionato Esportiva together! Get to cheer on the same team again, you know? The sort of stuff we've been missing..."
"Count me in. I suppose we'll meet at the airport?"
"Seaport, actually, we're riding in style. Next Friday at 6 am."
"Six in the morning???"
"Gotta get there early to beat the rush."
"Alright, fine. See ya then."
click!
Of course, the former team themselves would not be arriving at six, but rather much, much earlier... they arrived bright and early at 4 am, filling up the ship with all of their gear under cover of night. "Load them in quicker..." Amy Inden shouted, "He's going to get here soon!"
This group had to make absolutely sure that Alex Maran had zero idea this was happening. Heck, they never even told the proper sporting authorities to make this an official team; everything they were doing was under the table, as independent athletes representing Eshialand in name only, here for their love of the game and nothing else, since it was clear that the Eshian government didn't love hockey the same way they did. Their beloved game was a dying art form, and they were going to do the absolute best they could to keep it alive.
At the stroke of six, Alex arrived on the docks. "You chartered a private ship to get us all there?"
"Only the best of the best for an occasion such as this one..." Jonas replied. "Let's all get on the boat, breakfast is prepared!"
"Ahoy everyone..." the captain said over his loudspeaker, "now leaving Eshialand City for Newport, hopefully none of you get seasick!"
"Wait, Newport?" Alex asked, "I thought the CE team was playing in Elephant Valley..."
The ship hasn't even embarked on its journey and he was already seeing straight through their lie. "I knew I should've told him we were going to watch the chess team..." Jonas thought to himself, but it was too late now. He couldn't really bullshit his way out of this one so easily.
"Okay, so, um, you see... I know we told you this was just a reunion to like, hang out and stuff, but uh..."
"I don't like where this is going Jonas..."
"We're playing in the regional hockey tournament, we really just wanna lace 'em up again you know??"
"Jonas, if we ever get back to Eshialand, I am going to kill you."
football.
Injustice of the Highest Degree
"It should've been us" is a petty excuse of a cope. Everyone knows that, but yet somehow people still get away with saying it anyway given any opportunity to do so. And for fans of the Eshian national football team, "it should've been us" was heard across the nation upon the news that it would be Lozho, not them, going to the finals. Lozho? What the hell did they ever do to deserve that? It was like the Owls tripped over one another enough for them to collapse at one of the last possible moments. Everyone knew it should've been a Fhulghamous Peninsula-Eshialand final, so imagine the scenes when the Fhulghamous side couldn't even win a "freebie" against Lozho.
This would not be able to stand once again... and luckily, the Owls had proven that they more than had the capability to make this their year. They worked themselves up to becoming a Pot 1 squad in this CE. They had another amazing WCQ, and finally got their win in the World Cup Finals, with a knockout appearance to go with it. Everything seemed to be breaking their way, so it was time to put paid to any talks of curses or chokes in the Campionato. This was Eshialand's time to shine, and they were ready to prove this.
And better yet, there was a Lozho match on the group stage docket.
First, however, they had to worry about an ever-ascendant Katzeburg, fresh off their first World Cup qualification which saw them swipe points from such teams as Huayramarca and Farfadillis. Neither of those draws were anything to sneeze at, and they were signs that the Owls would have to give their 200% on this one. Yes, 200%. Limits are not a factor when a Campionato is at stake, after all. After that, then it would be Lozho, then Damukuni (who many Eshians insisted were due for a second golden age), Quebecois Acadiana, and lastly an absolute classic of a match in the 14 Stars, a rematch of both of these teams' respective first WCQ matchup, all the way back in 2021.
This would not be an easy group to qualify out of, nor was it meant to be. Given the bizarre method of dealing with "bye days", all of the other teams in this group would be playing much easier opponents than Lozho (although the 14 Stars playing a derby match against Sylestone would be an interesting watch no matter what). The Owls were going to be playing this whole thing from somewhat of a disadvantage, but on the bright side, they were in the best spot to avenge their injustices, and bring this thing home with true smiles on their faces.
baseball.
Ready to Rumble
Baseball. Is. Back.
These three words are something that unite the nation of Eshialand in ways that any other sport really can't. Even football doesn't quite bring the same draw as baseball does these days; perhaps it's just the infrequency and inconsistency of modern WBCs, but baseball is the sort of spectacle that literally everyone waits for every single time a tournament occurs... and now, it's happening on the regional stage! (Not that it matters much because the top 4 teams from the last WBC bar Drawkland are all in Esportiva, but still.)
And good(?) news! (For fans of Eshian baseball, anyway. Not so much for the team...) the Screwballs are starting out by playing South Newlandia! Oh, okay, maybe that's not such good news. Once again, bizarre methods of dealing with bye days mean that Eshialand are the only team in Group B "fortunate" enough to play South Newlandia, and they have to do it right at the start of the campaign. No pressure though, after all, if they could beat Super-Llamaland in the 3PPO of the last WBC, surely they could beat the best team in the world without warming up at all, right?
Obviously, such news sent the team into a slight bit of panic mode. They hadn't had much time to prepare, what with Eshian domestic baseball being completely in the toilet in the LPB era and this team only being reassembled mere weeks before the surprise of a Sporting Festival was announced. (It wasn't a surprise for the Eshian sporting authorities, of course, but since when have they ever remembered to tell their teams what the hell is going on?)
The rest of this group could be worse, with Tumbra, Irithoren, Osterhalten, and Ethane... they had dodged the real threat that was TJUN-ia, and, while any team with the name Tumbra slapped on it instantly gained an extra scary factor, they weren't really a baseball nation and this team might not be so prepared to jump into things. This might not be so bad. First, they just had to deal with the Ellies. At home. Totally not a problem, right?
chess.
Dark(-squared) Ages
Something was amiss in the state of Eshian chess.
Between ECC X having the sort of ending nobody in the nation wanted, and the Multiversal Chess Tour being a very "fall flat on yer faces" experience, this team was not having a good run of it in the past year. In fact, you might be able to say things were going quite badly for Eshialand. "A second dark age" doubters decried, comparing this recent run with the years between ECCs IV and VI which saw Eshialand practically non-existent on the chess stage. It was not a good time to be a chess player in Eshialand, one could say.
Worry not, however, as the Ivory Crown Hotel has proved itself year after year to be a place where Eshian teams could truly shine. No matter what the situation, a trip back to Newport meant an Eshian run to... okay, not to the championship, they still had yet to win an ECC after all, but very close to the championship.
The rebuild would start against Kanzlia, who didn't look like major threats, but in a group like this you couldn't take a single point for granted. This group was stacked as all heck, with defending ECC champs Katzeburg and absolute SN3C sweepers Vielfaltig both being in here and ready to take the top two spots. All of a sudden, this team that looked like a top 2 team in the world for a while had, in just a couple short years, found themselves third in their group in a regional. They were going to be doing something they didn't have much recent experience with: playing from behind.
Every point counted, and they couldn't give an inch. It was top 3 or bust, and they couldn't afford giving up anything.
