renewed shall be blade that is broken. the crownless again shall be king! ~ JRR tolkien

there is wind in the air that a certain short-lived league i once helped establish is being revived.

back then there was much hype about a collective method of training. more importantly, a need for consistency, not only where frequency is concerned but also for quality. this led to the foundations of the league – a collective need to improve the skills of opposing teams within the same contingent. like any athlete in any game, there was a crucial need for a systematic training system to create an unrelenting competitive spirit. both to the athletes and the referees.

and so a few ideas cast to the right group of managers, a few pitches thrown to the right online groups, one high-strung meeting – a few weeks later, a league was formed, comprising at one point, of over seven teams from within the contingent. each team would comprise of anything between one to twenty athletes.

the league would take place as frequently as fortnightly, or at the very least, monthly, creating a local competition circuit of between 12 to 24 games a year. the league method would adjust depending on the championship season, and for a good three seasons, the league greatly contributed to keeping the local contingent on their toes. there was a spirit of togetherness then. where everyone was helpful and genuinely cared about the collective progress of the contingent.

and then the politics seeped in. the rise of super powers. the rise of egos. but this was pretty much expected in the game we played. teams from within the league started winning championships, which is in essence, a good thing. but you see, you can never really have too much of a good thing. and the higher they are, the harder they fall.

the league became a powerful arena to be reckoned with. there was really only one weakness. it scared away those whose skills the league sought out to improve in the first place. where the experienced found the league a great training ground to test strategies, the fresh athletes found it hard to raise to the challenge and constantly found themselves unable to go very far. referee disputes became more frequent. demotivation was one thing. experimentalism was another. the personality feuds which eventually led to its downfall was on a league of is own.

the death of the league was slow and painful. teams dwindled. the meets became less frequent. and eventually, it faded into nothingness. on their own, the teams went on to bigger and i suppose, brighter things. some teams won championships by the sprees and moved on the become prominent figures within the game.

and then there are the other teams, the smaller ones, who faded and faded. dare i say that they died out? if it did, it was their spirit that went first. the injection of new blood was late, or never happened at all.

and for some time, this was the status quo. a contingent divided. too many veterans holding on too protectively to power. too few new athletes to take up the reins. too much politics. and as far as i am concerned, too little love.

an idea was pitched. a revival. and though i am now just a spectator on the sidelines, i am greatly interested in how the league will be formed and how it will carry on. my speculations is that it will either be more rigid or there will be a takeover of egos. too many old managers still run the show or supervise the teams now. too many old timers who think that experience is a passport to authority.

i am waiting to be surprised.