COLORS: Orange, Black, and White
OWNER: Andrew Nelson
COACH: Andrew Nelson
The Savage Angels entered the league as an expansion franchise in 2000, replacing the failed North Oaks franchise. The Angels lost no time in establishing themselves as a team to be reckoned with, beginning the season with five straight victories, including wins over powerhouses Minneapolis and Westfield as well as defending champions Mankato. However, a crushing Week Seven loss to Ponte Vedra seemed to derail the upstarts from the south side, as Savage dropped five of its next seven games and fell into third place after being passed by a Westfield team that had shifted its season into high gear.
While a 9-6 finish to the regular season was more than respectable for this first year franchise, most league observers expected an early, uneventful exit from the postseason. But Savage was yet to spring its biggest surprise. The team from the south suburbs rode the back of Marshall Faulk on Monday night as he supplied half their points and caused almost every MFL owner to wet their pants laughing at Landvik as the Angels came from way behind on Monday night to snatch a narrow victory over Westfield. Then, in the MFL championship game, Faulk and QB Rich Gannon combined to outscore the Piranha's deadly due of Garcia and Garner by 56-4 and steal the Loki Cup in one of the biggest upsets in MFL history.
Ponte Vedra crushed Savage twice during the season...
...but the upstart Angels won when it counted most.
Coach Andrew Nelson remains something of an enigma. Fewer crass predictions and other forms of quality smack talk emanate from the front offices in Savage than from any other franchise, and yet few can forget the boldly prophetic Haiku that, Nostradamus-like, was made accurately and well in advance of the subsequent events predicted. However, a shadow hangs over Savage this offseason, as a special commission with plenary powers has been appointed to investigate possible conduct unbecoming a team officer in The Most Prestigious League in Sports(TM) based on comments made prior to the 2000 league championship game.
The investigation has caused a number of wild rumors to circulate, one postulating a possible sale of the franchise to an Italian conglomerate and another claiming that coach Nelson will be pressured to resign by the league. However, if Coach Nelson is exonerated and the team remains in Savage, it is hard to imagine that the reigning champions will not be back in the postseason to defend their title against all comers.
