The Great Game

SCOTT SERPENT: Welcome back to the Mythology Sports Center! I'm your host, Scott Serpent. Today's game is a showdown between the high-flying Birds and the four-legged Mammals! The Mammals are the first to enter the pitch and would you look at that warm up lap? Bear, the team captain, is showing off some of that impressive strength he's known for. If the other team was out here already he would be getting a caution for sure. What do you think, Fred?

FRED FISH: Oh for sure, Scott. That's an intimidation tactic if I've ever seen one. Just look at how the referee is watching them. This is sure to be an intense match. Here come the Birds now! Bear is showing off for sure, but Eagle, the Bird's captain, isn't one to be underestimated. Let's go down to Sally Spider on the pitch to chat with the apparent underdogs for this match. Sally, how are things looking down there?

SALLY SPIDER: Hi Fred, the Birds have just emerged from their locker room and it seems like we may be seeing two new players on the field this game. I'm here with Barry Bat and Sammy Flying-Squirrel, two rejects from the Mammals tryouts who ended up on the Birds' roster after the second round of draft picks. Due to Shawn Sparrow's and Craig Crow's unfortunate injuries in last week's contest versus the Reptiles, they will be part of today's starting lineup for the Birds. How are you two feeling about today's match?

BARRY BAT: You know, Sally, Sam and I are just super excited to be here and to have this opportunity. The Birds took a chance on us and invested so many resources into our equipment and training and we just want to get out there and leave everything we've got on the field. We're looking forward to a great game!

SALLY SPIDER: Well, good luck today guys! The referee has just blown his whistle for the five minute warning, so let's send this back up to you guys in the box to watch this exciting match unfold. Fred. Scott.

SCOTT SERPENT: Thanks for that, Sally. We're gonna take a short break here, folks, and we'll be back with more live action coverage after a few words from today's sponsors...

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FRED FISH: Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the Mammals vs Birds play off match. The referees blew the five minute warning whistle just a little bit ago and are taking the pitch now.

SCOTT SERPENT: Right you are Fred, and the teams are taking their positions now as well. This is anticipated to be a great match up. The birds are definitely the underdogs on this one, but I know they've been training hard for the past few months during the regular season. They do have two second strings starting for them today as we discussed earlier...

FRED FISH: You know, Scott, I think that may be an advantage for them in this match. The Mammals' defense has come up against the same two strikers for a few seasons now and seem to have started learning just how to shut down that forward line. If the Birds coach is smart, he'll use this opportunity to implement a new strategy and hopefully get around the defence for at least a few shots on goal.

SCOTT SERPENT: It looks like the Mammals have won the coin toss and the Birds will be starting with the ball.

FRED FISH: This has got to be nerve wracking for Flying-Squirrel and Bat. It's their first game in the pro league and they're in charge of the kick off right away.

SCOTT SERPENT: The whistle has been blown for the start of the match. Sam rolls the ball forward to Barry who immediately drops it back to Harry Hummingbird at midfield.

FRED FISH: Harry sends it wide to the right wing defender, Eddie Eagle. The ball gets passed forward to the right wing attacker, Nick Nightingale, but the Mammals are right on top of it!

SCOTT SERPENT: It's dropped back to Eagle, crossed to Hummingbird, but it's intercepted by the Mammals! Devon Dog shoots it forward, but defender Ron Robin gets a foot on it! It bounces wide and goes out of bounds. That'll be a throw in for the Mammals.

FRED FISH: This is already getting intense, Scott. We're awfully close to the Bird's goal. Frank Fox takes the throw. It goes to Derik Deer, then back to Fox, then forward to Caleb Cat. Cat does a quick pass to Deer. He cuts to the inside and goes right around Charlie Chicken! He shoots! He scores!

SCOTT SERPENT: That is the fastest goal in World Cup history! We're only 30 seconds in and the Mammals are up 1 to 0.

FRED FISH: If you watch the replay, Scott, the Birds' keeper actually gets the tip of his wing on the ball, but it's just not quite enough to keep it from going in. What a beautiful shot.

SCOTT SERPENT: Absolutely, and it looks like the Birds are off to a rough start. The Mammals are the number two team in the world compared to the Birds' number seven spot, but I still expected better out of them this early in the game.

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SCOTT SERPENT: We're down to the final two minutes in the second half of the match, Fred. The Birds have managed to hold off the Mammals all game since that first goal, and even managed to put one into the back of the net themselves right before the end of the first half. Do you think this will end in a 1 to 1 tie at the end of regulation time?

FRED FISH: For the Birds' sake I hope so, Scott. They've got a decent shot at winning this thing if it goes to penalty kicks, but I don't know how much more this team can take. They all look exhausted out there.

SCOTT SERPENT: Right you are, Fred. The Mammals have had a couple of shots on goal this half, but can't seem to make anything hit the back of the net.

FRED FISH: The Birds' keeper has been doing an excellent job this match after the initial score.

SCOTT SERPENT: Yes he has, but it's been nothing but a passing game for the past fifteen minutes or so; he's starting to look a little bored.

FRED FISH: Yes he does. Oh! Here come the Mammals with another promising attack on goal. Deer carries it down into the corner, and Robin manages to swipe it away from him! Eagle gets the ball and passes it up to Hummingbird!

SCOTT SERPENT: They've got some momentum now... It's Hummingbird to Martin. Martin sprints it down the field. He crosses it! The Mammals' keeper, Brandon Bear, comes out to intercept it! But his defender gets in the way! Nightingale is there for with a header that puts it in the back of the net!

FRED FISH: And there's the final whistle! I don't believe it! The Birds have won the game!

Author's Note: This story is (very loosely) based on a Cherokee myth where the mammals challenge the birds to a sports game of some sort. The original tale focuses on the creation of the bat and flying squirrel. The two are rejected by the mammals, so the birds build the bat a pair of wings and stretch the squirrel's skin out to help him glide so that they can play for them. This retelling will be about what actually happened during the game in a sports commentator-like fashion. I decided to make the challenge a soccer game, since that's the sport I know the best. I played soccer for nine years and I have been working as a soccer referee for youth level rec leagues for about five years. In the original tale, the birds won by scoring right away and then the game ended. That was a little boring, not to mention confusing. What sport ends after just one goal? So I decided to make the Bird's point a last second tie breaker instead. Both goals described in the story are based on actual games! Click on the links in my bibliography to check out the YouTube videos I watched!

Bonus! Here's the lineup I came up with for the story. The red team is the Mammals and the blue team is the Birds. Created via Google Slides and the screenshot function.