Grid Iron
08-27-2003, 11:41 AM
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/rbaker/_images/Logo.png
Dynasty Review
The purpose of the Nebraska Blizzards Dynasty was to tell a compelling and intriguing story using FOF2 as the backdrop. After 30 seasons, the dynasty has finally come to a close. I hope the readers found it unique and entertaining, because I loved writing it.
This thread will provide an extensive statistical report on the Blizzards and the NFL through the 2029 season (the last year of the dynasty), as well as a discussion of my defensive philosophy. The complete and final (abridged) story is set forth below.
The Story So Far (Updated 8/26/03!!!)
It all began in January 2000. That year, Anthony Coriolanus, President and CEO of AgroGlobal Corporation, and a man known only as "The Executioner" agreed to a join forces in a business venture expected to generate billions of dollars. Using Coriolanus’ connections with the National Football League Commissioner’s Office, the two men set out to purchase an expansion franchise to generate large amounts of cash separate and apart from their own personal income. Then, using Executioner’s connections to the infamous Mexican Zopepe Drug Cartel, the money made by the team would be invested into drug trafficking to generate incredible profits. Since they decided that the team’s name would be the Nebraska Blizzards, it seemed appropriate that their criminal venture should be code-named Operation Snow Blind.
Their plan began with Coriolanus bribing NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and other league executives to obtain enough votes to win the bid for an expansion franchise in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Executioner, meanwhile, assassinated the most prominent competitors for the expansion franchise team, as well as those opposed to construction of the Blizzards’ stadium.
After Coriolanus was awarded the NFL's latest expansion franchise, he set out to hire the best General Manager in the league—Jack “Grid” Iron. Since Grid was under contract with the San Diego Chargers, Coriolanus framed Iron by paying a notorious bookie, Heather Diamond, to accuse the GM of gambling on NFL games. After Iron was fired by the Chargers due to the criminal charges, Coriolanus befriended him, and even paid for his lawyer throughout the ensuing jury trial. Iron was later acquitted after Diamond surprised prosecutors by testifying that she made up the accusations only to gain notoriety. Since Coriolanus had supported Grid Iron throughout the entire ordeal, Iron’s decision to be the Blizzards’ GM was an easy one.
After securing the franchise, stadium and general manager, Coriolanus and the Executioner began investing the team’s profits into the drug trade. Over several years, Coriolanus donated millions of dollars generated by the Blizzards to sham charities in South America and Mexico. These charities then laundered the money by transferring it to the cartel, where it was used to fund the drug smuggling operations. The drug profits were then deposited into several off-shore bank accounts, set up by the Executioner.
The enterprise was wildly successful, as both men made over one billion dollars within 10 years. Coriolanus was content to bask in the glory of his vast, new wealth. The Executioner, however, had different plans for his share of the profits.
Working with CIA Director Archie Bitzer, also known as “Silencer,” the Executioner used the money earned from the cartel’s drug activities to genetically engineer a virus that would kill anyone of Arab ancestry. In 2015, the virus was released into a small village in Saudi Arabia, and it spread quickly across the entire region, gaining its nickname, the “Arabian Flu.” By the end of 2016, it had reached every country in the Middle East and killed over 500,000 people. By 2017, the disease appeared for the first time in the United States when a businessman from Yemen died shortly after arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2018, the first case in the continental U.S. occurred when a Saudi immigrant, who had not been to the Middle East in several years, died in a Bronx, New York, hospital.
In 2019, Bitzer urged the Executioner to begin what is known only as “Phase 2,” which involved distributing a vaccine for the Arabian Flu. The Executioner refused, telling Bitzer that he could not provide him a vaccine because none existed - he had lied about it merely to secure Bitzer’s help. Wracked with guilt, Bitzer later took his own life. FBI Agent Alex Goldstein, however, discovered the Executioner’s plot while reviewing Bitzer’s computer files.
Also in 2019, the countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia began deploying large numbers of troops and missiles (suspected of carrying chemical weapons) to their borders with Israel, which they blamed for the disease. In response, Israel detonated a tactical nuclear device in an uninhabited area to deter any military attack by the Arabs.
The escalating violence in the Middle East convinced Goldstein to suggest to his superiors that the U.S. take responsibility for its role in creating the virus. The President of the United States ordered a cover-up of the incident. Goldstein, however, saved the computer records and planned to go public with the information.
Unfortunately, the National Security Agency caught wind of Goldstein’s plan and had him arrested to face charges of treason before a military tribunal. He is currently being held at a secret military base outside of the continental United States.
As for Coriolanus, he fled the U.S. in 2014 following an attempt on his life by one of the Executioner’s assassins and his indictment for drug trafficking. He re-appeared in 2016, however, in Germany. Holed up with a large cache of firearms in a small apartment in suburban Hamburg, Coriolanus told Interpol authorities that he killed his own wife and children mercifully because he feared that they would have suffered horrific and painful deaths if the Executioner got to them first. After several hours of negotiation, Coriolanus agreed to surrender and the authorities all about Operation Snow Blind. Unfortunately, as Coriolanus walked out of the apartment and towards the waiting police, he was shot and killed by an unknown assassin.
To date, the Arabian Flu has killed over three million people. Further, the Executioner’s purpose in creating the virus and releasing it upon the Middle East is currently unknown.
In addition, over the last decade several South Pacific villages, and all of their inhabitants, have been completely destroyed by missiles from Russian Mako helicopters. The Russian government has denied any involvement. The CIA believes that several Mako helicopters that vanished on a training mission in 2003 in Siberia were actually stolen by the squadron commander, Vladimir Maritczak, and his men. A worldwide search has begun for Maritczak, who was an outspoken Ukrainian and considered to be sympathetic toward the United States and NATO. Any connection between the Mako helicopters and Operation Snow Blind, if there is one, is unknown at this time.
On December 31, 2019, NORAD detected the launch of 35 missiles from various Arab nations directed at Israel. Shortly thereafter, Israel launched a counter-strike of 65 rockets, which satellites showed to be armed with nuclear warheads. The capitals of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria are among the cities targeted.
In 2020, the world learned of the horrifying destruction across the Middle East from the Arab-Israeli missile attacks. Millions died and cities were left in ruin. The U.N. sent peacekeepers to the area to maintain stability, but they weren't enough. <b>U.N. Secretary General Jean-Paul Petain</b> was removed from office when the Crown Prince of Kuwait, <b>Jamir Al Sabah</b>, called for his impeachment after his father was killed by a suicide bomber. Al Sabah, the newly crowned King of Kuwait, was elected to replace Petain, and has vowed to increase the U.N.'s military presence in the Middle East to eradicate the many terrorist groups attempting to seize power in the shattered land.
Also in 2020, <b>Grid Iron</b> received a cryptic e-mail from someone purporting to be <b>Anthony Coriolanus</b>. Coriolanus was believed to have been killed by an assassin in 2016 before he could reveal the secret of Operation Snow Blind to the authorities.
In 2021, Grid Iron learned that the e-mail was really an automated message written by Coriolanus several years ago before his death. Coriolanus instructed Grid Iron to access the AgroGlobal computer system in Kuala Lumpur for information that would unveil a horrifying conspiracy. In Kuala Lumpur, Coriolanus left a message for Grid saying the information had to be copied to a keychain hard drive and that it would be slipped to him by a guest at Le Petit Zinc, a restaurant in Paris, on New Year's Eve 2022.
Also in 2021, <b>Anthony Angelino</b> gave up his stake in the Melbourne, Florida, Eagles to become the majority owner of the Nebraska Blizzards. The President of New York-based BuildCo Enterprises, Angelino announced shortly after buying the team that he would move it unless the public paid for a new $1 billion stadium.
At the close of 2021, King Jamir Al Sabah of Kuwait announced that doctors in his country discovered a cure for the Arabian Flu and would begin distributing it immediately.
In 2022, the U.S. government provided U.N. peacekeepers in the Middle East with 1,000 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, the most advanced military plane in the world. The planes were provided at the request of King Sabah, who pointed out the need to deter terrorist cells and rival governments from interfering with the rebuilding process.
Also in 2022, Grid Iron obtained the hard drive Anthony Coriolanus left for him in Paris. In it, Coriolanus included information from AgroGlobal's computer database which described a secret research facility in Paraguay. According to the disk, the place was created by the U.S. government to circumvent the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1975 and was responsible for creating the Arabian Flu. The disk also stated that it was the CIA that released the virus in the Middle East. The facility is hidden in the jungle and has gone undetected by local law enforcement for decades. Coriolanus did, however, give Grid Iron the GPS coordinates.
In 2023, Lincoln Police Officer <b>Michael Phillips</b> obtained a wiretap authorization to monitor the phone calls of a local drug dealer, <b>Chu Nguyen</b>. During on intercepted phone conversation, Nguyen explains to an associate that a new dealer named <b>"Vinny"</b> has opened shop in town and is significantly cutting into his business. Nguyen explained, however, that there was little he could do about Vinny since it is believed he is associated with organized crime ("OC").
2023 concluded when Grid Iron traveled to Paraguay to find the AgroGlobal research facility that manufactured the Arabian Flu. After he arrived, however, several unidentfied helicopters showed up and began firing missiles at Grid and the research facility, destroying the entire place, as well as Grid Iron’s companions.
In 2024, we learned that Grid Iron survived the attack on the research facility and began the long arduous journey home, travelling across the mountain of Paraguay, into Peru, a long trip aboard a fishing boat from Peru to Mexico, and then a bus ride from San Diego to Lincoln. With him, Grid brought two password-protected laptop computers that he recovered from the AgroGlobal research facility debris.
Just as Grid’s life seemed to be returning to normal, however, tragedy struck again. His son was kidnapped on New Year’s Eve, after which Grid received an e-mail from Vladimir Maritczak stating that they each had something the other one wanted.
In 2025, Grid Iron negotiated for the return of his kidnapped son. Vladimir Maritczak promised to return the boy in exchange for the laptop computer Grid took from the AgroGlobal lab in Paraguay. Iron agreed, and the exchange was made shortly after the Blizzards' Super Bowl victory. However, Maritczak's superior, The Executioner, discovered the former Russian Air Force Commander to be a traitor. He was found dead with a single gunshot wound to the head in a Lincoln hotel. The laptop was missing from its case.
Fortunately, both The Executioner and Maritczak were not aware of Grid Iron's second laptop. Also taken from the AgroGlobal lab in Paraguay, Grid Iron stashed the second computer away in his safety deposit box in Lincoln. Since the system is password protected, however, he has no idea what it contains.
In 2026, King Jamir Al Sabah arranged for the transition of U.N. Peacekeepers from European personnel to Arabs, and then announced the creation of the New Republic of Arabia, comprised of Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. After Sabah resigned his post as Secretary General of the U.N., the Arabian U.N. troops gave their allegiance to the King, and took over the only two U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
In a speech to the world, Sabah stated that his plan to return Arabia to it place as the greatest nation in the world was finally complete. He explained that he developed the Allah Virus, engineered to kill all people not of Arab descent, to deter any military action against the New Republic of Arabia, and that he would use his army of former peacekeepers to destroy anyone standing in his way. The identity of the Executioner was finally revealed.
In 2027, former FBI agent Alex Goldstein was released from a secret military base when several U.S. military brass were indicted for their role in Operation Snow Blind. Recognizing that he could trust Goldstein above all else, Grid Iron delivered the second laptop he took from the AgroGlobal Lab in Paraguay. The laptop contained the genetic code for the Allah Virus, and a vaccine, which the U.S. and Russian began to manufacture.
To distribute the vaccine without arousing the suspicions of King Sabah, the U.S. government concocted a story about a rebel group in the Philippines obtaining a vial of smallpox virus. The Allah Virus vaccine was inserted into the smallpox vaccine that was distributed throughout the world, and within months the great weapon of Arabia was rendered impotent.
NATO seized the opportunity and invaded the New Republic of Arabia, conquering the evil nation on December 31, 2027. Unfortunately, King Sabah escaped, and his $1 trillion fortune vanished—transferred into untraceable off-shore bank accounts before the fall of Kuwait City. The world can now only wait to see if Sabah will rise again to seek his revenge.
In 2028, King Jamir Al Sabah obtained a fake U.S. passport and began a long journey to the United States to kill the person who brought down his empire—Grid Iron. The 2028 season came to a close with Sabah holding a gun on Iron at the GM’s home in Lincoln as a 911 dispatcher listened in helplessly.
In 2029, it was learned that Grid Iron wrestled Sabah’s gun away from him and shot the former Kuwaiti King. Unfortunately, Grid was in a coma, having been shot himself in the fight.
2029 came to a close with good news. The Blizzards franchise was almost bought by a Hollywood producer who wanted to move the team, but a group known as the “Consortium” stepped in and purchased the franchise. Shortly after Grid awoke from his coma, the Consortium gave the team’s GM of 27 seasons a controlling 51% interest in the team, and gifted the rest to the People of Lincoln.
Grid Iron later learned that Anthony Coriolanus, who was believed to be dead, was actually alive and a member of the Consortium. Coriolanus told Grid that he stole Sabah’s $1 trillion when NATO forces invaded Kuwait City, and that he was living a comfortable life of anonymity. Coriolanus said that he arranged for the team to be given to Grid Iron because he deserved it. As for what Coriolanus’ plans are for the future, and what the Consortium plans to do with the $1 trillion, one can only speculate. . .
To catch up on all the details of the story from 2000 - 2019, go to the following link at the old FOF Central Pub:
Nebraska Blizzards Decade Review: 2010-2019 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=001278)
Here are the most recent chapters located at the new FOF Central pub:
Nebraska Blizzards 2020: A Ghost From the Past (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5998&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2021: The Plot Thickens (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6200&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2022: A Secret Revealed (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6520&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2023: The Heart of Darkness (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6699&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2024: The Long Road Home (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7145&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2025: Ransom (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11763&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2026: Revelation (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12357&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2027: The Reckoning (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12897&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2028: Endgame (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13002&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2029: Coda (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13100&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
House Rules (Updated 3/5/03!)
I employ a fairly standard set of "house rules" (empty cupboard, no franchise tag, must maintain a 53-man roster, no renegotiating, can't make trade proposals, trades must pass "fairness test", no current NFL players, auto-sign rookies). During the 20-step free agent period, I may negotiate with any player who was on my team the previous season without restriction. As for free agents who did not play on my team the previous season, I may sign up to three of them during the 20-step process, but I may only bid on one player at a time and I cannot modify my original offer. After the 20-step free agency period, I can only sign undrafted rookie free agents and players who were on my roster the previous season. All contracts signed outside of the 20-step process must be for exactly what the player asks, or for one year. I have decided to allow renegotiating with “classy veterans" who have a loyalty of "high" or above.
Dynasty Review
The purpose of the Nebraska Blizzards Dynasty was to tell a compelling and intriguing story using FOF2 as the backdrop. After 30 seasons, the dynasty has finally come to a close. I hope the readers found it unique and entertaining, because I loved writing it.
This thread will provide an extensive statistical report on the Blizzards and the NFL through the 2029 season (the last year of the dynasty), as well as a discussion of my defensive philosophy. The complete and final (abridged) story is set forth below.
The Story So Far (Updated 8/26/03!!!)
It all began in January 2000. That year, Anthony Coriolanus, President and CEO of AgroGlobal Corporation, and a man known only as "The Executioner" agreed to a join forces in a business venture expected to generate billions of dollars. Using Coriolanus’ connections with the National Football League Commissioner’s Office, the two men set out to purchase an expansion franchise to generate large amounts of cash separate and apart from their own personal income. Then, using Executioner’s connections to the infamous Mexican Zopepe Drug Cartel, the money made by the team would be invested into drug trafficking to generate incredible profits. Since they decided that the team’s name would be the Nebraska Blizzards, it seemed appropriate that their criminal venture should be code-named Operation Snow Blind.
Their plan began with Coriolanus bribing NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and other league executives to obtain enough votes to win the bid for an expansion franchise in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Executioner, meanwhile, assassinated the most prominent competitors for the expansion franchise team, as well as those opposed to construction of the Blizzards’ stadium.
After Coriolanus was awarded the NFL's latest expansion franchise, he set out to hire the best General Manager in the league—Jack “Grid” Iron. Since Grid was under contract with the San Diego Chargers, Coriolanus framed Iron by paying a notorious bookie, Heather Diamond, to accuse the GM of gambling on NFL games. After Iron was fired by the Chargers due to the criminal charges, Coriolanus befriended him, and even paid for his lawyer throughout the ensuing jury trial. Iron was later acquitted after Diamond surprised prosecutors by testifying that she made up the accusations only to gain notoriety. Since Coriolanus had supported Grid Iron throughout the entire ordeal, Iron’s decision to be the Blizzards’ GM was an easy one.
After securing the franchise, stadium and general manager, Coriolanus and the Executioner began investing the team’s profits into the drug trade. Over several years, Coriolanus donated millions of dollars generated by the Blizzards to sham charities in South America and Mexico. These charities then laundered the money by transferring it to the cartel, where it was used to fund the drug smuggling operations. The drug profits were then deposited into several off-shore bank accounts, set up by the Executioner.
The enterprise was wildly successful, as both men made over one billion dollars within 10 years. Coriolanus was content to bask in the glory of his vast, new wealth. The Executioner, however, had different plans for his share of the profits.
Working with CIA Director Archie Bitzer, also known as “Silencer,” the Executioner used the money earned from the cartel’s drug activities to genetically engineer a virus that would kill anyone of Arab ancestry. In 2015, the virus was released into a small village in Saudi Arabia, and it spread quickly across the entire region, gaining its nickname, the “Arabian Flu.” By the end of 2016, it had reached every country in the Middle East and killed over 500,000 people. By 2017, the disease appeared for the first time in the United States when a businessman from Yemen died shortly after arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2018, the first case in the continental U.S. occurred when a Saudi immigrant, who had not been to the Middle East in several years, died in a Bronx, New York, hospital.
In 2019, Bitzer urged the Executioner to begin what is known only as “Phase 2,” which involved distributing a vaccine for the Arabian Flu. The Executioner refused, telling Bitzer that he could not provide him a vaccine because none existed - he had lied about it merely to secure Bitzer’s help. Wracked with guilt, Bitzer later took his own life. FBI Agent Alex Goldstein, however, discovered the Executioner’s plot while reviewing Bitzer’s computer files.
Also in 2019, the countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia began deploying large numbers of troops and missiles (suspected of carrying chemical weapons) to their borders with Israel, which they blamed for the disease. In response, Israel detonated a tactical nuclear device in an uninhabited area to deter any military attack by the Arabs.
The escalating violence in the Middle East convinced Goldstein to suggest to his superiors that the U.S. take responsibility for its role in creating the virus. The President of the United States ordered a cover-up of the incident. Goldstein, however, saved the computer records and planned to go public with the information.
Unfortunately, the National Security Agency caught wind of Goldstein’s plan and had him arrested to face charges of treason before a military tribunal. He is currently being held at a secret military base outside of the continental United States.
As for Coriolanus, he fled the U.S. in 2014 following an attempt on his life by one of the Executioner’s assassins and his indictment for drug trafficking. He re-appeared in 2016, however, in Germany. Holed up with a large cache of firearms in a small apartment in suburban Hamburg, Coriolanus told Interpol authorities that he killed his own wife and children mercifully because he feared that they would have suffered horrific and painful deaths if the Executioner got to them first. After several hours of negotiation, Coriolanus agreed to surrender and the authorities all about Operation Snow Blind. Unfortunately, as Coriolanus walked out of the apartment and towards the waiting police, he was shot and killed by an unknown assassin.
To date, the Arabian Flu has killed over three million people. Further, the Executioner’s purpose in creating the virus and releasing it upon the Middle East is currently unknown.
In addition, over the last decade several South Pacific villages, and all of their inhabitants, have been completely destroyed by missiles from Russian Mako helicopters. The Russian government has denied any involvement. The CIA believes that several Mako helicopters that vanished on a training mission in 2003 in Siberia were actually stolen by the squadron commander, Vladimir Maritczak, and his men. A worldwide search has begun for Maritczak, who was an outspoken Ukrainian and considered to be sympathetic toward the United States and NATO. Any connection between the Mako helicopters and Operation Snow Blind, if there is one, is unknown at this time.
On December 31, 2019, NORAD detected the launch of 35 missiles from various Arab nations directed at Israel. Shortly thereafter, Israel launched a counter-strike of 65 rockets, which satellites showed to be armed with nuclear warheads. The capitals of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria are among the cities targeted.
In 2020, the world learned of the horrifying destruction across the Middle East from the Arab-Israeli missile attacks. Millions died and cities were left in ruin. The U.N. sent peacekeepers to the area to maintain stability, but they weren't enough. <b>U.N. Secretary General Jean-Paul Petain</b> was removed from office when the Crown Prince of Kuwait, <b>Jamir Al Sabah</b>, called for his impeachment after his father was killed by a suicide bomber. Al Sabah, the newly crowned King of Kuwait, was elected to replace Petain, and has vowed to increase the U.N.'s military presence in the Middle East to eradicate the many terrorist groups attempting to seize power in the shattered land.
Also in 2020, <b>Grid Iron</b> received a cryptic e-mail from someone purporting to be <b>Anthony Coriolanus</b>. Coriolanus was believed to have been killed by an assassin in 2016 before he could reveal the secret of Operation Snow Blind to the authorities.
In 2021, Grid Iron learned that the e-mail was really an automated message written by Coriolanus several years ago before his death. Coriolanus instructed Grid Iron to access the AgroGlobal computer system in Kuala Lumpur for information that would unveil a horrifying conspiracy. In Kuala Lumpur, Coriolanus left a message for Grid saying the information had to be copied to a keychain hard drive and that it would be slipped to him by a guest at Le Petit Zinc, a restaurant in Paris, on New Year's Eve 2022.
Also in 2021, <b>Anthony Angelino</b> gave up his stake in the Melbourne, Florida, Eagles to become the majority owner of the Nebraska Blizzards. The President of New York-based BuildCo Enterprises, Angelino announced shortly after buying the team that he would move it unless the public paid for a new $1 billion stadium.
At the close of 2021, King Jamir Al Sabah of Kuwait announced that doctors in his country discovered a cure for the Arabian Flu and would begin distributing it immediately.
In 2022, the U.S. government provided U.N. peacekeepers in the Middle East with 1,000 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, the most advanced military plane in the world. The planes were provided at the request of King Sabah, who pointed out the need to deter terrorist cells and rival governments from interfering with the rebuilding process.
Also in 2022, Grid Iron obtained the hard drive Anthony Coriolanus left for him in Paris. In it, Coriolanus included information from AgroGlobal's computer database which described a secret research facility in Paraguay. According to the disk, the place was created by the U.S. government to circumvent the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1975 and was responsible for creating the Arabian Flu. The disk also stated that it was the CIA that released the virus in the Middle East. The facility is hidden in the jungle and has gone undetected by local law enforcement for decades. Coriolanus did, however, give Grid Iron the GPS coordinates.
In 2023, Lincoln Police Officer <b>Michael Phillips</b> obtained a wiretap authorization to monitor the phone calls of a local drug dealer, <b>Chu Nguyen</b>. During on intercepted phone conversation, Nguyen explains to an associate that a new dealer named <b>"Vinny"</b> has opened shop in town and is significantly cutting into his business. Nguyen explained, however, that there was little he could do about Vinny since it is believed he is associated with organized crime ("OC").
2023 concluded when Grid Iron traveled to Paraguay to find the AgroGlobal research facility that manufactured the Arabian Flu. After he arrived, however, several unidentfied helicopters showed up and began firing missiles at Grid and the research facility, destroying the entire place, as well as Grid Iron’s companions.
In 2024, we learned that Grid Iron survived the attack on the research facility and began the long arduous journey home, travelling across the mountain of Paraguay, into Peru, a long trip aboard a fishing boat from Peru to Mexico, and then a bus ride from San Diego to Lincoln. With him, Grid brought two password-protected laptop computers that he recovered from the AgroGlobal research facility debris.
Just as Grid’s life seemed to be returning to normal, however, tragedy struck again. His son was kidnapped on New Year’s Eve, after which Grid received an e-mail from Vladimir Maritczak stating that they each had something the other one wanted.
In 2025, Grid Iron negotiated for the return of his kidnapped son. Vladimir Maritczak promised to return the boy in exchange for the laptop computer Grid took from the AgroGlobal lab in Paraguay. Iron agreed, and the exchange was made shortly after the Blizzards' Super Bowl victory. However, Maritczak's superior, The Executioner, discovered the former Russian Air Force Commander to be a traitor. He was found dead with a single gunshot wound to the head in a Lincoln hotel. The laptop was missing from its case.
Fortunately, both The Executioner and Maritczak were not aware of Grid Iron's second laptop. Also taken from the AgroGlobal lab in Paraguay, Grid Iron stashed the second computer away in his safety deposit box in Lincoln. Since the system is password protected, however, he has no idea what it contains.
In 2026, King Jamir Al Sabah arranged for the transition of U.N. Peacekeepers from European personnel to Arabs, and then announced the creation of the New Republic of Arabia, comprised of Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. After Sabah resigned his post as Secretary General of the U.N., the Arabian U.N. troops gave their allegiance to the King, and took over the only two U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
In a speech to the world, Sabah stated that his plan to return Arabia to it place as the greatest nation in the world was finally complete. He explained that he developed the Allah Virus, engineered to kill all people not of Arab descent, to deter any military action against the New Republic of Arabia, and that he would use his army of former peacekeepers to destroy anyone standing in his way. The identity of the Executioner was finally revealed.
In 2027, former FBI agent Alex Goldstein was released from a secret military base when several U.S. military brass were indicted for their role in Operation Snow Blind. Recognizing that he could trust Goldstein above all else, Grid Iron delivered the second laptop he took from the AgroGlobal Lab in Paraguay. The laptop contained the genetic code for the Allah Virus, and a vaccine, which the U.S. and Russian began to manufacture.
To distribute the vaccine without arousing the suspicions of King Sabah, the U.S. government concocted a story about a rebel group in the Philippines obtaining a vial of smallpox virus. The Allah Virus vaccine was inserted into the smallpox vaccine that was distributed throughout the world, and within months the great weapon of Arabia was rendered impotent.
NATO seized the opportunity and invaded the New Republic of Arabia, conquering the evil nation on December 31, 2027. Unfortunately, King Sabah escaped, and his $1 trillion fortune vanished—transferred into untraceable off-shore bank accounts before the fall of Kuwait City. The world can now only wait to see if Sabah will rise again to seek his revenge.
In 2028, King Jamir Al Sabah obtained a fake U.S. passport and began a long journey to the United States to kill the person who brought down his empire—Grid Iron. The 2028 season came to a close with Sabah holding a gun on Iron at the GM’s home in Lincoln as a 911 dispatcher listened in helplessly.
In 2029, it was learned that Grid Iron wrestled Sabah’s gun away from him and shot the former Kuwaiti King. Unfortunately, Grid was in a coma, having been shot himself in the fight.
2029 came to a close with good news. The Blizzards franchise was almost bought by a Hollywood producer who wanted to move the team, but a group known as the “Consortium” stepped in and purchased the franchise. Shortly after Grid awoke from his coma, the Consortium gave the team’s GM of 27 seasons a controlling 51% interest in the team, and gifted the rest to the People of Lincoln.
Grid Iron later learned that Anthony Coriolanus, who was believed to be dead, was actually alive and a member of the Consortium. Coriolanus told Grid that he stole Sabah’s $1 trillion when NATO forces invaded Kuwait City, and that he was living a comfortable life of anonymity. Coriolanus said that he arranged for the team to be given to Grid Iron because he deserved it. As for what Coriolanus’ plans are for the future, and what the Consortium plans to do with the $1 trillion, one can only speculate. . .
To catch up on all the details of the story from 2000 - 2019, go to the following link at the old FOF Central Pub:
Nebraska Blizzards Decade Review: 2010-2019 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=001278)
Here are the most recent chapters located at the new FOF Central pub:
Nebraska Blizzards 2020: A Ghost From the Past (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5998&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2021: The Plot Thickens (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6200&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2022: A Secret Revealed (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6520&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2023: The Heart of Darkness (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6699&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2024: The Long Road Home (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7145&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2025: Ransom (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11763&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2026: Revelation (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12357&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2027: The Reckoning (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12897&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2028: Endgame (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13002&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
Nebraska Blizzards 2029: Coda (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13100&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)
House Rules (Updated 3/5/03!)
I employ a fairly standard set of "house rules" (empty cupboard, no franchise tag, must maintain a 53-man roster, no renegotiating, can't make trade proposals, trades must pass "fairness test", no current NFL players, auto-sign rookies). During the 20-step free agent period, I may negotiate with any player who was on my team the previous season without restriction. As for free agents who did not play on my team the previous season, I may sign up to three of them during the 20-step process, but I may only bid on one player at a time and I cannot modify my original offer. After the 20-step free agency period, I can only sign undrafted rookie free agents and players who were on my roster the previous season. All contracts signed outside of the 20-step process must be for exactly what the player asks, or for one year. I have decided to allow renegotiating with “classy veterans" who have a loyalty of "high" or above.