Well, I lost most of the post I was going to type here.
Some off-season news:
* Foundation centre Kent de Ossie retired, leaving just Bert Alcott and Gerg Wilson from the class of 1976 still on the roster.
* Former coach KC Beckam is now in charge of our rivals Barcelona.
* Terry Bradshaw retired, ending a wildly successful career in Pittsburgh.
* Keith Willis was traded to the Huskies for guard Mike Munchak.
* We took defensive tackle Alvin Wright with the seventh overall pick
* Montana, Delaney and Mecklenberg got big extensions, foreshadowing salary cap problems in future.
* Following complaints from many NFL franchises about the regular disruption caused by international travel, it is rumoured that the AFC South will be re-established as AFC Europe in the not-to-distant future. Watch this space.
We lose fullback Matt Suhey and safety Mark Murphy for the entire 1986 season before a ball is snapped due to injury.
The season is largely forgetable, as we stumble out of the blocks and fall quickly behind the pace. Same old story for the Monarchs. The highlight is a 23-20 win against the Dragons at Barcelona, our first win there since 1982.
Junior Nutter is sacked mid-season after we lose a home game to the Dolphins, and Jared Cornplow takes over for the rest of the season. It's a lost cause.
Barcelona finished 14-2 and coasted all the way into the Super Bowl, the first international side to do so. Bastards.
AFC Championship Game
Barcelona Dragons 27
Cincinnati Bengals 17
NFC Championship Game
Detroit Lions 27
New York Giants 17
Super Bowl XXI
Detroit Lions 26
Barcelona Dragons 7
NFL Awards
MVP - John Elway (Detroit Lions QB)
Super Bowl MVP - John Elway (Detroit Lions QB)
Offensive Player of the Year - John Elway (Detroit Lions QB)
Defensive Player of the Year - Kenny Easley (Minnesota Vikings CB)
Offensive Rookie of the Year - Neal Anderson (Oakland Raiders RB)
Defensive Rookie of the Year - Pepper Johnson (Los Angeles Rams MLB)