Hello and welcome to another RetRollSpective, where we reflect on the history of marble sports teams that have competed in the tournaments of Jelle’s Marble Runs. This time, we’re going to focus on Team Momary, a team that formed and competed in Marble League 2018. Read on to find out how this team transformed the competition!
Of course, the origin of Team Momary is inseparable from the origins of two established JMR teams: Team Momo and Team Primary.
Mo, Momo, and Mimo hail from the villages around Om, one of the oldest cities in the world. After meeting at Temple of Om, a popular restaurant established inside the Om Temple in the city center, Mo and Momo began training for the Ramen Bowl with their two other friends from the city, Momomo and Momomomo, as Team Momo. In three appearances, the team earned two Golden Noodles and one Bronze Noodle, demonstrating exemplary success in the team division of the Bowl. The year of their second championship, Mimo joined the Momo franchise as an individual competitor and won consecutive Golden Noodles in 2015 and 2016. When Team Momo needed a reserve following the Fidget Spinner Collision in the 2017 Marble League, they recruited Mimo, who accepted and hastily withdrew from their third season competing in the Ramen Bowl.
Prim and Mary, siblings, grew up in the city center of Van Gotterdam, a city renowned as the “art capital” of Marblearth. Their parents were art connoisseurs and trained them to do the same, sending them to the Van Gotterdam Academy of Art. Both Prim and Mary graduated with Bachelors of Science in Art Restoration, and have carried out major projects such as the restoration of Colina Umerun, Om Temple, and the Acrollpolis in Sotsevsa. They were inspired to practice the art of marble sports after the featurette on Jelle Bakker’s Knikkegen Marble League went viral:
“Until then, we’d only learned to appreciate and get excited about art. But the more we watched it, the more that Prim and I saw that there was an art to marble sports,” Mary admitted. “It was an art that inspired marbles to push themselves, to become the best versions of themselves.”
“We wanted to be a part of that,” Prim concluded.
Prim and Mary entered the 2014 Knikkegen Marble League with no training, but quickly befriended Rima and Imar, two veterans of the tournament, to form Team Primary. The first year they competed, they placed seventh, and the next year, they dominated throughout the season to win their first KML title.
In mid-2015, both Team Primary and Team Momo were invited to compete in the Marble League because of their exemplary performances in regional tournaments. Both teams accepted and faced off against each other in competition for the first time on 05 August 2016. Momo, though, claims that the teams’ paths have crossed before – several times.
“There was construction going on for a while at Temple of Om when the four of us met for the first time,” recalled Momo. “I don’t remember what it was for, but it did look like the workers were restoring some of the statues and mosaics.”
“We carried out our project in Om in…the early 10’s? It’s certainly possible,” mused Prim. “We don’t have access to the files anymore, though. Our sibling Rose is in charge of the company now.”
Team Momo and Team Primary were seldom close in the standings throughout the 2016 Marble League – Momo was always ahead – but the team developed a close friendship from the beginning, one that other teams were confused to watch unfold.
“I looked over after the High Jump, and I saw Imar and Momomomo laughing with their medals,” noted Swifty. “I thought to myself, ‘is it a competition if you’re even competing?’ Then again, I certainly didn’t compete in that event.”
Neither team cared about what others thought. As Team Momo finished just off the podium in fourth overall, other teams were quick to praise them for a very hard-fought season. Team Primary did not receive that same recognition, but they also lacked the same experience. It became clear to them that they needed more training to compete—and to stay in the league. In the end, Team Primary would be able to do so with a commanding Qualifiers performance of second overall. Mary followed that up with their first gold medal in Funnel Spinning, which was also their team’s first gold medal.
“I did not doubt that Mary could shine in the main tournament with Funnel Spinning. Mary is my better half, after all,” said Prim, following their last-place finish in the event during Qualifiers.
Team Momo, on the other hand, experienced a demoralizing start to their 2017 season. Although Momomo did well in Funnel Spinning, placing fifth, Mo placed last in the Long Jump, sending the team tumbling down the standings. Following that, of course, was the now-infamous Fidget Spinner Collision event. As Momomomo received the worst injury that any Marble League athlete has experienced to date, Team Primary performed well, following their bronze from the previous year’s Collision with another bronze. The team returned to the top of the standings, looking invincible, while Team Momo could not have looked much more vulnerable.
“We felt destroyed,” Imar confessed. “Whatever you’d imagine a team to be thinking at the top of the standings—we weren’t thinking about any of it. We truly felt terrible for Team Momo.”
The team was one of the first to reach out to Team Momo after the event, and, after learning of the costs of Momomomo’s surgery, looked for ways to fundraise money. Prim and Mary contacted their parents and organized an art auction, the proceeds of which they donated to Momomomo, who shared it with the rest of the team.
“To say that we’re grateful is an understatement. Team Primary, the Midnight Wisps, and so many other teams that supported us are the reason we’ve still been able to compete. We didn’t ask for the generosity, but we appreciate it beyond comprehension. Thank you,” Momomomo released in a press statement following the 2017 Marble League.
Both teams were able to carry on throughout the rest of the season, albeit not as strong as they had in 2016. Even with a three-medal streak in Relay, Block Pushing, and High Jump, Team Momo (with Mimo filling in as the Marble League’s first reserve!) was not consistent enough through the rest of the events and placed ninth overall. Team Primary finished in the top half of an event only once more during the remaining nine events and finished fourteenth overall after the tournament.
It was during the 2017 season that Team Primary began to experience internal issues with team members, especially following Imar’s disqualification from the Relay. Without a defined team captain, these issues spiraled into a conflict of leadership during training for the 2018 Marble League Qualifiers. Team Primary got into a fight with the Balls of Chaos at the end of Qualifiers after both teams had faced off in the Halfpipe:
“I wasn’t trying ‘to knock Tumult out of the way’. I was trying to control myself on the halfpipe, but their momentum pushed me forward. I didn’t like that accusation, so I got angry,” said Prim.
“If you look at the bottom of the picture where both teams were fighting—that was me,” Rima revealed. “I didn’t want any part of that fight. It wasn’t worth it, and to see the fans get angry too was not something I wanted. Even if we had failed to qualify.”
Momomomo, who had become friendly with the Balls of Chaos when they were watching the 2017 Marble League from the stands, declined to comment on the situation along with the rest of their team. But they looked particularly disappointed as they took the stage to celebrate their qualification.
With healthy donations from across the fanbase, Momomomo was able to afford the medical care they needed to recover from their injury. While Momomomo recovered, the team regularly checked on them while training Mimo as an official new member of the team.
“Just because they have an ‘I’ in their name doesn’t mean they aren’t for the team. Mimo has been a truly fresh addition to Team Momo and always inspires Momo, Momomo, and myself to be the best we can be,” stated Mo, with pride. “We have no intention of benching them, nor will they ever replace Momomomo: Mimo’s not only a great team member, but they’ve also strengthened the bond of our family.”
Team Momo’s insistence to keep Mimo on the team inspired a new rule from JMR, allowing one reserve for every team to compete if desired or needed. As Team Momo entered the stage for the Draw, they would find every team, including those joining the League for the first time, with a reserve.
“It’s humbling, honestly,” said Mimo. “It means a lot to have been the first reserve, and means even more to have inspired a new group of athletes to shine. I’m looking forward to competing with them!”
Team Momo faced an uphill battle during Qualifiers, as they were unable to match the surprising dominance of the Oceanics in Curling and the surprising dominance of the Pinkies in general. Two podiums in the Snow Rally and the 5 Meter Ice Dash helped the team qualify for their third Marble League. And after the season they’d experienced in 2017, they were both relieved and ecstatic for what was to come, even if they would be competing without Team Primary qualifying for the first time.
What followed for Team Momo in the 2018 Marble League was their worst start to a season yet. After placing thirteenth in the first two events, they sat in last place overall for the first time in their career. Although they made up ground in the third event, placing ninth, the fourth event, Bobsled, forever changed the team.
Disaster struck for Team Momo when they came to a stop on the course, caused by a track defect. As the IMC ruled that Team Momo was eligible for a retry, Momomo withdrew from the event due to altitude sickness and was replaced with Mimo in the retry. During their second run, Momomomo was knocked into a corner and was incapacitated for the rest of the ride. The team finished twelfth in the event, remaining second-to-last overall, but they were now without not one but two of their main team members. Doctors assisted Momomo and Momomomo following the event, concluding that they would be okay, but not fit to compete in the rest of the 2018 Marble League.
“We reached out to everyone we knew – individual competitors from the Ramen Bowl, teams we’d competed against in the past. We nearly secured a deal with the Green Gang, who had just won the Hubelino Tournament, but they opted to complete their victory tour instead,” Mo recalled. “Then, Rima reached out to us.”
Subject: Team Momo Incident
21st February 2018
Team Momo and Team Primary are merging temporarily. In terms of points, they will start with the same number of points and medals as Team Momo gained before the injuries. Prim and Rima are the only marbles who will be joining Team Momo and will compete in the team events. Mimo will remain an alternate for the time being. Team Momo was given the option to keep their name and logo but decided to create a new one for the temporary merged team. Therefore, the team with Mo, Momo, Prim, Rima, and Mimo will be known as Team Momary, and use a new logo. Prim and Rima will be eligible to compete in individual events for Team Momary if the team wishes.
An official statement from the International Marble Committee at the time, informing fans of the Team Momary merger.
“Prima initially denied it, saying that a green team like Jungle Jumpers would be better suited to help them,” explained Rima. “They eventually realized that this would be an opportunity for us to compete and redeem ourselves after last season. Prim and I were the chosen marble athletes to form Team Momary, but the fans wanted Mary to join.”
Rima’s expression fell. “So Mary joined. And I was denied the chance to compete.”
When asked about the merger, Mary shrugged it off. “It made sense for me to compete. My name is a part of ‘Momary’, so. It’s only fair.”
As the main team members got acclimated to working together for the remaining team events, Mimo was the first to represent Momary in the fifth event, Speed Skating. Their debut in the 2018 season was, unfortunately, less successful than the year prior, placing fifteenth against Cosmo from Team Galactic, who placed ninth.
“I felt bad going up against Mimo after everything they’d been through this season, but someone had to compete against them,” Cosmo remarked in a postseason interview. “I reached out to them after the event, but they weren’t responsive. I hope they’re doing okay.”
Team Momary’s first group appearance was in the sixth event, Team Pursuit, where the team advanced past the heats, just edging ahead of the Pinkies, but placed eighth after losing the quarterfinals to the Raspberry Racers. Team Momary fell to last in the standings despite placing in the top half of an event for the first time in the season.
Following the event, the Raspberry Racers visited Team Momary’s training facility at the Arctic Circle. Although the exact details of their meeting have not been disclosed, Razzy confirmed its occurrence in a comment to MSPN:
“As one team with merger experience to another, we thought we’d reach out to Momary. Initially, they weren’t so receptive, but by the end of our meeting they seemed very grateful that we were in touch.”
Curiously, not one of the five members of Team Momary has corroborated this story.
Team Momary earned their first gold medal in an individual event – the Snow Rally. In an event that scored athletes by their number of “Snow Points” (one point per placement) after two races, Momo and Whizzy both placed first and sixth twice, necessitating a tiebreaker between the two athletes that measured the average finish in seconds between the two races. Momo’s gold medal was decided by not even a quarter of a second, and they ascended to the top step of the podium, earning 25 points for their team.
Following Momo’s gold, Mary became the first member from Team Primary to compete individually in the eighth event, the Snowboard Cross. They placed thirteenth, a disappointing finish for an athlete that, like Mimo, also had a strong debut in 2017.
“I’m as upset with that result as everyone else is, but we have the rest of the season ahead of us. That’s our focus,” Mary promised.
Team Momary proved their abilities as a team in Curling, fending off the Balls of Chaos, Mellow Yellow, and Raspberry Racers to advance to the finals. Although the Oceanics dominated over them, landing on the button in the last run of the event, Team Momary rolled away with a silver medal: their first and only team medal of the season.
Razzy remarked after the event, “It was heartwarming to see Momary take the silver, even if their win blocked us from reaching the finals. We’ve felt like a lot of the veteran teams don’t remember what it’s like when they came together to form a team. It’s in both our nature and Momary’s, and it’s made both of our teams stronger.”
The team placed ninth in the Biathlon and was statistically eliminated from the podium in the penultimate event, Ice Hockey, following a quarterfinal loss to the Midnight Wisps. In just the next event, the Wisps would claim the 2018 Marble League championship in a historic upset over the Savage Speeders, Oceanics, and arguably the rest of the teams. Mo’s fifteenth place finish in that event, the Sand Mogul Race, didn’t matter much, anchoring the team in twelfth overall after the 2018 Marble League, with a total of 90 points earned.
When asked about their opinion of the season, Rima was understandably disappointed. “Imar, Aryp, and I weren’t impressed, to say the least. And we made that known to Prim and Mary.”
Team Momo and Team Primary amicably split the merger following the 2018 Marble League, as both Momomo and Momomomo’s conditions had improved to a significant enough degree. Although the teams remain friends to this day, the fallout from the merger heightened internal tensions within Team Primary:
“We were fighting. A lot. There was an obvious rift between the three of us and Prim and Mary, and they didn’t even try to fix it,” Imar explained.
“At times, it felt like I wasn’t training to compete on a team, but to do the best out of anyone else on the team,” confessed Aryp. “I thought it was normal for a while, but when I visited Thorston to watch the new Thunderbolts roster train for Qualifiers, I realized how bad things were on my team. I can’t say that I didn’t question leaving before I’d even competed in an event.”
Thunder, who competed with Aryp in the Tour de Vellis before joining the Thunderbolts, agreed. “We were shocked to hear about what was going on with Team Primary. We weren’t shocked that they didn’t qualify the following year.”
Team Momo only grew closer in the 2018 offseason, training with Momomo and Momomomo even when the two athletes were progressing through the later stages of rehab. That summer, they placed well in both offseason events, with Mimo finishing ninth in the 100 Meter Water Race and the team placing eighth in the Amazing Maze Marble Race. By comparison, Team Primary finished fourteenth and tenth in those events respectively, finishing decently enough but leaving enough to be desired.
“We invited [Team Momo] to Helarve after our victory tour, and after Momomo and Momomomo had recovered,” revealed Wispy. “The timing didn’t end up working out with the offseason competitions, but they appreciated the gesture.” Marble sports coverage later reported that Team Momo and the Midnight Wisps finally gathered after the 2019 Marble League Friendly Round.
Neither Team Momo nor Team Primary qualified for the 2019 Marble League, with Momo finishing fourteenth and Primary finishing twentieth, last overall in the group of 20 competitors. Team Primary’s appearance in Qualifiers was marred by a DNF in the Relay, where Mary failed to finish the race after being pushed by Imar.
“Imar hit the block, but I couldn’t move,” Mary explained. “I felt something underneath of me, and it blocked me from coming off the block. It killed all of my momenta—and just like that, we got zero points from that event.”
Prim and Mary appealed to the referee, and in a rare moment of teamwork, were joined by Rima, Imar, and Aryp, but the referees adamantly denied their requests. After a fight broke out in the stands, Coach Prima joined the team but was escorted away shortly after by security, along with the rest of the team. The fight in the stands, which Team Primary fans started against Raspberry Racers fans, caused security to get directly involved, breaking up the fight and banning Team Primary fans from the stadium.
“We checked around the block, inside of the plate, and we did not find any debris,” a referee stated. “The Limers fans were still throwing the debris into the blue area, but it did not interfere with the relay course. We did the best we could to ensure that the race was fairly conducted, and we saw no reason to change the outcome.”
Team Primary refused to apologize to the Racers for the fight in the stands, as Primary briefly dissolved following Qualifiers. To their surprise, the Racers received funds from Team Momo for any fans that needed medical attention. The donation included a cheeky note that read, We believe in good mojo at Team Momo. Feel better, Racers fans! After they received the donation, Team Momo was invited to Tumbletown to visit the Racers, which they did after visiting the Wisps in Helarve and before visiting Prim and Mary in Van Gotterdam in their garden, The Palette.
During their stay in Van Gotterdam, Team Momo and Team Primary completed an exclusive interview with me about Team Momary, the contents of which I am authorized to detail in this article for the first time…
Team Momary – A “Primo” Moment
conducted 20 February 2019
Stynth: Let’s get rolling. How did you come up with the name “Team Momary”? I recall a lot of fans asking for “Team Primo” or just “Team Momo” to remain the name.
Mo: It wouldn’t have been fair to call the merger “Team Momo”, because we’re not that team without two of our team members. We thought it was important to represent both of our legacies in this unique circumstance, and with that, we came to a new name.
Prim: It wouldn’t have made sense for our part of the name to be first, since we weren’t the team that qualified. We thought “Momary” was the most natural fit – you wouldn’t have wanted “Team Moprimo”, “Team Morima”, “Team Momimar”, or “Team Momaryp” to compete instead, right?
Stynth: Haha. I guess not. Who originally reached out about the merger in the first place, anyway? I understand Rima might be a better marble to answer this question.
Mary: No, that’s alright. Rima discussed it enough to make the merger happen, but I brought it up to them at the beginning. You wouldn’t hear that from Rima, though.
Momo: We were very gracious to hear from the entire team about their enthusiasm to help us. We’ve gotten along as friends for years, so we knew it would be as natural of a fit as it possibly could be. The merger contract took only a few hours to write and sign by both of our teams.
Stynth: Were Momomo and Momomomo involved in the signing?
Momomo: We were not. To be blunt, I was bedridden with altitude sickness, and Momomomo was fading in and out of consciousness. When we were made aware of the merger, we had no doubt it was only temporary until we made a full recovery.
Stynth: During the season, did any of you involved find that you wanted the merger to extend beyond the contract?
Mimo: I did not. As much as I enjoyed working with Team Primary, it was an adjustment that never felt like it had settled. We could have all donned the same uniforms, adopted new nicknames, and even changed our branding, and it still wouldn’t have felt as good as competing with Team Momo.
Prim: There are some things I miss – like competing in the Marble League and having the opportunity to grow even closer with a team that I respect so much. That said, I can’t see Team Momary existing now, nor can I see the team reforming in the future.
Mo: It was something both of our teams needed at that momoment. That’s passed, and we need to be Team Momo and Team Primary now.
Mary: I’ll always wish that Team Primary had the same charisma as Team Momary. It was a true pleasure to be on the same team as Mo, Momo, and Mimo.
Momo: I don’t regret that it happened, and I’ll treasure our achievements. It’s for the best that we all move on and focus on ourselves this season, seeing as we now have a year until we’re competing again.
The next day, the 2019 Marble League Showdown was announced, and Team Momo left Van Gotterdam to train for the tournament in Om. Team Primary reformed within the week and entered counseling sessions together, beginning to work on resolving their internal turmoil with their new coach, Secondary.
Both Team Momo and Team Primary are still actively competing in the tournaments of Jelle’s Marble Runs to this day, with Team Momo returning to the Marble League in 2020 and 2021 and both teams appearing in Seasons 1, 2, and 3 of Marbula One. Team Momary remains inactive but is remembered for being the first and so far only merger team in Marble League history.
In RetRollSpective, Team Momary represents a unique moment in the history of Jelle’s Marble Runs. The degree of their success in the 2018 Marble League can be debated, but as an institution, Team Momary represented far more than a simple merger: they were one where two teams came together to push through adversity and did just that. Best of luck to Team Momo and Team Primary in the future, keep on rolling!
Credits
- Writer: Stynth
- Editor: Smacg13
- Graphic Designer: Hershy926
- Photographer: Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Release: 07/07/2022
Project Marblearth 