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 the Bluefastics, a team that blends in with the history of the Hubelino Tournament. Read on to find out how this team has amped up the competition!

The Bluefastics origin story is one of fascination; fascination for movies, as all four of the original members met as workers for the Non-Descript Entertainment Company in Melbloue. Baloo worked as a design director, and designed sets for most of the Non-Descript Entertainment Company sets. Dory was a stunt double most of the time, and often worked with fellow stunt doubles Violet and Salvia, future members of the Valiant Violets. Gonzo helped in the scriptwriting department, working alongside another future marble athlete, Rambutan, of the Silver Lychees. Mako was an actor, generally one of the leading roles.

The four all worked on numerous film projects throughout their career but didn’t work together until 2015, with the release of the blockbuster film, The Foresters Awaken; a cinematic masterpiece detailing the age-long rivalry of the Foresters and Flaming Cobras; two teams that compete in The Bourne Network’s Marble Games.

“It really was quite the experience,” Mako said. “Baloo was the design director for the project, Dory and I were actors, and Gonzo did the scriptwriting with Lantana (another future Valiant Violet); all of our specialties, really. We really all became much closer after it.” 

The Bluefastics continued to work on films into early 2016, most notably their own movie, Into the Big Blue, an action movie starring all four of the team members. Baloo described it as “the most fun any of us had ever had.” The team would direct one more film in 2016, which detailed the history of the Knikkegen Marble League. The Bluefastics starred as the winning team of the league that year, which helped develop their love for Marble Racing. The film was so well done that it caught the eye of Jelle Bakker, who hosted the league. Jelle had seen some of the team’s other films, and upon seeing The Knikkegen Performance, offered them a chance to compete in the Hubelino Tournament.

“It would be an honor to compete in such a high level of competition. We haven’t explicitly trained for it, but since we have been given this chance, we weren’t hesitant to accept it.” The team stated in a press release. Upon acceptance of the invitation, the Valiant Violets announced that they too would be competing in the Hubelino Tournament, joining the Bluefastics from their film days. Unfortunately for the Bluefastics, tragedy struck back on the home front shortly before the competition. There was a rumor that there had been a tragedy within the families of two team members, who would miss the season due to it. While it was never confirmed which two members stayed, the Bluefastics were now down half of a team. Frantically searching for replacements, Razzy and Rozzy, two members of the Raspberry Racers, were accepted onto the team and took the pseudonyms of the two members who had to withdraw for the season.

“It was a desperate situation, but we hope that we can make the most of it.” An anonymous team member remarked.

The Bluefastics competition experience did not start off well. A fifth-place finish in Funnel Spinning was a respectable result, as was their fourth place in the Catwalk. However, the team would have three consecutive bottom-three finishes in the next few events; the Halfpipe Crash, Elimination Maze, and Quartet Jump.

The team turned it around in the Pursuit Slalom with a gold medal, their first of the tournament. 

“Our first ever gold medal…it’s rather spectacular.” The team remarked. “Outside of acting and stunts, we don’t really have that much experience in the competitive sports world, so we were a little stunned!” They would follow that up with another podium performance, earning a silver medal in the Swing Wave.

“That was a solid result, and we hope we can keep the momentum up.” The team stated afterward. A fourth-place finish in the Combination Race scored five more solid points for the team, which they followed up with a fifth-place result in the Halfpipe Dash.

“While we may not be contending for the lead, we’re still happy with our provisional fifth overall,” the team released in a press conference. “After all, this is our first ever tournament.” The team put up another fourth-place finish in Event 10, the Relay Course. The tournament went on a break after this, as Jelle Bakker was preparing to host the pinnacle of marble competitions: the Marble League.

“We figured that we might as well root for the Oceanics; a fellow blue team. We were relatively pleased with how the results turned out as well” One of the team members said. Following the conclusion of the 2017 Marble League, the team returned back to the Hubelino Tournament for its final two events: Block Push and Ball Battle. They would end the tournament in sixth place with 62 points, a respectable outcome for their first ever experience in the competitive field of marble sports.

“Certainly not the result we were looking for, but we cannot say that we are surprised. We did, after all, have no prior experience in competitions, so we managed with what we could,” the team stated in a press conference after the Closing Ceremony.

The Bluefastics were invited to the Marble League 2018 Qualifiers, but Razzy and Rozzy, who had helped the team win two medals in team events, left to return to Rubow and reform the Raspberry Racers. The other two Bluefastics declined the invite, stating that they felt they weren’t ready for such a high echelon of competition yet. They returned home to Melbloue to reunite with the other two members of the team.

“We were happy to be together again,” Gonzo remarked. “The two of us who stayed here are ready to give the Hubelino competition a shot.” And so they did. In late 2018, the Bluefastics set off to compete in the second edition of the Hubelino Tournament, and this time, they found more success.

“Perhaps it’s that chemistry, of all four of us being together again,” Dory exclaimed. The Bluefastics started off strong, with a bronze in the Swing Wave, and a silver in the Catwalk; two events they had done well in the prior season. The Bluefastics let off the gas slightly in the next two events, with Mako taking fifth in the Funnel Race, and Dory placing fourth in halfpipes. But the team won their first gold of the season in Block Bumping. 

“We’ve found a newfound focus this year, and I think that is helping us with our results,” Baloo said. “Plus, some of the new events just seem to fit our strong suits. We’ve found we’re rather well suited for strength events.”

The team never left the top half of the overall standings, and never placed below sixth place in an event. They finished the season in fourth overall, with 52 points, as Gonzo placed sixth in the Maze, and Baloo finished the finale in fourth.

“I’m rather happy with myself,” Baloo said while the podium celebration took place. “Sure, I didn’t podium, and that stings a little bit. But I still did my best out there, and as a whole, the team is still in a solid spot.”

“It was a marked improvement,” Mako remarked. “I was looking forward to competing again next season, but we’ve received word that the tournament is shutting down.”

While fourth was still a top-half finish, the Bluefastics were just one point away from the treasured overall podium, which would have been an outstanding effort from the team if they had managed to secure a podium, despite only participating in one competition beforehand.

The only slightly disappointed Bluefastics returned back home to Melbloue, seemingly retired from the competitive scene. They returned to their roots in the film industry, and produced several more blockbuster hits throughout 2019, including Captain Marble.

Baloo stated that “It was nice to have a little break from competition…film has always been a passion of ours. Plus, we haven’t really found any competitions that have suited our interests of late with Hubelino being closed.”

This statement would be proven false just one year later when the Bluefastics were visiting Bermenghank for a summer vacation. Word had gotten out that a local league was starting up, called the Marble Games, run by SuperJackJack. The Bluefastics had been planning on shooting some film of the competition for a movie, but word had gotten out that the tournament was lacking one more team, and would be unable to start until another team filled the vacancy.

“We kind of played it by ear,” Gonzo said. “Might as well give it a shot, no?” And so the Bluefastics were accepted into the inaugural season of the Marble Games. Their debut started off strong, with a second in the Track Race, and a first in Block Pushing being their shining moments. They ended the tournament in fourth, a respectable debut after a year out of the competition.

The Bluefastics had enjoyed their success in Season 1 of the Marble Games, and were overjoyed to participate in Season 2! Ultimately, their record in Season 2 would not be as impressive as their debut in the tournament, but Mako did manage to win a gold in the Tarmac Rally!

The team would finish in 12th, a noticeable decline from the first season, but their first tournament with more than eight participants. “It certainly added a new layer of challenge,” remarked Dory. “But I think we handled it the best that we could.”

By now, the Bluefastics’ cravings for the competition had kickstarted into high gear. During the offseason between Seasons 2 and 3 of the Marble Games, the team had been planning on building training grounds back home in Melbloue. It was during the construction of this training facility that the team became acquainted with Stitch, a former athlete of the Knikkegen Marble League, who had been in the documentary that Bluefastics had released in 2016. Stitch had taken an interest in the team after their performances in the Marble Games, and offered to help coach them, and give them tips.

“I’m honestly surprised we made it this far without coaching,” Dory remarked. “So yeah, we accepted Stitch’s offer pretty easily.” The team began training harder than ever under Stitch, in preparation for their third season of the Marble Games. But before that, they received an invitation from none other than their old Hubelino friends, the Minty Maniacs! They had been invited to participate in the Herbotamia Reunion, hosted by the Maniacs.

“We’re hoping our experience in the Marble Games over these past few months has been enough,” Baloo stated. “We’re, admittedly, kind of shocked that the tournament is happening. We had thought all hope of that was lost after 2018.” 

Baloo later received a call from the Valiant Violets, stating that they too had been invited to the Reunion, and were overjoyed to participate. The Bluefastics accepted the invitation, but noticing that they needed a reserve member to compete in the tournament, the team put up an advertisement in Melbloue, announcing an open tryout at their training grounds for the final spot on the team. The ad gathered a fair amount of interest, and at the end of the day, the team unanimously agreed on selecting Sulley, a local journalist, and former track star, as their reserve.

“I’m thrilled to be participating in the tournament, and joining the Bluefastics in their journeys!” Sulley beamed. “I’ve journaled about the team a little bit in my spare time, so to meet with, and now be a part of them, is something special!”

The team participated in the Herbotamia Reunion, hosted by the Minty Maniacs, but were not allowed to speak to the public about their results, as they were held to an NDA. They did remark, however, that they were “extremely thankful to the Minty Maniacs for hosting this splendid tournament, and would gladly do it again.”

“We were really grateful for it,” Mako said. “Honestly, we were really shocked to be able to return to a tournament that we had all but moved on from, so it was a little bit surreal.”

On their return to Bermenghank, the Bluefastics’ Season 3 audition for the Marble Games was a disaster. They failed to qualify and then placed dead last in the subsequent showdown. The team refused to comment on their performance and stated that they would be training for upcoming seasons harder than ever. In the meanwhile, reserve member Sulley suggested taking a break to film a movie, as it could help clear their minds, and get them back on track.“Honestly, when Sulley first suggested that, I was a bit hesitant. But I realized…maybe this is the break that the team needs to be kick-started in the right direction,” stated Stitch. The team returned to Melbloue and set off to shoot their newest film, a nature documentary titled I’m Blue, which detailed the environmental changes happening across Marblearth. There were rumors of a potential collaboration with the Jungle Jumpers in helping with an environmental protection fundraiser, but there was never a collaboration between the two teams.

“It’s a very important topic to raise awareness of,” Baloo remarked. “I’m glad that our film was able to reach so many marbles, and that we were able to spread the word of environmentalism.”

The Bluefastics returned for Season 4 of the Marble Games and managed to get through the qualifiers this time. “We’re excited to be back on the big stage again,” Mako stated. “When we were filming I’m Blue, it was a refreshing break, for sure. But now that we’ve completed that, our eyes are locked on that trophy again.”

“You really feel that competitive flare just running through you as you zip down a race course, ya know?” Baloo exclaimed. “Here’s to a more successful season than last time.”

Unfortunately, the Bluefastics’ Season 4 would be nothing to write home about. They would finish in 12th place overall, tying their placement from two seasons ago.

“It stings a bit, but we assure you, this isn’t our peak.” Coach Stitch said to the fans back home in Melbloue. “We will finish in the top five next season. We will pick up at least three podiums. We will be contenders, just like we used to be in the Hubelino Tournament. You can quote me on that.”

And then, the Bluefastics began one of the most magical runs of their career. And arguably, one of the most magical runs in marble sports history.

“Looking back on it…it’s really special. I still can’t believe that we pulled it off.” Gonzo, whose eyes glimmered as they recalled the moments, stated. “It was…otherworldly.”

After advancing out of the qualifiers, the magical run started with a fifth-place finish in Collision, to which Baloo remarked “A strong showing in a strong event to start us off…I’m rather pleased with that.” The Bluefastics would score eleven more points with another fifth-place finish in the Track Race, followed by their first medal of the season; a gold in Funnel Endurance.

“We were overjoyed at that,” stated Coach Stitch, who met with the large swarms of Bluefastics fans who had made the journey to Bermenghank. “This team has been training day in and out for this, and we’re happy it’s finally coming together.”

The Bluefastics continued their dominant, magical run with a fifth-place finish in the Penalty Shootout, followed by a bronze medal in the Long Jump. A fifth in Catwalk, fourth in Elimination Race, and silver in the Snow Rally ensured that the Bluefastics would finish the first half of the season with all of their finishes in the top five.

The Bluefastics’ dominant stretch was eventually heard of by Cable Marble Media (CMM), who sent a duo of reporters over to interview the team at the halfway point of the season.

“How are we doing this? Quite frankly, we don’t know!” Mako laughed, in an interview with CMM reporter Rambutan, now a member of the former Fruit Circuit and Orbit’s Marble Trials team, the Silver Lychees. “We’ve been training really hard with Coach of late, but even then…it’s still unfathomable that we’re doing so well.”

“We just need to keep pushing,” Baloo stated. “If we slow down now, we open the opportunity for any number of competitors to catch us.”

Rambutan, using their former scriptwriting experience with Gonzo, described the team as “a very well-rounded group, with high aspirations for the championship,” and predicted that they would go on to win the tournament.

The Bluefastics would start out the second half of the season with another fifth in the Sprint Race, followed by their first bottom half result of the season; an eleventh place in the Steeplechase. They would bounce back, firing off back-to-back silvers in the Timed Endurance and Obstacle Course.

“Years after the Hubelino Tournament ended, the Bluefastics are steamrolling the competition in the Marble Games.” Reported CMM. The team only had four events left to go, chasing their first championship. They would get fifth in Curling and Moguls, and an eighth in Diving, meaning that in the first 15 events, they had 14 top-half finishes.

“Unreal.” Coach Stitch reported. “I would say that I can’t believe that it’s happening, but I know these marbles, and I know that they have the talent to pull this off.”

And pull it off they did. An eleventh place finish in the Marble Marathon by Baloo secured the Bluefastics their first ever championship, with 207 points, a gold medal, three silver medals, and a bronze.

“We did it! We actually did it!” Baloo exclaimed, triumphant atop the final podium. The Bluefastics had won it all and decided to follow up their victory by going on tour. Sulley was in charge of planning the trip and booked visits to Belark, Rosaka, and the Agatia Woods. The team landed in Belark first, home of the former Fruit Circuit team, the Blueberry Bonanza. Belark was renowned all across Marblearth for its wonderful Blueberry Fields, which spanned across the excerpts of the region. Baloo managed to reserve a private tour in the fields with the captain of the Blueberry Bonanza; Bonza.

“It was an honor to give them the tour!” Bonza stated. “I’ve always been a big fan of the team, ever since the Hubelino Tournament back in 2016. Once the tourney halted I had thought they dropped off, but lo and behold I saw them on CMM detailing their tremendous season in the Marble Games!” Bonza laughed. “Glad to see ‘em on top of the podium there.”

The next stop on the tour was Rosaka, where the Bluefastics enjoyed several dance performances at the local theater.

“The culture here is really special,” Mako remarked. “I love the cherry blossoms that surround the city, too.” The Bluefastics rolled on out of Rosaka and headed to the Agatia Woods next, where they met with the Avocado Apes, another former Fruit Circuit team. The Apes and Bluefastics went on a woodland running excursion, where they participated in a dirt race together. 

“We really had a blast on our tour, and in the tournament,” Gonzo stated, fresh off of winning the dirt race with the Avocado Apes. “And that means we auto qualify for the sixth edition of the Marble Games, too!”

The Bluefastics returned back to Bermenghank for the sixth season of the Marble Games, where they auto-qualified. Their championship title defense would not go how any of them imagined. The field was expanded to twenty teams for the season, and the Bluefastics would finish in fifteenth out of twenty. They put up a few solid performances, namely a fourth in the Obstacle Course, and a third in Block Pushing and the Solo Tower Descent. But nothing that would compare to their outstanding championship performance from Season 5.

“We are, no doubt, disappointed with our result.” The team released a statement following the conclusion of the season. “We hope to reverse the course for next season, whenever that may be.”

The Bluefastics, after a gauntlet of tournaments, finally returned home to Melbloue for a brief break. 

“We wanted to return home to spend a little time with our friends and families before going back out there and training,” Dory said. “I think that’s one aspect of competitive marble sports that is often overlooked; just how demanding the life of an athlete is! But it’s worth every sacrifice, and that’s why we keep on persevering. As a team.”

In RetRollSpective, the Bluefastics are a team that has bonded over their love for film, as well as competition. They’ve managed to keep their flair for competition alive in the Marble Games, and also develop their films in the movie industry further beyond any of their wildest dreams. Best of luck to the Bluefastics in the near future, keep on rolling!

Credits

• Writer: The Emperor
• Editors: Bookity, Skyfall_707, Smacg13, Stynth
• Graphic Designer: MightyCucumber
• Photographers: The Emperor, JackJack, Jelle’s Marble Runs, PeskyBird
• Release: 04/08/2022

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 the Ruby Rollers, a team that blends in with the history of the Hubelino Tournament. Read on to find out how this team has pecked at the competition!

The land of Hummilon, nestled in the heart of the Herbotamia region and known for its “Aviary Topiary”, the largest bird zoo on Marblearth surrounded by one of the largest gardens in the world, may not come to mind as the ideal atmosphere for begetting marble sports athletes. Such a rural region stands in stark contrast to the great wonders of the modern world, such as La Colina Umerun in the heart of Numerun, the Cat’s Dunes outside the bustling city of Felynia, Mount Huaze in…who knows where, and other inspiring locations that stand as landmarks to attract marbles around the world. This was, however, the optimal atmosphere for Rolla, Rollew, Rollo, and Rolly to meet, become acquainted, and be inspired to form a team called the Ruby Rollers.

The four came from around the world, bringing birds rescued from injuries and birds from endangered species to be nursed back to health and protected in the captivity of the Aviary Topiary. Their work did not always overlap, so it took them some time once graduating from university to cross paths while at the zoo.

“I come from the suburbs between the Big Marble and Philamarblia,” Rollew stated, “where we have one of the most advanced economies in the world. I earned my degree from a university there and thought of working at the city’s zoo. But I have always loved traveling, and there is no place to travel that compares to the Aviary Topiary.”

“I met Rollew just before a trip back to Greshen,” recalled Rollo. “They had brought a group of ruby roller pigeons from Cairoll to our medical facilities…we began talking for hours about pigeons. I missed my train to Chlorotopia. It was worth it.”

“Wingdon, being on the Brace Isles, was a magnificent place to study ornithology,” Rolly noted. “But there just isn’t a lot of source material around when everything is so industrialized.”

“On the contrary, I know what it’s like to truly experience wildlife,” claimed Rolla, a native of Bright Hyu City. “I enjoy coming here to bring birds together as they are and getting to release them as they become stronger. What I didn’t expect is that I would become friends with Rolly and Rollo as they were onboarding a flock of ruby-throated hummingbirds!”

The four laughed. Years after their performances in the Hubelino Tournament, I was fortunate enough to be able to interview the Ruby Rollers in a special suite at Pepper Field, hours before they would reunite to compete in the Herbotamia Tournament Reunion. Other teams were gathered on the field conversing and practicing, but the Rollers, as they assured me, did not need much time to do that.

Rolla passed me a piece of paper with the outline of a red-eyed and red-beaked pigeon on it. “This was a logo we drew up when we were just getting to know each other. We, uh, may have bonded over birds that have ruby coloring. Hershy added the text when we joined the Hubelino Tournament…”

“But that wouldn’t be for a while,” Rolly assured. “If it wasn’t for the Herbotamia Tournament coming to do one of their friendlies here, we would have never thought of getting into sports.”

In 2011, the Minty Maniacs, Black Jacks, and Golden Wisps were traveling to Spiceno to meet Team Phoenix for the first time when they stopped in Hummilon for a day trip to visit the Aviary Topiary. Calling ahead of time, they planned to hold a short friendly in the center of the gardens – a relay race. Management approved the request with the confirmation that no spectators would be present.

“Except they didn’t account for us…” Rollew trailed off, chuckling. “I mean, we also didn’t count on becoming so invested in something that seemed so casual. It looked more fun than anything.”

Reaching for their work notebook, Rollo flipped to the last few pages. “Here! Thanks for a fun day being friendly and supporting what we love. Feel free to reach us at this contact. Stay fresh! -Minty Fresh. Yeah, of course, I have it saved.”

The four friends at Aviary Topiary established contact with Minty Fresh sometime after the end of Herbotamia Tournament 2011, which remained in the structure of a friendly round between the four teams. The next year, though, brought a new development: Herbotamia Tournament 2012 would become an official regional tournament for Herbotamia, and that five teams would compete in its inaugural season.

At the time, there were very few renowned teams in the region besides those that were already a part of the tournament. As fans wondered who the new team joining the Herbotamia Tournament would be, the management at Aviary Topiary received a call asking about the next time that Rolla, Rollew, Rollo, and Rolly would all be present.

That day, the four received a visit from the Minty Maniacs, Black Jacks, Golden Wisps, and Team Phoenix—personally inviting them to compete in Herbotamia Tournament 2012 as the Ruby Rollers.

“To say that we were surprised is an understatement. We had never shown them anything that would give them confidence in our athletic skills, or the lack thereof,” Rolly reflected.

“But we had shown them friendship,” Rollo continued. “And even though they were officiating the competition, they still wanted it to be a competition with their friends. So, they reached out to us.”

“And we couldn’t say no, nor did we want to say no,” added Rolla.

“We did know we would miss our jobs here,” said Rollew, “but we also knew that they would be waiting for us when we got back. A chance like this was not going to wait for us, though!”

The Ruby Rollers accepted their invitation, leaving Hummilon over the weekend and taking a leave of absence from their jobs, one that they anticipated would only be a few months. On the contrary, it would last nearly seven years before the team would formally disband and return to their careers.

From 2012 to 2015, the Ruby Rollers competed in the Herbotamia Tournament as the underdogs – with clear inexperience to the other four teams that served as a veil, allowing for them to score upsets when least expected. Placing fourth in their rookie season, the Ruby Rollers earned third overall in Herbotamia Tournament 2013, and, in 2015, edged out Team Phoenix to earn their first championship.

In early 2016, a poll done by the Herbotamia Times made it official: the Ruby Rollers were the most popular team in the region. Fans came in droves to visit the team as they toured around the region to celebrate their victory. The team’s largest crowd was in none other than Chlorotopia, where even members of the Minty Maniacs showed up to the rally with the Rollers’ trademark white caps, with a red eye and beak outline of the ruby roller pigeon stitched on.

“To say I’m proud of my friends is an understatement,” remarked Minty Fresh. “We’ve done the best that we could in the past few years, and I think it’s about time for us to move on with what’s after the Herbotamia Tournament. The Ruby Rollers, though, are going to go places.”

The Minty Maniacs were preparing to retire from marble sports and go into the food industry, as the cost of maintaining a tournament without sponsorship began to loom over the Herbotamia athletes like a shadow, even for something so casual. As they began encouraging their fellow teams to seek other opportunities, such as a spot in the 2016 Marble League, they were approached by Jelle Bakker themself. Although Jelle was focused on running the 2016 Marble League, they missed running a regional tournament and offered the Maniacs a sponsorship for their tournament to continue in 2016. The Ruby Rollers, who had applied for Marble League 2016 but were rejected due to their similarity to the Surculo’s Rojo Rollers, encouraged the Minty Maniacs to accept the sponsorship. “This is our chance to gain the recognition as a sports league that we deserve, and to continue to do what we love as friends,” the team released in an official press statement to the Times.

Hubelino Tournament 2016 differed from the original tournament in that it was recorded for the Internet (a first for a regional tournament) in the hope that it would be appreciated by a wider audience, and that it featured artificial courses using Hubelino tracks, bricks, and other special parts. The tournament was conducted without a live audience to preserve the original “friendly round” atmosphere of the competition and featured eight teams competing for eternal glory. The teams joining the existing five were also sourced from the Herbotamia region: the Bluefastics, Green Gang, and Valiant Violets being those teams.

Rolla smirked. “We were excited for the new challenge that these teams would present.” 

“And we were also eager to make new friends,” added Rollo. “Chasing a repeat championship was exciting in its way, but so was building our network of athletes and friends.”

“Well, yeah. But we also wanted to win,” Rolla continued.

The Ruby Rollers made their Jelle’s Marble Runs debut in Season 1 of the Hubelino Tournament in November 2016. Competing in the Minty Maniacs’ Pepper Field, the Ruby Rollers debuted last in Funnel Spinning, surprising fans tuning in to watch the team for the first time. Longtime Rollers fans knew, though, that they were in a prime position to score the upsets that the team was best at. And that was nearly what happened in the next event – as the Ruby Rollers earned their first silver in the Catwalk event.

Rising to fourth overall, the Ruby Rollers continued to place in the top five in between other podiums: a silver in the Pursuit Slalom, bronze in the Combination, and two event victories in the Elimination Race and the Swing Wave. Now, the team had medaled on an international stage, and while they were popular among hardcore fans of the Hubelino Tournament, attention from outside of the tournament was geared towards teams such as the Minty Maniacs and Black Jacks.

“We weren’t discouraged by that,” assured Rollew. “Sure, it would have been nice to get that recognition. But it wouldn’t stop us from what we were looking to accomplish.”

“Our odds of winning as we neared the end of the tournament kept going up,” Rolly said. “Of course, so did the Green Gang’s.”

It was in the eighth event of the tournament when the Green Gang made a key advancement, winning the event convincingly and earning gold with the bonus of doubled points. The Ruby Rollers raced to finish with a silver, but coming down the final stretch the Black Jacks were able to pull ahead and earn a silver, guaranteeing that the Ruby Rollers would earn bronze and lead the standings over a tiebreak in points with the Green Gang. 

Following the event, Jelle’s Marble Runs announced that a tiebreaker would be held but provided no further information for nearly three months.

“International sports have changed so much since then,” noted Rolly. “Marbles didn’t have much experience coordinating the logistics of bringing marbles together, booking stadiums…there weren’t even a lot of stadiums at the time. Pepper Field had booked for other exhibitions through April.”

Come April, Jelle’s Marble Runs returned to Chlorotopia to make a special announcement: they were canceling the tiebreaker and had booked the stadium for at least four extra events to decide the champion of the Hubelino Tournament. Two events would take place before the 2017 Marble League, and two afterward.

“It was certainly an odd circumstance,” admitted Rollew. “But we knew of several events going on over the summer besides the Marble League that would have made scheduling all four events consecutively very difficult. We could tell that Jelle wanted to do their first regional tournament justice.”

Returning to compete in the final third of the season, the Ruby Rollers placed fourth in the Halfpipe Dash and earned a bronze in the Relay Course. The team led the standings before attending the 2017 Marble League, joining the seven other teams, who they had indeed become close with.

“Was there tension between us? I can’t say that there wasn’t. We all wanted to see who would win, and each team wanted it to be themselves,” Rolla recalled.

“But we still found a lot of enjoyment in watching the Marble League with them. Some of our events were adapted by Jelle’s Marble Runs, which was a nice tribute to their work with us,” Rollo continued. 

“We also got to meet the Rojo Rollers,” added Rolla. “That was…interesting when they didn’t qualify.”

“Not their best moment. But the moments where we weren’t at our best were coming up, sooner than any of us hoped.”

Following their midseason entertainment, the eight Hubelino teams returned to Chlorotopia together but parted to train in their respective home cities – except for the Ruby Rollers, who had reserved training facilities in Chlorotopia with a new head coach, Rollin. They adopted an alternate training regime under Rollin, which they hoped would maintain the Rollers’ standing in the top spot to win the championship. But team members felt differently, even at the moment.

“It never felt quite right,” admitted Rollew, “the way they were telling us to push the blocks, to aim for the ball in Ball Battle. It would have been transformative for any other team, but for us, it was the wrong way to roll.”

The team’s doubts ultimately were proven correct when they finished in the bottom half of the standings for Block Push and Ball Battle. The Green Gang capitalized on both events, earning a bronze in the former and winning the latter, to come home to their home village of Taygrania with the championship. With 83 points, the Ruby Rollers finished second overall.

“We were quite down on ourselves.” Rolly passed me a news article, headlined GOLD RANG FOR THE GREEN GANG, and showed the team in front of a large crowd outside of Pepper Field. “We never held events with spectators, but when all of the teams left the arena felt more empty than it ever had been. And we could hear fans roaring outside in joy…but not for us.”

“It’s fun to compete in marble sports, but I think a lot of the fun fell away for us when we didn’t win. Is that selfish? Probably,” admitted Rollo. “But we became so discouraged after that. To the point where we declined the Marble League.”

In the largest expansion in the Marble League’s history, eight teams were being added to compete in the 2018 Marble League Qualifiers. Before reaching out to any other marble sports teams, Jelle first reached out to the eight Hubelino teams that they had worked with. Some, on account of their existing uniforms or scheduling, were not formally invited. But it was Coach Rollin that made sure the Ruby Rollers were presented with an invitation…and Coach Rollin that was promptly fired, with the invitation being declined in the process.

“They weren’t reading the room. It was time to let them go,” Rolla said bluntly.

Returning to Hummilon for the first time in several years, the Ruby Rollers secured a sponsorship from the Aviary Topiary and began renting out training space in the local gym. After reaching out to several candidates, the team hired Ruby from nearby Fantum to work with them as their new coach.

“Nice to finally introduce myself,” said a marble who had been sitting in the suite with us from the start of the interview. In the meantime, they had been working on a painting set deep in the mines of Fantum. “I’m Coach Ruby, the pleasure is all mine.”

Rolla rolled their eyes.

“It was a pleasure to start working with the Ruby Rollers in their element. I’d followed them for years as a fan, but the pressure was always on them. Things were different when they were home.”

“They were,” agreed Rolla, sighing.

Beginning construction on a formal training facility and small arena, The Nest, the Ruby Rollers steadily trained during the 2018 offseason. Communication from JMR remained unclear during the second season of the Hubelino Tournament, but the eight teams, save for Team Phoenix, were interested in running the Herbotamia Tournament if things didn’t pan out.

Then, just before the Amazing Maze Marble Race tournament, Jelle’s Marble Runs formally announced that the Hubelino Tournament would return for Season 2. 

True to their promise, the Minty Maniacs, Golden Orbs, and Black Jacks withdrew from the Marble League, joining the Bluefastics and Valiant Violets with members replacing those who left for the Raspberry Racers, and the reigning champions, the Green Gang. Confirming that the Ruby Rollers would return for Season 2, the Minty Maniacs released an application for a team to fill the eighth spot in the tournament. After receiving just enough interest, they closed submissions, consulting with the six other teams to select the Bumblebees as newcomers.

In contrast to Season 1 lasting nearly a year, the Minty Maniacs worked with JMR to have the eight events of Season 2 filmed and broadcasted in just under one month. Meeting in Chlorotopia at the start of October 2018, the teams immediately got to work setting up the arena for the Draw. On 03 October, the Ruby Rollers were sorted into Group B, meaning that they would face off with the Bluefastics, Valiant Violets, and Golden Orbs at the start of Event 1: the Swing Wave, an event they had won in Season 1.

However, the Bumblebees would take the win this time in the Swing Wave, as the Ruby Rollers lost in their heat to the Golden Orbs and Valiant Violets. Finishing sixth in the event, they vowed to their fans that the best was yet to come.

“We kept telling our fans, ‘this doesn’t shake us, we’ll be on top before you know it’. But I think we were more worried than anyone else,” admitted Rollew.

Advancing past the group stage in Catwalk, the Ruby Rollers were prepared for an intense final match, but were knocked out in a clear victory by the Bluefastics. They took a bronze medal over the Golden Orbs following a tight third-place match while the Bluefastics lost to the Minty Maniacs, earning a career-first gold medal. They led the standings, while the Ruby Rollers rose to fifth.

Just missing out on a podium in the Funnel Race, the Ruby Rollers fought off the Minty Maniacs in the race-off to advance to the Halfpipes final. Although they finished ahead of the Bluefastics, the Bumblebees would win their second event, and the Ruby Rollers would earn their second bronze medal. 

Following a tie for fourth place in Block Bumping and their third bronze in the Relay Race, the team remained unmoved in fifth place with 34 points. With two events to go, the Rollers were safely out of the basement (occupied by the Season 1 champions) but 20 points down from the top of the standings, which had just been reclaimed by the Maniacs. 

“It wasn’t insurmountable. If we could earn a podium above a bronze and the teams above us let their guard down…the issue is, they didn’t,” mused Rolly.

“Neither did we,” Rollo added. “But the end of the season…stung a bit.”

Coach Ruby chuckled, much to the ire of their team members, who glared in their direction.

“Don’t say it,” pleaded Rolla.

“I have to, sorry. It’s just incredibly ironic that two teams inspired by bees and pigeons couldn’t get along…but also couldn’t stay away from each other.”

The team collectively groaned.

The final two events presented the best possible situation for the Ruby Rollers to pull the rug under their competition and make an impact—if not a championship, then a podium, at least. Longtime Rollers fans took to Team Phoenix’s online blog, the Firebird Sports Diary, with rumors that the Ruby Rollers had engineered a practice maze in The Nest specifically to train as best as they could for the Maze and Big Tower events. They “claimed” they had seen the Rollers scaling the highest point of the indoor greenhouse within the Aviary Topiary, with the intent of navigating their way down as fast as possible. The “big upset” was coming, they claimed. 

Fact-checking sources could not verify the claims, with the Ruby Rollers clarifying in a series of official statements following the tournament that the rumors were false.

“But they sure were good publicity,” admitted Rolla.

Rather, the Ruby Rollers’ traditional methods of training prepared the team as best as they could…but they could not prepare the team for the Bumblebees, who would finish ahead of them in every moment that mattered. At the cusp of advancing to the final and guaranteeing either gold or silver, the member running for the Rollers got stranded on the track. As they advanced to the end of the maze, the Bumblebees’ Swax got as close as a length before passing to finish second, leaving the Rollers with their fourth bronze of the season and locking them out of the title fight.

However, with a podium in reach, the Ruby Rollers were not ready to give up. Finishing first in their heat eliminated the Minty Maniacs and Black Jacks, two-thirds of the reigning top three, and gave the Rollers a window to finish third overall at best.

“We’re not all extremely competitive athletes. Whether we deserve to win or not is something we have argued about since we formed as a team…but we all appreciate being recognized for our efforts,” Rollew said. “After earning medals in more than half of the events, we hoped we would be recognized for more than fifth overall.”

Nearly racing down the final stretch of the Big Tower unopposed, Bumble rushed to arrest Rollo’s momentum in the middle, sprinting down the final chicanes to win the Hubelino Tournament in an upset over the Minty Maniacs, and the Big Tower event in an upset over the Ruby Rollers.

“All I remember in the final moments of the race is trying to get back to the yellow chicane as fast as I could. I don’t even remember crossing the line. It was all a blur,” Rollo reported. “I didn’t believe it when race officials handed me that silver medal. For all I knew, it could have been fourth.”

Rolla recalled the moment much more clearly. “That impact clearly hurt Rollo. I don’t care what the medics said. Nor do I care that the Bumblebees needed to race to win the championship with their fourth gold or silver or whatever.”

“That wasn’t it. Rollo was just in the heat of the moment,” Rolly objected. “Perhaps in a moment of uncertainty or distress. But not incapacitation.”

“No matter what we think it was, it would not have changed the outcome. We lost. We need to learn to live with that,” advised Rollew, “and keep on rolling.” 

The four went quiet. 

With 51 points earned, the Ruby Rollers’ fifth-place overall masked just how well they had done in Season 2 of the Hubelino Tournament. They had never finished in the bottom two and had only placed outside of the top half in the first event. No other team had matched their consistency, and only the Maniacs matched them in terms of medal count.  

Did it matter? Fans began to doubt as much when the Ruby Rollers returned to Hummilon, halted construction of The Nest, and resumed their careers traveling around the world to bring birds to and from the Aviary Topiary. When contacting the members of the team for a statement on the discontinuation of the Hubelino Tournament and the incoming Marble League Showdown, Coach Ruby was effectively ghosted.

“I wasn’t sure what to do. Nothing was specifically entrusted to me to continue maintaining, but I also didn’t want to retire any of the team’s assets or branding. I began training with a potential reserve for the team…”

As if they were summoned by name, the final member of the Ruby Rollers rushed into our suite. “Sorry, I’m late! Can I get a time check?”

“Hello, Rollin. It’s 5:43 pm.” Coach Ruby grinned. “Even before I learned that they had coached the team at one point, I could tell Rollin was passionate about the Ruby Rollers. They offered alternative skills to the team that I had been training that I knew would make everyone else stronger in competition.”

“Even if we didn’t see it at first,” admitted Rollo, “we grew to appreciate that Rollin was there at all. As a team member, they have pushed us to trust ourselves and take more risks for the first time in a long time.”

With the Ruby Rollers reuniting in the public eye for the first time since November 2018, Coach Ruby organized a special press conference following the announcement that the Herbotamia Tournament Reunion would be held in autumn 2020. With the construction tarp unraveling from the unfinished shell of The Nest, the team expected a small crowd to be in attendance when they confirmed that they would compete in the tournament.

They could not have been more wrong. Stranded in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the short stretch of highway from the Aviary Topiary to The Nest, the Ruby Rollers had no choice but to roll in order to make it to the stage on time. As they passed over a kilometer of vehicles crawling down the highway, fans cheered in glee, wearing the Rollers’ trademark white caps and blasting the fanbase’s signature song, a parody of The MarBeats’ “Roll Over and Roll Out” with the Ruby Rollers’ theme dubbed in.

“We started training together again in March. This felt like the recognition we had been craving for so long, and we knew from that moment on we wanted nothing but more of it.”

Coach Ruby gazed back out the window of the suite. Below us, the Minty Maniacs and Bumblebees were playing an impromptu match of bugby on the vast open area of Pepper Field.

“Unfortunately, we lost touch with the other teams when we disbanded. Even the Minties. But now might be a good time to rekindle that community, don’t you think?” Rollin asked.

Rolla sighed. “Our call time is over an hour away.”

“And that gives us even more time to catch up with everybody before we win this tournament,” Rollo said confidently. Rolla smiled warmly. “Let’s roll.”

Thanking me on their way out, I watched the six Ruby Rollers enter the arena about a minute later to the welcome embrace of the eight other teams.

I exited the suite not long after, filtering into a growing crowd of fans from across the Herbotamia region. I was surprised to see a few other teams take the field: the Yarble Yellers, Grape Nuts, and Team Plasma lining up alongside the Bumblebees.

“We didn’t want to leave out either Team Phoenix or the Bumblebees, so we decided to make this a twelve-team tournament modeled after the Showdown. These teams are regional anyway, so we get to preserve the original spirit of the Herbotamia Tournament,” explained a marble next to me, who identified as Spearmint, the manager of the Minty Maniacs. “I understand you interviewed the Ruby Rollers?”

I nodded. Spearmint smiled warmly. “We understand what it’s like to be so close to winning, and then to lose it…it’s hard to not feel discouraged and to not lose interest in what you do, even if you love doing it. We also understand that finding your way back to it can be the most rewarding experience…I hope the Ruby Rollers get that moment.”

There was limited seating for family and other close friends, but I was fortunate enough to get a top-notch view from the bleachers. The audience was asked to hold their applause until the end of the tournament, and they did great at following the rule—better than me!

You may be asking, “who won the tournament?” I am not at liberty to tell you: every athlete and member of the audience was required to sign a strict NDA prior to entering Pepper Field. What I am at liberty to tell you, though, is that the tournament was tightly put together and a joy to watch. The passion that each athlete displayed was inspiring, and there was virtually no pressure—aside from the occasional competitive jest.

What I am also at liberty to tell you is that rumors were widespread online concerning the potential results, with the Firebird Sports Diary receiving the most traffic it had since the Hubelino Tournament. Among the rumors, the moderators of the blog released an official poll asking fans who they thought won the Herbotamia Tournament Reunion. You may be asking, “who won the poll?” By a clear margin, it was the Ruby Rollers.

In the year and a half since the Reunion, the team has remained together, and although they have yet to enter a marble sports tournament, they have been active in other ways: restarting construction on The Nest, electing Rollo to serve as their team captain, changing their other team member pseudonyms to Agate (Rolla), Garnet (Rollew), Eudialyte (Rolly), and Carnelian (Rollin), selling iconic merchandise, promoting photos from training, and remaining in touch with other Herbotamia alumni. Their most recent statement thanked the Bumblebees organization and the Royal Family of Buzznya for being so grateful to host the Ruby Rollers during a trip to the region, the team’s first excursion from Herbotamia as a collective since Marble League 2017.

In RetRollSpective, the Ruby Rollers are a team that has flown under the radar in recent years but has contributed greatly to marble sports history in their career. Their consistency within the Hubelino Tournament and potential to pull off stunning upsets make the Ruby Rollers an entertaining team to watch, whenever and wherever they choose to compete. Best of luck to the Ruby Rollers in the near future, keep on rolling!

Credits

• Writer: Stynth
• Editor: Smacg13
• Graphic Designers: Hershy926, Jelle’s Marble Runs, MightyCucumber
• Photographer: Jelle’s Marble Runs
• Release: 21/07/2022

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 the Purple Rockets, the reigning champions of Marble ManiaX who entered Marble League Showdown 2022 as an expansion team. Read on to blast off and discover what this team is made of!

Hailing from the frigid city of Sheetersburg, the Purple Rockets are a team that made their professional sports debut at the Stardust Classic in 2014. But before that, they were all members of the Astrophotography Club at their university in Sheetersburg. The five original team members met while at Astrophotography Club, where they instantly bonded over their love and passion for Marble Sports. One afternoon, on an astrophotography excursion into the woods, Orbit set up a maze made in the snow outside, where they competed in races amongst themselves.

“Something clicked that afternoon.” Dwarf reminisced. “I think that’s when we became more than just friends. We became a team.”

Shortly after graduating from university in 2013, the team began training day and night. They had been taken under the wing of one of their former professors, Rocket, who began coaching the team. The team participated in an exhibition tournament in Sheetersburg in the winter, where they won three of the four events, to everybody’s surprise.

“I didn’t expect us to have this much skill!” Blast stated. “We might be able to get up into the higher leagues soon!”

And sure enough, later that year the Purple Rockets were given an invitation to the Stardust Classic, a regional tournament that would be held in Polaria by Royal Stardust.

The Purple Rockets started the tournament with a bang. After receiving an ovation from the crowd during the opening ceremony, Sulfur made it to the finals of the Sprint Race in a very fast time. In the final, Sulfur sprinted to the finish line in a photo finish with Radiance from the Solar Flares, a team from Meteorine. Timing and scoring revealed that the two marbles had tied, and a race-off was held between the teams. But Radiance would not hold on to the field this time, as Sulfur earned the Purple Rockets the first gold of the competition.

“It was a momentous occasion,” Sulfur beamed on the podium, above Radiance and Astron, from Team Galaxy. “I’ll treasure it.”

The Purple Rockets wouldn’t win another medal until Event 4 of the competition: Diving. The team had pinpoint accuracy in this event, where they set the event record with an 11.76. Orbit, who had scored a bullseye in the event, remarked: “We’ve won two golds now, and we have our heads up high! The standings are close, and I’m hoping we can make a statement run soon!”

The team would go on to win one more medal, a bronze in the Black Hole Funnel. They finished the 2014 Stardust Classic in third place, just a few points behind the Solar Flares in second, but well behind the champions, Team Galaxy.

“We know we have the potential to be great, now.” Coach Rocket said. “We’re going to drive ourselves forwards next year, and win it all.”

The team returned to Sheetersburg triumphant after a successful season and spent the winter teaching local students astronomy and building a training facility. They would return to the Classic in 2015 with their heads held high, and eyes set on the overall victory.

The 2015 Stardust Classic kicked off with the Dirt Race, an event the Purple Rockets had not done well in during the prior year. This time, however, Saucer would deliver a bronze, earning the team another early medal. From there, the team did not let go of the championship at all, with their performance as dominant as Team Galaxy’s (now known as Team Galactic) the prior year. Orbit won gold in the Hurdles, the team won the Relay Run and Block Pushing, (even over the newly-formed Shadow Riders; whose claim to fame was Block Pushing domination) and Sulfur finished second in the Sprint. The Purple Rockets had clinched the championship victory before the final event, which hadn’t been decided yet.

“We’ve achieved our wildest dreams this year,” a happy Blast stated through tears of joy. Following the Sprint Race, which was the penultimate event of the tournament this year, Royal Stardust approached the team and offered them a chance to host the final event back in Sheetersburg. They accepted without hesitation, and the final event of the 2015 Stardust Classic would be the Rocket Ring GP, the Purple Rockets training track. Dwarf raced for the Rockets and earned them another silver medal, their sixth medal in eight events. The Purple Rockets won the championship by thirty-three points over the Blood Moons.

Unfortunately, the Stardust Classic disbanded following this season when several teams withdrew from the competition; Team Galactic joined the newly founded Marble League, and Royal Stardust became busy monitoring the region of Polaria. The Purple Rockets, slightly disheartened, disbanded for the time being, and went along to pursue careers in the space field.

Orbit became an astrophysicist and helped design components for the International Space Marble. Dwarf became a Team Galactic superfan and would be found in a Team Galactic uniform cheering them on from the stands in every Marble League event. Sulfur became a rocket designer and helped design many rockets, including the one that took Astron to space. Saucer and Blast joined coach Rocket as astronomy professors at Sheetersburg University and helped run the Astrophotography Club.

“We needed a break, and we each managed to pursue our paths now. Maybe one day we will start competing again, but for now, we’re content.” Orbit stated at the time.

Over the next few years, the Purple Rockets’ lives would be relatively uneventful, save for Dwarf’s life as a superfan of Team Galactic. To date, they have not missed a single event and are often one of the sign-bearers in the stands for the team. The team scarcely met with one another, but a moment they all shared was during the 2017 Marble League when Starry won Team Galactic their first-ever gold.

“That day… I was in tears,” Dwarf reminisced. “It was monumental.”

After the 2020 Marble League, Orbit was working on a new part designed for the ISM when they caught Cosmo, the captain of Team Galactic, in a special Cable Marble Media segment. There, Cosmo announced that the Andromedome would be hosting a Stardust Classic Reunion, inviting previous competitors to compete in a special exhibition tournament.

The Purple Rockets members all met on a “Nyoom Meetings” video call, and decided that they would give competing another shot. They attended the reunion, and their results once again were impressive. After a poor result in Block Pushing, the team won the Black Hole Funnel and placed second in the Starlit Speedway Grand Prix. They would finish the reunion in third place overall, just nine points behind Team Galactic.

“For not competing in several years, I think we had a very solid result.” Blast stated. 

Following the reunion, the Rockets craved more competition and sought out other competitions to take part in. Saucer and Blast did not wish to compete and returned to their jobs as astronomy professors, but the rest of the team continued to search for competitions. Orbit managed to find a local youth league that was starting up, called the Marble Sports Games, and managed to reserve a spot for the Purple Rockets based on their impressive Stardust Classic results. It was during this time that Smokey and Smoggy, two marbles from Rocketvok with the same names as members of the Hazers, managed to get in contact with Coach Rocket. Smokey and Smoggy joined the team shortly after, and the Purple Rockets were ready to roll in the Marble Sports Games. The tournament was hosted by The Emperor, a long-time Team Galactic fan and future member of the Jelle’s Marble Association. 

“We’re excited to be allowed to participate with the Purple Rockets,” Smoggy said. Unfortunately, the Purple Rockets’ debut in the Marble Sports Games would not be as successful as their Stardust Classic runs. The inaugural edition of the tournament was hosted in the Blueberry Bowl. The Rockets started the season with two poor finishes in the 10 Meter Sprint and Quartet Diving. Entering the third event, Balancing, they sat in fourteenth place. The Rockets blasted off with a silver medal in Balancing, which vaulted them up in the standings, to sixth. 

“That’s a solid start. Now we need to keep the momentum up.” Coach Rocket said in an interview after the event. Unfortunately, the momentum would not continue for the Rockets, with poor results in the Slalom, Collision, the Dirt Race, and Obstacle Maze.

“We miss Saucer’s expertise from the Dirt Race back in the Stardust Classic,” Captain Orbit remarked. “But, alas, we have to make do with what we have. And we currently aren’t doing enough.”The Rockets wouldn’t medal again until the eighth event of the tournament, Speed Skating, where Sulfur delivered a bronze medal. However, even with the medal, the Purple Rockets fell in the standings, to dead last. After another set of poor performances, Smokey managed to deliver the team one final medal in the finale, the Marathon. Even though they had two silvers and one bronze, the Purple Rockets ended the tournament with 82 points, in dead last.

“We didn’t have a bad season…” Orbit exclaimed. “Sure…we got last. Not great. But we still had 82 points, which isn’t terrible by any means! The other teams were just better than us. We need to work harder, but you can mark my words, someday, we will be back.”

Besides their three medals, the Purple Rockets didn’t have a single top-half result. The team returned to Sheetersburg in the offseason to train and meet up with Saucer and Blast, as well as dabble in their origin of astrophotography.

“It’s great that the other members get to keep competing!” expressed Blast. “I’m happy we all got what we wanted, and that we’re still friends despite not being on a team anymore.”

The upcoming winter edition of the Marble Sports Games, hosted by the Valiant Vanillas in Vanillsinki, seemed to favor the Rockets’ advantage training in the cold, wintery atmosphere of Sheetersburg. However, the Qualifiers would not reflect that. The team finished in eighteenth with no medals earned, and their highest result was a fifth-place finish in Balancing. They would look for redemption in the B-League, however, and they found it. Orbit started the B-League off with a fifth-place finish in Funnel Spinning. However, in the next three events, the Purple Rockets won three straight silver medals and would finish the B-League in second place overall.

“That was much more like it!” A very happy Orbit beamed on the overall podium. The Purple Rockets’ fine form appeared to be returning from the Stardust Classic. The team was jubilant and decided to take a small vacation during the offseason. They visited Hunluen, Rocketvok, and Meteorine during their trip. While in Meteorine, they took a tour of the Solar Flares’ hometown and managed to meet a few of the local fans. The Solar Flares had recently been given an invitation to the 2021 Marble League Qualifiers.

“It’s always been a dream of ours to compete.” Dwarf stated. “We’ve been performing rather well in these minor leagues…one day…I think we might have a shot at the bigs.”

Following their vacation, the team returned home to Sheetersburg, but in better spirits. They had performed exceptionally in the B-League and knew that they had the potential to do well.

“We believe that we have a shot at qualifying this time,” Smoggy said in a hopeful voice. Alas, it was not meant to be for the Rockets, as they placed fourteenth in the qualifiers, just four points off of the final spot, which went to the Oddballs, a team that had formed around their dedication and passion for the Marble Rally Athlete, Oddball. 

“It’s an improvement…but we still can’t make the final push when it matters.” Coach Rocket said. “We’ll be giving it our all in the B-League again, though. Don’t count us out yet.”

The Rockets’ Season 3 B-League would be admittedly worse than the prior season, placing fourth, fifth, sixth, and last in the four events. The team barely scraped by the relegation bubble, placing eighth overall. But that wouldn’t be the most disappointing thing that the Rockets would deal with at the end of this B-League. Smokey and Smoggy announced that they would be leaving the team, stating that they had “lost the spark of competition” that they had once had.

“It’s a shame to see them go, but we wish them all the best,” Orbit said through tears. 

The four remaining Rockets returned to Sheetersburg, disheartened, but still, determined to keep their legacy going. They met up with Saucer and Blast and decided that it would be best to take a break from training, and get out and do something together, as friends. They unanimously decided to take part in watching the 2021 Marble League from the stands, and all donned Team Galactic uniforms. Despite the team failing to qualify for the main league, the Rockets still showed up for every event. 

“I missed this, ya know?” Dwarf said. “Being a superfan is always a blast…I get to show up to the events every day wearing my uniform, holding signs, and supporting my favorite team…with my friends now! It’s great!”

Saucer echoed Dwarf’s sentiments, stating: “I missed being a team…and I think Blast and I have decided…we’re going to re-join the others once this Marble League is done!”

The team sat in the Team Galactic fan section for the Marble League Showdown, where they saw Astron win gold in the Sprint, and Starry win silver in Marblocross. As they left the stadium, united once more, the Purple Rockets were hungry for more competition…and more competition they would have.

It was the time of year again for the Stardust Classic to be up and running. However, with Team Galactic returning to Galakonur to focus on their training for the upcoming Marbula One Season 3, Royal Stardust needed a different hosting venue. And that was when they approached the Purple Rockets.

“It was truly…well…I fainted upon hearing the announcement, but I was told that it was a truly amazing moment.” Saucer said. “We were going to be hosting the 2021 Stardust Classic.”

The Mayor of Sheetersburg, Shuttle, offered to renovate the Rockets’ training facility for them and turn it into a new and improved, large-scale stadium. The Rockets graciously accepted, and soon, construction of the Space Station was completed. 

“We cannot thank Mayor Shuttle enough for this opportunity.” Coach Rocket said. “We have reached out to them in regards to potentially becoming our team manager, and helping settle and manage the finances of the organization.”

The Purple Rockets invited seven former Stardust Classic teams to compete in the tournament. Since the Reunion one year prior, Royal Stardust had expressed interest in maintaining it as a yearly tradition. Several teams from the Reunion would be returning for the new edition, including the Stargazers, Supernovas, Asteroids, Crazy Comets, and Blood Moons. The Rockets also invited the Shadow Riders, a former Stardust Classic team, who had emerged from retirement to participate in the Team Quadrilla Marble League. The final invite was sent out to an up-and-coming youth team, known as the Eclipses, from Pesky’s Marble Championship. All seven teams accepted, and the Reunion was underway.

The Purple Rockets got off to exactly the start that they imagined, scorching the competition in Balancing with a 427. The Sheetersburg inhabitants, who had come pouring into the Station to view their home team, were overjoyed. The Rockets’ next endeavor, Funnel Endurance, would be a lesser success, with Blast taking home just a sixth-place finish. Similar to their first roundabout in the Marble Sports Games, the Purple Rockets experienced a midseason collapse. A fifth in the Newton’s Cradle, seventh in Block Pushing, and dead last in the Vacuum Wave saw the Purple Rockets fall to dead last, with three events remaining.

“It’s certainly not what we had in mind. Perhaps we put too much effort into hosting…” A disappointed Saucer stated. “I’m up next in the Sand Rally, so I’ll look to right the spaceship.”

Saucer’s bronze was a step in the right direction, as was the team’s bronze in Collision Course. The Rockets entered the final event in sixth and had an outside chance to win it all, with Dwarf on the track in the Rocket Ring GP.

“We have an outside shot, eh?” Dwarf said. “Well…we’ll need a lot of other things to happen for us to even have that shot, we don’t control our destiny. So, I say, it’s best to just go out there, and enjoy. Give the crowd a final hurrah!”

And Dwarf, for the most part, did that. While they only finished in fourth, securing that the Rockets would not finish on the overall podium, Dwarf was one of the most exciting racers to watch on the track and had several highlights on display upon the conclusion of the tournament.

“That pass on Cupid in the final lap…wow. Most beautiful overtake I’ve ever seen,” remarked a CMM reporter, who interviewed all of the teams after the tournament. The Purple Rockets would end up finishing fifth, with 56 points, but only 13 adrift from the victorious Stargazers.

“The chemistry we used to have, back when the five of us originally started competing…we need to get that back. Once we do though…I think we’ll be back in our early form.” Blast stated.

The Sheetersburg residents were beginning to get excited. The Purple Rockets had built up a lot of small successes over the years now, and there was a rumor that they were a frontrunner for a new, big event coming up soon. But for now, they had their eyes focused on finally qualifying for the Marble Sports Games, hosted by The Emperor (now a JMA Member) once more, and shortly after the conclusion of the Stardust Classic, they flew over to Burnsville for the fourth edition of the tournament. During their training regiments, Coach Rocket received a formal invite to a new, upcoming tournament hosted by the Balls of Chaos and operated by none other than Jelle’s Marble Runs.

“We were stunned. Jelle’s Marble Runs had just reached out to us, inviting us onto the big stage.” Orbit exclaimed. “It hasn’t been revealed to the public yet, so our fanbase doesn’t know yet. But just picturing their reaction…it’s going to be priceless!” The team accepted the invite for Marble ManiaX, which was set to begin later in the year.

“Even with that shocking news, we figured that the time between tournaments would give us enough of a chance to rebuild that chemistry that we once had…” Blast began. “It didn’t.”

The Purple Rockets Season 4 Qualifiers were a disaster. They only managed 13 points; their lowest accumulated in any tournament, let alone a qualifier with 20 spots available for points. Suddenly Balls of Chaos’s selection didn’t seem as promising. “It’s an embarrassment, but we assure you, we can overcome it.” Sulfur assured the public. The Purple Rockets were once again stuck in the B-League but now had to balance between two tournaments, with Marble ManiaX about to start. Thankfully, their start to the B-League was relatively good, and to end off the first half of the league, they won a bronze in the Heat Wave.

The Rockets were ready to roll in Marble ManiaX; their first competition on the big stage. 

“We’ve been asked…how are we going to juggle two tournaments at once?” Orbit stated at a press conference. “And the answer is…we simply love to compete. And that hunger for the competition is going to drive us. We’ve got Shuttle back in Sheetersburg, who’s agreed to help manage the team. And then Coach is with us every step of the way on our journey through these competitions.”

The Purple Rockets’ big stage debut could not have gone much better. Competing with some of the best prospective teams, as well as three Marble League teams, they won a joint-silver medal with the Black Jacks; the first podium tie in their history.

“Looks like we’re blasting off again!” Rocket said with a wink. Following the event, Sulfur caught a quick flight to Burnsville, to compete in the Track and Field event in the Marble Sports Games’ B-League. The Rockets’ representative did not compete well in it and crashed out early on. Thankfully, in the next event of Marble ManiaX, Sulfur was crashing into dominoes, and not off of the course, and the Purple Rockets earned their second silver medal in two events.

Blast was the next one up in the Marble Sports Games, and in their first event in the competition, snagged a top-half finish in Funnel Endurance. Meanwhile, in the Marble ManiaX edition of funnels, Dwarf put up a solid showing as well, with a fourth-place finish, which rocketed the team up to first place overall. 

The Purple Rockets’ next endeavor would be for the B-League Finale at the Marble Sports Games; the Gravitrax Slalom. And the Rockets delivered another great performance, with a silver medal, to ensure that they would advance to the Qualifiers for the next season.“We are happy with how this season turned out.” Coach Rocket said. “This team has a lot of heart…I know I wouldn’t have been able to compete in the sheer number of tournaments that they have. But they persevere through it all and are still flying high in Marble ManiaX, too.

The Purple Rockets finished the B-League sixth overall, enough to secure advancement to the Season 5 Qualifiers. With that locked up, they returned to Hunluen for the Obstacle Run, the fourth event of Marble ManiaX. Saucer was selected to participate, and after placing poorly in the first round, they finished in the top three in every remaining round and delivered the Purple Rockets’ third silver medal in four events.

“We are looking forward to taking this home,” Saucer remarked after the event. And the final obstacle in the Purple Rockets’ way was the daunting event of Super Collision. An obstacle, it appeared, that the Purple Rockets were not ready to handle.

“It was the most heartbreaking thing, and then when we watched the rest of the event unfold on the sidelines…we panicked.” Orbit remarked. “But…that panicking turned out to be for naught. The Constrictors went out in the semifinals, and we had done it.”

The Purple Rockets had won Marble ManiaX. It took them just three silver medals, becoming the first team in JMR history to win a tournament without any gold medals.

“It just goes to show you…if you put your mind to it, anything is possible.” Coach Rocket stated. “And I believe that we’ll be back again soon. You can quote me on that.”

In RetRollSpective, the Purple Rockets’ history is full of ups and downs. The team has astronomical potential, as we’ve seen in the Stardust Classic and Marble ManiaX, and has fought through all of the obstacles that have been thrown their way. Best of luck to the Purple Rockets in the near future, keep on rolling!

Thank you to The Emperor for creating the Purple Rockets and the lore surrounding the team!

Credits

• Writer: The Emperor
• Editors: Edu G. J., Skyfall_707, Smacg13, Stynth
• Artists: The Emperor, Fouc, Laurent Rollon, Phantasm, Stynth
• Graphic Designers: The Emperor, Jelle’s Marble Runs, Laurent Rollon, Phantasm, Tim Ritz
• Photographers: The Emperor, Jelle’s Marble Runs
• Release: 14/07/2022

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 Phoenix, a team that blends in with the history of the Hubelino Tournament. Read on to find out how this team has burned the competition!

To discover how this team formed and evolved, we head to Spiceno, a town in the Herbotamia region that’s well known for its pepper farms and cuisine based on locally grown spices.

Despite their common home, each member of Team Phoenix came from a different background: Nix worked for the family restaurant; Nixy offered technical assistance services for home computers; Phee was a senior in high school; Phoeny was searching for their first job. On the weekends, a common interest united them: racing.

The four members used to race for fun during frequent gatherings at Hot Spot Park, a public venue that gained a reputation for being a good location for fitness activities. As time passed, their interest in analyzing marble sports set them apart from other amateur athletes, eventually attracting another marble to their discussions. This was Phoenix, who eventually became known for racing in the Marble Rally. “We would stay in the park for hours just talking about how we did and what we could do to improve,” said Nixy.

A subject that became more present in the conversations was the slow rise of team competitions, such as the “turf tournaments”. The five friends were curious about these events, eventually trying them out. The group was excited about this new possibility, except for one of them, as Nix disclosed: “Our friend ‘Big’ Phoenix wasn’t very keen on moving with us into wider marble sports; it didn’t give them the same thrill as pure racing. In the end, their choice worked out pretty well for them.”

The newly formed Team Phoenix believed that variety is the spice of life, and began to search for a competition to join. In early 2011, the opportunity appeared at an open street race. At the race, the friends were approached by Minty Flav of the Minty Maniacs, who listened to them talk about their struggles to complete the switch from racing to other marble sports disciplines.

“Yeah, it was surprising, but we were glad to see somebody offering us a place to play as a squad. Two days later, we heard back from Flav to let us know everybody was fine with having another team, and that all of them would meet us in marble to make it official,” Phee told us.

For their debut in the 2011 edition of the informal tournament, the team didn’t impress, taking last overall. “My partners and I were having fun while trying out new things. We were learning, adapting, but it was a blast!” Phoeny said about their first year, highlighting the good reception they had from the other teams who already competed against each other.

The next year saw a change that raised the level of competition: the establishment of the official Herbotamia Tournament, which would now expand to five teams and be held at the Herbotamia Recreational and Sports Club (HRSC). The growth of the tournament came quickly for a team with low experience. Despite the concerns, Team Phoenix headed into this new phase with a desire to grow as athletes and to also share their sporting experiences with the world, launching a blog that was administered by the tech-savvy Nixy: the Firebird Sports Diary soon gained a small but loyal following.

A few weeks before the start, the four members, alongside the other teams, traveled to Hummilon to meet the Ruby Rollers and officially invite them to fill the expansion slot. “[Minty] Fresh told us a story of how the Rubies sneaked into a friendly match they had while they were on the way to Spiceno to welcome us, and how they kept in contact since then. Once we arrived at their workplace, Rolla approached me with a big smile, I didn’t even need to talk to notice how excited they were to join a properly organized cup. It was clear they were the logical choice.”

The tournament got started. Team Phoenix wouldn’t contend for the title, though the squad obtained their first gold ever by winning the Halfpipe Crash. “It was big! The other teams applauded us; our fans on the internet were hyped. We love to share moments like these, moments that we will carry for the rest of our lives”, Phee remarked. They eventually obtained an overall third-place finish, beating one of the original three members, the Golden Wisps, a result that indicated an improvement for the team of friends, both individually and as a group.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go well in the 2013 season. While nobody could match the domination of the Golden Wisps that year, Team Phoenix slipped and finished in last place. Despite the poor performance, they were happy for the Ruby Rollers, who achieved a bronze in the overall standings, as the teams had established a friendship off the course, through the years of competing against each other.

In 2014, another disappointing finish made them reevaluate their training methods. Nix explains: “We were in a bad slump, we had to figure out another way to prepare ourselves. We realized that we just needed to have fun together, like good friends.” On their free weekends, the group of friends, including ‘Big’ Phoenix, pushed each other to their limits, discussed moves and tactics, and participated in some amateur events. By remembering the early days, they were ready to rise again.

The team’s first challenge of 2015 happened before the season even started, as the HRSC announced to the athletes that the club could no longer fund the Herbotamia Tournament. Nixy opened up about this tough moment: “We were shocked in the first hours, unsure if we could continue to compete. After the initial despair, an ember of hope appeared—in the next few weeks, Spirit from the Golden Wisps told everybody they were holding a raffle in hopes of making the season happen and they trusted me to promote it on our blog. That’s what we did, and the response was very good, as many of our fans asked us how to participate and the raffle tickets sold out quickly!”

After this hurdle was cleared, they kept training with seriousness while also having fun. Team Phoenix finally looked to become champions and was en route to their best campaign in history. They ended up achieving their highest finish so far but settled for a second-place as they were edged out by the Ruby Rollers for the overall title. According to Phee, there was no reason to be sad as both teams had built a good relationship over the years: “We were happy for each other, and we also participated in the Rollers’ title celebration party. That fan rally was unmatched in tournament history, we never saw anything like that again.”

However, after the season was over, the future was uncertain. The Minty Maniacs disbanded, leading the rest of the participant teams to suspend their activities. During their sabbatical, the four friends returned to the “turf tournaments” alongside their regular lives, while ‘Big’ Phoenix became a founding member of the group which established the first professional rally series in the region. 

But in October 2016, they received a signal of hope to rebuild. Minty Flav of the Minty Maniacs relayed the proposal of a potential new promoter to all Herbotamia Tournament athletes. Nix shared the team’s view of the moment: “Everybody was stoked when we learned that Jelle Bakker, responsible for the fastest-growing marble sports series in the world, was interested in our league. My mind went back to when our big friend raced at their first broadcasted sand rally, and since that experience was positive, the support we gave them on that occasion returned to us. They encouraged us to go for it, giving us the confidence to accept the proposal.” Phoenix’s opinion was short but relevant, as they had just won the inaugural Herbotamia Rally season in their hometown of Spiceno.

Jelle and the teams reached an agreement, and the championship was reformulated as the Hubelino Tournament. The friends were excited to prove themselves in the eight events of the 2016 season against the other squads they knew and three new challengers: the Valiant Violets, Green Gang, and Bluefastics. In the weeks before the first event, Team Phoenix continued to push each other and even had a friendly match against the Ruby Rollers with no stakes involved. The teams shared tips and tricks during their time together and imagined a rematch of the previous year’s title battle.

The season began with an event that would eventually become a staple of marble sports: Funnel Spinning. Phee had a fast start, which in funnel racing doesn’t mean a good result. Phee finished in seventh, only ahead of the Ruby Rollers, both performing below expectations for both teams. While their friends in red shot up the standings, Team Phoenix constantly failed to deliver and couldn’t get past sixth in an event.

The squad needed a resurgence as soon as possible, and it came with a win in the fifth event, the Quartet Jump. The team delivered the much-needed result in the last run, right after seeing the Golden Wisps take the lead. Phee was one of two competitors who landed in the maximum ten-points zone. Alongside Nixy’s eight points and no towers knocked down, they scored a total of 24 points and stepped up to the top of the podium for the first time that season. This gold also brought another surprise: the team’s blog, which usually had a maximum of only 200 regular visitors in the previous four seasons, gained thousands of views and new followers who were curious about the recent success they saw in the video.

Unfortunately, this was the only top-half result for Team Phoenix, who eventually finished seventh by the end of the series as initially scheduled.

“We are very analytical marbles. We knew something was wrong, but we couldn’t understand why. We thought a lot about our failures, and this possibly held us back, not only because we demanded a lot from ourselves, but we also didn’t have the time to spend pondering these questions with such a tight schedule”, Phoeny said about their poor showing. “As soon as we learned about the calendar extension, we changed our mindset to just have fun while competing.”

Team Phoenix had nothing to lose, as they were far from title contention even with the four additional events. The more relaxed approach paid off, with Team Phoenix winning two consecutive silvers. The first came in the Halfpipe Dash, in an attempt to “bump draft” the Green Gang and steal the win in a close final that allowed them to overtake the Golden Wisps down the last section. The second came in the Relay Course, where Nix mastered the looping section of the track in every heat, but the team was edged out by the Valiant Violets in a photo finish for the gold.

Despite their better performances, it still wasn’t enough to move them up the standings before the pause for Marble League 2017.

All Hubelino Tournament teams were invited to watch the action at the Bakker Bowl. Everybody on the roster felt that this experience would help them to get motivated to continue the good work for the final two events.

“Watching Marble League 2017 was an exciting moment, for sure. Having the opportunity to witness the best and even interact with them inspired us to keep moving forward as much as we inspired some fans we met there”, Nix said.

Team Phoenix returned to Herbotamia with their sights set on the final two events. They obtained another silver in the Block Push, once again beaten out by a small margin versus the Golden Wisps; and a bronze in the Ball Battle that saw them go through two tiebreakers: a semifinal loss against the eventual champions, the Green Gang, and a win over the Bluefastics in the third-place match.

In a blog post, Nixy congratulated the tournament’s success and commented on the final event:

“It’s been great to go out there, prove ourselves and be part of these great moments. We won matches and moved on through the phases by small margins, including in the bronze match in which all four of us stayed on the board in the tiebreaker. We just had a tough break in the semi, the red ball was in an optimal position to be pushed onto our side, next to the Gang’s gate exit. Anyway, congratulations to them, they deserved this championship after a spectacular campaign with eight medals in twelve events.”

Firebird Sports Blog, 2017

The turnaround was complete. The four consecutive medals not just vaulted them up to fourth with 68 points, but also were a record in any JMR series. This was a true rebirth for these four friends, who were proud of themselves and were encouraged to make bold choices.

“While we were overjoyed after such a strong year, we had to think of our future,” revealed Nixy.

All Hubelino teams were invited to join the Marble League 2018 Qualifiers, and less than one month before the major series kickoff, Team Phoenix had to come to a decision. “Honestly, we wanted to worry less about what we were capable of in competition. We eventually decided to step down to help our long-time friend fulfill their dreams.” continued Nixy.

Observing what their Hubelino rivals did with their invitations, Team Phoenix decided to take a completely different approach. Going forward, the Phoenix name would live on in the Marble Rally. How did this happen? Nixy continued: “Back in Knikkegen, we met Fantasy, a regular racer of the sandhills. During that conversation, I mentioned our friendship with a fellow racer and regional rally champion, ‘Big’ Phoenix. After this meeting, we kept in regular contact. Later that year, Fantasy revealed to me before anybody else that they were tired of being too average and wanted to retire from the Sand Marble Rally and give their spot to somebody who could become a serious championship contender. They felt ‘Big’ Phoenix could be that marble.” The four agreed, especially after being present to watch Phoenix’s performance in the Herbotamia Rally 2017 final, held in Chlorotopia. Although Phoenix failed to clinch a second championship, the members of Team Phoenix envisioned their future in that athlete. “We felt they were more competitive than any of us could be, and that’s what is needed to win titles. So when we contacted Jelle to respond about Marble League, we withdrew our spot and proposed that Phoenix be entered in the next Marble Rally season in place of Fantasy.”

With their decision made, Team Phoenix left the competitive stage as athletes to become the staff for their big friend, coaching them in preparation for Marble Rally 2018. The group built a gym in Spiceno in order to offer a better structure for a world-class professional racer. However, they also used nature and the streets, pushing each other during race simulation workouts, recapturing some of the joy that brought them together in the first place.

Several months of training would be put to the test on 19 May 2018 at the Sand Marble Rally 2018 Qualifiers. A top-four finish in their group was needed to advance to the main series. All of Phoenix’s training and effort was rewarded with a victory in Group 4, even beating the already qualified Slimer. On the Firebird Sports Diary, now repurposed to share news about the campaign, Phee posted: “This performance overcame any expectations. It was awesome to boost the confidence in our work, we’re heading in the right direction. Thank you for your support.”

In their first international championship race, Phoenix raced close to the podium in a fierce battle with Grasshopper, ending with a fourth-place finish, a great result for a rookie. The team behind Phoenix was happy for a strong start but also felt that better results were in reach. 

The five friends established themselves in Knikkegen during the season, and could often be seen visiting the sandhills to tune their skills. This choice eventually proved to give them an edge, especially during the hiatuses between rounds. Phoenix had a very consistent season, finishing all races, with six top-ten finishes in eight races, and a win in the season finale that allowed them to overtake Superball and Black Knight and finish in second overall.

When they returned to Spiceno, the local fans partied in the streets to celebrate the podium finish, including a stop at Hot Spot Park, where everything started. Meanwhile, the training routine was praised by fellow competitors and the press, leading to an interview with a magazine. Here’s an excerpt of said feature, by Nix: “At the time, a few marbles told me I was crazy to step down and put my effort behind someone else. Those who knew about our connection always supported us, but for those who doubted, today I can say that the bet paid off and our biggest achievement involved being out of the spotlight.”

However, their world was soon turned upside down. Dark clouds formed above the party atmosphere as Phoenix was caught up in the “not a marble” controversy involving Red Number 3. “We were home, enjoying our vacation when I saw my friend’s ‘cheating accusation’ all over the internet. I was shocked, I couldn’t believe it. None of us gave any interview for TV regarding any of Big’s competitors, we don’t know where these claims came from”, said Nixy. Unable to travel, the team contacted the marble who helped kickstart Phoenix’s career: Meteor, the talent scout who offered them the opportunity to take part in the first-ever broadcast rally race. Meteor happened to be in Bifornya when the news broke and gladly accepted the request to reach out to Red on behalf of Phoenix and their staff. The team also released an official statement on the Firebird Sports Diary, supporting their friend and denying the declarations released to the media.

After that event, public appearances became rare in the months before Marble Rally 2019. An exception was the Practice Race for the already qualified marbles where Phee gave their thoughts after enduring this difficult moment: “We’ve stayed by Phoenix’s side all the way; it was a delicate situation that required our full support. We’re also thankful for the fans who never gave up on us. We hope to turn it around this season.”

Unfortunately, Phoenix’s third-place finish didn’t translate to good performances in the main tournament, ending with a 19th place finish out of 20 in the overall standings and relegation to the Showdown. The team released the following statement after the last round: “What went wrong? Phoenix was under pressure from public opinion, influenced by past events. Despite our best efforts to put that behind us, they couldn’t concentrate during the entirety of this Sand Marble Rally season. We don’t know exactly what goes on in the mind of a top-level athlete, so we decided to take a rest and be in a stronger position before planning for the future.”

The pause turned out to be beneficial for everybody, and by the end of the winter, work began at the Team Phoenix gym, barely a week before the Herbotamia Rally 2020 opener. About the new year’s training, Phoeny said: “Phoenix told us they had recovered their confidence and wanted to race as soon as possible. We agreed to do part of the local league schedule. We have reinvented ourselves so many times in our lives, and this was just another fun challenge.”

Phoenix got off to a slow start, and their friends followed every race to analyze and build strategies for the upcoming races. Eventually, they heated up, scoring a podium in the last race before traveling to take part in the group practice in August. The team was established at a training site near Knikkegen when a setback occurred. “‘Big’ called me to let us know that the JMRC announced in the athlete briefing that the Showdown and Qualifiers had been canceled and they had decided to make the next Marble Rally season invite-only and Phoenix had not been chosen. It’s massively disappointing, especially as Phoenix had regained their mojo and they made this change so close to the start of the competition. There wasn’t much we could do, besides telling our fans that we were out and packing our stuff to return home”, disclosed Nixy. After taking the detour, Phoenix blazed down the paths of the remaining rounds of the Herbotamia Rally.

The team already planned to stop by home – though not in the way they expected. The team was invited to the Herbotamia Reunion, a closed exhibition match featuring Team Plasma, the Grape Nuts, the Yarble Yellers, and every Hubelino Tournament competitor. While exact details of what happened at the competition are kept secret due to an NDA signed by all in attendance, one thing is for sure: “This event gave me flashbacks to what motivated us to form a team, it reignited that feeling”, said Phee.

The return seemed to be just a one-off when an unexpected opportunity appeared, and (part of) Team Phoenix would compete again. They were aware of the struggles of the Banana Splits, who were missing three members due to scheduling conflicts, to enter the inaugural Midnight Melee in the region of Harva. They reached out to the Banana Splits and offered to support them. The teams temporarily merged to form the Burning Bananas. Nix stayed behind while the rest of the team arrived in the Clock Coliseum to compete under new names: Nixy became Ash; Phoeny became Pyro, and Phee became Sear.

During the opening ceremony, Pyro looked at the CMM camera and shouted: “Time to bring the fire!” They were chosen to debut in the Funnel Endurance and used their knowledge to finish fourth, a hot start for the squad. Later that night, the fans watched Sear powering through the Hurdles, winning the heat, but getting knocked out in the semi-finals for seventh place. After night 1, the Bananas were in fifth overall, ahead of the hosts and Marble League 2018 champions, the Midnight Wisps.

On the second night, the competition went outdoors. Two team events were held at Midnight Hollow, an environment that somewhat resembled the “turf tournament” experience. Coach Peel sent Ash and Sear to join Banana and Split. They rolled down the balancing beam and looked promising, with one finisher in Ash, but a miscoordination pushed them down to ninth. Block Pushing came right after, and while the Wisps showed their true potential winning by a wide margin, the Bananas recovered to achieve a double fifth, in the event and in the overall standings. At this point, they were the best team without a podium.

Another night meant two more events. During Ghost Plasma’s demonstration down the trail of the Nature Run, the teammates were observed giving tips to Split. This proved to be valuable in the race as Split won a bronze medal in a very tight finish, just behind the Candycorns and the Dragon Roses. The Midnight Tower came next, a long and complex course with five different sections. Ash executed a nice start and led down the Hubelino track that wrapped around the Helarve Clock Tower, but lost pace entering the Midnight Bay circuit, eventually being knocked out in their heat after a fifth-place finish. They did, however, have the best time among those who didn’t move on to the final.

On the penultimate night of the tournament, Ice Hockey was the only slated event. The Burning Bananas once again had a first-round elimination leading to a ninth-place finish. The Bananas were fourth overall, still within reach of the silver medal spot but out of title contention as the Wisps were confirming their favoritism to win.

They hoped to close out in style at the Midnight Bay Grand Prix. Positioned in thirteenth, the captain, Banana, didn’t impress and moved up only one spot in twelve laps. The Burning Bananas fell down to seventh in the final standings, just five points from second, a satisfactory result for the squad that was built last-minute.

After the closing ceremony, Ash attended the press conference. When questioned about their participation as a late entry, they responded: “We didn’t come with the mindset to win, we wanted to have fun. I’m happy with how we did, but most importantly, happy to help fellow athletes to be here, happy to play with so many great teams, and happy to be part of the history of a new series. I can relate this to my Herbotamia Tournament times. Who knows, maybe we can still compete with the best? Thank you to the Banana Splits for giving us this opportunity to play, and also to the Midnight Wisps and the marbles of Helarve, they put up an excellent show.”

The three marbles returned to Herbotamia and their current jobs as Phoenix’s staff. To fight back the uncertainty regarding their friend’s international racing career, the Team Phoenix gym expanded to take care of two more professional athletes: Arecibo, a former Telescopics member, and Sarge, an experienced off-road racer, who both had recently joined the Herbotamia Rally series. Thanks to the growing demand, a fifth member joined them. Known as Fawkes, they were recruited due to their previous experience moderating the team’s blog. The squad also often takes part in friendly matches in the region. They sent us a final message: “A good friendship can take you to places you didn’t even imagine.” From the Marble Rally racer’s words, “Team Phoenix is still Team Phoenix, just in a different position.”

In RetRollSpective, Team Phoenix is a team that may not have found major success in competition but has been “reborn” to continue its commitment to marble sports. Best of luck to Team Phoenix in the near future, keep on rolling!

Credits