SSL MacGuffin - S10

[TubaDeus]

For those who missed the premise of this series, you can find the full background here.

The short version is that the winner of the first ever SSL game is awarded the initial MacGuffin trophy, which is then passed on whenever the current title holder loses in competition play (Friendlies don't count). I will track how many games each team starts with the MacGuffin in order to determine the true best team in SSL history (because everyone knows the MacGuffin points are the true measure of greatness).

You can see previous entries in this series here:
S1-2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
S8
S9

With the introductions out of the way, let's take a look at where we left off last time!

All Time Standings:
1) Tokyo S.C.  - 38
2) Hollywood FC  - 25
3) Reykjavik United  - 20
4) CF Catalunya  - 17
T-5) Inter London  - 12
T-5) Cairo City  - 12
T-5) CA Buenos Aires  - 12
8) Athenai F.C.  - 11
9) Seoul MFC  - 10
10) Montreal United  - 7
11) AS Paris  - 4
T-12) Adowa Accra FC  - 2
T-12) F.C. Kaapstad  - 2
T-14) Uniao Sao Paulo  - 0
T-14) A.C. Romana  - 0
T-14) Red Star Laos  - 0

Most important thing first; no one offered to fly me out to northern span for my birthday to see the solar eclipse. My birthday was ruined as a result. So thanks. (Actually my wife surprised me with a birthday cake when we arrived at our hotel for vacation after stopping at a lovely winery on the way, so all in all pretty nice birthday). Anyway, back to SSL things. Tokyo enters S10 as the clear all time leader, really to an absurd degree. Even if #2 Hollywood FC manages to immediately take the MacGuffin away from CA Buenos Aires week 1 and hold it for the rest of the season, they'd still only tie Tokyo in the 14 game SSL season (discounting cup play). So I'm going to go out on a limb and say Tokyo S.C. will still be in 1st place after this season. Behind them, though, things get more interesting. Reykjavik United has climbed back into Division 1 play, which puts Hollywood's grasp on 2nd at risk. And behind that, there are five teams in the 10-12 point range, then 6 teams with 0-4 points. There's some real potential for major shake ups if the cards fall right this season, so let's dive in and see how it all plays out!

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S10
Season Start: CA Buenos Aires
Total Games Held: 1
Next Loss: 2-3 @ Hollywood FC

New Title Holder: Hollywood FC
Total Games Held: 1
Next Loss: 0-3 @ Uniao Sao Paulo

New Title Holder: Uniao Sao Paulo
Total Games Held: 1
Next Loss: 0-3 @ Tokyo S.C.

New Title Holder: Tokyo S.C.
Total Games Held: 2
Next Loss: 1-6 @ CA Buenos Aires

New Title Holder: CA Buenos Aires
Total Games Held: 4
Next Loss: 1-4 @ CF Catalunya

New Title Holder: CF Catalunya 
Total Games Held: 2
Next Loss: 0-1 vs Tokyo S.C.

New Title Holder: Tokyo S.C.
Total Games Held: 6
Next Loss: 0-1 @ A.C. Romana

New Title Holder: A.C. Romana  
Total Games Held: 3
Next Loss: N/A

End of Season

Season Standings: 
1) Tokyo S.C.  - 8
2) CA Buenos Aires  - 5
3) A.C. Romana  - 3
4) CF Catalunya  - 2
T-5) Hollywood FC  - 1
T-5) Uniao Sao Paulo  - 1

We've got some new faces on the board! After winning the Division 2 title in S9, A.C. Romana immediately shows up on the MacGuffin board with a solid three game run to end the season. They're joined by long time Division 1 member Uniao Sao Paulo, who finally have a point! Of course, this is all overshadowed by the fact that Tokyo S.C. once again leads the season standings, and by a pretty good margin. It really feels like an unstoppable dynasty at this point. Still, six of the eight teams in Division 1 at least scored a point, so decent parity overall.

All Time Standings:
1) Tokyo S.C.  - 46
2) Hollywood FC  - 26
3) Reykjavik United  - 20
4) CF Catalunya  - 19
5) CA Buenos Aires  - 17
T-6) Inter London  - 12 -1
T-6) Cairo City  - 12 -1
8) Athenai F.C.  - 11
9) Seoul MFC  - 10
10) Montreal United  - 7
11) AS Paris  - 4
12) A.C. Romana  - 3 +2
T-13) Adowa Accra FC  - 2 -1
T-13) F.C. Kaapstad  - 2 -1
15) Uniao Sao Paulo  - 1 -1
16) Red Star Laos  - 0 -2

Thanks to tie shenanigans, CA Buenos Aires technically did not move up any ranks despite a strong season, and Uniao Sao Paulo technically moved down a rank despite finally securing their first MacGuffin point. A.C. Romana were the big movers of the season, jumping up two ranks on the back of a strong Division 1 debut. Granted, it's pretty easy to shift ranks when you're smack in the middle of one of the big clusters, but I don't think A.C. Romana is complaining. Of course, overshadowing all of this is the fact that Tokyo's lead has now opened to a full 20 points. Going into this season it would have taken second place Hollywood FC every regular season game for one season to catch up. Now it would take second place Hollywood two seasons to even have a chance. Which, of course, is going to be challenging when they finished bottom two in Division 1. Tokyo's already insurmountable lead isn't going to get any smaller when the second best team isn't even in the same division as the current MacGuffin holder. Can Hollywood make it back up? Will someone else take their place? Will anyone finally unseat the Tokyo S.C. dynasty? Tune in next time to find out!