SSL MacGuffin - S11

[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
S10

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

We finally have something resembling a sliding scale from top to bottom in terms of point spread. Well, almost top to bottom. Tokyo S.C. is still absolutely dominant, to the point that they could have zero points through all of S11 and would be guaranteed to retain their title no matter what. On top of that, second place Hollywood FC is no longer in division 1. That makes Tokyo's already commanding lead even safer as they have more than double third place Reykjavik's points. Will anyone even begin to close that gap? Will Adowa Accra's rebrand to Schwarzwalder energize them to finally rack up some points again? Let's dive in and find out!

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S11
Season Start: A.C. Romana  
Total Games Held: 1
Next Loss: 0-2 @ Uniao Sao Paulo

New Title Holder: Uniao Sao Paulo
Total Games Held: 7
Next Loss: 0-2 @ Reykjavik United

New Title Holder: Reykjavik United
Total Games Held: 4
Next Loss: 2-4 @ CA Buenos Aires

New Title Holder: CA Buenos Aires
Total Games Held: 3
Next Loss: 0-1 @ CF Catalunya

New Title Holder: CF Catalunya
Total Games Held: 1
Next Loss: 1-2 @ Uniao Sao Paulo

New Title Holder: Uniao Sao Paulo
Total Games Held: 3
Next Loss: 0-3 @ CA Buenos Aires

New Title Holder: CA Buenos Aires
Total Games Held: 0
Next Loss: N/A

End of Season

Season Standings:
1) Uniao Sao Paulo  - 10
2) Reykjavik United  - 4
3) CA Buenos Aires  - 3
T-4) A.C. Romana  - 1
T-4) CF Catalunya  - 1

The MacGuffin exchanged hands reasonably frequently in S11, but it was primarily just bouncing between the same few teams. Uniao Sao Paulo was the big winner this season, highlighted by an impressive 7 game streak early in the season. Seems as though they're making up for lost time after several seasons of being a good team in the right division but coming up just short when the MacGuffin was on the line. Also critical to note is the lack of Tokyo S.C. in the season standings. For the first time in a long time, Tokyo was shut out from the MacGuffin. They had a massive lead coming in so their all time lead is still safe, but at least they didn't gain more ground. Interestingly, no away teams managed to snatch the MacGuffin from their hosts this season. Every time the MacGuffin exchanged hands, it happened when the current holder traveled somewhere else. It's worth noting that there is definitely a home bias when looking back through the MacGuffin logs, but it's rare for an away team to fail to take it away at all. Just an interesting tidbit.

All Time Standings:
1) Tokyo S.C.  - 46
2) Hollywood FC  - 26
3) Reykjavik United  - 24
T-4) CF Catalunya  - 20
T-4) CA Buenos Aires  - 20 +1
T-6) Inter London  - 12
T-6) Cairo City  - 12
T-8) Athenai F.C.  - 11
T-8) Uniao Sao Paulo  - 11 +7
10) Seoul MFC  - 10 -1
11) Montreal United  - 7 -1
T-12) AS Paris  - 4 -1
T-12) A.C. Romana  - 4
T-14) Schwarzwalder FV  - 2 -1
T-14) F.C. Kaapstad  - 2 -1
16) Red Star Laos  - 0

Unsurprisingly, Uniao Sao Paulo's big year sent them rocketing up the rankings. I'm not sure I've seen a +7 position movement yet in the 11 seasons I've looked at. If this is a sign of things to come, Uniao Sao Paulo has a bright future. Speaking of bright future, Tokyo's goose egg this season didn't change their position at all. Hollywood FC just barely retained second place over Reykjavik United, so Tokyo S.C. remains a solid 20 points ahead of anyone else. They will roll into S12 with their lead still perfectly safe from any competitors. Schwarzwalder FV was...not so fortunate. Already in Division 2, Schwarzwalder was unable to snatch the MacGuffin from any of the Division 1 teams. However, they also finished high enough to earn a promotion to Division 1 next season. So all in all, not the worst rebrand results. Will that translate into MacGuffin points next season? Will anyone finally catch Tokyo S.C.? What major and minor changes might be coming to the SSL in S12 (eh? eh?)? Tune in next time to find out!

[roquefort]

S11... USP having a bright future... he doesn't know....