At long last, [the illustrious fantasy football league known as] the Liga Guadalupe has come to fantasticdrivel.com. I am the Pigskin Prof., commissioner of the Liga and author of the Liga Weekly. This widely-unread publication chronicles the goings-on in the Liga Guadalupe, primarily in the form of awards, commentary, and prognostication. Not surprisingly, these posts come out about once a week.
This page, however, is dedicated to documenting the lore and legacy of the Liga Guadalupe. It is something of a work in progress; I will update it whenever time permits.
hail guadalupe
The following is an uncharacteristically succinct summary of the origin of the Liga’s unique appellation. This excerpt is part of a [characteristically] lengthy post from an empassioned thread on what draft type best suits the Liga. Fear not, good reader: I will spare you from those long-winded vituperations over a bitter feud now long-settled. From that chafing chaff I bring you this wholesome grain of history.
. . . the very purpose of the Liga has always been to ENCOURAGE making moves and trades. It’s all about struggling against the odds and taking long shots.
La Virgen de Guadalupe, a central figure in Mexican religion and culture, is said to have appeared as an image of the Virgin Mary on the front of a peasant’s cloak on or around 12 December, 1531. In Mexican Catholicism, Guadalupe is more or less equivalent with Mary–to whom the “Hail Mary” prayer is directed.
In football, of course, the “Hail Mary” is a last-second long pass, made in desperation, with only “a prayer’s chance” of success. The term originated following the Cowboys’ 1975 upset win over the Vikings in the Wild Card game. Roger Staubach recalled the play in a 2000 interview:
We were a Wild Card team that year against the Vikings and a big underdog. It was 14-10 at the time and time was running out. When I threw the ball to [Drew] Pearson, I kind of under-threw it. The term “Hail Mary” was developed because after the game, I told the press I closed my eyes and said a “Hail Mary.”
And so we have the Liga Guadalupe, a league designed to celebrate moments like the Miracle in Michigan, a league structured to give everyone a chance to take a long-shot gamble on some no-name WR because they are an underdog, up against the ropes and the odds, with nothing left to lose.
Free from the fetters of a plain-text forum thread, I can now provide for you what I could not then: a fantastic diagram. (click image for a larger view)
the hail mary pass
More to come soon.
