Hello, Mayor! Could you tell us all the Hecaball players and the teams we should be watching? And who's in charge of them?
“Ah, hecaball! Apricus City’s most popular sport. I’m sure a lot of you newcomers will be just as enthralled as a lot of us are with it. But, yes, an introduction of the teams is in order. Hecaball teams are made up of any number of players. During the game, both teams decide on how many players will be in the game for the first third. Then during first and second breaks, the team trailing in score may choose to add or remove players and the other team has to match them. They cannot add more than both teams have players.
“There are currently ten teams in the league. Professional teams must register with the league headquarters at Apricus Stadium with a sponsor and then keep up a game presence with at least a one third win-rate. Every year there is a season of play where each team faces off against each other, then the teams with the two highest win rates face off in the championships. When there’s a tie in wins, the difference in score determines the participants. Teams are formed from residents from all over the city. While professional players do get pay and often advertising deals, it’s common for them to also have day jobs.
“For our teams... we have:
Larsen’s Leviathans representing the docks sponsored by Larsen’s Mariner Services. They’re the best team in the league and just took home their fifth cup in a row. They also have the star player Kei Kawakami in their ranks.
The Bureau Behemoths are sponsored by the Security Bureau and are one of the Leviathans’ two big rivals. This one is made up entirely of soldiers so their tactics are almost unmatched.
Their other rival comes from the Union-sponsored West Apricus Dwarves. They even have a theme song they sing when they hit the field and encourage the crowd to join them. The Union, however, has closed the team to all but employees. They never take free agents.
The Apricus University Argonauts are, of course, sponsored by the college and feature a lot of promising new talent at all times. All of their team is comprised of students and many who graduate will move on to other teams as they find jobs in the city.
The Ciar Titans represent Aurora Vale and are sponsored by Ciar Industries. They’re one of the biggest recruiters of free agents, which makes them one of the biggest teams too. They might lack the cohesion of some other teams, but they are versatile.
Cherry Hills Homeowners’ Association has backed the Cherry Hills Knights. The richest district in the city brings a level of enthusiasm unmatched by any other team. They also have one of the most well known cheerleading squads in the league. And when they win, they make sure the city knows!
The Bounty Hunters’ Association, in one of its rare moments of genuine solidarity, has sponsored a team called the Apricus City Freelancers. As you might suspect, the team is composed almost entirely of freelancers and shuffles its roster regularly.
An interesting entrant from the last few years comes from the Diamond District. The North Apricus Sharks are an... interesting lot. They focus more on advertising deals than their performance half the time but personalities are strong. They’re sponsored by the Lightning Strikes Twice casino and their mystery man of a proprietor.
Representing Solis Heights, we have the Cheshire Hounds. This team is one of the oldest ones in the league and has a rather deep history of famous players and tournament wins. However, take it from a fan- they’ve... seen better days.
And starting up as a brand new team this year we have the Solis Scarabs also representing Solis Heights. We don’t know much about this newcomer team yet, but we hope it’ll be promising!
“I hope that satisfies your curiosity about the hecaball teams! This is Mayor Lowell, signing off! I hear Tiberius Ciar is holding a gala tonight! I hope you all enjoy! Do remember me if you want to know anything else about our fair city!”
