Battle cries, bourbon and Billy Idol
GARDENDALE,
AL - Battle cries are as old as war itself. The "rebel yell" was
the battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil
War (1861-65). Wild-eyed Southern boys used the rebel yell
when charging into battle to intimidate the enemy and boost
their own confidence. The sound has been described in many different ways
ranging from the scream of a cougar to the howl of a wolf. The rebel
yell has often been linked to Native American battle cries in particular
to the Comanche warriors' hoots and hollers. Sidney Lanier, the poet and
Confederate veteran, described his unit's yell as "a single long cry as
from the leader of a pack of hounds". There is scholarly thought today
that the yells were different from battalion to battalion for identity
purposes in dense terrains. An approximation of a rebel yell can be
heard in the 1951 film The Red Badge of Courage starring Audie
Murphy. Other Old World historians claim the rebel yell originated from
Scottish Highlanders in the 1600s when they would make one of their
signature Highland charges and it was brought to the Appalachian region
of North America by the Scotch-Irish in the early 1700s. However,
according to the ancient Greek writings of Homer in the Odyssey,
the Dorian soldiers of Sparta often used a loud animal-like battle cry
during combat, shouting "alala" which emulated the cry of the owl, the
bird of their patron goddess Athena. In Week 9 of the BDFL, the Altadena
Dorians ventured back to the familiar soil of Driver Stadium to
annihilate the Jugtown Juggernauts (48-17) shortly after rattling off
their patented "alala" rebel yell at the top of the hill right in
between the set of ready-to-launch rockets. Rebel Yell is also
the name of a famous brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey made in
Bardstown, KY.
Rebel Yell by Billy Idol (1983) was named from the whiskey.
Final Scores
BUL
PS
26
29
BLZ
DOG
21
24
FRE
WIL
12
18
MAY
CHE
15
37
DOR
JUG
48
17
GAM
BEL
25
25OTV
SM
BD
25
27
ARM
GRE
46
43
Complete 2020 BDFL scoring data
from the Aladdin Scoring System (@$$)
The BDFL's Lakeshore Salamanders
HOMEWOOD -
Over the last 25 years of BDFL play, there has been a few occasions for
the league to need another team to step in a play a season, or a game or
two, to help balance out a schedule, or level up the playoff format to
keep everything balanced, fair and even Steven. The two teams to come to
mind to serve the BDFL are the Fieldstown Phantoms and the Homewood
Highlanders. These teams have always been built from undrafted players
and frankly, they have held their own in BDFL competition. The Phantoms
have a 8-12 record and the Highlanders hold a 2-1 record according to the
Elias Sports Bureau. Once the BDFL expanded to 16 teams, there hasn't
been a need for another team to step in and play some games. The Mt.
High Blue Deacons did step in a few years back to play a whole season
and eventually earn their own BDFL franchise, but they played games as a
full-fledged member with drafted players.
Since the BDFL awarded Fieldstown their own franchise in 2019 with the Bellcows, the Phantoms were retired and will probably never play another BDFL game. So, the league was left with the old Homewood Highlanders team to fill this "replacement" role, if ever needed. The Highlanders haven't played a game in the BDFL since 2011, so the league decided to rebrand this club as the Lakeshore Salamanders to be more representative of the area.
The Salamanders are nicknamed after the world famous spotted salamanders (ambystoma maculatum) who migrate back and forth from the mountain of the Homewood Forest Preserve across Lakeshore Drive between Homewood High School and Samford University to get to Shades Creek. These small amphibians need the wetlands of the old recessed lake to do their ritual mating dance, lay eggs and reproduce.
Here is what the starting line-up for the Lakeshore Salamanders could have looked like, if they needed to suit up and play a game in Week 9 of the BDFL...
 Lakeshore Salamanders |
||
| Pos. |
Player NFL Team |
Pts. |
| QB1 | Jake Luton JAX | 12 |
| RB1 | Wayne Gallman NYG | 6 |
| RB2 | Jordan Howard MIA | 6 |
| WR1 | Marquez Scantling GB | 6 |
| WR2 | Nelson Agholor LV | 3 |
| WR3 | Breshad Perriman NYJ | 9 |
| PK1 | Sergio Castillo NYJ | 12 |
| DF1 | Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) | 0 |
|
Week 9 Total |
54 | |