New Nate Rockers

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 Kreasi Cups **(16)** | 1948, 1950, 1959, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1989, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2010

The **New Nate Rockers** are a Greatian professional bladeball team based in New Nate, Derettas. As a member of the Greatian Bladeball League (GBL), the team plays in the Northern League North (NL North) division.

The Rockers are the most successful franchise in the history of Greatian sports, having won 16 Kreasi Cups since their founding in 1947. They have repeated as champions twice, including a four-peat between 2000 and 2003. They have an intense rivalry with the Esposito Roadkill, which is commonly regarded as one of the fiercest rivalries in modern sports.

## History

### Founding & Initial Success

The GBL was founded by Kreasi Kornblatt in 1947 and the Rockers were one of the Original Six teams who played that season. Finishing the season with a 3-2 record, the Rockers advanced to the Kreasi Cup finals (at that point, the postseason merely consisted of a 3-game series between the top two teams, out of six teams total). The Rockers would go on to lose the series to the Foye Rivers in 3 games.

However, it would not be long before the Rockers would enjoy their own success, going on to win their first Cup in 1948, just two years into the GBL's existence. The Rockers would then win the Cup again in 1950.

### "0 and 9" Years Prophecy

After the Rockers won their second Cup in 1950, they would endure hardships throughout most of the decade, enduring losing seasons between 1953 and 1957. After a rebuilding period, the Rockers would go on to reach the Kreasi Cup finals in 1958, for the first time in eight years, but lost to the Chris Capitals.

The Rockers did win the Cup the following year, for the first time in nine years. This would mark the beginning of the "0 and 9" Years Prophecy, where they would win the Cup in the first and last years of a decade, every thirty years or three decades, which would become prevalent in the 1980s, when it happened again.

### 1960s Success

The Rockers would see success throughout the early 1960s, reaching the playoffs every year between 1960 and 1965, while winning the Cup in 1964. After a dreadful 2-7 season in 1966, the Rockers acquired two of the top free agents in the offseason of 1966-67, and these two players would play a key role in the Rockers' Cup win in 1967. They would also play vital roles in the 1968 season, in which the Rockers reached the finals but lost to the Cristoforo Bridgegappers, as well as the 1969 and 1970 seasons, where the Rockers completed their first repeat, winning the Cup in both those years.

### New Foes Emerge

Following the Rockers' 7th Cup win in 1974, the Rockers were viewed as the most dominant team by far, and with no other teams to rival them in sight, they were viewed as the team to win it all for years to come. However, with the 1971 GBL Expansion, where six new teams were added, the Rockers saw their 1972 playoff chances erased with a miserable 0-3 start, commonly viewed as a "crash" from their previous year's success, as well as losses to two expansion teams, the Norako Dippers and Altrolete Isolationers, to end the season. The Rockers finished the 1972 season with a 6-9 record, losing out on the playoffs.

The Rockers would then see a formidable foe rising through the standings: the Esposito Roadkill, their primary rival. A strong and developed farm system, combined with free agent acquisitions and lucrative contracts led the Roadkill to win three cups in five years, winning in 1971, 1973 and 1975, while knocking the Rockers out of the playoffs in 1974, 1975 and 1977. Up until 1980, the Rockers were only able to beat the Roadkill in a playoff series just thrice, having done so in 1952, 1959 and 1969. However, in 1980, the tables turned.

### Decade Prophecy Returns

In the 1980 season, the Rockers were led by an elite "core four" prospects, who emerged from their own farm system. The team, anchored by these players, put up a dominant 1980 season, with the Rockers finishing the season with an 11-5 record and winning all but one playoff game. That year, the Rockers swept the Roadkill in the Kreasi Cup to win their 9th Cup, the most of any team at that time (the Roadkill had 7 Cups).

The Rockers remained dominant through the early 1980s, reaching the playoffs every year between 1980 and 1984. However, they were unable to cash in with another Cup win, reaching the finals only once during that period, in 1983, losing to the Revclo Westerners expansion team, and allowing them to win their first Cup. Following that loss, the Rockers would miss out on the playoffs between 1985 and 1988, signaling the end of an era.

However, free agent acquisitions in the 1988-89 offseason put the power back in New Nate's hands, and they posted a winning season in 1989, barely squeezing into the playoffs as the 8th seed. They went on to beat, you guessed it, the Esposito Roadkill in the 1989 Kreasi Cup Finals, winning their 10th Cup. This also revived the "0 and 9" Years Prophecy, where the Rockers would win the Cup in the first and least years of the decade. They did this three decades prior, in the 1950s, and it was said that they would do it again in another three decades, in the 2010s decade.

### The Lone Cup

As the 1989 Rockers consisted of mostly free agent acquisitions, many viewed that championship as "bought", claiming the Rockers simply used their large payroll to buy all the top free agents of that offseason, and therefore "buy" a championship. Rockers fans deny this claim, but evidence suggests otherwise, as half the free agents acquired for the 1989 season either retired or went to other teams, exposing the many holes the core Rockers team possessed, and merely covered up with free agents in 1989. The Rockers would fail to make the playoffs between 1990 and 1994, although in 1994, they barely missed the playoffs with a loss late in the season.

The Rockers, with no hope in sight, were marred with albatross free agent contracts and a weak farm system. However, top prospect Jamesathan Albassoon made his major league debut in 1994, and was the saving grace for the team in over half their games that season, constituting the winning goal more than three times. In 1995, he led the Rockers to their first playoff berth in six years, but they would lose to the Norako Dippers in the first round.

In 1996, the Rockers' top goaltender prospect Alberi Pennasan made his major league debut and recorded a franchise-record 102 saves that season, and along with Albassoon, were the saving graces for the team many times during that season. A new core formed by top prospects in the organization began to take shape, and this allowed the Rockers to reach the playoffs yet again. This time, however, the Rockers were able to win the 1996 Kreasi Cup, their 11th Cup overall.

From this point forward, the Rockers would see frequent success, led by their new core. Throughout the rest of the 1990s, they would reach the playoffs every year, including posting the best record in the league three years in a row (1997, 1998 and 1999), but failed to win another Cup. Thus, the 1990s is viewed as the Rockers' Lone Cup era.

### The Four-Peat and Dynasty

The Rockers' success in the late 1990s, led by the core players, carried over into the new century. The core players, who were prospects in the mid-90s, were prospects no more. They were now fully developed players at their prime, with all but one returning to the Rockers during free agency with mammoth contracts. This time, the Rockers' success was homegrown, with very little free agents.

The days of posting good records with no Cup were no more. In the 2000 season, the Rockers posted the third-best record, but went on to win all but two games in the postseason, sweeping the Foye Rivers in the finals and winning their 12th Cup, the first of four in the dynasty.

The following year, the Rockers made very little changes during the offseason, with mostly the same players returning for the 2001 season. The Rockers got off to an incredible start, going 5-0, but would go on to lose the next four out of six. Nonetheless, the team was too talented to miss the playoffs, and once again made it in with the third-best record. The Rockers advanced to the Kreasi Cup Finals for the second year in a row, this time facing the Zelzburg Reapers. They beat them in four games to win the Cup again, and repeating as champions for the first time since 1970.

The New Nate Rockers were a powerhouse, once again making very little changes to their team during the offseason. In 2002, however, the Rockers got off to a shaky 0-2 start. However, they would win the rest of their games that season, posting a 13-2 record (a .867 winning percentage, the best in GBL history), and sweeping the Tipton Manuvers (now known as the Thaxton Vipers) to win their 3rd Cup in a row. (The Manuvers/Vipers would not make the Cup again until 2022, losing in four games to the Zelzburg Reapers.)

Following the 2002 season, and Cup win, the Rockers made some slight changes to their team, trading a few prospects in exchange for defensemen depth. This proved to be a costly mistake as the prospects traded, one to the Chris Capitals and two to the Assange Deadbolts, would end up becoming star players and leading their respective teams to Cups a few years later. Additionally, two of the Rockers' core players, Jamesathan Albassoon and Evian Urshelert, suffered injuries during the 2003 preseason, and were ruled out for at least half the season. The Rockers once again got off to a shaky start in 2003, losing four of their first six. However, like the previous three years, they managed to win the majority of their remaining games, and reaching the playoffs for the 9th consecutive year. They would once again win the Cup, this time beating the Assange Deadbolts for their 4th consecutive Cup, and 15th overall.

### End of the Dynasty

In the 2003-04 offseason, fresh off their 4th straight Cup win, Albassoon and Pennasan retired, and Urshelert was traded to the Deadbolts, who possessed a young core of their own. The Rockers' once-young core of elite talent, the core who led the team to winning seasons in the late '90s and victory throughout the early 2000s, was no more, either retired of old age, or traded away. Many viewed the Rockers dynasty as over; however, they were not without talent. Alas, the Rockers reached the playoffs in 2004 and 2005, but failed to advance past the first round. After missing the playoffs from 2006-2008, the dynasty was all but over.

### Death of the Decade Prophecy

The Decade Prophecy made its return in 2010, as it was now thirty years since the 1980s. As mentioned earlier, the Rockers won the Cup in the first and last years of the decade in the 1950s, then did it three decades later in the 1980s. Now, another three decades later, the pressure was on the Rockers to win the Cup in 2010 and 2019 to continue the Prophecy. The Rockers ultimately won their 16th Cup in 2010, and went on to make the playoffs every year from 2010-2019, except 2016, keeping the hopes of the prophecy alive. The Rockers made it to the Cup finals in 2012, but lost to the Esposito Roadkill, reigniting that rivalry.

In 2019, the Rockers posted the best record in the league, a franchise-record 14-4, and all was looking good for the Rockers' Cup chances, and the Prophecy to continue. After sweeping the Esposito Roadkill in the first round of the playoffs, the Rockers advanced to face the Zelzburg Reapers in the second round. The Reapers, who won the Cup in 2018, the year prior, ended up beating the Rockers in three games (a best of three series), thus ending the hopes of the Prophecy forever.

### 2020: Return to the Cup

The Rockers posted a 13-5 record in 2020, the best record in the Northern League. They advanced to the playoffs and defeated the Zelzburg Reapers in the first round, then advanced to sweep the Slothton Skeletons in the second round, earning their first Pennant in eight years (the last time they went to the Cup was 2012, which they lost to the Roadkill). The Rockers advanced to the 2020 Kreasi Cup, but lost to the Altrolete Stackers in four games. Then in 2021 and 2022, the Reapers beat the Rockers in the playoffs for the third time in four years (also in 2019), re-igniting the Rockers-Reapers rivalry.

As of 2022, the Rockers have 16 Cup wins, but have not won it since 2010. They have won the Cup in every decade since the GBL's founding in 1947 (aside from the current 2020s decade).