Team Galactic Trough The Years

Team Galactic Through The Years Team Galactic – a Marble League team that are loved by many and hated by few. They have been on the scene since the very beginning and every year, they have held one of the 16 spots in the highest echelon of marble sports. By winning the 2020 hosting bid, Team Galactic has become the first team who will compete in all five editions of the tournament. Since the announcement excitement has been flowing throughout not just the team’s fandom but all of the Marble League community with fans of all teams eager to see what Galactic will be able to offer as hosts.

Stadium renovations will soon be underway, and the city of Polaria is preparing itself for the onslaught of marbles who will arrive next year to attend the games. It is safe to say that next year’s Marble League will be out of this world.

At this point, Team Galactic are a well respected and relatively successful team on the world stage, but it has been nothing short of a journey for the team to get to where they are right now. This journey is filled with ups and downs, success and failure, and everything in-between, and it has taken four space-loving marbles on one of the wildest rides imaginable.

There have been many times where the future of the team seemed uncertain, yet they have always come back every year to continue writing their legacy. Today, we will explore this legacy, going year by year from the team’s origins to the present and beyond. Welcome to Team Galactic: Through The Years.

COSMIC ORIGINS The Story of Team Galactic Team Galactic is undoubtedly one of the most beloved teams in the Marble League. Although they haven’t been extremely successful, they have always managed to come through with stellar performances from time to time that will keep their fandom faithful to the team. Now, as the hosts of next year, Team Galactic will prepare for what will be the most important year of their Marble League tenure. When Cosmo, Astron, Starry, and Pulsar formed their team several years ago, they could have never imagined the heights they would rise to as a team. Today, we will present to you how Team Galactic went from a bunch of workers in a space center to one of the greatest marble athletic teams on the planet.

The team’s origins could be traced back to early 2012 when Cosmo and Astron were both employed in the Galactic National Space Center, the world’s largest space center, located in the high-tech city of Galakonur. The two co-workers quickly bonded over their love for athletics and became close friends throughout the year. Later in the year, the sand race phenom Starry began working at the center as well, and the group would become friends after working there for just a few weeks. They would be acquainted with Pulsar the following year, which completed the original quartet of Team Galactic. On weekend, the quartet would spend lots of time together in various outdoor activities. Above all, the four of them loved two things most: space and racing.

Cosmo, Starry, Astron, and Pulsar would compete in local tournaments whenever they were able to, and over time, their athletic skills were made known to more and more marbles across the empire. Their jobs and personal lives kept them busy, but that didn’t stop them from finding time to train and compete. Their dedication paid off when, in early July of 2014, Cosmo received a letter from the Emperor informing his team that they were formally invited to compete in a nationwide athletics tournament taking place on October 4th. A day-long affair, the tournament would be used to determine who the best athletes in the nation were. Cosmo presented this invitation to the rest of the team, and they were all thrilled at the opportunity. They entered the tournament under the name “Team Galaxy”. The news was eventually spread throughout the space center, and their co-workers and staff were excited for them. Void, the manager of the space center, helped sponsor the team’s trip to Polaria, where the tournament was held. Early on October 3rd, the team made their trip to the Andromedome, hoping to prove themselves as superior athletes.

The day of the tournament came, and Team Galaxy were slightly nervous, but mostly excited about competing with such high stakes. The structure of the tournament was similar to that of the Marble League, except the marbles were competing for nothing more than national recognition. Everyone at this tournament was there to make a name for themselves, and the members of Team Galaxy were no exception. At noon, Astron made his way into the blocks for the first event of the day, the Sprint Race. As the gun fired and the competitors raced down the track, one marble was puling further and further ahead as the race went on. Astron didn’t just win, he dominated the race. This victory would end up setting the tone for the rest of the tournament. Galaxy dominated all day, winning nearly half of all the races and came away with high 7

finishes in most of the others. They were putting up results that were more comparable to world records than the results of their competition. At the end of the day, there no question about it; Team Galaxy were by far the greatest team in the empire.

Team Galactic’s First Appearance in the Marble League The four athletes’ lives would never be the same after that day. They became overnight celebrities, appearing on news shows and being offered sponsorships regularly. They were even welcomed to visit the Emperor, as well as the rest of the Galactic Royal Family.

Despite their rising fame, Team Galaxy didn’t let it interrupt their way of life before the tournament. They went back to working at the space center just as they had before, and they still kept training to hone their skills even further. In the summer of 2015, Jelle Bakker, along with several other prominent figures in the marble sports world, organized a new tournament that would take place the following year: The Marble League. This of course would become the highest level of marble competition in the world, with only the best teams on the planet being offered a chance to compete. The organizers of the Marble League invited to compete during the second half of 2015. Backed by overwhelming support from the Emperor and the citizens of the Galactic Empire, Team Galaxy were invited to represent their nation in the tournament on October 4, 2015, exactly one year after the performance that had enabled them to reach this point.

Cosmo, Starry, Astron, and Pulsar decided to stay branded as “Team Galaxy” and entered into the Marble League under that name. However, the large and international Galaxy corporation supposedly saw this as a threat to their business and demanded that the team remove the word “galaxy” from their name, or else they would seek legal action. Nowadays, it is believed that these claims were most likely bogus, but Team Galaxy did comply with them and, just days before the Marble League was set to begin, once again they changed their name, this time adopting the title of “Team Galactic. Rumors about a promotional event between the two groups were spread through the marble world, but both parties have expressed that no such event has been planned to take place.

2016: LIFT OFF As one of the original sixteen teams, Team Galactic competed in the first ever Marble League in 2016. The team showed simulants of potential in the first event, Balancing, when they placed tenth. Although their placement did not warrant points, Galactic earned two points in the next event, Relay Race. After moving on to the consolation round the team was placed on the top lane and subsequently got fourth in the round. Due to the defect in the top lane, which was realized after the conclusion of the event, Team Galactic received their second point. In Collision the team finished in seventh and earned one point, thus averaging a point per event at the quarter mark of the 2016 Marble League.

“We’re grateful that we started our career off that well,” Astron reflected. “Three points may seem like nothing due to the revised scoring system in the 2017 Marble League but in 2016 having points at all mattered. That said, I am not grateful for the defect in the top lane for the Relay Race, even if we were compensated for it. I don’t understand how things like that get overlooked in event construction even in 2019. We can do better.”

Team Galactic scored their first major points haul in the fourth event when Starry earned a bronze medal in the Sand rally. Starry not only became the first member of Team Galactic to earn a medal; she, along with Yelley from Mellow Yellow, became the first female marble athlete to earn an individual medal. This historic effort drew praise from the marble sports

“I am honored to accept this medal on behalf of my team, the Marble League and for all female marble athletes,” Starry wrote in a press statement, released shortly after the fourth event.

Team Galactic continued to place in the top ten throughout the following events. They placed sixth in both the Long Jump and the Water Race and fourth in the High Jump, which Starry also competed in. The team began to drift from orbit in the 10 Meter Sprint where Astron placed twelfth and earned no points towards Galactic’s total, which was then at sixteen points. The team placed seventh in Team Pursuit, earning another point, ninth in the Precision Slalom, and seventh in Quartet Diving, earning one more point. Unfortunately that would be Galactic’s final point of the season as Cosmo would earn zero points after finishing Hurdles in fourteenth place, their lowest placement of the season.

Due to the 2016 scoring system heavily favoring podium finishes, the team finished with eighteen points in eleventh place at the conclusion of the 2016 Marbel League. They tied with the Oceanics in points but they fell behind the team in medal count.

“Overall, it was a start,” Pulsar noted. “We did what we had to do. It wasn’t what we wanted to do but it was enough to at least make a mark,” Cosmo shrugged. “We were ready to do better in the 2017 Marble League. And better we did.”

2017: WHAT WENT WRONG? In 2017 Team Galactic arrived at the Marble League stadium in good form and with high hopes. They had competed in the highest tier of marble sports for the first time only a year before, pulling off a mediocre finish at the bottom half of the standings. Yet despite ending their 2016 campaign in eleventh place they were proud of what they accomplished in their first year. All the local papers were full of quotes from the team members promising an even better sophomore outing.

Pulsar had the weight of a nation on their shoulders as they faced the first starting line in the quest for a Marble League championship. The event was Funnel Spinning with only nine funnels between them and qualifying for the final of the event. Unfortunately they failed to do enough to move on becoming the only competitor spending under a minute in the funnels and placed last overall in the event. This poor start, despite being dismissed as early jitters, ended up setting the tone for their next few performances. Galactic’s follow-up in the second event, Long Jump, was yet another knock to the team. Cosmo only managed to leap to a paltry 67.1cm for second to last place in the event.

Going into Collision Team Galactic was already losing ground fast and falling to the back of the pack. For the sake of their morale they couldn’t take another poor finish. Collision would need to be the event where they got the engines revving and turned things around. Unbeknownst to them the most infamous injury in Marble League history was about to happen before their eyes.

Team Galactic lined up against the Oceanics, Midnight Wisps, and Team Momo in qualification group B. Their first two matches against Team Momo and the Wisps were uneventful drawing each time at 0-0. Then they witnessed Momomomo sustain life threatening injuries in their match against the Wisps that forever changed the sport. Apprehension and probably a whole lot of fear must have had a strong hold on Team Galactic as they went back out on the court to face the Oceanics. Despite the accident they powered through and pulled off the victory with a score of 1-0 to finish in second place. Moving on to the quarter finals they went head to head with the undefeated Limers and were brushed aside 3-0 and settled 8th in the event; their best placement to that point in the competition.

11 The 5m Sprint saw yet another blow to the team. Cosmo was left in the blocks and Team Galactic finished last in a heat that included gold winners Mellow Yellow and bronze winners Oceanics. Now a third of the way through the games four events had passed and Team Galactic was sitting in the basement of the standings in fourteenth place. They lead only the Jungle Jumpers and the Quicksilvers. Moving into the thick of the competition if Team Galactic hoped to win the Marble League it was clear the team would have to turn up the dials on their competitiveness. Having gained notoriety with their Sand Marble Rally performances where they won a bronze medal in 2016, Team Galactic redeemed their poor performance in the 5m Sprint. Team member Starry broke away from the starting gate like a rocket the moment they were off, hitting the hurdles first and taking victory in a season’s best time of 8.96 seconds. The event record at that point was 8.72 seconds. In the semi-finals Starry once again got the best start of the four

competitors. They built up a formidable gap tween them and the others racers, having all but won, before being run down and caught by the O’rangers at the final hurdle. Team Galactic then had to watch as the second semi-final sizzled all the way to the finish line.

The Savage Speeders came away with a new event record and the other qualified team, the Limers, dipped below Starrys’ season best time set in the heats. Starry went down in lane four of the final against Clementin of the O’rangers, who beat them in the semi-final, Swifty from the Savage Speeders had reset the record only moments before, and Sublime from the Limers who entered the final with a faster time. The marbles held their breath for what was sure to be a phenomenal race. The gun went off and 8.92 seconds later Team Galactic had won the first gold medal of their careers, becoming the only team in the final to break nine seconds and jump from fourteenth to eleventh place overall.

Unfortunately, most of the momentum from their win in the Hurdles was undone in the very next sprint event, the Relay, where the team got the slowest start in their heat and finished last. Even a fresh gold medal winning Starry on the second leg was unable to salvage the race. Their inconsistency carried over into Block Pushing where they made the final and finished in fourth place. In the High Jump event Cosmo failed thrice at the 3.75cm mark and took seventh in the event. It seemed at that point their form had finally settled as their run in the Steeplechase won them fifth place followed by another respectable eighth place finish in Archery. In the 2017 Marble League Team Galactic made it to the semi-final of the penultimate event, the Underwater Race, and finished a disappointing last place.

At this point Team Galactic was at their wit’s end. Despite their mostly improved and consistent performances they had been unable to break out of eleventh place for five events in a row which was the same position they had finished in the prior year.

By the final event of that year, the Sand Marble Rally, Team Galactic already knew their fate was not to be the champions. They hoped for a good finish to prove their bronze in the event the previous year was no fluke and to also mine some much-needed points in the overall standings. Starry was a marble with a mission as she took to the sand and streaked to gold medal number two with one of the best individual performances of the year. The win also pulled the team to the top of the pack to end their run in fifth place. Even after four years of competition this remains Galactic’s best ever finish in the Marble League and certainly one of the biggest comebacks of any team.

2018: GALACTIC DISAPPOINTMENT After the 2017 Marble League, Team Galactic spent the off-season improving their training regimen. Immediately after finding out that the 2018 tournament was to be held in the Arctic Circle they also began to train on different types of terrain.

“We knew we were in for a really tough challenge. I think a lot of the athletes that did very poorly that year didn’t have nearly enough experience on snow or ice, which can exacerbate things,” Cosmo said after competition in 2018. “It’s such an unpredictable element being in the Arctic Circle. It’s freezing cold and athletes must wear jackets to keep from cooling down in between heats. See, you don’t want to lose your sweat while waiting around to hop back in the game because then you’re cold and you can get exposed to injury.”

“And yeah, to be honest, though we were training in the off-season on ice and snow runs all the time, the Arctic Circle is a cruel mistress,” Cosmo said. “It wasn’t that we hadn’t done long ice runs through the off-season, it was that we didn’t expect Grand Admiral Mellacus to make walls on the side. Our ice runs didn’t have those walls so we weren’t adequately prepared.”

“I wasn’t happy about it. I wanted to have words with Mellacus but the rest of the team told me to relax. And it was the first event,” Pulsar said. But this was a trend of somewhat mediocre performances followed until Bobsled when the team went off.

“I guess we were just mad,” Astron said of the Bobsled silver. “We were getting hammered in the events that we expected to just do so much better in despite all the training and practice we did at home. We just failed to meet those expectations.”

As we all know now, 2018 was a tough year for Team Galactic.

But the most heartbroken member was Quasar. In an earlier 2019 interview Quasar commented, “I came on as a reserve member so I didn’t have a ton to do but I trained with the team consistently throughout the year. There was talk of my coming on and running a race to just try it and see if we could get further in one of the solo events but it never came to fruition. I spoke to Cosmo after the Sand Rally and there was talk of dissolving the team as well and that was, well, just upsetting. Y’know, years of looking up to Cosmo led to this moment and to have it discussed that it would all be for naught was like the stadium crumbled around us.”

When we asked about this moment Coslmo sat and looked thoughtful for a moment, as if recollecting the entire time in the Sand Mogul Rally. “Yeah, that’s the truth. We weren’t up to par that year and were trying to break our eleventh place but we couldn’t crack the top ten. You gotta know how frustrating that is. As someone who was reliable and gave their best while consistently trying hard in every other season, it felt like the fans lost hope in me and in us.”

“And then we looked out into the emptiness of the Arctic Circle and it almost reminded us of home. Unsurprisingly back home we stare out into the vastness of the galaxy and how on a long enough timeline we athletes have come around in the last few milliseconds on the clock of the universe,” Pulsar recalled. “Or at least that’s what Cosmo said later.”

“Then Cosmo stood up in the sand and said, “Let’s get to practice. We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Quasar said. “I was relieved that I was still part of the team. But more than anything I was so happy that my siblings and their teammates were still friends and still competing to win.”

2019: REDEMPTION 2019 was a monumental year for Team Galactic in both pre-season and the main league. Astron, for one, had run at some off-season glory in the 100-meter Water Race.

“I had the full support of the team behind me when I got out there to the Water Race,” Astron said. “It was just nice to compete and get the blood flowing again. A lot of teams like to sit in the off-season and nurse their injuries but we’re deeply competitive.” Astron was communicating with us from the International Space Marble after being selected for a special mission at the time of this interview.

Later on in the season the whole crew showed up for the Amazing Maze Marble Race and reached the semi-finals. Team Galactic was filmed all together again, embracing on the track and enthusiastically talking about their chances in the 2019 Marble League.

“We started talking amongst ourselves. We made our own saying, ‘only us’. It was really hard to push the expectations away from us in 2018 and our team definitely suffered for it. We got too caught up in the lights and the stage and the runs. So we started saying ‘only us’ as a method to separate us from the chatter. In the locker room, y’know, after Cosmo was named captain by Black Hole, he just kept repeating ‘only us’ when we were down. ‘Only us. No one else,” a teary Starry recalled. “Sorry I get emotional about it. You wouldn’t believe what it meant to us to hear him really focus on us like that and be one hundred percent committed to seeing us do well. We became a family in ‘19.”

And it showed in the qualifiers with a gold from Pulsar and a second place overall finish in the standing going into the main tournament. But it was not meant to be.

“It was like we couldn’t get going again after that magical time in the qualifiers. At least until Block Pushing,” Cosmo recalled. The team gave the blocks all they had in the event and came in second place followed by a fourth place finish in Summer Biathlon. They had reached third place and a bronze podium position. But in the locker room the team was concerned about Starry.

I got a DNF. It was hard. Then we ended up back in the same spot, in eleventh place again. Cosmo came up to me in the locker room and said “It’s okay, I can handle it.” “Yeah, I had a little minor injury on the course in Block Pushing. Just too much stress, too much hustle and bustle. I tried to come back after Quasar finished fourteenth in Hurdles and the Hubelino Maze,” Starry said. “Not that those performances were bad but I could tell they were all worried about me. So I came out for the Dirt Race and I thought we could come back but then

“I was so proud of how well we were doing,” Cosmo said. “Everyone was so happy even with our bad performances. We were just happy to be there. ‘Only us’, right? So in the final event it was only me. I am the Captain of the team and I’m out there and all I can see is the bottom of the track. I put everything I had, all of the spirit of the team, the emotion and all of the eleventh place finishes into it and I just booked it down the run. And when I crossed the line, I looked up, not even realizing what place I was in, and I was in second. And I just broke down on the podium out of happiness and exhaustion.”

The team would finish in eighth place in 2019. Not their usual eleventh place. Not first, either. But eighth felt like 2017 all over again. It might as well been a win for Team Galactic. Astron moved a camera over the window of the International Space Marble for The Rollout crew to see our giant blue and green marble in the vastness of space.

“Isn’t it beautiful guys?” Astron asked. “I can see my house from here,” he said with a chuckle. “In all seriousness,” he continued, “I’ve seen a lot of things up here, we fly at thousands of miles an hour around the planet and we do experiments and tests and we see what our planet is really made of.” Astron paused thoughtfully. “And in all my life and in my missions up here, I’ve never had as much fun nor seen anything more beautiful than our teammates on the track. And I’m so excited to get back and see everyone and compete in 2020. It’s been a crazy, gorgeous, insane ride. And 2020 is gonna be even better.”

MARBLE LEAGUE TAKES TO THE STARS FOR 2020

After a tiring debate between the great minds that put together the athletic marble-based event known as the Marble League, the next house for the 2020 season was finally put to a vote and with a lead of more than 60% of the votes the host team was chosen. We all want to congratulate Team Galactic on their victory in the hosting bid and wish them luck as they prepare Polaria to house the thousands of fans and hundreds of marble athletes who attend these historic events every year!

The decision has been met with a mixture of anticipation and curiosity. Only Team Galactic, the home base fans, and the coach have ever seen what the capital holds let alone the stadium. The wonderment of what lies within Polaria is something that likely swayed the vote for many. With a team themed after space most of us are ready to see the stadium shine as bright as our winning athletes.

Speculation and anticipation aside, it’s time to take a look into the team that will be hosting the 2020 Marble League. Where did they begin? What are their current standings? How does the team itself feel about being the host? These questions and many more are slated to get answers as we take a leap of faith into the homeland of those who keep their gaze to the stars.

Naturally the first marble to look to is the leader of Team Galactic, Captain Cosmo. Although he has proven to be a loyal leader one has to wonder if the team could have been better in the hands of another member? Cosmo started off with Team Galactic in 2016. This was the year they made themselves known and Cosmo found himself near the bottom of the scoreboard in almost every event. The entire Team Galactic pretty much flopped aside from Starry who claimed individual medals in both 2016 and 2017.

With this in mind wouldn’t Starry have been the better Captain in those days? Cosmo did manage to turn himself and the whole team around as of these last few years. After taking second place in the 2019 Qualifiers and ending up in a respectable eighth place in the 2019 Marbel League it was obvious something Cosmo was doing worked. So what was it that started this turn toward glory?

For the full explanation we let Cosmo explain his strategy. “Well you see if I were to give ya the whole pie then there would be nothing for me to bring to the big show. Although I do suppose that it would be okay to explain that we have built ourselves a fine training area within the stadium which our coach helped set up for us. We are out there every day to improve for the 2020 Marble League events. It’s like I tell my marbles: commitment drives the weak to become strong. Now that we are going to be hosting this whole event our determination has grown and we don’t plan to go down in our hometown.”

It is remarkable that they can keep their chins held high even with a negative track record. It seems these marbles are training harder than ever to ensure they claim a few medals in the upcoming 2020 Marble League.

Naturally, I asked them what was going through their minds and Pulsar ended up speaking for both of them by stating, “We know that Cosmo has his head in the stars but we just aren’t sure we will go as far. After seeing what happened this year with the Oceanics we are just hoping we won’t be a repeat of that travesty.” There was a need for some follow up to this statement so I took the blunt route and had to ask them if these thoughts had anything to do with the fact that all three of them have yet to earn a single medal or perhaps because Team Galactic hasn’t stood on the championship podium yet.

Unfortunately this seemed to upset the athletes and I was left without an answer. But it is safe to say that they are likely being affected by the jitters as a monumental moment like this brings. How often does a team get to be the host of the annual Marble League after all?

Although some members have expressed their doubts the strength of Cosmos confidence plus the skill already displayed by Starry with the sheer attitude that this team has lends an air of perseverance at this stadium. It’s a shame I have been told not to remark on the look of the place but I assure you that we are in for an aesthetic treat this year.

Moving to the final marble that I just had to hear from, I found Starry running through the training grounds looking as impressive as she does in the official events. Her training was starting to be matched by none other than Quasar. Starry is working on getting the newest member of Team Galactic up to par with herself in order to ensure they claim a few medals as a team. If the dampened spirit shown by the nervous members has brought many questions to mind Quasar is ready to shut them down.

Basking in an air of sweat and triumph, Starry took a break from training to sit with me for a moment and express her thoughts on hosting the 2020 events. After a quick moment of cheering on Quasar who hadn’t stopped training for even a moment since I stepped out onto the track Starry gave me her full attention. I briefly relayed the question once more. What she had to say was not only uplifting but downright inspiring.

“It all comes down to confidence and practice. While some of us may let our nerves speak for us at times rest assured that we are not going to fail this round. We took fifth in 2017 and eighth in 2019. Anything less than the top ten in our own arena is something we just don’t see happening. Before the day comes that the events begin, all of us here at Team Galactic will be ready to fight for what’s ours. Cosmo may say confidence is key but perseverance is the lock that holds us in place.”

Absolutely amazing words from a strong athlete! There is no doubt that Team Galactic will be ready to show the world what it means to train among the stars!

We are looking at another great year with quite an interesting atmosphere. The 2020 Marble League events are sure to be a memorable experience. With so much heart and passion in this lovely team of athletic marbles, Team Galactic is sure to prove they were the perfect choice to host the upcoming Marble League.