12 teams started the 2021 campaign and only 2 remain. As a USAFL fan, you can't ask for a more storied rivalry than World's Finest and Nash Kato. 19 years ago, two teams met for the inaugural season of the USAFL, then call the USAFFL to battle for a championship in a league that may have disappeared after that game. In fact, Yahoo! stats didn't even save the points at that time, but we did crown the league's first champion, Baltimore's Finest.
Fast forward from USAFL Bowl I to USAFL Bowl XIX and we finally get a rematch of that historic game, but the chapters in between tell an in-depth story of arguably the two greatest teams in USAFL history.
Nash Kato's six regular-season championships, six division championships, three ten-win seasons, and two USAFL Championships meets the reigning, defending, undisputed USAFL Champion from 2017 through today and the first USAFL Champion in 2003, with five total USAFL Championships, two regular season championships, three division championships, three ten-win seasons and eight total bowl apperences.
It took 14 years for World's Finest to strike gold and they haven't given it up since, it's been 13 years since Nash Kato lasted tasted the sweet nectar of championship gold. In 2021, these two teams outscored the entire league finishing first and second in league scoring with World's Finest winning the title 1730 to 1722... eight points separated these two juggernauts.
In their one and only meeting this regular season, World's Finest gave Nash Kato one of their only two losses. Yankee Zulu was the other and Nash was able to get revenge in a 148-110 victory over their division rival during one-half of this past week's final four showdowns. World's Finest was able to stave off dark horse Ebola in the other half, as the Cinderella sixth-seed looked to add another bowl appearance to their credentials.
When looking at these two teams head-to-head since 2003, there's no wonder why they are one of the great rivalries in league history. In regular season play, WFFC leads 13-10, and in playoff matches, WFFC leads 3-2 for a total record of 16-12 in favor of the World's Finest. Yet, despite that narrow lead, WFFC has only outscored Nash Kato 2423.75 to 2375.5, for a meager point difference of 48.25 points, with only five games of the 28 being considered blowouts with one team defeating the other by 50-or-more points. And this past week saw #2 ranked WFFC put up 151 and #1 ranked Nash Kato 148. These two teams are two sides of the same coin and there were no better teams this year week-in and week-out. This game certainly has all the makings for a classic.
We'll be back later this week with more coverage of USAFL Bowl XIX, as well as, a look at our Consultation Cup game between Hawk's Bench and Vinegar Strokes for the #1 draft pick in 2022.