Season recap: From zero to hero (25 March 2024)
QFL Season V kickoff on 27 October 2022 and ended on 25 March 2024 with silentsound's Silentknights beating the Eagle Eyes in Fever Bowl V, thus completing an unprecedented Cinderella story.
With approximately 17 months, their fifth campaign had been the quickest in the history of arguably the world's most important league of Football Fever thus far.
Part of the reason for this may have been that the league had become quite small, following the departure of runners-up Flash 80s, owl49er's billygoats and charter member Dicey Beasts.
The remaining six teams were divided into the Northern and the Southern Division of which the divisional champions would qualify directly for Fever Bowl V.
The South was widely considered the stronger division as it featured defending Fever Bowl champions Jetto Basterds, two-time postseason participants Niners Sparrows and Season IV runner-ups Eagle Eyes.
Except for a surprisingly clear defeat against the Sparrows, the Eagle Eyes pretty much walked the league. Bouncing back from a disappointing 2-4 season, they finished the regular season as the only team with a winning record (5-1). They even swept the Basterds and defeated the 'Knights on the road.
With no wild card at stake, the Basterds and the Sparrows, even though both not falling under .500, had to put up with places in the QFL all-star game.
The North featured three charter members with the 'Knights, the Prussian Warriors and frontmodes Kobras. However, none of them had been to the postseason more than once and also ever won a postseason game.
The Kobras seemed poised to make it to their first ever championship game when they won both of their first two games while the 'Knights and the Warriors both started with two losses. From then on out, however, they missed several opportunities to clinch the division and lost out their final four games.
The Warriors still had a mathematical chance to go to the Fever Bowl in the last week of the regular season but, eventually, their postseason drought ongoing since Season I continued and they, too, finished the season 2-4.
The 'Knights, on the other hand, became the first team to start into the season with two or more losses and still go all the way. After an 0-3 start, they became the only team from the North to win an interdivisional game when they beat the Sparrows, thus kick-starting their campaign and win out to win their second straight divisional title.
Ice Bowl V: The Nordics 17, The Alpines 10 (Final)
The Ice Bowl format reverted back to divisional teams as Warriors coach Niner (offense & kicking) and Kobras coach frontmode (defense & returning) from the North represented The Nordics against The Alpines formed by Basterds coach jetto (offense & kicking) and Sparrows coach NinersUlm (defense & returning) from the South.
Even though The Nordics outgained The Alpines by well over 100 yds, they only found their opponents' end zone with a little more than five minutes to go in the fourth quarter to eventually take away a deserved 17-10 win.
With their second straight win, The Nordics took a 3-2 lead in the all-star series.
Fever Bowl V: silentsound's Silentknights 33, Eagle Eyes 11 (Final)
As the only team with a winning record, the Eagle Eyes were considered favourites to win their first world championship in their second ever Fever Bowl appearance. Plus, they had already beaten the Silentknights in the regular season.
However, the 'Knights, who had been on a three-game winning streak going into the championship game, dominated the game from the start. They scored a TD on their first possession and by half time, they built a 17-0 lead.
The Eagle Eyes had a first-and-goal from the 5 late in the third quarter when still trailing by 17 but failed on four attempts to finally get points on the board. Only after the 'Knights had extended their lead to 27-0, the Eagle Eyes finally scored their first ever Fever-Bowl points on a kickoff return.
The 'Knights are the only team that has played all five seasons and won a Fever Bowl.