Never before in a single night has a crowd snapped so abruptly and so frequently between euphoric cheers and deafening silences.
The most recent match between the NC Corsairs and the San Diego Shredders ended in overwhelming victory for Night City, but it was another team that stole the spotlight. Trauma Team paramedics airlifted out a record seven players during the game due to potentially life-threatening injuries. Three still remain in stable but critical condition.
This game's unusual spike in injuries was the result of a months-long feud between the two franchises that had hit a boiling point. Shredders head coach Darnell Irving has repeatedly accused the Corsairs of breaking league rules by allowing players to equip military-grade cyberware. Corsairs organization representatives have refuted the allegations, claiming the rules contain no such clear-cut cyberware guidelines. Night City's head coach even went so far as to say that San Diego "would be wise to make the same upgrade instead crying like babies whenever they get their asses kicked." What he doesn't mention, however, is that the NC Corsairs have a sponsorship deal with NightCorp, granting them exclusive rights to equipment designed in NightCorp's top-secret "Football Science Lab." Salt in the wound...
Of course, unpersuaded, the San Diego faithful have argued to the league that the use of military-grade technology is damaging to the game's integrity and future. Football analysts and commentators, on the other hand, have dismissed the controversy, saying that the "arms race" mentality has always been pervasive in sports. Their case in point – the 2064 Night City Marathon. In a record-setting and uncontested victory, Austrian runner Dominik Bohm blazed past favorites from the Czech Republic and France because of Vienna's close partnership with Zetatech.
