New to the scene in the 2017 Marble League, the Gliding Glaciers were immediately thrust into controversy. Their coloring was, in the eyes of many, too similar to the Jawbreakers, a veteran team with a much greater following. The Gliding Glaciers were disqualified before the qualifiers and were replaced by the Quicksilvers. After progressing to the main event, the Quicksilvers’ performance was catastrophic—a laughable last place with no medal to their name. It must have been torturous for the Gliding Glaciers to watch, as the team who took their place suffered such a humiliating failure. They must have been yearning to compete and show that they deserved to be there instead.
The team had not quite given up despite that disqualification. Likely spurred on by the desire to prove themselves, they continued their training. They were fortunately permitted to participate in the qualifiers of the 2018 Winter Marble League but were purposefully placed in a different qualifying group to the Jawbreakers to avoid confusion. And this would have also avoided tensions rising between the teams. However, their dispute with the Jawbreakers was ever-present, and the Gliding Glaciers were under a lot of pressure to overcome the disapproval of the Jawbreakers’ fans.
The Gliding Glaciers seemingly had the edge when the location of the 2018 Marble League was announced. After all, the team was well acclimated to the arctic conditions being themselves from a freezing region. These beneficial conditions had given the marbles their much needed confidence.
Perhaps then the team was overconfident going into the qualifiers because their performance was far from anticipated. They seemed overzealous in their approach to Curling and could not control themselves, lacking the required precision, scoring no points, and coming last in their group. Glidy, representing the Gliding Glaciers in the Snow Race, toned down his enthusiasm but overcompensated in this newfound restraint, and this meant Glidy failed to finish after losing all momentum. In the 5 Meter Dash, the Gliding Glaciers were again punished for their conservative approach when Glacie came only sixth out of the eight in his group. These disappointing results caused the team to be eliminated before the final event.
No longer under pressure, the humiliated Gliding Glaciers demonstrated they did, in fact, have adequate abilities and achieved an admirable fourth in Halfpipe. Unfortunately, this was not enough and far too late so the Gliding Glaciers ended up dead last in their group.
This ironic failure in what was seemingly the perfect condition for the team was demoralizing, and the Gliding Glaciers did not receive much support from the viewers due to being unknown and not once earning a medal in the 2018 qualifiers. Furthermore, the team still clashed with the Jawbreakers due to their similar designs and received a lot of hate from the Jawbreakers’ fans. The Gliding Glaciers were also in the shadow of the Snowballs (also representing the cold) who were the 2018 hosts and had a more extensive history in marble sports. It is therefore without question why the team decided to retire from the games. They simply lacked the motivation and endurance to compete in the games with a whole lot of opposition and minimal support.
Perhaps the team will resurface in the future once they have had the time to rebuild their ambition and develop their skills. They have serious flaws to deal with, such as their lack of self-control and inability to perform well under pressure. Maybe then they will reveal their true talent, which we saw but a glimpse of, and earn themselves a following.
Or, more likely, they will enjoy their retirement and watch on as the future games proceed, with the comforting knowledge that they will not be subjected to the immense pressures which led to their underwhelming presence at the qualifiers of the 2018 Marble League.
Another season of Marbula 1 is rolling around the corner, and this season is getting more attention from the Marble Sports community after the huge success of Season 1. However, I had to know if the competitors felt
Another season of Marbula 1 is rolling around the corner, and this season is getting more attention from the Marble Sports community after the huge success of Season 1. However, I had to know if the competitors felt
Link to Part 1: https://jellesmarbleruns.com/2020/10/30/offseason-moments-ml2020-part-1/ As we in the JMRC were enjoying the 2020 offseason, we sent Stynth on a world tour during the first few weeks to interview every team that competed in the 2020 Marble League.
One Reply to “A Glimpse at the Gliding Glaciers”
Can we have a RetRollSpective for the Glaciers? What about the Black Jacks, the Golden Orbs, Team Plasma, and the Quicksilvers? I would love to see those.