O'RANGERS (ORA)


Athletes:

Kinnowin (Captain)
Clementin
Mandarin (Athlete & Manager)
Orangin
Tangerin
Rango (Coach)

Hashtag:

#GOrangers

Stadium:

Mandaring (Orlango; ML)
O’raceway (Orlango; M1)

Appearances:

Marble League 2016; Marble League 2017 (Champions); Marble League 2018; Marble League 2019; Marbula One Season 1 (3rd Place); Marble League 2020 (Runner-up); Marbula One Season 2; Marble League Winter Special (Runner-up); Marbula One Season 3 (Champions)

History:

The O’rangers are not just a team—they are a family of marbles with a strong heritage that has dominated for generations. The O’Marbles run an orange farm on the southeast tip of North America, close to the city of Orlango, that also specializes in bull-wrangling and, notably, off-road racing. The current head of the family, Mandarin, has emphasized this last aspect more and more in recent years, especially with the rise of televised marble sports. This drive and passion led Mandarin to found the O’rangers with their siblings Clementin, Kinnowin, Tangerin, and Orangin, in 2006, and the team began participating in local competitions shortly thereafter.

The O’rangers performed well enough over the next two years to draw attention from a marble troupe of teams, named the Fruit Circuit. After surveying the O’Marbles Farm (to verify that the O’rangers were fruit-based) the Fruit Circuit allowed the team to join the troupe. The O’rangers remained in the troupe for eight years until the Fruit Circuit’s demise in 2016, with the rise of the Marble League. The team was in fourth place, closely behind Mellow Yellow, Raspberry Racers, and the Limers, when the Raspberry Racers failed to finish the final race. The O’rangers finished the race modestly, with enough points to pass the Racers and move into third place behind Mellow Yellow in second and the Limers in first. The O’rangers’ third-place finish qualified them for the Marble League 2016.

However, the O’rangers were skeptical of the competition that lay ahead of them. To test the waters, Mandarin, Clementin, Kinnowin, and Tangerin went undercover in the first event of the Marble League, going under the names of O1, O2, O3, and O4 to compete. Seeing that the competition was serious, the four revealed their true names and represented the O’rangers for the rest of the tournament. Their true identities were reflected in the reupload of the Marble League 2016, with the graphics displaying the correct names of the team instead of O1-O4.

Although the O’rangers only earned one gold in 2016, they had enough top-half performances to secure an overall fifth-place finish at the end of the tournament. They had landed eight points away from taking fourth place, and just one point above the Rojo Rollers in sixth, a team with three medals.

The team performed well in the Marble League 2017 Qualifiers, beginning to get recognized as a serious contender for competition in the coming Marble League as the team experienced a large surge in fans. When the first of July came around, the stands were packed with a swath of fans in orange, holding signs and howling “OOOOOOOOOOOO!”. Needless to say, the O’rangers and their fans were hoping for a strong season, but they had no idea exactly how great things would turn out. 

This is not to say that the team dominated throughout 2017; this was quite the opposite. The team’s famed rivals, the Savage Speeders, dominated in the earlier half of the season but the O’rangers remained persistent. They continued to train even during the Marble League, and finally, in the fifth event, they earned a bronze medal. As the Savage Speeders ascended to the top of the standings, the O’rangers positioned themselves to surpass the unrelenting strength of the Savage Speeders. Their first gold in Block Pushing, breaking a record, launched the team into fourth overall, and inspired the team itself to keep pushing.

Mandarin followed up the team’s success in Block Pushing with a silver medal in the High Jump, which vaulted the team into second place, and in the Underwater Race, Kinnowin earned silver after setting a new record in one of the heats. The O’rangers needed at least eleven points to overtake the Savage Speeders in the final event, but Clementin did everything they had to do in the final event to advance to the finals and earn silver. The O’rangers won the Marble League 2017 Championship with an unthinkable comeback, 156 points, and five medals.

The team automatically qualified for Marble League 2018 upon their win, but it was their victory tour around the world that the team treasured. It was such a big deal for the team that they shut down O’Marbles Farm for the occasion, inviting their entire family on the trip. This caused a month-long decline in orange production, but the world didn’t seem to mind. Celebration was in order, and the team reveled in it. 

True to Kinnowin’s claim, the O’rangers did not replicate their 2017 success in Marble League 2018. The team placed third in the Friendly Round and was far from on the radar during the main tournament, as the Savage Speeders continued to dominate, the Hazers stunned the competition as the best rookie team since 2016, and the rising waters of the Oceanics tried to turn the tides of the podium. The O’rangers never lost their fans, but it didn’t look like the team would ever be near a second victory. They had no medals to their name after nine events.

But the team had been consistent in the first nine events, only scoring below eighth once. The O’rangers were practicing the same strategy that they had the year before: conserving their energy. Taking a deep breath, they entered the tenth event, Biathlon, and finished with a silver medal. The O’rangers shot up to second in the overall standings with two events to go.

However, the O’rangers lost focus after their silver. Although they were still one of four that could win the tournament at the beginning of the final event, the O’rangers faltered in the first heat, only earning five points and assuring their fate: they could not win the championship or end on the podium. Although the O’rangers lost their 2019 hosting bid to the Oceanics, the team took the Oceanics’ qualification spot, thus automatically qualifying for the second year in a row.

The O’rangers participated in both offseason events for Marble League teams, training at their newly constructed O’raceway in between. The team had a successful showing in the Amazing Maze Marble Race, finishing as runners-up. In the Friendly Round, the team won both Block Pushing and the Underwater Race, repeating similar successes from the 2017 season. They finished second, just one point behind the Oceanics.

The O’rangers entered Marble League 2019 with one new addition: their coach, Rango, who, initially, was not sure how to take the reins of the team. After the first two events, one of which ended in Clementin’s DNF, the O’rangers fell to dead last in the standings for the first time in their history and seemed to have crashed to rock bottom alongside the Oceanics, all happening as the Savage Speeders reigned at the top of the standings.

The O’rangers would begin to bounce back in Event 6, earning a silver medal after overcoming a tie in the semi-finals with the Pinkies. But with two events to go, the team was out of championship contention heading into Collision, not the team’s strongest event, historically. Their 2019 performance was a different story, as the O’rangers advanced, second in their initial group heat, to dominate over the Jungle Jumpers, edge over Mellow Yellow, and fight for the gold in the final round. The O’rangers won a gold medal for the first time since Block Pushing in Marble League 2017. Their fans were ecstatic, and their “O” chant rang through the crowd, louder than it had ever been. The O’rangers’ hard work to climb back from nothing was finally starting to show, and Kinnowin’s fourth-place finish in the final event earned the O’rangers twelve more points to finish Marble League 2019 in sixth place overall, 139 points strong. The team’s longest season had finally come to an end, and, through its struggles, the team endured and was enriched, growing even stronger. 

They earned an opportunity to put these skills to use in the first season of Marbula One. The O’rangers were the second team revealed for the tournament on 23 October 2019, and submitted Clementin, “Our Darling”, and Orangin, “True Orange”, to represent the team. Additionally, the team was selected to host the second Grand Prix at their O’raceway in Orlango.

After earning the first pole position in Marbula One history, the O’rangers put up decent finishes, none that amounted to a podium, until the Greenstone Grand Prix. After qualifying in second with a time of 33.76 seconds, Orangin dominated the long and winding roads of Greenstone to clinch the team’s first gold medal of the series. The team rose to fourth in the overall standings. At the Razzway, Orangin never contested for the lead, but was able to secure second place in the second sector of the last lap, and finished there, also setting the fastest lap with a time of 32.25 seconds. The O’rangers had risen to third in the overall standings and remained there as the inaugural season of Marbula One concluded at Midnight Bay. With 69 points, the O’rangers set three of the eight fastest laps during the Grands Prix, the most of any team in Season 1.

For the first time since the 2017 Marble League, the O’rangers would have to compete in the Qualifiers in 2020. They managed to secure a third-place finish in Funnel Endurance and finished the qualifiers in eighth with 41 points. To start the main league, the O’rangers asserted their dominance with a gold medal in the Halfpipe. To follow up their gold, Kinnowin snagged a silver in the Funnel Endurance, earning the team their second medal in three events. Clementin and Tangerin then managed to do what no O’ranger had done before; win a second gold in the same year. With a gold medal in the Newton’s Cradle, the team vaulted atop the standings with two golds and a silver. That meant that the O’rangers now held the record for the best three-event streak in Marble League history, with 70 points.

Following a poor finish in the Long Jump, Kinnowin was chosen to represent the O’rangers in Hurdles, an event that the team had medaled in before. After placing sixth, the O’rangers sat in second in the standings, looking to redeem themselves in Block Pushing. And that’s exactly what they did. With their fourth medal of the season, a bronze, they jumped atop the overall leaderboard again. To follow up their 105 points in seven events, (averaging out to a bronze per event) Orangin came in with another bronze in the Triathlon. 

The O’rangers sat barely in first overall heading into the Relay Race, with the Savage Speeders, their rivals, trailing the lead by only a few points. While the team obliterated a Marble League record by over half a second in the semis, the team would hold on to finish the event in second, with six medals in twelve events now, matching the Raspberry Racers one year ago. Mandarin would then go on to win another gold medal for their team, their third of the season, in the High Jump, setting another Marble League record of 40.5 centimeters.

However, what would happen next would become perhaps the most infamous moment of the O’rangers’ career, as they collapsed in a fashion that only their fiercest rivals had in years prior. The humiliation began with losing to the Oceanics in a water event, followed by placing last in Collision. Kinnowin would place eleventh in the Marathon, not high enough for the O’rangers to clinch the championship, as the team placed second overall, with 195 points and seven medals earned. The O’rangers finished as runners-up to none other than the Savage Speeders, who claimed their second Marble League championship in a stunning upset.

During the offseason, the O’rangers returned to Orlango to train. The atmosphere of the city seemed deprived, and the O’rangers fans seemed scarce in the city. There were rumors that an artist had graffitied an Amalanta Falcons logo on a billboard near the city, which would later be proven true by the team. The Falcons, a regional sports team, had notoriously choked their Mega Marble Classic title away after a commanding thirty-five to zero lead early on.

The O’rangers worked on upgrading their stadium, the Mandaring, during the offseason. Named in honor of the O’Marbles family leader and acting team manager, the stadium had been heavily considered to host the 2021 Marble League, and rightfully so: it was newly constructed, triple-tiered, and had a built-in fan section for O’rangers fans to yell to the stars. The Mandaring was home to a top-notch training facility, as well, where the O’rangers spent fair portions of their days’ training after harvesting oranges as a family. 

Upon being re-invited to Marbula One Season 2, the O’rangers once again chose Clementin and Orangin to represent them. Clementin started the opening Grand Prix of Minty Mania with a poor result of thirteenth place. After being selected to host the second Grand Prix of the season again, Orangin sadly could not deliver the result that they needed on their home turf again, tying the O’rangers for last with Team Galactic, the Minty Maniacs, and the Savage Speeders. After another poor qualifying for Orangin at the Tumult Turnpike, and the now-infamous “Pinball” moment on lap 2, they managed to claw back into the top ten and finish in ninth. At the Arctic Circuit, the O’rangers finally got their long-awaited medal, with a silver. 

At the end of the first half of Marbula One, the O’Marbles traveled back to their farm to train at the Mandaring. Acting as Manager of the team now, Mandarin set up a press conference in Orlango while the rest of the team was training. The press conference had an astounding turn-out, as the booth was overflowing with passionate O’rangers fans.

After the press conference, Mandarin received an invite to the Marble League Winter Special. The team accepted hastily and spent long days and nights training in the Mandaring. The O’rangers had to deny the invitation to the Fruit Circuit Reunion, which was scheduled to happen at the same time as the Winter Special. After securing gold in the Bobsled event, the O’rangers entered the final event, Ice Hockey, with a chance to win it all. Sadly, they could not muster the energy to beat the Racers and were relegated to the third-place match. This meant that the O’rangers would not win the Marble League Winter Special, but instead settled for runners-up overall following their bronze in Hockey.

Returning to Orlango to train for the second half of Marbula One, the team spent days in and out of the Mandaring, hoping that Clementin and Orangin could keep their podium streak alive in Marbula One. Although they were unable to do so, Clementin managed to finish well at the Momotorway, placing fourth. Clementin had now cracked into the top ten of the Racer’s Championship.

At Misty Mountain, however, things took a turn for the worse for Clementin. After all the commotion and chaos caused by the three yellow (and red) flags, Clementin stalled on the final lap of the race and did not finish. The O’rangers hit the bottom half of the standings again, but with enough of a boost from Orangin, the team finished Season 2 in tenth, just finishing in the top half.

The team returned to Orlango, expecting disappointment from their fans. However, they didn’t find any. The residents all seemed to be at peace with everything, which “warmed our hearts,” Coach Rango said. The team had prepared a feast back at their farm to celebrate another successful season, as well as the good times ahead.

The O’Marbles had a daily routine set up during the offseason to prepare them for what lay ahead. After officially swapping Orangin with Tangerin as their reserve, the team boarded a long flight to Felynia for the Marble League Practice Race, where the team would select Kinnowin to represent them. Kinnowin crossed the line in a respectable seventh place for the team, continuing their traditionally strong sand performances. The O’rangers next appeared at their third Friendly Round, where they placed third. Heading to the main tournament to continue their perfect-attendance streak in JMR, they hoped that 2021 would be their comeback year after just missing out on championships in 2020 and in the Winter Special.

Unfortunately for the O’rangers, their Marble League 2021 felt more like their second season in Marbula One. Struggling to break into the top five at all, the team could not win an event throughout the tournament, and had only two medals, a silver from Clementin and a Steeplechase bronze, heading into the final event. They were not one of the eleven teams eligible to win the championship, but Kinnowin gave it their all in Marblocross to approach the lead. In the final stretch leading to the chequered flag, they passed Yellup to earn a silver in the event and enough points to pass the Savage Speeders in the overall standings. 

Finishing tenth with 144 points, in the closest Marble League to date, the O’rangers were satisfied that they had finished above both teams that they had shared the 2020 podium, but disappointed that they could not contend for their second championship. Looking to win anywhere they could, the O’rangers were further disappointed when they did not receive an invitation to Dion Bakker’s Marble ManiaX, and were nearly at a point of frustration when Clementin lost the ESCAPE2021 Marble Race to a come-from-behind victory from Yellup at the finish line.

The team recalibrated, focusing on defining the vision of their franchise as they waited for their invitation to Season 3 of Marbula One. Clementin and Orangin would return to compete in the coming races as Mandarin oversaw the construction of Orange Universe, a theme park centered around discovering what it means to be an O’ranger.

Special thanks to Project Marblearth contributors The Emperor and Stynth for helping craft the lore of the O’rangers.

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