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Monarchs players celebrate on the River Thames following their third straight Super Bowl victory.

History! The London Monarchs have achieved something that hasn't been seen in the Moguls football league in 30 years - three consecutive Super Bowl wins! London joins the Xtreme as the only teams ever to secure three straight championships (Super Bowls 1, 2 and 3), holding off the Seattle Spartans 28-24 in Super Bowl 33.

The contest was practically a home game for the Monarchs, held less than two hours away from London at Cardiff Stadium, home of the Caerdydd Dreigiau. The London faithful turned out in force, as 61,895 fans overran tiny Cardiff Stadium (capacity 50,000). However, the fans of the Blue and Gold had that faith shaken early in the game, as Monarchs QB Stan Gelbaugh was intercepted on just the second play from scrimmage by Spartans FS Michael Boss at the London 40. Two plays later, Seattle QB George Brewster tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to WR Marty Allen, giving the Spartans a 7-0 lead barely ninety seconds after kickoff in their first championship game appearance since winning Super Bowl 18 in 2034. Not to be shaken, the Monarchs regrouped to mount a ten-play, 75 yard drive, capped by a 1-yard TD run by RB Terrence Phillips to tie the game at 7 midway through the first quarter. The Monarchs regained the lead later in the first quarter on their next possession, as Gelbaugh connected with WR John H. Johnson on a 29-yard touchdown pass for a 14-7 advantage.

The Spartans refused to roll over, once again tying the score at 14 early in the second quarter thanks to Brewster's second touchdown pass of the game, a 1-yard toss to WR Tyler Legg. The back-and-forth nature of the game continued after that, as London scored a touchdown on their third straight possession, this time Gelbaugh finding TE Michael Titley for a 24-yard score to go back on top 21-14. After trading punts, the Monarchs put some more distance between themselves and the Spartans, notching their fourth lengthy possession of the first half with an eight play, 78 yard drive ending in a 37-yard TD pass from Gelbaugh to WR Phillip Robinson to move ahead 28-14. Robinson, acquired from the San Francisco Demons during the draft, recorded a stellar postseason recording TD catches in every game, and eclipsing his regular season receiving total in just three contests.

If Monarchs fans were expecting a repeat of their cruise to a championship like their Super Bowl 32 blowout win over the Barbarians, they were sadly mistaken. Seattle ground out their own lengthy scoring drive to open the second half, moving 75 yards in ten plays ending with a 1 yard touchdown run by rookie WR OG "Doc" Octavius, trimming London's lead to 28-21. The Spartans defense, appearing shaky in the first half, made major adjustments at intermission and limited London to just 59 yards of total offense on seven second half possessions. Seattle appeared poised to turn the tide of the game early in the fourth quarter, as CB Ronin Kane picked off Gelbaugh at the London 37, setting them up in prime field position. However, London's Tough Blokes defense was able to limit the Spartans to a 38-yard field goal by K Winford Ferraro, cutting the lead to 28-24.

Unable to drain much more time from the clock with their stagnant offense, London once again called on their defense to seal the victory. A punt pinned the Spartans at their own 13 yard line just before the two minute warning. The first play of the drive had Seattle moving in the wrong direction, as Brewster was sacked at their own 5 yard line. The man who recorded that sack? London's latest crunchtime legend - RDE Rick Kaspar. Kaspar, a disappointing free agent pickup from the Predators, did not register a single sack during the regular season but stepped up in the biggest game of his young career. Kaspar was pressed into duty due to a leg injury to starting RDE Kelly Jensen in the AFC Championship game, and his third sack of the game in the shadows of the Seattle goalposts had fans thinking the game was in the bag. However, Seattle QB Brewster came out of the two minute warning with the perfect play, hitting WR Allen for another big strike, with a 40 yard catch and run moving the Spartans out of danger to their own 45 yard line. Three more completions by Brewster marched the Spartans to London's 35 yard line with 1:43 left but no timeouts remaining, still plenty of time to derail the Monarchs' dreams of entering the record books with their third straight title. But as Brewster tried to scramble for a first down on 3rd and 1, RDE Kaspar tracked him down once again for his second sack of Seattle's desperation drive, and fourth of the game. That set up one final play on 4th and 5, where a name familiar to Spartans fans sealed their team's fate. FS Cash "Money" McManus was a second-round pick of Seattle in 2047, but surprisingly put on waivers after the 2048 preseason, where he was claimed by London. McManus made the most of the opportunity to show his former team the error of their ways, knocking down a pass intended for WR Danny Flynn, forcing a turnover on downs. From there, all that was left was three straight kneeldowns by London on their way to history as three-time defending Super Bowl champions!

Running through perhaps the toughest gauntlet yet of narrow victories over the Kayfabe, Tigers and Spartans to secure the title, the Monarchs closed out a strong decade for the AFC, winning seven titles in ten seasons. QB Stan Gelbaugh remains undefeated in seven career postseason starts, registering an efficient 19 of 28 passing effort for 250 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions without getting sacked, while WR Phillip Robinson's 4 catches for 124 yards and a TD and RDE Rick Kaspar's four sack game also merited game MVP consideration. After accomplishing something that only one team has ever achieved in three straight titles, aiming for the seemingly impossible task of four straight championships is the next target for the London Monarchs, but 31 other owners are aiming to wrestle the crown away from them. Stay tuned as a new decade begins for your three-time defending Super Bowl champions - the London Monarchs!


London QB Stan Gelbaugh. Two seasons. Two Super Bowl rings.