The stadium is packed... I can't believe this many people came...
Looking up at the crowded stands, I could barely process the sight. Even knowing they were here for the bands rather than football, my heart raced at performing before such a crowd.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Threx patted my shoulder.
I nodded. "Incredible. Though I'm feeling a bit nervous."
My anxiety wasn't baseless. Arthur's new football techniques still weren't second nature to me.
"You'll be fine," Threx assured me. "You're our star player. You've got this."
His confidence brought a smile to my face. "Thanks."
The stadium speakers suddenly boomed to life.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I'm Selina Taylor, your commentator for today's match!" A stunning human woman appeared in the commentator's box.
The crowd roared their approval.
"Look! It's Selina Taylor!" Vorrick exclaimed. "She just did that Playboy spread!"
"Saw her new film too - quite spicy..." another teammate added.
"Total crush material," Mazrek sighed.
I chuckled at their fanboying.
Selina continued, "Joining me is the one and only Vito Corleone - the Demonfather himself! Old Rocky!"
Rocky emerged in his signature Demonfather suit. "Not that old," he grumbled into the microphone. "Anyway, I played football in my youth, so I should manage the commentary well enough."
Fresh cheers erupted from the stands.
Selina beamed at him. "Hope you can guide me through this - I only know the basics."
"I'll do what I can," Rocky replied flatly.
The crowd laughed at his deadpan delivery.
"That's... that's actually the Demonfather!" I stammered.
"Can't believe he's commentating our match!" Threx shook his head in wonder.
"We have to give it our all!" I declared firmly. "With this crowd, and the Demonfather himself watching, we can't afford to hold back!"
"Absolutely right," Draykus, our defensive midfielder, agreed.
Rocky's voice boomed through the stadium, "Now that we've introduced your commentators, let's meet the stars of today's game!"
"Starting with Horn FC's lineup!" Selina announced enthusiastically.
The crowd cheered as Rocky and Selina introduced each player to the field.
Then came our team's introduction, starting with Threx and working through the roster.
Finally, Rocky's voice rang out: "And Hellfire FC's star player, number 10, Karnox Braze!"
The Demonfather himself announcing my name sent pride coursing through me.
The crowd's polite applause felt perfunctory, but I silently vowed to earn their real enthusiasm before the match ended.
As we faced Horn FC, the commentators announced, "Horn FC will now perform their club anthem!"
Horn FC's players looked as nervous as we felt as they began:
"From the mountains high to the rivers deep,
Horns FC, our strength we keep.
Bold and true, we charge ahead,
In battle fierce, where legends tread."
They continued with their chorus:
"Horns unite, with might and pride!
Under banners wide, we'll never hide.
With thunderous roar, the field we own,
Horns FC, our strength has grown."
The stadium fell silent, audience listening intently to the unfamiliar anthem.
When our turn came, I saw my teammates' nerves. As captain and star player, I had to lead by example. I projected my voice strongly:
"From the depths where shadows creep,
Hellfire's roar will never sleep.
Blazing strong, our fury bright,
We storm the pitch with endless might."
We joined together for the chorus:
"Hellfire, Hellfire, burning high!
We're forged in flames, we reach the sky.
With iron will and hearts of stone,
Hellfire stands, never alone."
Our voices grew stronger for the final verse:
"Through ashes dark and embers bold,
Our spirit fierce, our courage cold.
In red and black, we claim the night,
Hellfire's rise, a fearsome sight."
The audience fell silent as our anthem ended, then erupted in appreciative applause.
"Let the first match of Horn Premiere League begin!" Rocky announced.
The referee placed the ball at center field. Both teams took their positions, tension mounting as we waited for the whistle.
The sharp blast sent the ball to my team, with Draykus immediately passing to me.
I faced off against Ryan, their star player who'd also trained under Arthur. As I dribbled forward, I enhanced my speed with magic, breaking past the first defender. But Ryan cut off my advance. I attempted a step-over followed by a quick cut to the left, hoping to slip past him, but he read the move perfectly and stole the ball.
"Damn it," I muttered, sprinting after him.
Ryan's skill showed as he wove through our formation. He passed to a teammate, then immediately broke through our defense. The return pass found him perfectly positioned, and he fired toward the goal.
Mazrek, our keeper, managed a spectacular save and immediately threw the ball back to me.
Time to get serious. Those hours practicing Arthur's techniques had to pay off now.
I employed the new dribbling patterns, leaving defenders wrong-footed. But with Ryan closing in, I knew I couldn't be selfish. I passed to Threx. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ nοvelfire.net
The ball moved swiftly - Threx to Vorrick, then to Draykus.
I sprinted toward the goal, losing Ryan. Draykus found me with a perfect pass. As I prepared to shoot, I activated the flashy magic around my foot - not for power, but distraction. The keeper's eyes followed the sparks, and the ball sailed past him into the net!
Joy surged through me. That spell Arthur taught us - the one I'd thought useless with its purely visual effect - had actually worked perfectly as a goalkeeper's distraction!
What started as skepticism toward an ancient Anatolian game quickly transformed into genuine interest. Both stadium attendees and TV viewers found themselves drawn into the match, despite many knowing little about football.
Even those unfamiliar with the sport's rules became captivated by the players' flashy dribbling techniques and the spectacular magic spells illuminating their footwork.
"Don't really understand what's happening, but it looks amazing," a monkey demon remarked between mouthfuls of popcorn.
"True," his scaled demon friend agreed. "Makes me want to learn the game myself."
Human spectators watched with growing interest, while most dwarves remained hesitant, conscious of their shorter legs. Still, some dwarven viewers found themselves intrigued. The hobbits - half-dwarf, half-human hybrids - kept glancing at their own legs, wondering if they could manage such footwork.
The referee's whistle cut through the action as he pulled out a yellow card. The Horn FC player had used illegal hand magic - only enhancement and visual magic were permitted for footwork, with strict limitations on hand usage.
"For those wondering about the card system," Selina explained, "Chairman Arthur Pendragon introduced this to maintain fair play. Yellow cards warn players about rule violations, while red cards result in removal from the game."
"Never saw anything in my playing days," Rocky added. "Arthur's brought something special here. Makes me wish I could play again."
"You still could," Selina suggested with a smile.
Rocky chuckled. "These kids would run circles around me now. I'm too old for more than watching."
The first half ended almost without notice - the audience had become so absorbed in the game that they'd forgotten about the promised musical performance until Nirvana and Queen took the stage.
The two legendary bands performing together created an historic moment, one that fans knew they might never witness again.
When play resumed, the match built to an exciting conclusion. Hellfire FC emerged victorious with a decisive 4-2 victory over Horns FC.
Nirvana closed the event with a final performance, but as the crowd filed out of the stadium, their conversations focused less on the music and more on when they could catch the next match.
TV viewers who'd watched from home were already planning how to get stadium tickets for future games, the excitement of experiencing such matches in person proving too tempting to resist.