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| The first SFFL team on the World Wide Web |
THRAK Football Enterprises is a founding member of the SFFL. The team name originates from the hard driving, relentless sounds that emanate from it's name sake THRAK, the 1995 release from King Crimson.
The team crest is derived from a bumper sticker that was distributed at King Crimson's first appearance in the United States in over 13 years. This awe inspiring show of musical talent took place on Friday May 26, 1995 at the State University of New York - Buffalo (Amherst Campus) in the Center For The Performing Arts. As along time fan of the band, I was compelled to enshrine the name "THRAK" upon my team. The rest they say, is history...
Being the most progressive franchise in the league, THRAK was the first SFFL team with a World Wide Web homepage. Other teams followed suit shortly thereafter when the SFFL web site went on-line. The THRAK organization was the primary proponent of this project and a major contributor to its ongoing success.
1995: THRAK went 9-5 in the SFFL's inaugural regular season but got pounded 57-11 by the Millionaire Pond Scum in their first ever playoff appearance to finish the season at 9-6.
1996: THRAK made their second straight playoff appearance with a regular season record of 8-6 (4-4) as the second seed team in the newly formed South Division. Once again their championship dreams were stymied as they were thumped by their nemesis, Private's Parts 45-29. They finishing the season as the South Division runner-up with a record of 8-7 (4-5).
1997: THRAK finished the season at 6-7, failing to make the playoffs for the first time after going a disappointing 3-5 in the South Division.
1998: THRAK returned to the playoffs with a regular season record of 7-6 and won their first ever playoff game by eclipsing the Invaders 117-114 in a very close game. But in the semi-final round they were once again stumped by Private's Parts, 114-91. THRAK finished the season at 8-7 (6-4).
1999: In their worst season yet, THRAK finished the season at the bottom of the South Division with a record of 5-8 (3-5).
2000: The Phoenix rises from the ashes! In a remarkable turnaround from 1999, THRAK won a record 8 straight games on their way to their first ever Cross-Dressed Championship and a league best 12-3 record. Truly the pinnacle of their SFFL career.
2001: Apparently the 2000 championship party went a bit too long as THRAK sunk to a new low in the restructured SFFL. THRAK finished the 2001 season a dismal 0-4 in the Southwest Division, 0-4 in the Southern Conference, and 3-10 overall. YUCK! The less said the better: Wait until next year!
2002: A better, but still sub par season for THRAK. This proved to be a very inconsistent season that ended with a 4 game slide in the first round of their return to the playoffs. With the hopes of a power running game never materializing, THRAK finished 6-8 overall, 4-4 in the Southern Conference and 2-3 in the Southwest Division.
2003: In 2003 THRAK attained a level they hadn't seen since the 2000 championship season. Finishing the regular season atop the Southwest Division (3-1) and the Southern Conference with a 6-1 record, THRAK entered the playoffs with an overall record of 9-4. In the first round of the playoffs, THRAK crushed the Fighting Lounge Chairs 73-37. Unfortunately the dream of a second league title came to an end at the hands of the TigerSharks in a 136-76 defeat. THRAK finished the season at a respectable 10-5 (7-2, 4-1), the best overall record in the Southern Conference and second only to the Hemo Goblins in the league.
2004: 2004 proved to be a roller coaster season for THRAK. Off to a 2-0 start, the team then went on a four game slide before rebounding with a four game winning streak. Looking poised for a run at the playoffs, a three game slide down the stretch quickly erased that thought. THRAK finished the regular season with an overall record of (6-7), (2-2) in the Southwest Division and (3-4) in the Southern Conference. It was a very tight year in the SFFL and winning even one of those last three games would have been enough to make it to the playoffs. Thus as the 2004 season ended, THRAK was left watching from the outside with a heavy heart.
2005: 2005 was a tough season for all with nearly all team hovering around the .500 mark. THRAK was no exception, but finished strong. At the end of the regular season they were (7-6) overall, (2-2) in the Southwest Division and (5-2) in the Southern Conference. As the third seed in the playoffs, THRAK found themselves in a dead even match-up with the (8-5) Fighting Lounge Chairs in the first round. In a game that could have gone either direction, THRAK pulled out a 97-91 victory. In addition to their victory, the number four seed Young Guns (6-7) upset the top seeded TigerSharks (9-4), 84-61. This setup a somewhat unlikely Southwest Conference title match-up. But with the way the season had gone overall, nobody was surprised by this and everyone knew the overall Cross-Dressed Championship was up for grabs. But lingering injuries finally caught up to THRAK as running back Domanick Davis was unable to make the start. But even playing one man down, THRAK fought hard in a 91-87 loss at the hands of the Young Guns (8-7).
2006: The 2006 season will certainly be remembered as one of the best in THRAK history. Bolting out of the gate, THRAK sprinted to an amazing record tying 10-0 before falling to the Hackers 85-82 in week #11. From that point forward the wins certainly were more difficult as they fell again in the final week of the regular season to the Wizards 61-58. Entering the playoffs as the #1 seed in the Southern Conference, THRAK bounced back by bouncing the Young Guns 60-48 and advanced to only their second ever conference championship game.
As if not facing enough adversity, THRAK lost two key starters in week #14, running back Kevin Jones and wide receiver Darrell Jackson. With a less than optimistic outlook, THRAK faced a rematch with a strong Private's Parts team whom they defeated 94-79 in week #7. But this time the tables were turned as THRAK fell 74-73 in a heartbreaking loss to end their drive towards a second Cross-Dressed Championship! THRAK finished the 2006 season with a very respectable 12-3 overall record (tying their previous best of 2000) and 7-1 in the Southern Conference.
2007: The 2007 SFFL campaign will go down in history as one of the wackiest and wide-open ever. The majority of the season there was no clear cut top team in the league. But down the stretch THRAK began to assume a more prominent role as they began to dominate teams. But it was still inconsistent and they occasionally failed to produce. And although they were the #1 seed in the Southern Conference, it was a tight field with the four playoff teams all within a game and a half of each other. And that inconsistency showed up in the first round where they were dropped 83-52 by the Young Guns.
So for 2007 THRAK finished the regular season at 8-4-1 overall, 3-3-1 in the Southern Conference and 1-2-1 in the Southwestern Division. A weak record overall, but very competitive in a crazy season. But in the end, more bitterly disappointing failure to achieve.
2008: The 2008 SFFL turned out to be even more wide-open than 2007. On paper THRAK appeared a contender throughout the season. And when the playoffs began they were the top seed in the Southern Conference, but it was shortlived glory.. A moderate performance coupled with a very weak Privates Parts (5-10) having a monster week which dropped THRAK 110-78.
THRAK finished the 2008 regular season at 9-4 overall, 5-2 in the Southern Conference and 3-1 in the Southwestern Division. And again in the end, a very bitterly disappointing failure to achieve when it mattered the most.
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| Regular | Playoff | C-D Champions |
THRAK's two original helmets (left and middle) were unleashed on the unwashed masses prior to the final 1996 regular season game. Always one to be one step ahead of the unwashed masses, a regular game helmet (red-orange) and a "big game" helmet (yellow) were instituted by the THRAK organization. Both helmets featured the distinctive "double-trio" logo in bright blue as a constant reminder to their on field opponents of the relentless force which they are up against. The yellow "big game" helmets made their on-field debut that final week of the 1996 regular season where THRAK defeated the Fighting Lounge Chairs 35-33 en route to clinching their second straight playoff birth. The red-orange regular game helmet made its on-field debut at the start of the 1997 season at home against the Hackers.
Following the 2000 Championship season, THRAK unveiled a new blue helmet to commemorate their first Cross-Dressed Championship. This helmet was worn during the 2001 regular season in celebration of their championship. Additionally, the yellow "big game" helmet was then deemed for use exclusively during all future playoff games.
- Robert Fripp as stated in "The Making of THRAK" European TV special"What does THRAK mean? The meaning of THRAK -- and I'll give you two definitions -- the first one is: a sudden and precise impact moving from direction and commitment in service of an aim. And again, it's a sudden impact moving from direction, intention and commitment in service of an aim. The second definition is: 117 guitars almost hitting the same chord simultaneously. So, the album THRAK, what is it? 56 minutes and 37 seconds of songs and music about love, dying, redemption and mature guys who get erections."
View the really ugly original THRAK homepage here!
