Torn ACL Fantasy Football League

Year established: 1996

Current Owner: Tom Holzerman

Overall record: 63-43-0

Playoff record: 7-4 (2000 Super Bowl Champions)

Toilet Bowl record: 3-1

First round picks: 1996 - Brett Favre, 1997 - Terrell Davis, 1998 - Terrell Davis, 1999 - Jamal Anderson, 2000 - Kurt Warner, 2001 - Kurt Warner, 2002 - Shaun Alexander, 2003 - Clinton Portis.

The Tampa Bay Bombers and their controversial mascot were the byproducts of Tom Holzerman in 1996. With the first ever pick in Torn ACL history, he took Brett Favre. Despite the undisputed greatness of Favre, the Bombers flounded all season long. Tampa never truly surfaced over .500 and endured a year of disappointment at 5-9. Redemption came in the form of crushing the league's worst team in the first ever Toilet Bowl and escaping the degrading moniker of porcelain kings.

In 1997, Tom Holzerman saw a future in Terrell Davis and selected him for Tampa's first pick. The Bombers were more competitive and had several strong showings, but once again, a great player could not pull the franchise out of the depths of the East. A few tough losses were hard pills to swallow and the team improved by only a game, landing in 3rd place. Once again, they avoided embarrassment by dumping eventual Toilet Bowl Champ Boulder in the gutter.

Tom can credit his 1998 season success to one man: Glenn Murray. Glenn bypassed Terrell Davis at pick #3 for Mark Brunell, dropping an early Christmas present into Tom's lap. From their the Bombers started out only 2-2, but went on a record 9 game tear to finish the season at 11-2 and in first place in the East. In their first ever playoff game, Tampa trounced Baton Rouge in the Eastern Conference finals to reach the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, it was not Tom's year, as Terrell Davis ran for only 29 yards and team production dropped off rapidly.

No such luck for Tom in '99. Picking Jamal Anderson sixth looked like a gem, but when Anderson tore up his knee in week 2, things didn't look so good. The league high winning streak of ten games ended, and his marquee player was out. However, QB Brad Johnson came to the Bombers' wounded knee and declared, "Rise ye foul beast!" as Tampa rose from the dust to tie for the Conference lead with Baton Rouge. The Bombers easily dispatched with Philadelphia in the first round, but found themselves on the short end of a controversial Eastern Conference Final. Tom will try again in 2000 to get over the hump which has impeded him for years.

Tom's Bombers have been arguably the best franchise in league history the last few years, having posted two of the longest winning streaks, and boasting star talent in selecting personnel. But the monkey on the back of Habib, the controversial mascot has grown larger every year, since Tampa boasts no Super Bowl rings. Things changed in 2000 when he selected Kurt Warner at the fourth spot. Warner was absolutely phenomenal as he tore through the league with unbelievable performances. His skill in selecting players came through, as with a supporting cast of players that looked dull actually tallied a 10-3 season, running away with the top seed in the Eastern Conference. But once again it came down to playoff time. Could this monkey, (presumably Alex had something to do with its being placed there, since he owns a bunch of freakish monkeys) be removed? After a bye week, the Bombers sent Montreal back to the stone age with a 37 point drubbing, and moved on to the Sup to face his old nemesis the Showboats. The Boats proved to be nothing more than another pebble on the highway to the title, as he tallied a 24 point victory and Super Bowl V. The big question is, Was Habib allowed at the parade?

After capturing his first Super Bowl, Tom Holzerman somehow ended up the number one overall pick in 2001, which he used to select his now favorite quarterback, Kurt Warner. It was a rough beginning however as the rest of the roster proved none too worthy at first. The Bombers (later to become the Bruisers following the terrorist attacks) got off to an inconsistent start, lacking the streak ability of Tampas past. After week ten, the Bruisers were surprisingly two games under .500, but rallied to win their last three and capture the third seed in the East. After thumping Montreal in the first round, the Bruisers lucked out against Philadelphia and their QB crisis in the Eastern Final. Tom's hopes of repeating as champ were bruised when they lost to Houston in Supe no. 6. After asking approval, Tampa Bay will once again be the Bruisers, but Habib is replaced with twisted Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmeister.