It was 2015 and the new season was approaching. April came with its change of weather and our first game. It was a game I don't really remember, whether we won or lost, or even who our opponents were. What I do remember is that we were the MSL Berlin champions that year, and a year later we were to repeat the experience. This is the story of how the Hall of Famers managed to conquer the MSL Berlin two years in a row.

The 2015 season started with a few changes for us, including me joining the team not only as a player but also as a coach. As is our tradition, we usually elect three managers so that if one is absent, the other two can take over. So my dear and excellent players Nils Brochwitz and Jorge Bonome were also part of the team management with me. Between the three of us we took over the team and brought it to the top. The team roster for 2015 included Mine, Bono, Miri, Nazim, Anke, Nate, Steffi, Bo, Nils, Kea, Werner, Tina, Uwe, Jenny and Rainer.

2015 was a season without many setbacks and if I remember correctly, there were only 8 teams in the MLS Berlin that year. After qualifying for the playoffs, the road to the final was not far away, where we had to play Niku Jaggas, one of the best teams in the MSL. Like almost every year, the final was played as a best-of-three series at the Tempelhofer Feld. 

The first game was played on Saturday afternoon. The second game was on Sunday morning and if a third game was needed, it would be played on Sunday after the second game. With our pitcher Anke on the mound, we won the first game easily. After winning the first game, we celebrated in Old fashions Famer style. With schnapps, beer, chips, bailes and cantos we felt like champions. 

On Sunday we all woke up with a hangover, but as always motivated to finish the job. Even my dear wife, who had a few too many to drink, took the trouble to bake a sponge cake with our logo on it late on Saturday night to help us fight the hangover the next day. The second game started at 10am on Sunday. Amidst laughter, tiredness and the occasional headache from the previous day's bender, we went out on the pitch to give it our all as usual. Led by Steffi's superb pitching and supported by our excellent offence. We won the second game and were crowned MSL Berlin Champions 2015. That was the end of a wonderful season, in which the spirit of the Famers was never in short supply, as were the many afternoons spent in the beer garden after the odd game or training session. 

A year later, the next season began. And with it came a new challenge: the challenge of retaining the title. 2016 began with the same motivation and the same coaches. There were not many changes to the squad, except for the addition of one of our best strikers: Jaime Rodriguez, or as many of us affectionately call him. And last but not least, Henni, an excellent pitcher who took care of many complicated innings.

Once the season was well underway, there were no major problems and qualification for the 2016 Playoffs was not long in coming. The chemistry was growing by the second and it couldn't have been better. After making it through the playoffs, we were happy to be back in the long awaited finals. Following the same schedule as last year, we took to the field on a Saturday afternoon to take on the legendary Crosshill Creeps from Kreuzberg. One of the MSL's oldest and strongest teams. 

Game 1 was an interesting Pitching Duel between Anke and Tomo, both very good pitchers. After several innings of shutting down the Creeps' offense, our offense did not hold back either, with triples from Contreras, Rodriguez and a home run from Nils. Little by little, and almost without realising it, we had the first game in the bag. Since our Family of Famers was growing, and some of us now had small children, we went home early that evening. 

Next Sunday morning we arrived at Tempelhofer Feld with temperatures around 10° Celsius. After a quick warm up, we took the field behind Henni who throw over the first innings. This time the Creeps offense was more aggressive and scored a total of 9 runs. However, our defence was up to the task and prevented further damage. It goes without saying that our line up was on fire again, and we add 12 runs to the final Score, winning the Second Game and be crowned champions of 2016 for second year in a row. 

The party was not long in coming, and after receiving the trophy we all went to the beer garden to celebrate, with beers, snacks and schnapps we celebrated until the end of the afternoon.There were many reasons to celebrate, as in addition to winning the championship for the second year in a row, we were also the historic leaders of the league. In total, we won 5 championships, one more than the Niku Jaggas (4). 

Thus ended a summer full of joy, beer and laughter, in which we wrote one of the most beautiful pages of our team, crowned by two years of softball glory.