Pro Teams for 2014: Art Chaos

This one is dead simple and practically writes itself. It's nearly a Russian Legion reunion tour and unlike the uncertain puzzle pieces added by an Infamous or even a Houston Heat the majority of the team has played together before and they are winners together. They have the talent, skills, dedication, experience, organization and leadership to continue to be winners. They are also motivated by having to fight out of the Challengers bracket--nothing like a collective chip on the shoulder to energize and focus a team--plus Coach Max P. is back in charge, the oft overlooked man behind past RL successes and Art Chaos's one time dominance in Euroland. Throw into the mix a new *old* (or is that *old* new?) team determined to reach past heights of glory (with the organization and resources to do whatever it takes) and you have the potential for a dominant season. There won't even be a transitional period where they have to adapt to the PSP because virtually the whole team has played in the league for years .
It is also a fortuitous time to join the PSP given all the off season changes to various Champion team rosters. Instead of a phalanx of stable, experienced teams with years of shared play under their belts nearly all the top tier teams experienced changes--some, like Heat, reconstructed their roster while Impact chose to experiment with diverse up-and-coming talent and the Ironmen melded with Challenger Royalty (and in the process returned Shane Pestana to the fold) and still others added a piece or two in the hope of shoring up a weakness and/or adding a strength to help take them over the top this year. All except Dynasty who lost their premier D-wire lead in Dalton Vanderbyl. Art Chaos couldn't have scripted a better scenario for their assault on the Champions bracket.
I expect, after Dallas, that Art Chaos will be one of the teams to beat and that the pecking order at the top of the Champion's division will change as a consequence. Which team or teams will find themselves shoved down the ranking ladder? It's almost a toss up. It will depend on how effective their off season changes prove to be.
But if a successful season appears to be in the works for Art Chaos it isn't a given. It never is. It's a long season that always delivers a surprise or two. The only thing I see forestalling a successful campaign, barring unexpected injury, is finding a comfortable and complementary style of play that suits everyone. I suggest that because I wonder if that doesn't at least partly explain Chaos's uneven results in the Millennium last season. While it's true they've mostly all played together before they've also been apart and this is where I think Coach Max will make a strong contribution. They won't play a little like RL part of the time or Heat at other times or like anyone else. They will play Art Chaos ball and they will do it from their first day of practice. The only other potential weakness would be something akin to what I see in Damage, a struggle to be fully psychologically prepared and mentally tough. I expect instead the players will see this as a new beginning and a fresh challenge.
Then there's always the question of what constitutes a successful season. A team like Art Chaos won't settle for less than a shot at the series--though coming out of Challengers is a huge handicap--and if that is out of reach multiple wins focusing on World Cup is a given. And not an unrealistic goal.

Next up, Impact. Hint: untested