Cast Your Vote for the Eastern Bloc Trophy Game!

The Big Ten likes rivalry games, traditions and trophies. We play for jugs and axes and most importantly, lasers.

With Maryland and Rutgers joining the team from Pennsylvania in the storied Big Ten, we're already starting to feel the love/hate. We, the OTE editors (read: Ray, Aaron and DJ), have decided that its time to introduce a new trophy game to the mix, inspired by the best three-way rivalry in the land: The Commander's Cup:

The Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is awarded to each season's winner of the American college football triangular series among the teams of the United States Military Academy (Army Black Knights), the United States Naval Academy (Navy Midshipmen), and United States Air Force Academy (Air Force Falcons). The Navy-Air Force game is traditionally played on the first Saturday in October, the Army-Air Force game on the first Saturday in November, and the Army-Navy Game on the second Saturday in December. In the event of a tie, the award is shared, but the previous winner retains possession of the trophy.

So, it's settled. We'll fight for something...but what? We have lasers to last a lifetime, we have a disproportionately large number of fluid containment units, and we need something quintessentially east coast.

To find the right trivalry reward, OTE brings together the warring eastern bloc factions of New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania to determine what we'll award to the victors of the DC to NYC megalopolis football war. We'll propose some ideas, you folks vote on them, or pitch your own in the comments, and we'll award the super duper official trophy to the winning school (perhaps to be decided this weekend?).

Without further adieu, the nominations!

Option 1: The Colonial Cup

With the proud states of New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania playing key roles in America's war for independence, The Colonial Cup celebrates the history and rivalry of these three eastern neighbors...as well as their contempt for overrated imperial powers. The games are played the last three weeks of the year, based on reverse order of finish in the prior year (or by coin flip the first year or in the case of a tie). So, for example, if this year Rutgers and PSU both beat MD, the next year PSU (2-0) would play RU (1-1) the last game of the year, PSU would play MD (0-2, sorry Twerps!) the second to last week of the year, and RU would play MD the third to last week of the year.

The winner takes home a HUGE and magnificent painting depicting Washington Crossing the Delaware to hang in their athletic center, featuring a few nods to each team. I'm thinking a Nittany Lion painted into the background on the PA side, the RU cannons or a statue of the knight on the Jersey side, and something about Maryland in there too. I dunno, a patriotic crab or something? Help me out in the comments. So, basically this:

Option 2: The Battle for the Delaware

PSU/RU/UMD battle for the Delaware trophy because Delaware borders all three states and only those states.

The trophy looks like a "No. 1" with the "1" taking the shape of Delaware. It represents the winner being the champion of the Eastern Bloc as well as Delaware being the first state in the union. Plus, Joe Biden will come to your campus and smile for a year, on demand.

Option 3: A Chicken or Something?

If you don't like that, then the trophy can also be a big hen to pay homage to UD's mascot. It will be like Floyd of Rosedale but a big chicken. I think I like this idea better than my first one. Maybe the team that finishes last in the annual contest has to play UD in Newark, Delaware instead of go to a bowl game. If RU loses to UD, they have to say "New-Ark" instead of "New-Erk" for an entire year.