The League Showdown! FINALS!

Here it is.  The final showdown.  Ruxin vs. Rafi.  The Unscrupulous Litigator vs. the Windy City Mad Man.  Who will take home the Shiva?

Match Up:

The battle between Rodney and his Bro-lo el Cunado comes down to one thing, all around performance against sheer unstoppable comedic prowress.  Rafi is the undisputed comedy champion of The League.  There might not be anything funnier than him screaming the accidental battle cry "Gattaca!" at Kevin's crotch moments after having Ruxin's son punch him.  Rafi is the only character to score a perfect 10 of 10 in both comedic categories (supply and output).  Everything he touches turns to comedy gold.

But Rafi's weaknesses are Ruxin's strengths.  Where Rafi has very little to do with the various plots of The League, Ruxin is featured prominently in every episode.  Even in episode where he is not the central figure he often plays a significant role as an antagonist to Kevin or Pete (not so much Andre, who often foils himself).  Ruxin ends up being ranked second highest in the "plot" ranking categories of significance and complexity behind only Kevin.  Rafi meanwhile finishes 2nd to last squeaking out ahead of the combined forces of Elli/Sofia/Shiva who are all entirely one dimensional secondary characters.

What it ultimately comes down to is whether Rafi's comedic value can make up for his deficencies in importance.  But before we answer, here is how everyone else finished on points.

Pete

Significance (1-7): 3

Complexity (1-5): 3

Comedic Supply (1-10): 4

Comedic Output (1-10): 7

Greatest Moment (1-5): Crying when Brooklyn Decker dumps him, 2

Total: 19 points

Ellie/Sofia/Shiva

3

1

8

4

Greatest Moment: Shiva Blast, 4

Total: 20 points

Taco

4

1

8

5

Greatest Moment: Ellie's Birthday Song, 3

Total: 21 points

Jenny

4

4

6

4

Greatest Moment: Sexy Frog Dance, 4

Total: 22 points

Andre

4

4

10

7

Greatest Moment: "I'm inside me!", 3

Total: 28 points

Kevin

7

5

6

7

Greatest Moment: Bobbum Man, 4

Total: 29 points

Which finally brings us to Rafi and Ruxin.  Ruxin absolutely crushed Rafi in both Significance and Complexity with scores of 6 and 3 (9 total) vs. Rafi's 3 and 2 (5 total).  But in the categories of Supply and Output Rafi makes up the difference besting Ruxin's numbers of 8 and 8 (29 total) with a perfect 10 and 10 (29 total).  And so that makes us tied going into the final category of greatest moment.  Which had Rafi come down with an impressive 4 out of 5 points.  But Ruxin would not be denied and scored a perfect 5 out of 5 for his moment: The stroke walk.

Now before we examine the Great Moment that earned Ruxin this Shiva, we must allow a brief moment so that he may celebrate his victory:

Rafi's crowning moment was difficult to choose, partly because he doesn't have many great "moments".  Rafi's true greatness lies in his one liners, "I'm gonna go crap the booze out" or "Jukebox, I'm gonna put seven dollars worth of Hoobastank in it!".  I finally settled for what was really one of the only Rafi central subplots of the show:  His Mayan 2012 themed porno. A solid moment that features one of his best one-liners, to NFL great Deion Sanders no less, delivered with an envious grin "I don't know who you are, but you're about to get chlymydia".

This is the hidden value of being a more significant character, the opportunities for greatness are so much more frequent.  Ruxin's stroke walk was not only one of the most memorable and important moments of the show but it was also set up perfectly and beautifuly hilarious (especially impressive when considering how NOT funny strokes usually are).

The reign of Ruxin may be dark and horrible for all to endure, but it was well earned.

Congratulations, Rodney.  Enjoy your Shiva.