Back in the dim and distant past, the University of Bath Maths Department put a team out to compete in the University's seven-a-side staff and post-graduate student league. Time passed, as it is well known to do, and over the years the team had its ups and downs: losing more than half of their matches in one season but surprisingly consistently coming in fourth place in the table...
Players came and went as staff moved on or joined the Departments or as PhD students submitted and moved on to other things. In 2001 the Department itself underwent a great change as the Computer Group split off and became a department of its own. The team moved on to encompass the fledgling department and became the "Maths and CS" team.
After a few more seasons and fourth places under its belt many of the team regulars organised a trip to Hamburg to compete in the German university six-a-side competition for Maths departments in 2005. With 26 teams taking part the Maths and CS team did very well, going undefeated and coming ninth overall. After returning from Germany the team stepped up one more level to lose only one game in the Autumn league and top the table at the end of term. Champions at last.
In the Summer of 2006 a few of the team members decided that they'd like to play even more football and petitioned Bath's local sport centre to join the five-a-side league. The team's petition was accepted and in October 2006 Maths and CS on Tour kicked off in a new venue, playing a new game but with the same faces and team spirit of old.
None of this explains why the team has the nickname "The Big Red Machine". Its simple: the team wears red.
How long will it take them to adjust? Does fourth place beckon? Only time will tell.