(S24) - Ultimus Week

[cpetrella]

14) Create an argument for your own player, or for someone else on your team, as to why they should be nominated for awards. Lay out their stats or compare them to other contenders. Make a convincing case.

To be honest, this prompt is very frustrating for me, as superstar wide receiver Johnathan Smith, a good white American, has not even played a game yet as a football player. In fact, my new player Johnathan Smith has actually not been approved to play in the International Simulation Football League. I cannot possibly answer this prompt and do this task correctly as my player has not even had a chance to lace up the cleats. Despite this fact, good American citizen, born and raised in America, Johnathan Smith is very qualified to win an award in the league as he is an amazing football player and is an amazing member of his community. Johnathan Smith, along with his brother John Smith keep the streets free of crime as they routinely perform citizens arrests on violent protesters . I strongly believe that this calls for a new type of award to be created for players like John and Johnathan Smith. There needs to be an award for fantastic and outstanding work in the community, as well as donations to charitable organizations. The Smith brothers will keep your cities safe and will now rise to the top of the International Simulation Football League, case closed.

[toivo]

PBE CW Kahn on PBE

20) Matt Peterson is a quarterback for the Minnesota Grey Ducks. He played for Washington in college. He dons the number 5 on his jersey. He stands in at 5 feet 11 inches and weighs 210 pounds. He is a mobile quarterback with the scouting reports saying he is similar to Russell Wilson or Tyrod Taylor. He is quick, has high IQ and throwing accuracy. In 14 games with the Minnesota Grey Ducks, he had 119 attempts for 572 yards. His completion percentage was 58.8%. His longest pass was 26 yards, and he threw two touchdowns. His QB rating was 76.7, which was middle of the pack of all quarterbacks in the DSFL. The scouts like his arm, saying that with future development, he could have one of the best arms in the league. Expect big things out of Matt Peterson if he is given some tools to work with and a strong offensive line to protect him. The coming seasons will be a better indicator of Peterson’s ability as he continues to develop from the college game and sees a bigger role with his team. I am not sure where he will go in the draft, but this draft report puts him with the best quarterbacks of his class.

23) The Pro Bowl is now introducing a bowling contest. Bowling is a great sport, look to the movie The Big Lebowski. That wasn’t exactly a bowling movie, but they did bowl in it. Bowling is a fun game, and I think if all of football’s greats were involved at the Pro Bowl, then we would have a quality competition on our hands. Split the teams up by position and have them go at it to find out which Pro Bowlers are the best at bowling. It would be awesome to see what kind of bowling balls each players have too. It is always fun to see athletes play other sports and gauge how good they are. Other ideas were dodgeball, which would be exciting but over too quickly. The players could go golfing, and that would be relaxing, but likely would not exciting for the viewers at home. I mean, golf is popular, but how many golf viewers would want to watch the Pro Bowlers golf? I am not sure, but I think the bowling competition would do better with the viewers at home. I predict the ASFC to come out on top and best the NSFC in the Pro Bowl Bowling Competition.


27) Givussafare Rubbe is one hell of an offensive lineman. Look him up on the stat boards, he had 94 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed, impressive numbers from G. You know why Givussafare Rubbe did not let his guy get sacked? Not only is it because of his great skill, but he is just such a sizeable man. Number 27 stands 340 pounds and 6 feet 7 inches. Incredible size for the OL. Scouts noted at the combine that Rubbe was stronger than an ox, literally. They had an ox attempt some of the weight that Rubbe was lifting and it failed miserably. Point is, Rubbe makes the Second Line offensive line one of the best in the league. He gives his quarterback so much time to make the right pass. His quarterback loves him, obviously, since Rubbe did not allow any sacks. The scouts from college said that Rubbe was an athletic lineman, and boy were they right. His endurance is not outperformed by anyone in the league. This speaks volumes when considering his size. Rubbe may not be appreciated as much as some of the stars on the Second Line, but he is definitely a big reason for the success that the Second Line have experienced over the seasons.

[negs]

5) Write 800 words or more on something that interests you. It could be related to statistics, to a league issue you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 800 words about your team’s Werewolf server. Be warned that freedom comes with risk, and this category will be judged especially stringently for anyone trying to spew complete nonsense.

I’m here to talk about the correlation between certain statistical success and team success. In today’s NFL, passing is seen as king by almost every single analytical group. PFF, PPF, and ESPN Analytics all favor a heavy dose of passing in a game to advance the ball and correlate to team success. Players like Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers have made this statistical revolution fall in love with the pass. The running game has been left in the dust when it comes to success. Teams frequently refuse to pay running backs with many even coming up with the monicker “running backs don’t matter”. However, going through the statistics in ISFL Season 13, I found a stark contrast between success in ISFL vs NFL.

In ISFL Season 13, the top 4 regular season teams were the San Jose Sabercats (12-2), Orange County Otters (9-5), Philadelphia Liberty (8-6), and the Colorado Yeti (8-6). Using the analytical analysis of the NFL, you would think that these 4 teams would all be near the top in passing yards and touchdowns. However, when you take a deeper dive into the statistics, you find some damning evidence. 3 of the top 4 teams (Sabercats, Liberty, Yeti) are in the top 3 of total rushing yards and TDs. The Sabercats finished with 2126 yards and 18 TDs. The Liberty finished with 2068 yards and 21 TDs. The Yeti finished with 1720 yards and 21 TDs. Each of these teams’ running success translated to success during the season. By current analytics this would be an anomaly and not the entire explanation for team success, that the passing game must be tops too. However, when looking at the passing statistics of the top 4 teams, something else interesting is found.

Out of the top 4 regular season teams in the ISFL, only 2 of them are in the top 4 of passing. The Otters were the best regular season passing team: 4877 yards with 30 TDs and 23 INTs. The Yeti were the 4th best passing team: 3964 yards with 23 TDs and 14 INTs. The other two teams, Liberty and Sabercats, were near the bottom in yards. However, those two were tops in terms of Passer Rating. Even though they didn’t throw a lot, with a monster run game and an efficient but not overpowering passing game, they were able to lead their teams to the top. The stats show that they leaned on their run game, but complemented it with an efficient pass game. Analytically, this is much different from the NFL but I believe that it is vital to have a great run game with a pass game that compliments it, not necessarily overdoes it. While this may seem like just a regular season trend, it continued into the playoffs of ISFL Season 13.

In the ISFL Season 13 Playoffs, the Liberty faced off against the Yeti, and the Sabercats faced off against the Otters. In the first game, Liberty vs Yeti, the trend of leaning on the run game to succeed reigned true. While the Liberty out-passed the Yeti 248 to 230, the Yeti ran for 210 yards compared to 155 for the Liberty. The Yeti ran for 3 TDs vs 1 for the Liberty, and blew them out 50-27. However, the trend was momentarily bucked by the Otters, who used their powerful passing game to slip by the favored Sabercats by a score of 31-21. The Otters threw for 334 yards compared to 259 by the Sabercats. They were outgained running wise, but prevailed with their passing attack. Statistically, I believe this was more of a “1 game wonder” type of scenario in the playoffs where a team won off the back of their passing attack. As I had thought, in the championship game the trend went back on track.

In the Season 13 ISFL Championship game, the team with the dominant running game prevailed. Although the Otters used their dynamic passing attack to make the championship game, they leaned on their run game to finish it. Although they were outgained in the passing game by 50 yards, they outgained the Yeti 91-63 on the ground. However, the more telling stat is they had 8 more attempts. In a close 24-21 game, clock management is key. The Otters had less yards and more interceptions yet still won on the back of their clock management and running game. Although NFL analytics believe the passing game is king, it is clear throughout history that the ISFL can be heavily influenced by the run game, which is reflected in both the statistics and the records.

As a data analytics major, statistics and analytics in sports has always been a huge interest of mine. I hope to be able to do more analysis of the ISFL and how different team building styles and player strengths can lend to success.

[Sutj]

Task 7

Despite the Tijuana Luchadores falling short in the DSFL conference finals this season, there is no chance we would have ever been close without Tijuana's WR1, and the best receiver in the DSFL, Doug Howlett. Friedrich Vequain has been snubbed for WROTY two seasons in a row, and for Howlett not to win WROTY this year would be nothing short of a crime. In Howlett's third, and likely final, season in Tijuana, Howlett has outdone himself. Howlett had a career year, and although he fell 44 yards short of last season's receiving yardage, he has still proven himself to be the most dominant receiver in the DSFL. Howlett had 76 receptions for 1002 yards, and seven touchdowns, breaking the 1000 yard mark two seasons in a row. To understand how impressive this is, Howlett is the only receiver in the DSFL to break 1000 yards at all in the past five seasons, competing with fellow capped wide receiver Friedrich Vequain throughout his entire career for targets. Leading the DSFL in yardage for two consecutive years while sharing the field with another elite wide receiver is nothing short of astonishing, especially when considering the quarterback switch, with Ben Slothlisberger being called up to the ISFL and Mike Boss taking his place. To add to his performance on the field, Howlett is also a crucial part of the legendary Tijuana locker room. In an already extremely active locker room, Howlett's presence is uplifting and absolutely irreplaceable. He boosts team morale like no one else but is also one of the hardest workers on the team. Day in and day out Howlett is working on bettering himself, whether it be making gifs, player banners, or trading cards, Howlett's grind never stops. This unbelievable work ethic definitely rubs off on the entire locker room, and everybody is pushed to work harder and harder to keep up with Howlett. His work ethic, his energizing attitude, and obvious talent, earned him a rightful place as one of the Tijuana's captains, an honor which is not just given out to anybody. There isn't a single person that deserves this award more than Howlett, and despite not being able to finish the career of the Kiwi duo on an Ultimini championship, winning the WROTY award would be a nice end to an unforgettable career in Tijuana for Howlett. In Howlett's tenure with the Luchadores, he has been a consistent and dominating presence, and his stellar performance this year leaves no doubt in my mind that there isn't a single receiver in the DSFL that deserves this award more than Howlett.

(432 words)

[sakrosankt]

Task 7 - 5 TPE
In Sarasota, celebrating wins often was on the schedule this season. We finished 12-4, a record not many people in the league thought we could get to. In the end it only was the second seed in the NFSC, as the Colorado Yeti went up and away with 14-2. Being on a team with that many wins means, that their must be some incredible performances all over the season.
The first player I want to mention here is the QB, Dexter Banks II. In his second season under center of the Sailfish, he improved to the undeniable threat he is. Banks II leads the league in yards, and that by far. He racked up 5,033 yards over 16 games and is the first QB in ages to crack the 5,000 yard mark. One can argue that it‘s easier to get to that mark with the increased number of games which is true, but looking at the other QBs it‘s not that easy. The second one in the list, Franklin Armstrong, finished with 4,225 yards, over 800 yards less than Banks II. Taking a look back to last season, the leader in passing yards didn‘t even crack the 4,000 yard mark with also 16 games played. He didn‘t post the best completion percentage, but what he got out of his completions is incredible. Banks not only leads the field in yards, he also leads the league in TDs. He threw for 32 Touchdowns in 16 games, which averages 2 TDs per game. He is up there with Wolfie McDummy, who only scored 1 less. The other QBs in the league fell far behind them, with the next best scoring only 25. Banks II is a player who risks the pass, that‘s why he also leads the league in interceptions with 19. Nevertheless the number of interceptions, Banks II had an outstanding passing season.
Looking at the rushing game, Banks II was also a big factor for his team. He was the second best rusher yard-wise for the Sailfish and posted 619 yards on the ground, only 17 yards short of the team leader Raphtalia Chan. His rushing average is 5.4, which puts him in second place amongst all rushers with 10 or more attempts. In fact, he is the only one with an average of over 5.0 besides Easton Cole, who leads the league with 5.6. The workload is significantly different though, as Banks rushed 114 times whereas Cole only rushed 31 times. He also scored 3 touchdowns on the ground.
Combining his yards, Banks II racked up 5,652 yards this season. He is ahead of any other QB by almost 1,000 total yards.
All these numbers should be enough to convince you that Dexter Banks II should win MVP this season.


Task 12 - 5 TPE
When we take a look at expansion, the first thing that comes to my mind is the last expansion which was only 3 seasons ago, when the Sarasota Sailfish and Honolulu Hahalua were added to the league. Looking at that expansion draft in S22, the picture of the league totally changed. In S22, it wasn‘t possible to build a team full of young good earning prospects. In fact, most of the picks after the 3rd round in that expansion draft didn‘t stay longer than 1 season on their team. Most of them retired. This season, everything changed. Every team could select 8 players to protect, including their GMs. With the big S22 draft class, and generally big classes thereafter, there are many young talents which are good earning still available in the expansion draft. That‘s a good base to build your team up from. There are still some high TPE veterans available, who can set up instant success. An interesting aspect this season in expansion draft will be, if one or both teams take the chance on veteran QBs Easton Cole and Wolfie McDummy. It‘ll be only one season they can rely on their services, but it makes way too much sense to let pass by this chance.
The New York Silverbacks traded for S24 QB Sam Howitzer, a top prospect for sure. But when entering his second season, he is still on the very low TPE side for a QB in the league, although he is max earning. Giving Howitzer one more season to develop in the minors and start off with a top QB could be what gives NYS a head start and lots of success right from the start.
The Berlin Fire Salamanders aren‘t set yet on QB, but it is very likely that wide receiver Nick Kaepercolin switches to QB. The problem here is, that his speed and hands don‘t transition well to QB at the moment. If he stays at WR for one more year and let a veteran play this important position, he gets the time he needs to train up his QB assets and take over after one year. By then he‘ll be one of the best QBs in the league, but if he starts right away he loses out on quite a few important attributes.
The core of expansion teams nevertheless is normally built by the regular draft. It is important to make solid draft picks who help you set up success for the future. You need players to step up right away or take over from walking veterans or expansion picks. This is something Sarasota and Honolulu managed really well. Sarasota made the playoffs in their first year, were only one win away in their second and this season they played an amazing 12-4 season and fell only close to the Yeti in the championship game. On the other side, Honolulu grows stronger from season to season, they were close to make the playoffs this year and fell short by only 1 win.

[WhatAmUs]

Task (13) - 568 Words  - 5 TPE

We all have bad days.

         Some people, when experiencing what can be described as a truly garbage day, turn to books and television and whatnot to hopefully distract themselves from whatever may be tormenting them on any given day.  Personally, I tend to gravitate towards getting blissfully drunk and surfing my favorite subreddits while struggling to keep the bad thoughts at bay.  So, when late July rolled around and things in my personal life started going to complete dog trash, I naturally took to pouring glass after glass of Basil Hayden’s and pulling up the good ‘ol National Football League subreddit.  After reading hopeful articles about COVID tests and discouraging comments about popular politics, I came across a post that immediately separated itself from the rest of the usual r/NFL antics.  A user had posted an advertisement of sorts for the International Simulation Football League.  “Well this sounds weird” I thought, as a bourbon-coated ice cube briefly passed my lips and careened down my throat.  I read the body of text accompanying the post, and was still a bit unsure of what the product and endgame was for this “ISFL”.  That is, until a user commented stating that it was a bit like Dungeons And Dragons, but for American football.  Okay, I really like football, but fantasy football was beginning to get quite stale after years of playing.  Okay, I really like Dungeons And Dragons, but I’m not a big fan of Medieval aesthetics and waiting 45 minutes to cast one spell.  A healthy combination of the two, though?  Sign me right up.  I joined the forum, and hopped on the ISFL discord. 

          Now, I’m normally a shy guy, but I was twelve fingers deep into a bottle of Kentucky bourbon and feeling real social.  I hopped into the general chat on the discord, and chatted the night away with some really cool people; at least I think I did.  I can’t really remember.  The next day, after a gargantuan hangover, I went back onto the forum and watched a couple of youtube videos on how to make a player, update, do the WiKi, and earn TPE.  However, I must have missed a couple of steps, because I was still at a cool fifty TPE by the time draft day came around.  I had never been in a simulation league before, and I had no idea how the whole process worked.  On top of that, things in my personal life took a turn for the worse.  Relationships, right? We all have bad days.  So, after being drafted in about the 45th round by the Kansas City Coyotes, I unfortunately went IA for the first 6 games or so of the season.  I felt lost, hopeless, and unwilling to reach out for help or guidance.  It wasn’t until RESouthPaw DM’d me on Discord about my inactive-ness that I realized I was letting down the people who were kind enough to draft me.  South sat me down for over an hour and explained pretty much everything I needed to do to make my player a beneficial part of the team, and I am incredibly grateful for that.  Since then, I’ve been as active as I can be, and it’s been an absolute blast.  I’m still learning the ropes, but I hope to continue my journey into the ISFL and have a shitload of fun along the way.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Task (11) - 520 Words  - 5 TPE

          Ah, who doesn’t love a good, juicy scandal.  The kind that grips you like a daytime NBC drama, and pulls you deep into a world of speculation and intrigue.  No stranger to a good scandal myself, I relish the opportunity to be a passive spectator in the medium, as I can sympathetically feel the crippling anxiety and full-body cringe of being involved in a particularly tumultuous wrangle.  Things got just a little too real, however, when I learned my benevolent Kansas City Coyote general managers were the subjects of an intricate and dubious plot.

          I awoke one sunny afternoon as I usually do; hungover as fuck and dreading the impending hot sauce heartburn.  Now that I was fully active and invested in the league, I rolled over and checked Discord on my phone as usual, looking for what the Brits and Aussies posted while I was passed out between the hours of 5am and 1pm eastern time.  Instead of waking up to the top banter I was accustomed to, however, I was greeted by a plethora of messages in the Kansas City locker room of varying degrees of concern and memey-ness.  “What in God’s name did I miss?” I thought to myself, as the stench of stale Miller Lite and sadness passed my nostrils.  After a cursory scroll up through the chat, it was revealed to me that my current and former general managers were being fined BIG money for what I could only assume was the infraction of the ages.  I scrolled up further through the chat, past stale copy pasta and reaction pepe’s, and found the relevant link to a forum post outlining the dastardly deed.  Former general managers Butters and Matty, and current general managers Glims and Simo, did a bad, bad thing.  At least, I think it was bad, I’ve been in the league for only a little over a month and I still haven’t the slightest fucking clue what’s going on in the culture and hierarchy of the league.  Anyways, the post made it sound like it was a bad thing.  Apparently, since early in the season, the general managers were using an inactive player in the simulation games over a supposedly active player in the same position. 

           A simple mistake made by rookie general managers made during a mid-season transition of power? Perhaps.  A scandal the likes of which has never been seen in the history of the International Simulation Football League?  Most definitely.  At least, since I’ve been around, which isn’t very long.  Now, I am not quite sure what the precedent for this punishment is as I do not have the time or patience to comb the league history, but from what I understand this was a pretty clear cut violation of league rules.  So that begs the question; were the perpetrators aware of their indiscretions?  Or did they simply not know the rules?  The truth will most likely remain a mystery.  One thing is for certain, however: 

Butters must be banned from the league.  Because from what I’ve been told and what I’ve seen, this literally always happens.

[IHateBobNutting]

12) It’s once again expansion season in the ISFL. Reflect on the additions of the New York Silverbacks and Berlin Fire Salamanders and discuss how these teams will affect the league. How do you see scheduling or playoff seeding potentially changing? How will these teams change the power balances in their respective conferences? How do you think each team should go about building their roster, whether it’s through the expansion draft, regular draft, or many seasons down the line?

I expect that with 7 teams in each conference the schedule will change to 12 games in the conference and 4 outside of the conference. How those 4 will be determined I'm not sure. Personally, I would change the schedule to 19 games and have a double week sim every week. Have every team play all the other teams in their conference twice and all the teams in the other conference once. In terms of the playoffs, I think keeping the current structure is the best way to go. 6 out of 14 teams making the playoffs is enough as it is. In terms of building the roster I think the best move is to draft a mix of young and older players in the expansion draft. While many people will argue for drafting only young players, when they all get older the team won't be able to afford the contracts. Finding a good mix is the key to having a successful team. In the regular draft, the smart move is to draft positions that both the team and the draft are weak in. Generally this will be both the offensive and defensive lines as well as maybe safeties and cornerbacks. Another option would be to draft only young players and tank to get good draft picks over the next couple years. Then they could trade those draft picks to rebuilding teams to get some older players to mix with their younger players. It would depend on how soon they intend to contend. The easiest way would be to tank due to the lack of a draft lottery in the ISFL (Preferably something like a 5 team draft lottery where the 5th worst team would have the best chance at the 1st overall pick). I don't think it will change the power balance in the ISFL at least for a few years. The only thing I know that will be the same in a few years is San Jose being one of the best teams. New York will have a tougher time than Berlin as the ASFC is a stronger conference. Assuming that both teams are going to try and rebuild from the beginning, I think that Berlin will make the playoffs in 2-3 years whereas New York will make the playoffs in 3-5. In the end, it will all come down to the skill of the GMs. That is something that I can't predict. Soon we will see just how talented they are.

16) Choose your favorite non-playoffs game of this season, whether your own team or another. Explain what was so special and why the winner ultimately came out victorious, including key players and moments.

The finals Sabercats game of the season is definitely my favorite. Everything had gone right so far in terms of the Sabercats getting the #1 seed and all they had to do was beat New Orleans to lock up that #1 seed. However, if we lost then we wouldn't be in the playoffs at all. It was a very strong defensive first quarter as only 3 points were scored. San Jose and New Orleans traded touchdowns in the second quarter and it looked like that would be all for the first half until a 56 yard Field Goal by Herbert Prohaska as time expired. New Orleans led 13-7 at the half. The second half had a lot more offense. New Orleans scored midway through the 3rd quarter to take a 20-7 lead. Many people thought it was over but the game was only just beginning.  San Jose scored a touchdown late in the 3rd to close the gap to 6. Prohaska made a chip shot field goal to extend the lead to 9 but no one expected what happened next. Deondre Thomas Fox, who had scored a touchdown earlier, returned the ensuing kick 105 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 2. The greatest kicker ever Matty McDairmid made a 47 yard field goal with 4 minutes left to give San Jose the lead. San Jose was unable to mount a comeback and San Jose won 24-23 guaranteeing San Jose not only made the playoffs, but also were given the #1 Seed and the bye that came with it.

27) Some positions are still under appreciated. Talk about the offensive linemen and/or special teamers on your squad. Show how they have contributed to the team, both on and off the field, and why they deserve recognition.

KICKERS AND PUNTERS ARE PEOPLE TOO. Matty Mcdairmid is our Kicker and Punter. He won 3 games for us with his foot this season. The first one was our week 5 win over the New Orleans Second Line. We won 17-14 and a huge part of that win was Matty's 3 Field Goals. The next week we beat the Philadelphia Liberty 20-17. Matty's 2 field goals helped us pick up the win. The final one was the most important game of the season. The Week 16 win 24-23 over New Orleans. His field goal with 5 minutes left helped San Jose not only make the playoffs but also get the #1 seed. While his punting can't be directly connected to wins but his overall performance this season has been amazing. He has the most yards per punt and is the only punter averaging over 50 yards per punt (50.6). Matty's ability to do well especially in the clutch is why he is so important to this team. In the final game of the season we had to punt with the 20 seconds left. That doesn't seem like a big deal but we were punting from our own 16. A 40 yard punt puts the ball on New Orleans' 44 which is definitely within a QB's arm range. With the season on the line Matty kicked a 62 yard punt putting New Orleans way out of hail mary range and ended the game.

[ajtigger]

7. This coming awards season there is one man on my team that deserves an award more than anyone else in the league. That man is GOAT Tank and the award he deserves is Defensive Rookie of the Year. GOAT Tank has put on an amazing performance this season from one of the hardest positions to make an impact, defensive tackle. This includes getting 7 sacks (tied for 4th among rookies), 3 forced fumbles (tied for second in the league and first overall for rookies), 3 fumble recoveries (first in the league among all players), and 59 tackles with 2 of those tackles for a loss. In addition we all know that the defense's job is to stop the other team from scoring, but GOAT Tank does more than that by managing to score himself. He picked up a safety this year to get in the scoring column, making him one of only six players league wide to accomplish that task. However, it is not just about the individual impact GOAT Tank had on the field, but how he helped anchor a top defense in the league. GOAT Tank plugged so many holes and ate a ton of double teams as he helped his guys get freed up to make tackles. Myrtle Beach wound up with the number one rushing defense in the league and that is largely attributable to Tank's influence and the opposing offenses having to plan around his disruptiveness. In addition to a staggering run defense, the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers were 3rd in the league in terms of points allowed. This is despite quarterback struggles for a large portion of the season leading to short fields for the opposing offense.

My final point in my campaign for GOAT Tank is how he showed up in the games that mattered the most to his team. The late season games against Norfolk and Tijuana were must wins for Myrtle Beach. GOAT Tank did his part in both those games, getting a sack in each and helping the defense hold his opponents to a combined 27 points in those games. While the team did not get those wins, GOAT Tank did not fade from the spotlight when his team needed him most and he did not just stat pad against some of the weaker teams in the league. He went out and contributed from a normally stat deprived position week after week. I think it a no brainer decision to vote for GOAT Tank as the defensive rookie of the year for season 24 of the DSFL.

8. The future is very bright for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. The team came into S24 of the DSFL with low expectations due to a large number of rookies needing to fill gaps in crucial roles (namely Quarterback and Wide Receiver). Instead of struggling, the team was able to defy expectations and fight to a 7-7 record that was capped of with an absolute drumming of Minnesota. That dominating performance should put the DSFL on notice that the Buccaneers are ready to win it all next year.

The first factor benefiting Myrtle Beach is that they have found their Quarterback of the future in Jackie Daytona. Daytona flashed his absolute brilliance as passer in the final few games of the season, culminating with a 4 TD performance in the season finale. It is clear that Daytona's development over the course of the season has been nothing short of amazing and he will be leading this team to glory in the near future.

Myrtle Beach also will be able to hang on to many of their weapons to surround their young franchise cornerstone. While they will most likely be losing Mo and Holloway to the ISFL, being able to keep Reed, Crossley, and Mcjimmerson on the roster should allow the team to have the weapons to be a force on the offensive side of the ball. Additionally, if there are any lineman that can stay behind, the team will greatly benefit from the continued cohesion of the unit.

The main concern for Myrtle Beach may be any impact to their vaunted defense from this past season. There are real concerns that key players such as GOAT Tank, Winchester or Mouse may be ready for the next level. These would be significant roles to fill for a team built around being a sound defensive unit. Luckily, the team does have some players on the defensive side of the ball that made a huge impact and will likely still be here next season. Utterstruzen was a key member of the secondary and will likely move into a leadership role next season for the team.

Finally, the last point to hit on for the future success of Myrtle Beach are the General Managers of the team. The front office hit it out of the park with this last draft. So many rookies came in and put together amazing seasons. The GMs really helped the team develop and in my mind the Buccaneers had the most impact players developed on any team in the DSFL this season. If these two can put together a draft class even 75% as good as the last one, we are looking at a very formidable Myrtle Beach team next season.

[pauadrian]

Task 13 457 words

Hi,this is Pau and it’s my first time being in this sim league. Actually it’s my first time being in a forum league at all unless you count Grass Roots Soccer League (GRSL). I didn’t last long there due to player updating just being way too tedious. I was actually dreading the thought of joining another league where I would actually have to put some work and effort in. So far it’s been pretty great though, tasks aren’t super hard and I feel like my player is actually doing quite well for a waiver pickup. I got picked up by Tijuana Luchadores and I won’t lie when I say I was hoping they would.I know the most amount of people in Tijuana Luchadores so it would be a lot easier for me to gel in to their locker room

I’ve met some really awesome people in that locker room like GuitarMaster, Kotasa, DeadLunatic, Pat and 209tacos (shoutout for the awesome graphic he made which I use on my discord now). I’ve also reunited with some other peeps in that locker room that I know from this other league I’m in (Super Casual Football Sim League). Some of them being Ruffio, Ben, SDCore and even my Co-GM from the Toronto Rush, Payton. I like that the locker room is very active but not so active that I can’t keep up. Or so active that me not posting every means I look inactive

I feel like a lot of people have taken a liking to me as well which is great of course for team morale.The rookie discord is great help with alces mentoring and helping me a lot as well as my good old friend C9 Van. My only real issue actually came up just now during my reading of this Ultimus Task thing. I dig the whole concept of it. The main issue I have though is that for someone like me it’s really hard to write about stuff I don’t know about just yet like league history. I’ve gone on a tiny rant about this to other users in the league but I hope we can improve this in the future. I know this specific point task is made for users like me but I just think there should be a couple more to help me max earn like I wanted to. I’m really excited for who picks me up in the draft though and hope to make an impact in this league like I’ve done in others in the past. That’s my opinion on the league so far, I’m sure it will change by the end of next season and I’ll look forward to seeing the new challenges I encounter

[enigmatic]

1) The league has a rich and fascinating history, and our perspectives on it differ from person to person. In 800 words or more, describe any significant non-playoffs moment in ISFL or DSFL history, whether you were around for it or not. Describe the context, the significant members, and the events. What exactly made this event so famous (or infamous) and why does it deserve to be remembered?

'twas a cold, dark October night. The children were put to bed and their very old grandfather was kissing them goodnight. He had seen it all. The birth of the league, the er multis, the Las Vegas Legion debacle... and yet, his stories never seemed enough.

"Gwandpa! Gwandpa! Tell us a scawy stowy befowe bed!"

"Well my angels, I don't think you are quite old enough for what I have in mind... so how about I tell you about that time we discovered that the entirety of Arizona, well more or less, were c l o n e s? The guy even made up personalities for all of them, so me, I didn't see it. And I won a championship with that team. He was so good... Never saw it coming. But they had proof, straight from the computer. Could scarcely believe it. He was such a good guy..."

As Grandpa seemed to slip away in his thoughts, young Timmy made sure he'd get what he wanted.

"No, we heawd about this one alweady. Something scawier!"

"Right... Well, I was also part of the Legion Retires Many story but I don't quite remember what happened... My general manager posted a thread where he said I retired with many of my friends but I never said accepted or whatever loophole they used so I just kept playing... and I won another championship with the spooky Yellowknife Wraiths so I guess it all worked out in the end. Damn, I was on the team every time something shitty happened, maybe it was me all along???"

"Gwampa, you told us this one too. You and youw fwiends wewe tiwed of how the league was. It was wigged and it was no fun. You twied to make it change!"

"Oh, yeah right... Well, I guess it's time for you to go to sleep, Timmy. I have nothing else to say that might scare you!"

"What about the Bachelorette Event, Grandfather?", Bobby said, from the darkest corner of the room. He had stayed silent so far, so Grandpa jumped.

"Jesus, Bobby. My heart. Um, yes, the Bachelorette Event... You guys are too young to hear about such horrors."

"No, you tell us the stowy! Now!"

"Okay but your mother CANNOT know about this. So, it was a normal September 17th morning. I was at work pretending to work and one of my teammates, a particularly angry panda, hit us with lol you guys see the Bachelorette announcement? We obviously had no idea what he was talking about so McKenzie just said I've never seen that show. That's also what I thought. Even if he didn't seem like the kind of person to watch a show like the Bachelorette, I thought, well, for it to be that popular I guess it needs all kinds of people watching it so good for him if he likes it."

"The story, old man." Bobby was getting impatient and he really was one of the weirdest three year olds you'd ever encounter.

"I'm getting to it! I opened the link he posted and it was an official league announcement. I started reading and I couldn't believe my eyes. They actually came up with a special Bachelorette Event to cyber date the league's commissioner."

"Commissioner Bex. Now that's a scary villain," Bobby said.

"Damn, that's harsh. But yeah... Anyway, the replies in that thread were some of the best sim league comedy/drama I read in a very long time. People were mostly ashamed and wanted to leave or retire, said they made a mistake joining the league and some people even came back from the dead."

"The dead?!" Timmy exclaimed, visibly scared.

"Yeah, people we hadn't seen in months, sometimes years, came back to say how cringey this was and how glad they were they weren't on the league anymore... or how the ISFL was destroying everything the founder, Ballerstorm, ever did."

"Oh, shit", Bobby said.

"It wasn't the busiest thread I ever saw, I mean, I saw thunderdome stuff going to 30 pages before I had the time to read anything. This one got to a healthy 13, 14 pages, before it was finally moved from Announcements to Media, which is where it should have been posted in the first place, although you could argue that it shouldn't have been posted at all... I thought nobody would apply for this but people actually did, including some of my teammates who probably did it for the lolz, or at least I choose to believe that, so we got a peak at the questions that were asked to be able to sign up and it was even more cringey than the forum post itself. And they all had to be 400 words long so they got quite memey as well."

"What happened next gwampa?"

"Well, someone from head office locked the thread before deleting it in its entirety. So it exists now only in my memory. Then, HO announced that this was never a league sanctionned event and the like 2 people who wasted their time applying were pretty sad. I had learned from a trusted HO source that it was true, the league never agreed to any of this so it was just a few people who thought this was a good idea and went with it. How wrong they were... Some people to this day are still convinced HO is responsible for the horrors of the Bachelorette Event but I think it was just a rogue element within its core that made it all happen."

"Do... do you think they'll be back?" Timmy asked, covering his face with his Megaman blanket.

"Probably Timmy... but it's difficult to imagine they will inflict such horrors on the league ever again. I think it's important everyone remembers this event and the damage it could have caused to the ISFL."

"What the hell's going on here? Why aren't you guys in bed? Da, did you take your pills?" Mom arrived in the room like a ghost and scared the shit out of Grandpa, Timmy and Bobby. "Boys, you gotta stop asking your grandpa for those stories, you know he has PTSD."

"Yes, and the Prospects Bowl twitter said it could help me... no one can help me." Grandpa started sobbing and left the room.

The end.