(S27) Ultimus Week

[TheRealMazatt]

11) What is it that keeps you interested in the league? Is it your love of dot football, your locker room, a specific job or role you play, or something else? What do you like most about it? What could be improved?

What keeps me in the league is soemthing I have been thinking about quite a bit recently, as I've found it hard to consistently engage with the site in a meaningful way, or really any meaningful way as I do with the SHL. It's made me genuinely think about what keeps coming back and it comes down to the people on the site itself and the effort put into it by various war rooms and people. I think the passion shown by people around me makes it so I don't want to just quit on the site, I instead want to improve on my player so I don't leave them disappointed in drafting me, or trading up to draft me. Getting into specifics that comes to Jimi, Amid, Inverted, and Southpaw are all guys I've had discussions with on long-term stuff. Jimi helped with getting builds in for sim changes and showed genuine care in helping get me up to speed with the ISFL as a whole. South right now is probably the main reason I'm chugging along since he's taken upon a big role as development head for Austin and is working with me on finding PT's and making a budget/spending plan for the future. Can't give enough big ups on that one since it's huge. And that's where the effort level of users comes into play. I've seen the budget and behind the scenes work from both my GM's, I've gotten a sense of the effort and planning required to make things work. And having an entire part of team front office dedicated to developing and helping prospects is something very new, and very welcome to me in the long-run. Genuinely, in the SHL I haven't seen that level of officiality with the development of players, and being apart of the group that gets it first hand is eye-opening. I'm not big into the dot football aspect of things--fuck, I've said it before I don't even understand real football. So even though I'm not around my locker rooms as much as I want it's still the people in the league and on my teams that keep me coming back to do the point tasks, and even send in some bean tik toks. Looking back at the question, I don't think the people in this league could improve at all. Surely some will disagree but most everyone I've talked to has been a positive influence and looking out for the best for eachother. Everything else that isn't done, is on me. Well, except for the fact you can't see when there are new posts in threads/choose to jump to the last post or the first post of a thread afaik. Makes it hard to keep track of everything going on from a league standpoint when you can't look for new developments in media posts or announcements. 

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479 words

16) The bank now accepts ISFL currency in exchange for real money – every ISFL dollar counts as $0.50 in the real world. How much money would you exchange, and what would you spend it on?
I'm gonna be very real with this one, I dont think I have the capital to make money off of this arrangement. Fuck, I probably owe the ISFL money if this were the case. So I want to at least go over some form of strategy to get work. First off, I'd be getting paid like $500k for a minimum contract. I think beyond that I don't need any money, but things can get a lot more intensive based on earning. For example I would keep my contract money as a "deposit" and go big into writing media to make bank. Write an article worth 9.5 mil and that's $4 million exchanged in the real world. I'd make banl. and once I got $4 million, there's nothing I wouldn't spend it on.

This is where the big idea comes in. $4 million is a lot, I'll get some random schmuck off the street who doesn't know about the ISFL, and I give him a primer on the league. Then, I give him $100k to write 10k words with research and graphs to back it up. In his mind, 100k dollars for some fake football league is money in the bank, while I'm potentially making upwards of $5 million on the transaction, or a gain of $4.9 million. Keep going around placed and eventually I'm going to be absolutely loaded, and can just keep paying guys to write articles. I'd end up in the ISFL HoF with my insane money and TPE earning (training is beeg baby) and I could probably afford an indoor pool. Really, what I'd do with the money is work it in for more money. Invest, invest, invest. Take advantage of exhange rates and never lose a thing. Also, I'd buy a fuck ton of spaghetti. It's so damn tasty. I love spaghetti.

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306 words

SHL Affiliate PT for 2.5 TPE

Should sum up to 10 TPE (5 + 2.5 + 2.5).

[timeconsumer]

6) Write 800 words or more on something about anything in the league that interests you. It could be related to statistics, a league issue that 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 participation on a Werewolf server or something.

Welcome back to another Ultimus week where TC likes to tell the story of a long forgotten event in ISFL history. The last few times I've done this I've discussed such fun events as Fast Boija's 2570 yard season, The Solar Bears Bot team winning the Ultimini in S5, I've discussed the history of Legion Retires Many, I've covered the famous Garden Drop of the S6 Ultimus and the following S7 Ultimus win the the Liberty, and I've discussed how the introduction of OL bots changed the face of the league in S4 and what it did for parity. So this time what is it that I will be covering for our lovely dive into old school ISFL history? Well that's a great question, and I think today we're going to discuss the S1 Otters QB controversy. You know I really hope I haven't done this one before. It kinda sounds familiar but after recapping all my prior Ultimus Week tasks I really don't think I did this one yet, if I did I'm really sorry but it's a particularly juicy bit of history.

We begin with the S1 draft, during this time we had 6 teams in the ISFL and the Otters came in with the first overall pick, not a team that would get many first overall picks ever again funnily enough. So the Otters started with two players on the roster, Anthony Petrakis, a QB, and fuck what was the other guy's name? I forgot but I think he was an RB. It was Official DT as a user. With these two players the GMs were hoping to go into the draft having a strong offense already and just drafting defense but then another plan emerged. So many people had created QBs with very few openings early on that the commissioner stated that anyone in S1 who wanted to change from QB to anything else could do soo for free and without any restrictions on moving TPE, how nice of him. It was from this that the strategy emerged.

Famously using the number 1 pick on Shaka's player JJ Reigns who would go inactive after a season or two, he is widely considered to be a bust. However Shaka's time in the war room did help shape OCO's future more than many realize. He was calling a lot of the shots in that S1 draft shortly after he was officially picked (he knew where he was going well before the draft). The strategy came out that OCO was going to draft a bunch of QBs of users they knew and have them position switch to something else after the draft. This would allow OCO to get a lot of talent in later rounds by filling up with good users at a position of very low need and converting it to a high need position. It kinda worked but kinda didn't. Grapehead, the GM, his QB he moved to defense, cornerback. Then we drafted like 6 QBs.

Some of the QBs instantly moved to stuff like offensive line or defensive tackle or whatever. Most of these guys didn't stick around very long anyway but we got a few decent inactives out of it and those early days were heavily reliant on inactives. But we had three QBs that didn't switch, and one role for all of them. The three were Mike Boss, Ethan Hunt, and Mike Bercovici. One of these names you already know, Mike Boss went on to become the future Otters QB and a HOFer and one of the greatest QBs in the history of the league. But you might not know these other two very well.

Ethan Hunt was famous for doing very well in the prospect bowls before the draft. He was a mobile QB and did great with the four passes he threw in the prospect game. Yes, four passes, we all can see the problem here. Mike Bercovici was a very direct character who was happy to give you a piece of his mind and let you know exactly what he wanted and what he thought. Both of these guys wanted to be our QB and wouldn't come off it. However in the war room we were all backing Mike Boss for the future of the position. We trusted the user and we liked his Pocket Passer build more than the mobile or gunslinger of the other two. So in the first few games of the season Mike Boss got the start.

And he was absolute trash. In our first game in the ISFL Mike Boss threw something like 5 interceptions, it was absolutely brutal. And we had put in strategies trying to be a more run heavy team but the playcalling features did not really have that much control back then. The otters got killed. People were already calling for Boss' head. Then the next game he does terrible again. Then the next game he is terrible again. I want to say by week 3 or 4 he had thrown 9 interceptions and the Otters were not looking good. So what happens? Grapehead benches Boss and puts in Bercovici. In a normal NFL team this might be the strategy, but this is sim football and it doesn't really make sense, we know who is good and who is bad and Bercovici isn't really better. Boss is fucking pissed.

Boss decides he's done and will not update his player or player for Grapehead or the Otters after that. Grapehead gets dragged through the mud in league forums and discord. Bercovici doesn't make it much better. Not trying to deal with all the nonsense Grapehead says screw it and quits the GM job, Shaka takes over. We discuss things and confirm that we really think Boss is the guy and we put him back in the starting role after he missed 2 or 3 games, he was the one we wanted and nnot Bercovici. We arrange a 3 way trade to send Ethan Hunt to the Sabercats and get a DT in return, Hunt becomes the starting QB. Expansion is announced and Bercovici is all but guaranteed to leave the Otters in FA to go to one of the expansion teams in FA, the Legion. Boss comes back and leads the Otters to the ASFC championship where we ultimately lose to the Outlaws.

Fast forward a few seasons and Boss is still leading the Otters to victories in the league. Bercovici is the most sacked QB in the ISFL behind a tissue paper OL and proceeds to go IA and leave the Legion right before the Legion Retires Many Scandal. Ethan Hunt goes IA mostly and is supplanted at QB by another player Joliet Christ. Hunt position changes to WR and name changes to Gosh Jarden and gets traded to YKW. The Otters had backed the right QB, it took us some bumps along the way but we picked the winner and he led us to many victories. Thank you Mike Boss.

[Sabremike]

8.  I feel the ISFL should expand its social media presence as a method to expand and receive new players into the league.  Right now there's often reddit posts trying to recruit many new players into the league which have varying degrees of success.  Players also post twitter messages which can potentially bring in new people however I feel these only connect with others in the leagues due to the specific hashtags.  Right now Tik Tok is a huge platform for a lot of younger consumers of social media so creating team Tik Tok pages and posting match results, highlights, player profiles, etc.  Branching out into Tik Tok can potentially bring in a huge new wave of fans who would never of heard of this league otherwise.  Additionally it can create a new money making method for users on the site and spread publicity for the league.  Instead of Twitter users can create an account for their player and create ISFL related Tik Toks and earn money instead of using Twitter.  On top of Tik Tok having an official ISFL subreddit as a hub outside the site for information and videos can lead to this subreddit being suggested as a "similar subreddit" to other people not yet in the league.  Instagram is a third platform I feel the ISFL should really try to expand into as again it offers more money making opportunities like Tik Tok and it allows graphic creators a place to advertise their talents and a place for teams to really advertise their team's players and success that they've had.  Updating the ISFL's social media presence as a whole is a great way to attract audiences of all ages and backgrounds and can really expand the scope of the ISFL, following social media trends and adapting is a key to surviving and not being left behind.  If the league can expand it'd be fantastic but making sure to keep a stable influx of members is vital to keeping the ISFL running strong.  Even expanding to sites that are no longer popular or trendy such as Facebook can really bring in a different audience and can bring in new people and new ideas.  Allowing and rewarding players for more advertisement can be a key for growth, I'd love to see a world where the ISFL reaches NFL amount of teams and this type of advertising and recruiting is how I see this happening or at the very least expansion happening in general.

11. I love the feeling of competition, this keeps me heavily interested in sports leagues and sim leagues alike.  Along with this I love being apart of an active community such as the ISFL discord.  Updating a player and seeing improvement is extremely satisfying for me.  Seeing all the stats improve over time and seeing my results on the field improve game in and game out really keeps me invested.  I also love being apart of a team and being in a team environment.  I've been attracted more so to team sports as it requires a lot of moving pieces to become a top contender and it bonds more people together.  Additionally I just am in love with simulator games in general.  Sport simulators where I can customize a league completely have always appealed to me, from creating custom teams in EA Sports games to Wolverine Studios games and the Franchise Hockey Manager Games.  I love witnessing storylines and seeing how these players do in these leagues and seeing the virtual drama and upsets is always exciting.  Being apart of a league such as the ISFL gives me a different perspective and makes me wanna create more leagues for more drama now that I know what its like to be a player in a sim game having my fate and results reliant on 1s and 0s.  All in all this just creates a fun experience for me and I just love being apart of this witnessing this drama and heartbreak first hand.  Storylines being made, underdog stories, no name players making insane plays and jumping up to the spotlight, star players falling from relevance, this all makes it a pro experience mixed with a sim experience and its something I've always strived to be apart of and wished I knew about these leagues so much sooner.  There's so much potential to meet new people and to experience a unique sense of competition.  Most players are driven to win and from what I've seen everyone is friendly and glad to be apart of an environment everyone can thrive in.  I love the diversity of the league as well.  There are people of all ages, backgrounds, and from many countries as well.  Allowing an environment that is so welcoming makes me feel glad to be apart of it.  Every GM, assistant, GM, or someone who works on the site that I've met has been super helpful and helps keep my interest in the league knowing everyone I've met in a position of power is friendly and welcoming.

[Tylus]

10:

Tychondrius Hood and fellow teammates on the San Jose Sabercats all had many ups and downs in season twenty seven.After missing the Ultimus last year, our Sabercat team would come into season 27 motivated to perform and hungry to show that our team is a force to be reckoned with. Hood would also start the season with high expectations for not only the team, but for himself. The season started off well enough with a strong 2-0 start, with Hood exploding into the season with over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns over the first two games. This was how we felt we should be playing, and goes to show what this team is capable of. San Jose would go 4-2 over the next six games, losing two straight but picking up with four wins in a row, bringing the ‘Cats to a healthy and strong six wins and two losses overall at the halfway point in the season. Hood would have up and down games, with a few games under thirty yards, but when Hood showed up, he showed up, with multiple 100+ yard performances up to this point. At this point in the season things were going as well as we could hope, but sadly, our optimism concerning the post season would begin to drain over the course of the latter half of the season. From weeks nine through twelve San Jose would have four straight away games, and struggled mightily to put up strong performances away from home. Winning only 1 of those four games would bring the California based team to a 7-5 record, not what we had hoped for but still manageable at least. Hood would continue to have decent to good performances throughout these games but it still wasn’t enough to get the cats into the W column. With four games left in the season, three of which at home, the Sabercats would have to play lights out ball to keep their playoff hopes alive. Sadly once again the cats would win only one of the last four games, with up and down performances by Hood. Sadly I feel as though a lot of our losses came down to straight up bad luck(See our kicker get completely robbed many times, Monty incredibly unlucky throughout the season, defense and offense seemed to show up on opposite weeks, leading to many inconsistencies) so I don’t feel as though there was much we could have done differently. We have one of the best QBs, WRs, and RBs, yet our offense seemed to have games where we couldn’t do anything. Here is to next year!

11:

This league has many great things about it, so many in fact that I certainly could write eight hundred words about it instead of only four hundred, so I will do my best to condense it into a smaller yet easier to read text! First of all, I cannot say enough about how many unsung heroes there are that keep this league well oiled and running smoothly. From our streamers, to our bankers, mentors, managers, front office, and everything in between, this league has so many great people who work very hard to make everything enjoyable for the rest of us. I could go on about the people, but how about we talk about some of the league content? This league would be fun enough with only the games being streamed, but we don’t stop there! There are tons of other fun things in the league, such as the casino, which I don’t often take part in, but when I do it's fun to have the excitement of gambling your money. There are also the DOTTS trading cards, which I think are amazingly well done, fun to collect and share with people, and again, the people who make and manage the DOTTs cards and site are another group of unsung heroes. After that there is the community itself. With so many great people I have met, and great times spent with those people, I am extremely grateful to the universe for putting me in contact with so many great human beings.Another fun thing to watch is the team building process. With free agency, trades, the draft, and waivers, it’s a lot of fun watching the different GM’s and players build their teams and wonder who will go where. It’s just about as fun as watching NFL free agency, especially when there is a big surprise that nobody saw coming. Last but not least, the content of the game itself! The sim, while frustrating at times, delivers so much excitement and dynamic games and rivalries. You never know who is going to win, and you can never count anyone out from making a big play. With the new sim being integrated into the league, it’s gotten even better and easier to watch. Now I can even watch games with family and people in real life and they can actually follow along and enjoy watching a game as a casual person who isn’t in the league. Thanks for teding my talk.

[Thatguy91]

16) The bank now accepts ISFL currency in exchange for real money – every ISFL dollar counts as
$0.50 in the real world. How much money would you exchange, and what would you spend it on?

I sure wouldn’t mind getting some extra real life cash. I’d exchange all of it for sure, having that kind of money would be life changing for most, if not all people, on this site so I think it would be hard to say no to that. I’d likely put it towards a new house with a bit of land. We’ve been meaning to move out to a larger place with a bit of land to get a couple of animals and build a greenhouse or two. So that would definitely be where most if not all the money would go to. And some nice tools or toys would be nice. A small tractor maybe. Or a new car would be really nice. So I guess what I’m really saying is that it would be put towards what I believe is called a homestead in English. Also been meaning to take a longer holiday when the pandemic is over so I guess using a couple of thousand on that would definitely be a possibility too. Take a summer holiday going through our own backyard over here in Europe would be nice. Enjoy some good drink and some good food and just get outside again once all this blows over.

19) Your player or team made big headlines in the news this week. What did they do, and why did it garner so much attention?

Well, as you may or may not be aware, Petey is a time traveller. And he has intimate knowledge of the mysteries of the universe that has been given to him by a group of interdimensional sasquatches that lived next door to him back in Brown Town. Yes, you read that right. How do they tap into this intimate knowledge of the universe I hear you ask? Through mind altering drugs of course. How else? So it would not surprise me at all to hear that Petey was caught on some skitz adventure with one of the boys, high on some interdimensional sasquatch weed or heroine (yes, heroine). Just a couple of years ago, one of Peteys mates got caught with some secret future technology (the Gamma Max 2063 V2.0 Platinum edition) they were using to direct gamma rays from outer space to get off their chops. Pretty wild stuff. So it could be something along those lines. Or it could just simply be the fact that he is a time travelling Aussie who is best mates with a talking owl and a bunch of interdimensional sasquatches. People always seem to make a big deal out of that for some unknown reason.

26) Your team has made it to the playoffs! Put together a pre-game playlist and explain how those songs will hype your players.

Hmm. Well, when I want to get going on a friday night I just throw on Turbonegro for the most part. Can’t really go wrong with that to be honest. So about 25 minutes of great Turbonegro tunes should definitely do the trick!

Sell Your Body (To The Night) - Turbonegro. Great track. Always gets me pumped up for a night out so why not use it for pre-games?

Do You Dig Destruction? - Turbonegro. Another total banger. Turbonegro just makes the best party songs in my opinion.

Wasted Again - Turbonegro. Need a little bit of a looser tune after that last banger. Great riffs in this one and it's just a hoot from start to finish. Can’t go wrong with hits like this.

Prince Of The Rodeo - Turbonegro. Time to get the blood pumping again. Short and fast song that is bound to get you moving and singing along, It's impossible not to!

Selfdestructo Bust - Turbonegro. We are getting near the end so we have to keep things at a high tempo.

Good Head - Turbonegro. This is the one. This is the one you have to finish on. It's got singalong written all over it and you can't help but to groove along when you hear it. It's just one of those songs that gets you in the mood.

[Modern_Duke]

2) Tell us about your draft class. Is there anything that makes it special in comparison to other classes? Where did your fellow draftees land, how are they doing? Did anyone turn out to be an unexpected steal of that draft based on what you know today? Do you think anyone in your draft class will become a hall of famer? If you’re new to the league, how do you think your class will do? Where do you think people will get drafted to?
(kind of...this might be #6 instead)


A look at the best and worst pick by team from the S27 DSFL Draft (S28 class):
Bondi Beach Buccaneers
Best Pick - Henny Tingzpahcbol
Worst Pick - Don Bradman

Tingzpahcbol was Bondi Beach's sixth round pick, number 48 overall, and ended up as their third highest earner in the class. Tingzpahcbol did not put up great numbers for Bondi Beach with only 5 passes defended and 0 interceptions, but that's somewhat to be expected from a cornerback. Meanwhile Bradman, their third round pick quickly went inactive and topped out at only 67 TPE. But in a cruel twist of fate he actually matched Tingzpahcbol's 5 passes defended and also had five tackles for loss playing at linebacker.

Dallas Birddogs
Best Pick - Luke Watterson
Worst Pick - Mark Higgins

Luke Watterson was a seventh round pick, at 52nd overall but developed into a solid earner with 157 TPE. On top of that Watterson was a great defensive end for Dallas, with 15 tackles for loss which was third best in the league and best among rookies. Mark Higgins was taken just one round earlier with number 44 overall, but did not stay active after position switching from quarterback to linebacker, with only 74 TPE. He did contribute 8 passes defended, but could not keep up with Watterson anywhere else.

Kansas City Coyotes
Best Pick - Busch Goose
Worst Pick - Logan Steele

The circumstances of Busch Goose falling to the sixth round are clear, he was forthright about wanting to get called up after one season and running backs are generally not to hard to find anyway. But even taking that into context, Goose was a great pick, picking up 239 TPE, highest among running backs. Goose picked up nearly 900 yards from scrimmage and earned a nomination for running back of the year. On the other end, expectations were not high for Steele as a 7th round pick, but I'm sure the Coyotes would have preferred to get more than his 52 TPE. However, he did contribute a very respectable 16 passes defended on the season.

London Royals
Best Pick - Rainbow Dash
Worst Pick - Spencer Fields

Rainbow Dash was Mr. Irrelevant in the S27 draft, but proved to be extremely relevant for the Royals, and is in the contention for one of the best value picks of the class, getting 145 TPE from the last pick overall at a position of need. Dash just missed out on winning any awards, but was in the top five in punts inside the 20 and made the most field goals of over 40 yards. Meanwhile Spencer Fields was particularly disappointing as he never earned more than the initial 50 TPE, but to make matters worse, London actually traded up to get him. While Fields had 10 passes defended, his overall production on the field did not warrant trading up for him either.

Minnesota Grey Ducks
Best Pick - Jacob Raske
Worst Pick - Brooks Bane

Raske fell all the way to the sixth round, but was one of the better earners in the class, with over 200 TPE. Raske split time with veteran Ryan Negs at quarterback, but in limited playing time performed quite well with a QB rating of 82.6 which was best among all rookies. Brooks Bane actually earned reasonably well with 155 TPE but was picked 3 rounds earlier than Raske. Bane did contribute 66 tackles and 9 tackles for loss.

Norfolk Seawolves
Best Pick - Sam the Onion Man
Worst Pick - Archie Griffin

Sam the Onion Man was a fifth round pick for Norfolk, probably for similar reasons as Busch Goose. He is a league veteran and likely wants to be called up as soon as possible, but he earned very well with 234 TPE. Sam didn't do much on the field though with only 572 receiving yards in Norfolk's run-heavy system. Archie Griffin was a third round pick and was the first running back selected, however only complied 83 TPE. Griffin didn't have much success on the field either, with a 3.7 yard per carry average, worst among all qualified running backs.

Portland Pythons
Best Pick - Stumpy Jones
Worst Pick - Phillip Weaver

Stumpy Jones has earned extremely well, already maxing out above 250 TPE in his first season. Not bad at all for a fourth round pick. Not only that, Jones also performed spectacularly, leading the league in pancakes with 67 and only 1 sack allowed. Weaver was, to be honest not a bad pick based on 132 TPE as a 5th round pick, but I had to pick a worst and Weaver did not contribute much of anything on the field, with only 35 receiving yards.

Tijuana Luchadores
Best Pick - Cade Williams
Worst Pick - Gyles Marrett

Cade Williams was the 42nd pick in the draft but is the very definition of a steal as he got to 230 TPE. Williams only got 36 pancakes on the season, but only allowed one sack. Gyles Marrett is another case of low expectations as a seventh round pick, and honestly didn't earn too poorly, but Tijuana had a good class and I have to pick a worst. On the field, Marrett only got 23 tackles but had respectable 9 tackles for loss.

[Jay_Doctor]

1) This week will see the S26 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? Who do you think will win the final? If you’re writing this after the finals were decided, were you surprised by the outcome?

The Season 26 Ultimus saw the New Orleans Second Line return to the Ultimus to take on the Sarasota Sailfish. The two teams had extremely different paths to the Ultimus and how they got there. While they both had quite a few similarities, in a lot of ways they were quite different. One of the more common similarities between the two teams is a lot of recent playoff experience. Sarasota, like all expansion teams, had a little bit of a slow start. Still, the future was always bright for them and it appeared as though they were destined to be a perennial contender. New Orleans on the other hand has had a pretty solid run of competitive seasons. While not always being a top team in the ASFC, the Second Line found themselves in contention and more often than not a playoff berth. Like I mentioned quite briefly, this was the second Ultimus in a row for the dooters out of Louisana. Unlike the previous season, almost no one would have believed New Orleans had a real shot of making it to the Ultimus. We’ll dive more into that in a moment.

Being a player on New Orleans, my knowledge and experience regarding both teams and their journey is going to be quite skewed. Sarasota appeared to be on a roll from start to finish this season. They went 12-4 and never lost a game by more than 5 points. While a fair number of their wins were also close games, it shows who clutch they were down the stretch. That’s a sign of an elite team who can continually win the close ones. While Mike Boss Jr. is still a young a promising quarterback, the strength of the team came in the ground game. Outside of maybe Nakamura for Arizona, no one was more impressive in the rushing game than Chan. With his 17 rushing touchdowns, 97-yard-long rush and 1508 yards, he was a force to be reckoned with all season. Teams knew what was going to happen to them and they still couldn’t do much about it. They were certainly not one dimensional though. Boss Jr. had consistent targets in Witheblock, Angler and J’Vathon to throw to all season.  Michael racked up was most impressive of the group though, coming up with 109 catches for 1411 yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensively, Sarasota was just as impressive. They were a top three unit in points and yards allowed while being the absolute best against stopping the run. The only blemish was the pass defense at times. I think it’s fair to say that Sarasota were expected to be one of the top teams in the league and they delivered.

NOLA was in quite a different boat. After making an awesome run in the playoffs last season, it appeared that the Second Line were a strong candidate to take a step back. The team was a mix of a few big-time players from their Season 21 championship playing out their final season mixed with a lot of young talent. Not a bad place to be, but the young talent aspect takes time to develop. The ASFC is also highly competitive and sometimes has most of the conference in the mix for a playoff spot. One that emerged that most never saw coming. Slothlisberger unleashed his inner beast. He threw for over 5000 yards and 37 touchdowns on the season while also only throwing 9 interceptions. He was the Aaron Rodgers of the ISFL and earned himself a league MVP award (sorry for the Packers reference Sloth). Like Rodgers, Slothlisberger needed a Davante Adams to throw to. Luckily for him he had Barker. Ed Barker had a career season, catching 111 passes for 1753 yards and 13 touchdowns. McCormick was also a huge weapon to throw to, producing 86 catches and over 1000 yards. Even though he is getting deep into regression, he proved a lot of people wrong and put together an awesome season. The only blemish was a slight lack of touchdowns, with Adam Spencer catching 11 himself. Defensively, New Orleans was below average the first half of the season but finished strong in the second half of the season. Speaking of second half of the season, that was what put NOLA in the playoffs. Sitting at 2-5 and then 3-6 just over halfway in the season, it appeared the Second Line were close to earning a top draft pick than a playoff birth. Week 10 against San Jose was the defining moment of the season. Down 21-0 with 2 minutes left in the first half, the game and effectively the whole season appeared to be officially done. A favorable kick return and a couple decent plays helped NOLA get a last second 54-yard field goal to end the first half. Things were still bleak after field goal, as it was a 3-possession game. Slothlisberger and company came out hot, scoring two touchdowns in the 3rd quarter. The defense did their part and held the Sabercats to only three points in the second half, along with quite a few three and outs. NOLA was able to score two more touchdowns, including with just 1:23 left in the game to win 31-24. The team rode this energy throughout the rest of the season winning 6 out of our last 7 games and sneaking into the playoffs. To even be in the playoffs seemed almost impossible just 7 weeks prior, but there we were. A lot of were just happy to be there, but still wanted to put our best foot forward. Two huge road wins over Arizona and Honolulu found us back in the Ultimus. Mason Blaylock had two outstanding playoffs games and showed the league that he still had something left to give. While the season didn’t end very will a big loss to the Sailfish, it was one hell of a ride down the stretch. We were basically in playoff mode for the 10 weeks. Here’s to hoping NOLA has one or two playoff runs in us yet while Mason is still playing.

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[37thchamber]

11) What is it that keeps you interested in the league? Is it your love of dot football, your locker room, a specific job or role you play, or something else? What do you like most about it? What could be improved?

Okay so, anyone who knows me knows that my primary driver in this league has always been that I like to create characters, narratives, stories. Right now, I have connected my characters in multiple sim leagues to the point that I could start my own "Sim League Cinematic Universe" (or SLCU for short) and probably be somewhere close to a max-earner in 4 or 5 leagues just by writing about the interconnecting plots.

It's one thing knowing that I can call upon basically any character I have created in any sim league to play a part in whatever task I want to write for in the ISFL, or just to churn out a piece of media that is essentially a short character piece (no really, look at my past media, most of it will involve some character I have created, and will give you some insight into their personality). This is literally why the wiki exists (you're welcome), because I wanted somewhere to put all these connections I had.

Just working within my own creations? That's fun enough. But when I get to combine with others? Oh man, that's the best. Ask Raven (or any of the OG Hawks dudes) about the Outlaw Killer movies. Or "Sim League League Simulator". Or "Three Dicks" (not the wide receiver, the finance guy). When HENDRIX left unexpectedly, we got it, and so we wrote tongue-in-cheek media tributes (as an aside, I'm glad he's back; I probably wouldn't have stayed past season one if he hadn't taken over the Hawks back then). When one of our guys was found to have incorrect TPE, I rewrote a classic rap track to lampoon the situation. These are little in-jokes that kinda just spiralled into something else out of the locker room because it was just funny. That's why we're here right? To have fun.

With the Yeti now, I'm already joking about a new movie series (The Abominables, because.. Yeti... geddit?) and there are several in-jokes in the locker room that I'm already thinking about making into media pieces ("the other other white meat" is definitely on my list; though that one won't even make sense to my teammates just yet probably). I just need to find the time. But having those kinds of collaborative jokes and narratives to work with is why I'm still here after roughly three and a half years of complaining about this place (lol, no really).

I joined because I'm a nerd who also likes sports. Immediately, I picked up that this league is basically "D&D but make it sports"... I like D&D, I like sports, I like writing. What's not to like? Now break down what D&D really is... it's just collaborative storytelling. So that's what we're doing here. Collaborative storytelling about sports. So I think if I leave, it will be because I no longer feel like I can make collaborative stories with people here, and I've told all the ones I want to. With that in mind... keep facilitating collaborative storytelling. Encourage it, even. There's not really a community if people aren't coming together to enrich the universe we're building here.

12) Write a short biography or story about your player. This could include background about how they came to the ISFL and how they’ve done so far, a story about their role in an exciting game, or anything else related to their experience in the league.

I have in the past made mention of the fact that Raphael Delacour grew up around professional athletes. Being the son of an ISFL Hall of Famer turned sports agent will do that, right? I've also mentioned the story of how young Raphael got into football, but I don't think I ever really went into any detail. So here we go.

Set the scene first. The Delacour family are living in Reisterstown, because if you had ISFL money, majority stakeholder in two multi-million dollar companies money... would you choose to live in East Baltimore? Neither would Antoine Delacour. Sure, he moved there when he signed his rookie deal, to be close to his workplace, The Aviary... but it was never the plan to stay there. Anyway I digress. Young Raphael had grown up in Reisterstown, a pretty nice town not far from the City of Baltimore. He attended a public school, as did both of his older sisters, but until middle school, didn't care much for football. That was dad's thing, and Raphael never thought "yeah I'm gonna do what dad did, but better". Why would he? His dad was in the freaking Hall of Fame. His parents had hoped he'd pick up soccer since it's far less violent and dangerous, but Raph saw that as more of a thing Sophia -- his oldest sister -- did. Their parents focused a lot on getting her into the best soccer teams and so on, but Raphael didn't care for soccer, so he just ran track. It was the only thing he could focus on where he might be able to beat his dad.

In middle school, it was accidental that he ended up doing trials for the football team, really. It started when he went along with his father to The Aviary, and got to meet some of the players on the Hawks team. Growing up a Hawks fan (naturally), he was a huge fan of Errol Maddox, the Hawks' standout receiver at the time. Being the son of a club legend, he actually got to have a short workout with Maddox, throwing a few passes in the direction of the future Wing of Honor inductee and two-time ISFL Wide Receiver of the Year. Maddox, being the nice guy that he is, encouraged young Raphael to take up football, but he still wasn't really convinced. It's understandable, Raphael has never been a big guy, and at the time, was more of a stringy teenager a little below average height. But that exchange definitely sparked something. He began asking his father about the struggles of being a "little dude" in pro ball. To his father's ear, this was only serving to cement the reality that Raphael Delacour was probably never going to follow in his father's footsteps.

The breakthrough came months later. After tagging along with a friend to a training session for the school football team to provide moral support, Raphael started assessing the players on the field. With a little urging from other friends ("you're so fast though dude, you'd probably kill it" and so on) he figured it was worth a shot. Excelling in speed and agility drills, the coach offered him a place on the special teams unit, initially as a gunner. "You're quick enough that you'd be able to hit the returner as soon as the ball drops, son," his coach told him. He said he'd think about it. That night, he spoke to his father about it. Upon hearing that this is exactly how Antoine Delacour's football journey started, Raphael made a decision.

"Coach, I've thought about it," he said the next day. "What if I was the returner?"

In a scrimmage that same day, Raphael returned a punt for 65 yards and a touchdown, and a love affair began. Over the years, he would develop his skills, and refine his aims. Not only was he going to be better than his father, he was going to do it in a position his father was considered "not good enough" to play. Years and years of intense training, specifically focused on overcoming any perceived shortcomings would follow. Now, he's a scrappy, undersized receiver playing out of the slot. He just completed his first 1k yard season. People were (rightly) asking questions up until the start of last season, and he has already done a lot to completely disabuse many of them, picking up Offensive Breakout Player of the Year to mark his first award in year two of his career. That's one thing he's beaten dad at already. It took Antoine six.

[fever95]

TASK 17


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SHL Affiliation

[Skorch]

7) I want to begin by stating that this was an experience that has been like no other for me. I am completely new to sim leagues - honestly was not aware that they even existed. However, when I saw the post on the r/nfl subreddit sometime in the beginning of January, I was quite intrigued to see what this league was about. And I have to say, it has been nothing like I expected. Frankly, it's been even better. I was quite overwhelmed at first. It was a significant amount to take in all at once, plus having to learn my way around the website. However, I picked it up in no time. I had some help from DSFL mentors along the way to get started off on the right foot. Now, I was getting ready for the draft process. I never would have thought that getting scouted could be so fun. It's such a wild ride - and even though I will say that not every conversation I had was quite as personable, most were just some fun, personal conversations. Trying to sell yourself to a team that frankly know next to nothing about you is such a cool experience, even though it was overwhelming at times. I was finally drafted by the Minnesota Grey Ducks, and looking back on it now I absolutely would not have it any other way. I've met so many great people in the Minny locker room, too many to list out here. I just want to convey that the sense of community in that locker room has been like no other discord I have ever been a part of. A big thing that I enjoy about my current locker room at Minny is continuous engagement with a great group of people! I always feel like I could strike up a conversation with my teammates about anything -  whether it be about the league, personal life, or whatever else. As for my player, my stats were quite mediocre to be honest. However, I have no doubt that next season will be better for my player, because for the first 7 weeks or so my player was still developing into the playmaker I know he can be! I was just drafted 8th overall by Yellowknife, and I honestly cannot be anymore excited. Frankly, I did not assume that I would get drafted in the first round, let alone 8th overall! There were so many great prospects in this draft, so it genuinely was an honor to be taken amongst some other amazing users. I'm super excited for what the future holds for Andrew Warthol, and I hope to make my name known very soon!

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10) Andrew Warthol was drafted into the DSFL at the beginning of the S27 season to the Minnesota Gray Ducks. He was taken in the second round, far higher than he was expecting. However, with this added confidence, he was ready to crush the DSFL and prove to the world why he was taken so high. However, this was not exactly how the season went for him. In fact, there were many games where he actually was disappointed in his performance. In total, Warthol only achieved 29 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. However, on only 29 tackles, seven of them were sacks. He was pretty proud of that. But, even with the high sack numbers, these stats weren't at all satisfactory for him. In week one, Warthol got off to an extremely slow start by only recording two tackles in his DSFL debut. After the game, he was frustrated with himself. He did not feel like he was living up to his full potential. And while week two he still feels he did not display how good he could truly be, he still recorded 3 tackles and a fumble - much better than the previous week. Weeks 3, 4, and 5 were defining low-lights for Warthol, however. In these three weeks, he only recorded 4 tackles in total and was completely shut out of week 3, recording no stats. Week 6, however, is when he recorded his first sack. From then on, he stepped up his game. His highlight game was week 9, against the Kansas City Coyotes. He recorded 3 tackles, two of which were tackles for loss, and one was a sack that resulted in a safety. The rest of the weeks were relatively the same for him, getting around 3 tackles and usually a sack. Would he consider this a good season? No, he wouldn't. However, he has began seeing what he can truly do in the DSFL. He started to gain his footing, so there is no doubt in his mind that he can reek havoc next season. He has some specific goals - He wants to be nominated for the Defensive End of the Year of the DSFL next season. While there is certainly some tough competition that he is up against, he surely feels that he is up to the task in accomplishing such an achievement. He knows he is capable of double-digit sacks, he knows he is capable of double digit tackles-for-loss, now it's a matter of leaving it all out on the field and trying his best. Look out for his name next season. You'll be hearing it a lot.  

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