1) Man, S26 was a great and, for a lot of the time, surprising season for the ISFL! I am writing this after the playoffs and championship for the ISFL, so this will be a reflection on the teams that made the playoffs and how they got here and how each team did relative to their own expectations!
I will begin with one of last season's true contenders, the Orange County Otters. The Otters went 9-7 this season which is usually a decent record that should be enough to make the playoffs; however, last season they went 11-5 and were first in the ASFC; by comparison, because they went 9-7 this year, they almost missed the playoffs but clinched the last playoff seed in the conference due to a four-way tie at 9-7. The regression in the team showed in the playoffs as they lost in the first round to my team, the New Orleans Second Line, in a low scoring game that was akin to the "Beast Quake" playoff game as Rotchburns sealed the game away for us through a timely grand run to put the game away against the Otters, ending their season on a sour note and below expectations as a defending champion.
The next team I will reflect upon are the Colorado Yeti. The Yeti, like the Otters, had a very disappointing season as they went 8-8 and barely made the playoffs by claiming the last playoff seed in the NSFC. This is a disappointment because they went 13-3 last season and made it all the way to the Ultimus. The 8-8 record showed in the playoffs as they unfortunately had to play the dominant Wraiths, who I will write about coming up, as they got humiliated and destroyed with a score of 51-6, ending their playoffs before they even began.
The next team up are the Sarasota Sailfish. The Sailfish's record this season was a step back from their last season record of 11-5 as they went 8-8. However, unlike the Yeti, the Sailfish made up the semi-disappointing regular season by going farther than they did last season in the playoffs. They flipped the script on the Chicago Butchers from last season's playoffs and went as far as the conference championship round where they went toe to toe against the dominant Wraiths in a close game before falling 24-22. However, that is a great season for the Sailfish relative to their overall expectations!
The next team up is the team that the Sailfish beat in the playoffs this year, the Chicago Butchers. The Butchers went 10-6 this season after going 8-8 last season and going to the conference championship after upsetting the 11-5 Sailfish. However, this year was a bit of a underwhelming one for the Butchers as the Sailfish got revenge on them this season as they defeated the Butchers handily in this season's playoffs, leading to a disappointing exit.
The next two teams up that I will reflect on are going to be combined: the Austin Silverbacks and the New York Copperheads. The both of these two teams improved massively from last season as they were both expansion teams last season and exceed expectations by going 9-7 and making the playoffs this season. Unfortunately, they both matched up in the playoffs where the Silverbacks blew out the Copperheads 34-15 and went onto the conference championship where they had a massive lead against the New Orleans Second Line a la the Browns-Steelers playoff game last season before losing in OT to the Line after a 14 point comeback by them in the fourth quarter. Still, both these teams should be proud with their developments.
The final two teams that I will write about are the YellowKnife Wraiths and the New Orleans Second Line! Both these teams had great seasons relative to last year where they both went 7-9. The Wraiths went 13-3 this season, while the Second Line went 9-7, leading to them being at the top of their respective conferences. The two teams were top 5 in both offense and defense throughout the season and it showed throughout the playoffs! The Wraiths easily defeated the Yeti and won against the Sailfish in a close game, while the Second Line won against the Otters and emerged victorious in an epic conference championship game against the Silverbacks, leading for the two teams to matchup against each other in the Ultimus. Unfortunately for the Second Line, the Ultimus went like Super Bowl 48 where the Line were the Broncos and the Wraiths were the Seahawks as the Wraiths blewout the Line 49-17, leading to the title for this season.
All in all, this was an interesting season filled with epic games, suspense, and a great playoffs! I hope that this kind of season can happen again with the introduction of the new simulation next season!
I will begin with one of last season's true contenders, the Orange County Otters. The Otters went 9-7 this season which is usually a decent record that should be enough to make the playoffs; however, last season they went 11-5 and were first in the ASFC; by comparison, because they went 9-7 this year, they almost missed the playoffs but clinched the last playoff seed in the conference due to a four-way tie at 9-7. The regression in the team showed in the playoffs as they lost in the first round to my team, the New Orleans Second Line, in a low scoring game that was akin to the "Beast Quake" playoff game as Rotchburns sealed the game away for us through a timely grand run to put the game away against the Otters, ending their season on a sour note and below expectations as a defending champion.
The next team I will reflect upon are the Colorado Yeti. The Yeti, like the Otters, had a very disappointing season as they went 8-8 and barely made the playoffs by claiming the last playoff seed in the NSFC. This is a disappointment because they went 13-3 last season and made it all the way to the Ultimus. The 8-8 record showed in the playoffs as they unfortunately had to play the dominant Wraiths, who I will write about coming up, as they got humiliated and destroyed with a score of 51-6, ending their playoffs before they even began.
The next team up are the Sarasota Sailfish. The Sailfish's record this season was a step back from their last season record of 11-5 as they went 8-8. However, unlike the Yeti, the Sailfish made up the semi-disappointing regular season by going farther than they did last season in the playoffs. They flipped the script on the Chicago Butchers from last season's playoffs and went as far as the conference championship round where they went toe to toe against the dominant Wraiths in a close game before falling 24-22. However, that is a great season for the Sailfish relative to their overall expectations!
The next team up is the team that the Sailfish beat in the playoffs this year, the Chicago Butchers. The Butchers went 10-6 this season after going 8-8 last season and going to the conference championship after upsetting the 11-5 Sailfish. However, this year was a bit of a underwhelming one for the Butchers as the Sailfish got revenge on them this season as they defeated the Butchers handily in this season's playoffs, leading to a disappointing exit.
The next two teams up that I will reflect on are going to be combined: the Austin Silverbacks and the New York Copperheads. The both of these two teams improved massively from last season as they were both expansion teams last season and exceed expectations by going 9-7 and making the playoffs this season. Unfortunately, they both matched up in the playoffs where the Silverbacks blew out the Copperheads 34-15 and went onto the conference championship where they had a massive lead against the New Orleans Second Line a la the Browns-Steelers playoff game last season before losing in OT to the Line after a 14 point comeback by them in the fourth quarter. Still, both these teams should be proud with their developments.
The final two teams that I will write about are the YellowKnife Wraiths and the New Orleans Second Line! Both these teams had great seasons relative to last year where they both went 7-9. The Wraiths went 13-3 this season, while the Second Line went 9-7, leading to them being at the top of their respective conferences. The two teams were top 5 in both offense and defense throughout the season and it showed throughout the playoffs! The Wraiths easily defeated the Yeti and won against the Sailfish in a close game, while the Second Line won against the Otters and emerged victorious in an epic conference championship game against the Silverbacks, leading for the two teams to matchup against each other in the Ultimus. Unfortunately for the Second Line, the Ultimus went like Super Bowl 48 where the Line were the Broncos and the Wraiths were the Seahawks as the Wraiths blewout the Line 49-17, leading to the title for this season.
All in all, this was an interesting season filled with epic games, suspense, and a great playoffs! I hope that this kind of season can happen again with the introduction of the new simulation next season!
