11. The term "FTY" is thrown around so casually and lightly by many around the league these days that it feels that it's lost a lot of meaning to me. As a player on the Sarasota Sailfish who started paying attention to the league around S24-S25, I remember the term as an expression of a rivalry between two great teams at their peak, full of all the respect and jealousy that such a rivalry brings. Although some teams have flirted here and there with serious rivalries with the Sailfish, there is no question that the Colorado Yeti are our oldest, fiercest, and most meaningful rival in the International Simulation Football League.
Expansion teams often find it difficult to build rivalries. The thin roster they start with as a result of the expansion draft and relying heavily on young players means that even well formed expansion teams often get beat up on by their would-be divisional rivals for a few seasons before they start to establish themselves as contenders. By the time they start to have meaningful games or upsets against other teams, it's hard for anyone to hold a grudge.
The Sailfish were an exception to this trend. Thanks largely to an incredible S22 class, the Sailfish started contending for playoff spots extremely quickly, and only a few seasons after their founding they were clearly a top 2 team in the NSFC. Standing in their way of making a solid championship run was the near-dynastic Colorado Yeti, who Woelkers and others had led to a great run of 3 Ultimus appearances between S22 and S25. "FTY" was thus born as a way to vent the frustration of losing yet again to an incredible team to knock us down from top dog status.
Since then, the rivalry has only grown over time. Between awards squabbles over Rookie of the Year, tight divisional races, and heart attack inducing games on the field, the Sailfish and Yeti have kept a strong connection since then. After that S25 peak, I would say the Sailfish have gotten the upper hand more often than not. But no matter how it turns out, it always inspires a lot of emotions when Sarasota and Colorado are involved.
14. The Sarasota Sailfish entered the season with an aging core and what many thought was a solid team which had passed its prime and might drop out of the elite company it had established itself in over the previous seasons. Many of the key players on both offense and defense were fairly far into regression: QB Mike Boss Jr., WR Jackson Kingston, DE Son Goku, LB Heinrich Kackpoo, and S Cuco Clemente were among those for whom regression was felt the hardest. The roster had a few bright spots in a solid S26 group at its peak as well as a few recent standout draftees such as RB John Huntsman.
The Sailfish started out the season appearing to prove correct many of the doubters who thought the Sailfish, holders of the longest active playoff streak in the ISFL, were not destined to make it back to the playoffs. The 0-3 start was felt hard among the locker room, and although the Fishe had bounced back from difficult beginnings to former seasons, an increasingly competitive division with strong performances from the Colorado Yeti, Berlin Fire Salamanders, and the newly ascendant Philadelphia Liberty looked to be a very difficult obstacle to overcome.
However, the team gutted it out over the remainder of the season and was able to piece together a 10-6 record, reeling off an impressive comeback from a miserable start to the season and securing the 3rd seed in the playoffs. The fact that this playoff run was bolstered by a midseason collapse by the Colorado Yeti, our chief rival, was a cherry on top for us.
After successfully maintaining our playoff streak, the team's sights turned to our matchup with the Berlin Fire Salamanders. We had beaten them in both of the regular season matchups between our two teams, holding their ground game in check both times in fairly clear cut victories. However, in the playoffs, Berlin's recent acquisition of RB Jay Cue Jr. appeared to turn the tide, and their offense got out to a hog start with which they cruised on to the conference finals. Unfortunately, Sarasota's playoff run had taken too much out of them to win the biggest game of the season.
Looking ahead to next season, the team has an exciting future. A lot of big callups like DSFL MVP RB Rocky Rhoades, QB Carter Knight, and DT Lennay Kekua are bound to breathe new life into the team. Shifting roles in the team, like Spence taking over WR1 and Petey Patterson moving to safety to make room for Calvin Hobbes at outside corner might be big as well. I fully expect the longest playoff streak in the league to continue strong.
Expansion teams often find it difficult to build rivalries. The thin roster they start with as a result of the expansion draft and relying heavily on young players means that even well formed expansion teams often get beat up on by their would-be divisional rivals for a few seasons before they start to establish themselves as contenders. By the time they start to have meaningful games or upsets against other teams, it's hard for anyone to hold a grudge.
The Sailfish were an exception to this trend. Thanks largely to an incredible S22 class, the Sailfish started contending for playoff spots extremely quickly, and only a few seasons after their founding they were clearly a top 2 team in the NSFC. Standing in their way of making a solid championship run was the near-dynastic Colorado Yeti, who Woelkers and others had led to a great run of 3 Ultimus appearances between S22 and S25. "FTY" was thus born as a way to vent the frustration of losing yet again to an incredible team to knock us down from top dog status.
Since then, the rivalry has only grown over time. Between awards squabbles over Rookie of the Year, tight divisional races, and heart attack inducing games on the field, the Sailfish and Yeti have kept a strong connection since then. After that S25 peak, I would say the Sailfish have gotten the upper hand more often than not. But no matter how it turns out, it always inspires a lot of emotions when Sarasota and Colorado are involved.
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365 words14. The Sarasota Sailfish entered the season with an aging core and what many thought was a solid team which had passed its prime and might drop out of the elite company it had established itself in over the previous seasons. Many of the key players on both offense and defense were fairly far into regression: QB Mike Boss Jr., WR Jackson Kingston, DE Son Goku, LB Heinrich Kackpoo, and S Cuco Clemente were among those for whom regression was felt the hardest. The roster had a few bright spots in a solid S26 group at its peak as well as a few recent standout draftees such as RB John Huntsman.
The Sailfish started out the season appearing to prove correct many of the doubters who thought the Sailfish, holders of the longest active playoff streak in the ISFL, were not destined to make it back to the playoffs. The 0-3 start was felt hard among the locker room, and although the Fishe had bounced back from difficult beginnings to former seasons, an increasingly competitive division with strong performances from the Colorado Yeti, Berlin Fire Salamanders, and the newly ascendant Philadelphia Liberty looked to be a very difficult obstacle to overcome.
However, the team gutted it out over the remainder of the season and was able to piece together a 10-6 record, reeling off an impressive comeback from a miserable start to the season and securing the 3rd seed in the playoffs. The fact that this playoff run was bolstered by a midseason collapse by the Colorado Yeti, our chief rival, was a cherry on top for us.
After successfully maintaining our playoff streak, the team's sights turned to our matchup with the Berlin Fire Salamanders. We had beaten them in both of the regular season matchups between our two teams, holding their ground game in check both times in fairly clear cut victories. However, in the playoffs, Berlin's recent acquisition of RB Jay Cue Jr. appeared to turn the tide, and their offense got out to a hog start with which they cruised on to the conference finals. Unfortunately, Sarasota's playoff run had taken too much out of them to win the biggest game of the season.
Looking ahead to next season, the team has an exciting future. A lot of big callups like DSFL MVP RB Rocky Rhoades, QB Carter Knight, and DT Lennay Kekua are bound to breathe new life into the team. Shifting roles in the team, like Spence taking over WR1 and Petey Patterson moving to safety to make room for Calvin Hobbes at outside corner might be big as well. I fully expect the longest playoff streak in the league to continue strong.
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444 words![[Image: 67893_s.png]](http://signavatar.com/67893_s.png)
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