(S32) Ultimus Week

[Daybe]

6. Write 600 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 600 words about your team’s participation on a Werewolf server or something.

Today I am going to talk about Jackson Kingston's latest pursuits in the International Simulation Football League. Entering season thirty three, it is primed to be the eleventh season of Kingston's illustrious career as a wide receiver so far. Over the years, he has played for his fair share of football teams, first entering the Developmental Simulation Football League in season twenty two with the Tijuana Luchadores. Then, he was drafted in the league in season twenty three by the Colorado Yeti. Playing there for two seasons, he eventually made his way to the New York Silverbacks via the expansion draft, where he played for five seasons, before eventually signing a free agent contract with the Sarasota Sailfish.

Kingston's days in the league are slowly winding down, as Kingston can only feasibly play in the league for three more seasons including the upcoming one, due to regression rules. It is during these seasons where he will assume a smaller role in the offense - due to his age, he cannot bear the full load of being a primary wide receiver in an effective offense. Thus, this upcoming season, for the first time since his days in Colorado, Kingston will be lining up as the second wide receiver in an offense.

Kingston had a remarkable run of eight seasons as the primary wide receiver between the New York Silverbacks and the Sarasota Sailfish. Through his consistency from season to season, he was able to attain at least 1,200 yards in each of the past eight seasons, racking up tons of catches and touchdowns along the way. As it currently stands, Kingston has 866 career receptions (ranking him 5th all-time), 12,461 yards (5th), and 77 touchdowns (8th). Being in the top 5 of career stats puts him up there with elite company, but Kingston feels that his climb of the career leaderboards, and his chase of greatness, is not over yet. His ultimate career goal has always been to capture the #1 spot all-time on the career receiving leaderboards, and finally the record seems to be in reach.

The current record is held by recent retiree and former teammate, William Lim, who has 14,692 career receiving yards, which puts him 2,231 yards ahead of Kingston's total. So in other words, Kingston has three seasons remaining in order to obtain 2,232 yards to hold the new receiving record. Although Kingston will not be able to maintain his previous receiving yardage pace, he doesn't need to - he just needs to do enough. If Kingston was able to set the career receiving yard record, it would surely be the final stamp on what appears to be a Hall of Fame career as it stands right now.

Kingston has more than stats to show for his time in the league, though. He has accomplished quite a lot in his time in the league, including the following:

x2 Ultimus Champion
x5 Pro Bowl
x1 Returner of the Year
x1 Breakout Player of the Year

with Kingston likely securing another pro bowl for his efforts in the season 32 campaign while also being in contention for the returner of the year award.

While it seems Kingston will never secure the Wide Receiver of the Year award that has eluded him his whole career, he has no regrets with how everything has gone down so far, as there is only so much he can control. At the end of the day, Kingston can be satisfied with the high level of performance he has maintained through the entirety of his career, as he even posted his most successful receiving season of his career just this past season, while being three seasons deep in regression. This is what separates Kingston from his peers: the ability to sustain high level performance for such a long time.