*Mapping ISFL Rivalries

[Mojojojo]

Mapping ISFL Rivalries

First off, I would like to thank everyone who took our ISFL Rivalries survey!

I had great engagement, receiving a total of 92 responses with at least 4 responses from each of the 14 ISFL teams! All results discussed below are based on 90 responses, since one response that wrote “I chose 3 random teams ha” and another that listed the teams with the worst records as rivals saying “Best teams in the league” were eliminated from the dataset for not taking the survey seriously. The final distribution of survey responses by conference and team are shown in the pie charts below, with a total of 48 responses from ASFC teams and 42 responses from NSFC teams recorded.



The survey asked each respondent to specify their team and their team’s top one-to-three rivals from among any of the other teams in the ISFL. The survey was purposeful in not defining what we meant by a “rival,” so respondents were free to rehash age-old beefs from seasons past or to reflect the fresh pain of recent losses. This was also done in order to make the survey accessible to both old and new players in the league, who all have at least some sense of which losses (or wins) cause the greatest ruckus in the locker room.

To aggregate and score the responses, we went with the following numeric coding: rank 1 rival (first) = 4 points, rank 2 rival (second) = 2 points, and rank 3 rival (third) = 1 point. Therefore, if a team is ranked at second twice, that’s equivalent to one first ranking; if a team is ranked at third twice, that’s equivalent to one second ranking. We use this scoring method across respondents within each ISFL team to identify their main rivals. Note that because teams had a different number of responses, the total possible points is different for each team.

We also had an optional, open-ended box that allowed respondents to explain their choices. We have reproduced these responses below to add flavor for the main rivalries. In general, these quotes are word-for-word what the respondents wrote (although some may be edited slightly to maintain anonymity) and *do not* necessarily reflect the opinions of the author. I have also censored any expletives.

So let’s dive in! We’re going to go team by team starting with the ASFC and then moving into the NSFC (teams in alphabetical order within each conference).

ASFC
Arizona Outlaws
(n = 9; 36 total possible points)

1. (6 firsts; 2 seconds) -- 28 points
   
2. (1 first; 3 seconds; 1 third) -- 11 points
   
3. (1 first; 1 second; 2 thirds) -- 8 points
   
4. (1 first) -- 4 points
   
5. (1 second; 1 first) -- 3 points
   
6. (1 second) and (2 thirds) -- 2-way tie at 2 points
   
7. (1 third) -- 1 point
   

So we start off with the Arizona Outlaws who have a strong rivalry going with the Orange County Otters. The start of what will appear as a clear theme in the ASFC (and the league more generally), we see that this rivalry is fueled by OCO’s continued success in the league. The Outlaws also have two additional rivals in the San Jose Sabercats and New Orleans Second Line, but these rivalries score much lower than the top beef with the Otters.

“F*** OCO” (x2)
“Goat Tank”
“Luckiest team in the ISFL and cry foul play whenever they lose.”
"OCO is probably the top rival in the league for a number of NSFC teams, much less an ASFC team who's had a top player leave for them recently, gotten screwed by 2 tiebreakers they participated in, and generally has seen them get richer and richer despite bad drafting.”


F*** SJS


F*** NOLA
“They play the most boring style in the ISFL.”


“I would have put the sim for the number 2 rival but you didn't give that as an option, so I went for ourselves as the closest equivalent."

Austin Copperheads
(n = 7; 28 total possible points)

1. (3 firsts; 2 seconds; 1 third) -- 17 points
   
2. (2 firsts; 2 seconds) -- 12 points
   
3. (2 first; 1 third) -- 9 points
   
4. (1 second; 1 third) -- 3 points
   
5. (1 second), (1 second), and (2 thirds) -- 3-way tie at 2 point
   
6. and (1 third) -- 2-way tie at 1 point
   

Now we move on to the Austin Copperheads, who also cite the same top three rivalries as the Outlaws (above), but with a slightly different ordering. The Copperheads list Orange County Otters as their main rival. However, the New Orleans Second Line is a close second for the Copperheads, who talk about this rivalry having been around for many seasons. The San Jose Sabercats rank in third.

"OCO is the bane of almost every team in the league. I find most of their players to be snaking off weakest teams.”
“Because who doesn’t want to beat OCO every time they play them?”


"NOLA has been our rival for a long time due to the teams both being strong at the same time.”
“NOLA is another one of those teams who look soft on paper, but yet most of their roster can turn on you on a flip of a hat.”
“Because we compete for a lot of the same players, and also because our teams are at a similar level.”


“SJS is the definition of the league’s bottomless hole, as they are the most unlikable team outside of Baltimore. Most of their players are from Minnesota, and they’re the definition of trash."
“The team that we complained the most about when they had success.”


“Cross conference team that is probably one of the most exciting games of the year for us."

Honolulu Hahalua
(n = 5; 20 total possible points)

1. (3 firsts; 1 second) -- 14 points
   
2. (1 first; 1 second; 1 third) -- 7 points
   
3. (2 seconds; 2 thirds) and (1 first; 1 second) -- 2-way tie at 6 points
   
4. (1 third) -- 1 point
   

The only team in the ASFC other than the Otters themselves to not list Orange County in their top rivals, the Honolulu Hahalua instead choose to harbor old expansion grudges. Their top rival remains the out-of-conference Sarasota Sailfish, the other fish-themed expansion team from S22. A few in-conference teams follow the Sailfish, but with much lower rivalry points: Copperheads, Outlaws, and Second Line.

“Sarasota as our fellow fish expansion team from S22”
“F*** em” / “F*** the fish and the furry fish”


“Austin because we duke it out for the same Birddog prospects every season”


“Arizona because of Arizona players seeking out a rivalry”

New Orleans Second Line
(n = 10; 40 total possible points)

1. (10 firsts) -- 40 points
   
2. (5 seconds; 3 thirds) -- 13 points
   
3. (4 seconds; 2 thirds) -- 10 points
   
4. (1 second; 1 third) -- 3 points
   
5. (2 thirds) -- 2 points
   

The New Orleans Second Line join many other teams in the ASFC citing the Orange County Otters as their main rivals. This result is unanimous with all 10 respondents from the Second Line listing the Otters as their first ranked rival. Following the Otters are the San Jose Sabercats and the Austin Copperheads. Historically, there have been some key Ultimus matchups against the out-of-conference Baltimore Hawks, which make an appearance; however, that rivalry appears to be waning.

“OCO has too much success and it makes me jealous.”
“F*** OCO those pretentious f***s” / “F*** OCO”
“OCO has always been super good, and it's frustrating having the sim gods' favorite team in your conference.”
“OCO because they are good but bad”
“OCO is the Patriots of the league and I would be happy if they never win another game.” / “They are the simulation league equivalent of the Patriots.”
“The Soda Bowls are the most stressful games for us. We worry a lot about being able to win. This extends to our AUS games, but we're always preoccupied with whether or not we can outdo the Otters”


“San Jose has been good lately”
“SJS because they are bad but good”
“F*** derpcats”
“It feels like SJS wins on the road way more than they should, which means every game against them is more stressful than it should be.”


“ Austin got pretty good around the time we were good, played a lot of playoff games against them etc.”
“I just don't like AUS.”


"From playing Baltimore in the Ultimus like 4 times in a row. idk maybe outdated"
“BAL because weebs. idk I don’t really hate 3 teams”


“Silverbacks poopoo”

New York Silverbacks
(n = 6; 24 total possible points)

1. (6 firsts) -- 24 points
   
2. (4 seconds) -- 8 points
   
3. (1 second; 1 third) -- 3 points
   
4. (2 thirds) -- 2 points
   
5. and (each 1 third) -- 2-way tie at 1 point
   

One of the two newest franchises added to the league, it is no surprise here that the New York SIlverbacks list their expansion rival, the Berlin Fire Salamanders, as their top-ranked rival. This result is again unanimous among our 6 respondents. Following the Salamanders are the Otters and then the Colorado Yeti. The rivalry with the Yeti also stems from expansion, with critical pieces of the Silverbacks team (GMs and players) having come from Colorado.

“Berlin was the second expansion team. NYS is obviously the first.”
“Berlin is an expansion team and we played them both years. Best expansion team is a title we fight for and so far since New York made the playoffs, we are winning”
“Berlin is a team I choose largely because they were born into this league alongside us, not because of any hatred for the Fire Salamanders.”
“Berlin because expansion” / “Berlin because they suck”
“The other expansion team that came in at the same time as NYS.”


“We have the guys who built OCO on our team: TimeConsumer, BWestfeild, and Trautner are all HOF players who helped make OCO what it is. This year we swept them since they are a has-been franchise on the decline.”
“Orange County is a team we've had a surprising amount of success against, and caused many problems for, which I take pride in.”
“OCO they think they are the best team but got swept by us. EZ PZ”
“The powerhouse of the ISFL in general, always want to beat them.”
“OCO because they suck”


“Have not played them yet but the user rivalry is right here. Our GMs made this franchise and we laugh as the new GMs slowly destroy it, another fun thing will be Caliban and Howitzer will both be S24 QBs”
“GMs used to be there so we got rivalry connection. Ass Clap and Run also played for them"


“Austin has been a challenge for us generally speaking, and the fact we may have helped bump them from the playoffs this season helps create the feel of tension.”
“Austin because they suck”

Orange County Otters
(n = 6; 24 total possible points)

1. (3 firsts; 2 seconds; 1 third) -- 17 points
   
2. (1 first; 3 seconds) -- 10 points
   
3. (1 first; 1 third) -- 5 points
   
4. (1 first) -- 4 points
   
5. (1 second) and (2 thirds) -- 2-way tie at 2 points
   
6. (1 third) -- 1 point
   

And now we come to the Orange County Otters. They don’t list themselves as their main rival (they seem to wear success well), but instead cite the New Orleans Second Line in the top spot as a consistent division contender. Next are the San Jose Sabercats who have knocked the Otters out of back-to-back Ultimus match appearances.

“I always play badly against NOLA”
“NOLA has probably been our most consistent division rival”


"The Sabercats, Copperheads, and Secondline have been the main obstacles, especially in the playoffs, for Otter Ultimus appearances. The Sabercats listed first cause they’ve been pissing me off most recently (back to back playoff losses to them) ?"
“Cali rivalry makes sense”


“The rivalry between OCO and Arizona was one of the first major things in ISFL history. There were genuine attacks made from both sides that had to be resolved by HO and GMs. The two teams actually couldn't stand being in the same server with each other and there were constant clashes on streams, on the forums, and in Discord. Maybe it was due to the age difference as OCO in those days was the oldest team in terms of user ages and Arizona was the youngest by that same measure. But I can name every single one of the most vocal Arizona players, some of which continued harassing the Otters even after they left Arizona, like when Stormblessed went on a week-long smear campaign to accuse OCO of tampering with no evidence. Since then the rivalry has died down. Users left, others simply matured. But the Otters that are left still remember Arizona as the team's sole rival and when we finally took them down in S4 it was a party in the locker room.”
“I like seeing zEagle and Pama unhappy”


“Yeti came back on us in an Ultimus they had no business coming back in”

San Jose Sabercats
(n = 5; 20 total possible points)
(3 firsts; 1 second) -- 14 points
(1 first; 2 seconds) -- 8 points
(1 first; 1 second; 1 third) -- 7 points
(1 second; 3 thirds) -- 5 points
(1 third) -- 1 point

And the final team in the ASFC is the San Jose Sabercats. Again we see the Otters cited as the clear top rival. Here we have the extra layer of tight division competition and the fact that both of these franchises are located in California. The New Orleans Second Line and the Arizona Outlaws come in at a close two and three in the rankings.

“They're in the same state, we play them twice a season, and it feels sweet to sweep them or knock them out of the postseason. On top of that, they were a dominant dynasty and have never missed the postseason. Mirror that with how we were for the first 13 seasons. And even after, we missed for a while.”
“Pretty sure OCO is everyone's top rival in the ASFC. They've just been so good for so long, never missed the playoffs. Helps that we're neighbors with them both being in California.”


"We've swept them for a few seasons in a row despite how good they've been in some of those seasons, and despite how bad we've been in some of those seasons”
“We play them twice a season at least and it's sweet to sweep or eliminate them. They get a lot of sim luck against us, too, and it makes for some tense games, especially at NOLA. They're not in-state and they have also gone down when the wheel turned, so that's why they're not 1.”


“I don't personally feel like this is a rivalry, but it still feels like there's some animosity towards Arizona in our locker room for one reason or another"”
“AZ just seems to have personal beef with SJS LR at least from what I've seen and just gives off that vibe.”


“Beat them as an underdog in the Ultimus twice, I wouldn't say this is a major rivalry, but you know, still feel like it is one”
“This, I would say, is more recent as we faced off in two consecutive Ultimus Bowls. They're good competition, and I'd love to get more good scraps against them in the future. Them being in the other conference, and therefore not guaranteed two games a season against them, puts them below OCO and NOLA."
“Colorado has fallen victim to Chaos season not once but twice in back to back Ultimus'. Heavy underdogs took them down twice in a row and they despise SJS for it.”

NSFC
Baltimore Hawks

1. (n = 5; 20 total possible points)
   
2. (3 firsts; 1 second; 1 first) -- 15 points
   
3. (1 first; 2 seconds) -- 8 points
   
4. (1 first) -- 4 points
   
5. (1 second; 1 third) -- 3 points
   
6. and (1 third) -- 2-way tie at 1 point
   

So the first team alphabetically in the NSFC is the Baltimore Hawks. They have two clear in-conference rivals in the Philadelphia Liberty followed by the Yellowknife Wraiths. From the comments, it’s clear that the Liberty is a historic rivalry, while maybe Yellowknife is an up-and-coming beef.

“BAL and PHI used to constantly play each other in the NSFC championship”
“Philly and Baltimore have been historical rivals in the league. Geographically close in real life definitely adds to the likelihood of the rivalry along with some bad blood between some.”


“Fire Salamanders doesn’t roll off the tongue and is a bit of an awkward name, also heck Jeeroy Lenkins”

Berlin Fire Salamanders
(n = 6; 24 total possible points)

1. (4 firsts; 2 seconds) -- 20 points
   
2. (1 first; 1 second) and (1 first; 2 thirds) -- tie at 6 points
   
3. (1 second; 1 third) -- 3 points
   
4. (1 second), (1 second), and (2 thirds) -- 3-way tie at 2 points
   
5. (1 third) -- 1 point
   

The Berlin Fire Salamanders naturally choose their fellow expansion team, the New York Silverbacks, as their primary rival. Expansion seems to be one of the most common reasons for out-of-conference rivalries (along as historic Ultimus match-ups). There seems to be some disagreement about other rivals for this young franchise, although there may be some brewing competition with the Hawks and the Liberty who are tied for second place, but remain many points behind the Silverbacks.

"Silverbacks because they are our expansion rivals”
“NY as we're expansion buddies” / “NY is our fellow S25 expansion team.”
“NY because we were created the same year. It’s a competition to see who can be the better team quickest; most people will always compare us against each other at least in the short term”


“We have two former Hawks players / GMs. I wouldn’t say it’s heated at all but you have to want to beat the team that you left.”


“Philly because we've been bottom feeders together for the last couple of seasons.”


“Sarasota because we always have interesting games with them.”


“Yeti because this is the closest matchup in-league and there’s always close games that matter for the playoffs”


“CHI because we stole their best players and CC loves Dewalt more than Bayley"

Chicago Butchers
(n = 6; 24 total possible points)

1. (4 firsts; 2 seconds) -- 20 points
   
2. (1 first; 2 seconds; 2 thirds) -- 10 points
   
3. (1 first; 1 third) -- 5 points
   
4. (1 second; 1 third) -- 3 points
   
5. (1 second) -- 2 points
   
6. and (each with 1 third) -- 2-way tie at 1 point
   

We move to the Chicago Butchers, who have two clear in-conference rivals in the Sarasota Sailfish (rank 1) and the Colorado Yeti (rank 2). From the comments it looks like Chicago-Sarasota will be a rivalry to watch in the coming seasons as both vie for further playoff success in the NSFC. 

“Sailfish: Friendly rivalry”
“STINKYFISH! also they have Slate. Gross ”
"I chose Sarasota as #1 because last season the Butchers upset the Sailfish on the road in the playoffs, and this season the Sailfish upset the Butchers on the road, so it’s a back and forth thing in the playoffs that I see likely continuing.”
"Sarasota because this season was the third season in a row that CHI and SAR have met in the first round of the playoffs.”
“We routinely have been fighting with SAR and COL for playoff spots (SAR more so).”


“Yeti: Want to beat them every time”
“The yeti at #3 because they went from the top team to missing the playoffs we swept them this season and it is just two good teams who I think will continue to play each other well."
“COL was good for so long that most of our team (or war room, at the very least) started to get jealous and disliked COL quite a bit.”


“Several CHI players have NTCs to PHI, but that drama predates my time.”
“PHI is the more ‘historic’ rival of CHI. When I got to CHI several seasons ago, PHI was our main rival. Most of our team has/had no trade clauses, but only for PHI. I think that it's died down a bit recently they've been in a downfall, while we've been mostly climbing the standings for the past few seasons."


“I chose the wraiths at #2 because they are the top team this season and swept us and I don’t like being swept. Also we could be the top team in the near future by overcoming the wraiths who hopefully are a one and done.”

Colorado Yeti
(n = 4; 16 total possible points)

1. and (both with 2 firsts) -- 8 points
   
2. (3 seconds) -- 6 points
   
3. (1 second; 2 thirds) -- 4 points
   
4. and (each with 1 third) -- 2-way tie at 1 point
   

We didn’t have as much participation from the Yeti as some other teams, and there’s clearly a lot of mixed opinions here. We get a tie for the top ranked rival between the out-of-conference Sabercats and the in-conference Wraiths. The Sabercats are clearly a rivalry that stems from multiple Ultimus battles (that didn’t often go the Yeti’s way) and the Wraiths are just a consistent threat in the division.

“They upset Colorado in the Ultimus two years in a row.”

vs.
“Sarasota actually maybe more so than YKW recently, but more history with YKW as pretty steadily the top two teams in conference for like 10 seasons now.”


“OCO 3rd mainly just as the other consistent top team in the league during our stretch of success, even though we probably have more reason to consider SJS a rival at this point.”

Philadelphia Liberty
(n = 5; 20 total possible points)

1. (4 firsts; 1 second) -- 18 points
   
2. (1 first; 3 seconds; 1 third) -- 11 points
   
3. (1 second) -- 2 points
   
4. , ,  , and (1 third) -- 4-way tie at 1 point
   

The Philadelphia Liberty are an up-and-coming competitor in the NSFC who have a strong rivalry against the Colorado Yeti. This rivalry has historic roots, but has also come to a head with recent drama surrounding the GM change in the last offseason. There is a strong secondary and historic rivalry with the Hawks, which was reciprocated by Baltimore. This is one of the first mutual rivalries we have come across so far in the NSFC.

"Colorado is an easy number 1. Though maybe not a historic rivalry, our recent history with them has been contentious because of the Soup drama. They may not feel the same about us, but we still feel sour about what happened.”
“SOUP is a coward”
“I chose Colorado for a rival for one simple reason - the Yeti have been one of the best teams in the NSFC for a good while now, and as a team looking to rebuild they're the kind of team we hope to become. Punching up and showing them how much fight we have in Philadelphia is a way to put the league on notice.”
“The Colorado Yeti: lost 32 consecutive games”


“Baltimore is historically a Philly rival. There’s even a wiki page about it. We were also fighting them for draft position this season.”
“Had almost identical records the last few years, basically both trying to claw out of the basement of the NSFC.”

Sarasota Sailfish
(n = 8; 32 total possible points)

1. (8 firsts) -- 32 points
   
2. (5 seconds; 1 third) -- 11 points
   
3. (2 seconds; 1 thirds) -- 5 points
   
4. (4 thirds) -- 4 points
   
5. (1 second) -- 2-points
   

Next up are the Sarasota Sailfish who have a clear top rival in the Colorado Yeti. This is our only unanimous rivalry result in the conference, with all 8 respondents choosing the Yeti as rank 1. From the comments, this rivalry is clearly hot now and has deep roots in the league. Second up are the Chicago Butchers, which is a fairly mutual rivalry. Third are an out-of-conference rivalry with the Honolulu Hahalua, which is a holdover from the S22 league expansion. It’s interesting that in-conference rivalries have grown to overshadow the “fish bowl” (and maybe that means Berlin and New York’s current rivalry might fade as they continue in the league and rack up more heartbreaking losses and incredible wins against in-conference opponents). But as we saw above, the Hahalua still harbor a strong fish-themed team expansion rivalry.

“Heck COL”
"Have consistently been the #2 seed to their #1 seed, making us often face in the playoffs. They usually get the best of us, but this season proved to be the opposite.”
"Colorado as they were the top team the last 3 seasons and we were close to beat them, but fell short two seasons in a row.”
“Colorado has been the top dog in the NSFC. Not so much anymore but definitely prior to this season.”
"Even though Colorado is an awful team now that their dynasty has collapsed, it's still good to win against them because they were the top conference team for so long and we always finished #2 to them.”
“The Yeti are the long of the division and that’s what we want to be. We’ve played them a lot in the playoffs and they beat us a lot. So we hate them”
“Memorable matchups against the Yeti in conference and playoffs since SAR has been in the league. Same logic w/ CHI but on a smaller scale. 3rd spot could have gone to any of the remaining Conference opposition tbh.”


“Chicago as we played them in playoffs three times in a row now, and the last two meetings went by the away team."
“Every single wild card game for the last 3 seasons has been some form of CHI and SAR playing, and to add on that the GMs were hired at the same time”
“Chicago is another team in the conference that's gotten good in the past few seasons as the Sailfish have matured from expansion team into perennial contender. There's been a ton of important regular season and playoff games between us and they're almost always nail biters (see S26 wildcard game)."


“Honolulu as they were introduced to the league in the same season as Sarasota, the fish bowl is real.”
“Expansion same time as us, both fish, have only played once but it's just a natural rivalry."


“Yellowknife because they’re pretty good”


“Hawks because of Chika”

Yellowknife Wraiths
(n = 8; 32 total possible points)

1. (6 firsts; 1 second) -- 26 points
   
2. (1 first; 2 seconds; 2 thirds) -- 10 points
   
3. (3 seconds; 3 thirds) -- 9 points
   
4. (1 first; 1 third) -- 5 points
   
5. and (each with 1 second; 1 third) -- 2-way tie at 3 points
   

Finally we come to the Yellowknife Wraiths, who again list the Colorado Yeti as their number one rival. It is clear that the Yeti’s historic success in the NSFC has made them a top rival for most in their conference. There are two other festering rivalries for the Wraiths in the Sailfish and the Otters. While not as hot as the rivalry with the Yeti, it is clear that the Wraiths are afraid of these teams’ successes and are looking to topple dynasties.

“One of the most successful teams in our conference that are always a thorn in our sides”
"Colorado is someone we've faced off a lot against in the playoffs, especially in S22 and S23. We haven't won every time, but we've managed to get past them on more than one occasion to the Ultimus.”
"There have been some epic battles between Colorado and Yellowknife for conference supremacy in the not-too-distant past, making it the team I think most Wraiths view as a rival.
"Colorado and YK have gone back and forth in this division for years now. While it may not seem like it this season, this has been a great rivalry for sometime.”


“Sarasota because Frost and Teddy are stinky.”
“An upstart team at the top of the NSFC. They've been the team to take the torch from the Yeti for the time being, and they're going to be a threat for years to come.”


“Constantly being good and tough to beat”
“OCO because no one likes their success.”
“A team we've faced several times in the Ultimus but have been unable to conquer. Don't need to say much more than that."
“OCO is everybody's rival, but easily our biggest out-of-conference rival because they have all the postseason success we want >"
“OCO is the ASFC king and therefore YK has butted heads with them many times in the Ultimus or for the best record each season. Funny thing about this rivalry is that their previous management was well loved by almost everyone so you can never hate them but so much.”


“The Outlaws are always a tough game, regardless of who is home/away or how either team is doing that year.”
“We always seem to lose our home games to them which just makes us want to win more against them next time "


“Baltimore hasn't been as strong of a rivalry recently, but I'm old so I remember when they dominated the NSFC as YKW was rising and the Cooter Bigsby vs Cardamom Hamstring duels were great.”
“Baltimore used to be a team that was a big rival of YK, but their recent performance over the past 6 or so seasons has kinda quieted the heat between the two teams. However, losing to Baltimore is still not an option in the YK LR imo."

Overall
Now, I know everyone is dying to know which teams show up the most in heated rivalries and which teams are just sort of there… To determine this, I wanted to make sure that teams that had more responses than others didn’t have undue influence on the results. So I took the rivalry scores computed for each team and divided them by the total number of possible points. In other words, team by team I calculated the proportion of rivalry points allocated to each team in the league. Then I can add up these proportions for a metric that allows me to more fairly rank each team according to how many other teams listed them as rivals. And here is the overall ranking:

1. 4.30
   
2. 3.98
   
3. 2.45
   
4. 2.00
   
5. 1.80
   
6. 1.45
   
7. 1.33
   
8. 1.29
   
9. 1.11
   
10. 1.09
    
11. 1.08
    
12. 1.05
    
13. 0.75
    
14. 0.23
    

So, perhaps unsurprisingly to many, the most hated team in the league is the Orange County Otters, having the most teams score them as top rivals. They are followed closely by the leader of rivalries in the NSFC, the Colorado Yeti, who appeared as lower-ranked rivals for a number of ASFC teams as well. The Sarasota Sailfish sneak in at number 3 overall, likely because their success in being a contender year-in and year-out since their expansion creation in S22 keeps other teams on their toes.

Looking towards the bottom of the list, we see that the Chicago Butchers just don’t seem particularly controversial, with few teams citing them as top rivals (particularly out-of-conference). And the title of “team irrelevant” goes to the Honolulu Hahalua, who only appeared in the rival ranks for two teams: Austin and their expansion rivals the Sailfish.

[bex]

Love this! Absolutely fascinating to see how people are thinking about rivalries.

Also heck OCO

[WildfireMicro]

Pretty interesting article

[platanocat]

Please keep it anonymous that I think Berlin is a terrible team and that NYS will always be better than them.

[Starboy]

Sarasota hates us because of me? Smh...Hate us because they ain’t us

[slate]

FTY

[zaynzk]

Hey NOLA player. I think your PooPoo

[Frostbite]

FTY

[124715]

This is fascinating but the Yeti actually did lose 32 games in a row

[White Cornerback]

arizona pining over OCO like an ex girlfriend