(S30) Ultimus Week

[TubaMasterFlex]

16. This task is exclusive to recreate/non-recreate rookies of the S31 class and later. The season is over and the draft is coming up. What do you bring to a team, and why should a team choose to take a chance on you next season?

With the Ultimus and Ultimini in the rear-view mirror, it’s time for the best part of the offseason: DRAFT SEASON! And today, in this Ultimus Week prompt response, I’ll be selling ISFL GMs on the S31 rookie, first time create, S30 Safety of the Year finalist Siaosi Multiauaopele (and myself, the user, TubaMasterFlex). Seeing as the draft has already occurred and we’re just waiting on the presentation, this is more to assuage any fears the GMs who drafted may have at this point in the process.

If you need a safety, this is the draft for it; there are plenty of excellent prospects in S31 with teams like Portland doubling up on elite safety play. Here’s what makes Siaosi different from all the other safeties in this draft: FUMBLES. Forced fumbles are highly variable from year to year, but there is something to be said for finishing not just first in your position group but third in the entire DSFL. If you want someone that’s quickly developing into the hardest hittin’ safety in da league, then you want Siaosi Multiauaopele. In terms of a user, you’ll be getting someone who’s engaged with the league, updates weekly and completes their PTs, ACs, trainings, and someone who will be all in from day one for the team. I’m a Python forever and I can’t wait to say that for the ISFL team that drafts me too.

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26. Football is a game that has been going on for a while, loved by fans all over. But what if you were able to make some rule changes? Talk us through your new version of football, and what would be different and why?

Football is a great sport. I’ve been a fan of football since forever. But the worst thing about NFL football is the overtime set up. It’s needlessly complicated while simultaneously being ridiculously unfair; you win on a touchdown on the first possession, but any other result means the other team gets the ball with the next score that puts either team up winning. This setup is just sudden death overtime with extra steps. We’re going to fix this with one easy solution: implementing John Harbaugh’s “Spot-and-Choose” overtime proposal. The team that wins the coin toss chooses where on the field to place the ball, and the team that loses the coin toss gets to choose whether they play offense or defense at that spot. With one simple trick, overtime football has become a series of mind games that allows for a more balanced set of outcomes at the onset of the OT period. Games are no longer won on an OT coin flip. To build onto Coach Harbaugh’s proposal, my OT would last half as long as a standard quarter and ties are banned from existence as they should be in all sports. If no team leads at the end of one OT period, you go again with the Spot-and-Choose with the caveat that the team that lost the initial coin flip now gets to place the ball, and the team that won the initial coin flip gets to decide if they will begin the OT period on offense or defense. With this equitability of outcomes, OT is now balanced without compromising the edge of the seat action that free football provides.

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13. Expansion Expansion Expansion! The league seems to love talking about it, but it has still not happened. Tell us why it should happen / should not happen soon?

Expansion is always a fun topic of debate in any sports league. There have been calls for the NBA to grant Seattle a new Supersonics since they were stolen away in the night to Oklahoma City. Fans are crying out for MLB to expand to renew interest in a league hit hard by a COVID shortened season. So, it stands to reason that expansion would be just as much a hot button topic here in the ISFL.

For a league with the word International in the name, there’s a stunning lack of teams located outside of North America in both the ISFL and DSFL. There are only five international teams among a combined twenty teams between the ISFL and DSFL. Of those five international teams, only three of them are located outside of North America, AND TWO OF THE NON-NA TEAMS ARE IN EUROPE! Hell, the ASFC doesn’t even have an international team. If the ISFL is interested in expansion, this is one element to seize upon: add a team in one of the three continents currently unrepresented by the ISFL. Imagine how much fun a team in Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro would be. Think of how creative you could get with a team based out of Pyongyang, Shanghai, Kyoto, or Hyderabad. A team in Logos, Cairo, or Nairobi would be great representation of an oft underrepresented region.

Ultimately, the question of expansion comes down to whether or not the league has a large enough userbase to support an additional team or two in a new season. Rapid expansion without a plan and base of support is an easy way to stretch the users’ too thin and make the league less fun for everyone involved. Season 32 has approximately 62 members in its draft class; Season 31 has approximately 71 members. Obviously, not every single user that joins the league is gonna stick it out for multiple seasons, nonetheless multiple players. But the two newest classes have a healthy mix of first time creates and recreates that show the league is in a strong and steady place right now. With the right team of dedicated users, from the team’s front office to the players, expansion could be pulled off without a hitch.

The league added it’s two most recent expansion franchises, the New York Silverbacks and the Berlin Fire Salamanders in Season 25. The two teams were facing off against each other for the Ultimus as soon as Season 29. The Silverbacks made a playoff appearance in their second season (S26), and Berlin made their first appearance in Season 28. Berlin and New York showed off how expansion teams could be more than punching bags for their first few seasons. They quickly leaped out to a successful start. Knowing how this has played out, two additional teams could realistically be added to the ISFL without diluting the talent pool or sandbagging for the rest of the league.

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2.5+2.5+5 = 10 TPE

[shadyshoelace]

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14.

This was quite an interesting season for the Baltimore Hawks, who were coming off a stretch of terrible seasons following organizational discontent that led to a total rebuild of the team from the ground up. The team has done a great job drafting great users and players over the past few seasons and looks to be on the come up, but expectations for the season thirty campaign were mixed, with some analysts still down on the Hawks' low TPE totals and anticipating another weak season, while others expected the team to turn a corner with continued growth from a slew of up and coming prospects on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The team got off to a hotter than expected start at the outset of the season, winning its first game against the Honolulu Hahalua and then taking home victories in two of the next four contests, including two impressive road wins over divisional foes in the Chicago Butchers and Philadelphia Liberty. However, the Baltimore faithful's newfound optimism would soon be shown to be misplaced, as the team would fall to a .500 record by week eight. Two of the team's four wins to this point were by one score, while all but one of their losses were in multiple score blowouts. Not the most exciting proposition, but hey - a win is a win. After this, though, the wheels would really begin to fall off in the Charm City, as the team would embark on an eight game losing streak to finish out the season, resulting in yet another last place finish and yet another first overall pick. While this may seem demoralizing to outside observers, you may be surprised to hear that spirits have never been higher in the complex, with constant chatter and comraderie among the players and management, who are still bought into the long term viability of the team even though this season did not reflect the growth some hoped to see. Quarterback Gimmy Jaroppolo Jr was a bright spot at the most important position on the field, finishing his rookie season with rankings in the top half the league in major efficiency metrics like completion percentage and passer rating, a great season for a first year passer the sets him up nicely for a rookie of the year award bid. The future remains bright in Baltimore, and the league can expect to see the team undergoing a meteoric rise in the coming years and ultimately ascend to the highest echelons of the league.

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21.

With the sim change from Draft Day Sports Pro Football 16 to DDSPF 21, the league has seen some interesting changes in terms of both on-field and off-field results. Firstly, as a former General Manager who spent countless hours conducting sim tests to achieve the optimal win rate each and every week (and ultimately burned out and retired for exactly that reason), it is interesting for me to hear from many GMs that sim testing is no more due to the difficult and complicated interface. I am slightly jealous, but also curious what impact this has on GMs' abilities to gain competitive advantages over others. I also look to the ways in which certain positions have been impacted, which overall seems negative to me. Many defensive positions, from the line to safeties and even some linebackers, are complaining about the newly reduced stats they're seeing in the new sim. Cornerbacks get many more stats, which is good for a traditionally unheralded position, but I'm not sure trading three or more positions for one is a good move. On the offensive side, quarterbacks and wide receivers have benefited from a passing revolution that is putting up some of the highest numbers in league history, which I view as a negative. I've heard people say that no one wants to make any position other than wideout, which certainly isn't a good thing for the league overall. As a running back I've seen many of my contemporaries suffer compared to the ease of playing RB in the old sim, but as a receiving back I can't complain too much.

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22.

As the new czar in charge of Ultimus entertainment, I think there are some big changes to be made to the halftime show off the biggest game, starting with the fact that the act should not be a massive, superstar musical performer. This event is about the football players, dammit, who have worked their little butts off to reach the highest pinnacle of the game and they deserve to not be upstaged by folks who don't risk life and limb for glory each day. Instead, I would add a new direction to the festivities: close-up magic. You might be thinking, shady, why would you recommend close up magic for a show where nobody is close up? They're all so far away! To which I would say, exactly. These magic dweebs need to know that they aren't the star of the show. Their paltry tricks (sorry, illusions don't hold a candle to the blood, sweat, and tears put in by the members of the football teams. Also, jumbotrons exist. C'mon, the actual football game is also pretty small to the naked eye. Also, maybe to round out the show we can add in some animal performers, people love animals who do cute things. Probably dogs because they rock.

[Mojojojo]

Tier 3 Written/Graphics Tasks
4 x 2.5 TPE each

15. Going to Disneyland! Who was the Ultimus Game MVP? Give us a rundown of their celebratory trip to Disneyland. (Can be completed after the Ultimus game)



20. Make a scouting report for any of the ISFL or DSFL draftees. Show their stats, abilities, TPE, or highlights. Written or graphic option available.



23. Create a billboard, magazine cover, unique trading card, or video game cover depicting a one of the league's stars.

[MrStennett]

18. If I chose the ultimate team player on the Outlaws, I would have to go with running back Deadly Memes. He's been one of those guys, even going back to our time together on the London Royals, who was willing to do whatever he had to if it would help the team win. Since he arrived in Arizona, that team first mentality has really come to the forefront though. He has taken a backseat for basically his entire career with the Outlaws to future Hall of Famer Tatsu Nakamura, and willingly so. Not only that, this is all after considering that he changed positions when he first arrived. He was originally a wide receiver, but switched to running back because of Arizona's glut at the former position. Now it's true that Memes had a wonderful season this year, as the team had a more balanced approach considering their two backs, but this is the payoff to being patient and a hard worker for a LONG time before this. Essentially his entire career has been playing second fiddle and he has never once complained about the role. He just goes out game after game and contributes where he can. This is what makes Deadly Memes the ultimate team player.

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27. I feel like if there was any team that I could not necessarily rebrand, but let's say "freshen up", it would be the Philadelphia Liberty. I like the idea behind the branding, but I'm just not a huge fan of the execution of the logo. I mean, first off, if you're going for the patriotic angle, your colors should be red, white, and blue, right? Maybe I'm nuts for thinking this, but I would lean towards like New England Patriots colors, except maybe work in the gold instead of silver. Anyways, that logo needs some kind of adjustment. Like, I know that Liberty refers to the famed Liberty Bell, but it seems kind of lazy to me to just have the bell be the logo. Plus, I've seen the liberty bell in person, and even for a history nerd like me, it's just kind of like a meh experience. Go and wait in this super long line for an hour to see a broken bell. Besides, they claim that the crack is "iconic", but I think it's more that Philadelphians are lazy. The bell was cracked and fixed before years ago, but when it cracked the second time, they were just like "Screw it! Let's put it on display!" Anyways, please Philadelphia Liberty: do something about your branding.

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28. This is going to be my one plug for myself as an award candidate: I believe wholeheartedly that my player, Charlemagne Cortez, should win the Most Valuable Player award this season. I'll give you the statistical argument first. Just looking at what Cortez has accomplished this season is eye popping. He's had an incredible season for the highest scoring offense in league history. He had the fourth best season ever as far as completion percentage, and tied for sixth all-time with touchdown passes, leading to him having the single best quarterback rating to end a season in ISFL history. This broken record wasn't even particularly close. Franklin Armstrong's QB rating of 109.3 had stood since he achieved it over ten seasons ago, but Cortez flew past it by four points, finishing with a otherworldly 113.1. Now, if you're talking about just going beyond straight numbers, he led the Outlaws to a record breaking offensive season, aided along by former MVP, RB Tatsu Nakamura, and new #1 wide receiver Darren Pama. The entire team fired on all cylinders for basically the whole season, and any football person knows that often begins and ends with solid quarterback play. Hopefully, the voters get this one right and recognize the pure brilliance that Cortez managed to spin this year.

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32. PBE PT Affiliation

[dogwoodmaple]

17. When it comes to new additions to our stadium, I think there is a clear best option moving forward - a zoo.  But I'm not just talking about a measly little zoo with bad habitats that doesn't take care of the animals. I'm talking about a multi-billion dollar complete habitat right here at the stadium. Obviously the star of the show would be our primates.  Whether it's silverback gorillas, orangutans, or chimpanzees, we will have it all.  But let's be clear - this isn't an operation where we go out and purchase gorillas.  This would be a conservation effort and all of our exhibits would be populated by those animals who could not return to the wild in their current state.  We'd give them a state of the art habitat, provide the local population with tons of learning opportunities, and help raise money to stop poaching and other illegal activities in these animals' home countries.  What better place to take your kid on a Sunday night than a dual trip to the Silverbacks game and to a fully accredited zoo that truly cares about its animals?  Between the money spent at the zoo, the matching donations that each player will make, and the percent of every transaction in our stadium, we will be able to raise tens of millions of dollars for not just this zoo, but for conservation efforts all over the world.
(232 words)

29. There's no doubt that the awards, awards team, and entire process has been wrought with controversy for years.  Whether it's the nominees, the voting system, or simply the members of the awards committee, it seems like there is always discussion going on in the league about how to fix this constantly troubling situation. Fortunately, I have an idea that I think will help tremendously.  First, I think the people as a whole need more power.  We're the heart of the league and without us, this place doesn't exist.  So to that end, I think the final vote for each award should be an open, fully democratic ballot where each user can vote for every award.  To narrow the nominees list down before that, the award committee would come up with their list of names.  The thought being that they are more well-versed in the general goings-on in the league and would be a better gatekeeper, as it were, to narrow down the options to a reasonable few.  Then, a ballot is announced and everyone gets to vote by an announced deadline.  This way, the controversy aimed at the committee would solely be for the nominees and not the winners themselves.  If someone has a problem with who won, blame it on the other dozens of users who voted for that person. I think it would add a fresh take to the league, rejuvenate trust in the awards themselves, and it could even be used as a TPE opportunity for us!
(250 words)

31. I think the WFC was a fantastic idea and I have really enjoyed the roll out thus far this season.  Let's be honest - sometimes, sim leagues can get to be a drudge and the day to day operations can become stale. Whether you're stuck in the quagmire of a bad season, not putting up the stats you want, or frankly just don't have the energy to do point tasks or earn money, it is nice to have a break at times.  Especially because if your player or team doesn't have a ton of immediate success, it's not that big of a deal at all in WFC. It's also been fun to be in a locker room with some folks who I don't normally have a chance to interact with.  The best part of all the sim leagues is definitely the community, so getting to know more people is one of the biggest plusses I can think of.  I hope my enjoyment of the WFC so far hasn't just been because it's new, bright, and shiny, and that I continue to enjoy it down the road.  No matter what form it ultimately takes, I think it has checked all the boxes so far when it comes to being fun, competitive, and at times a much needed break from ISFL.  I definitely could not recommend it enough to new users and I'm so grateful for the leadership for making this a reality for us. Team Southeast 'til I die!
(247 words)

32. Affiliate PT (SHL)

[JBLAZE_THE_BOSS]

TASK 15:
Disneyland, the place where dreams are made of. Especially for Ultimus MVP Mike Boss Jr. This football God was crowned champion for the second time in his memorable career, and celebrated at Disneyland accordingly. The park put together a celebratory parade for Boss Jr and his teammates’ accomplishments down Mainstreet USA while there were bouquets of green and blue roses thrown upon Boss Jr. at every turn. He eventually took to a podium once the parade was over. To his left, Donald Duck, to his right – Mickey Mouse. With this entourage of sex appeal, there was no way that Boss Jr could say anything that the crowd would not eat up and enjoy. Boss Jr gave credit to his teammates, coaching staff, and of course himself for the Sailfish’s big Ultimus victory this season. Boss Jr was named MVP of the game after a historic performance against an Arizona Outlaws team that had aspirations of beginning a dynasty of their own. The veteran QB threw for 3 TD on 254 yards passing with a completion percentage over 66. Boss Jr. invited everyone at the end of his speech to join him at the Haunted Mansion for some “special brownies and a smoke machine powered by my lungs”. The team did not have any comment. [214 words]

TASK 22

The Ultimus Halftime Show is perhaps the most coveted concert performance of the year every single time it happens. The ISFL puts on a grand spectacle for their penultimate game, and the Halftime Show should hold nothing back. Artists who are given this honor always try and one-up each other. Whether it’s a surprise cameo appearance or an incredible stunt (Remember Steve-O at Ultimus 14 jumping off the top of the stadium?) Years ago, people were shocked when a hologram of Tupac Shakur was used for a segment at Coachella. I want to take this idea and go further. Nothing gets a stadium more fired up than some rock n’ roll music. I’m bringing to the table a hologram version of Jimi Hendrix. He’s going to lead off the show and people are going to be shocked. That is, until he is joined on stage by a hologram version of John Lennon and George Harrison. Harrison and Hendrix go back and forth in a guitar playing contest that goes on for a few minutes. The crowd is losing their mind. This is where I give them the swerve. I introduce hologram Jeffrey Dahmer to the celebration, when in a swift yet disturbing fashion it bites the neck of the other 3 holograms like a demonic vampire and feasts on their corpses until we fade to commercial. [226 words]


TASK 23


TASK 32
PBE PT

[furiousPanda]

13. Expansion, expansion and expansion! This is a hot button topic to talk about in the league. Every player, user and admin talks about it whether it is on discord or on the forums. This is highly debated since a lot of users want to play positions that are not available in the International Simulation Football League. There are many pros and cons to expanding in the league. I do not want to state my opinion without some facts laid out first. And I will let you know later dear reader.

First, it is the amount of positions open. For example, there are only fourteen quarterback and kicker positions left. But quarterbacks are carefully selected by the team  and they usually stay on their respective teams until retirement.  If the league gets a huge amount of recruits, say 200 again. If 10% of the players wanted to play one position, that means not a lot of quarterback positions are open. They could be asked to switch but that is not fun, especially if you had your heart set out on it. With a lot of not open positions this could really make new users disinterested in the league.

Secondly, this rests on the recruitment class ultimately. The last two r/NFL classes did not do so well. In my opinion, this is usually the lifeline of the league. Another way the league recruits is through other reddit subs and so far, the league has not been able to crack a consistent recruitment class. I should know, because I was the former head of the recruitment team. Subs on Reddit are super unreliable. I have been approved and then had my post taken down on multiple occasions. It is a difficult task to keep up, especially with sub mods going on power trips.

Lastly, I dislike how the expansion teams are being picked. Now, I may be a little biased because last time I applied to be a general manager of an expansion team. It is a super secret vote held by the league office, where we do not know what goes on behind closed doors. I did not like how they did not make this public and felt like great people with great ideas have been passed over to people who are in the “in” crowd. I feel like new blood would have been great for the league.

So, in conclusion, I do not think expansion should happen. Interest in the league doesn’t stay high enough and recruitment classes have not been improved. Also, it is demoralizing for new inspiring users to make it as an expansion general manager.

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22. Bex once again charged me with the Ultimus halftime show. Last time I was in charge I had all the pop and rock stars banging. Plus, I had fireworks with fighter jets. So once again, I have to come up with something banging. This time, I will start out with an armada of fighter jets. I’ll need about 50 and hopefully the United States government lends them to us. We will have them just flying around the stadium making a bunch of noise to hype the crowd up. Bring everything, F-16s, F-14s and F-22s. This will get the crowd cheering. Next, I want fireworks again, circling the stadium. This will be a grand finale type of fireworks. I want people to be blind from the amount of light that will be produced. Once everyone gets their eyesight back, I would start out with Taylor Swift playing a few songs for Bayley. Next, up on the line up would be 50 cent singing some early 2000s rap songs, with 50 spraying everyone with liquor. After they finish the final song to get the crowd hyped and in the center, I bring back Psy for some sweet sweet,  “Gangnam Style”. This will end with more fireworks that are red, white and blue to represent AMERICA!

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25. There are many positions in football and some get filled out quicker than others. But one position that gets filled in pretty quickly is the quarterback position. There can only be one starter on the team. So if I were to create a new player from scratch and not be able to play quarterback, it would be a tough choice. In the user's previous life, he did play on the defensive side of the ball as a hard core linebacker. He was pretty amazing and I miss playing him. If I had to recreate my third player, and could not play quarterback. I would choose the kicker position. It is a great position to play. Not a lot of pressure to gain tpe or to check in all the time. It does not take a lot of time to get a maxed out kicker. Which would be ideal for a lazy user like myself. On the downside, there is pressure to perform. If your kicker misses a kick, even an extra point, this can cause the team to lose. Another downside of this is that there are not as many positions open, just like a quarterback. Plus, I think kicking the ball through the uprights is the sweetest thing. It takes a ton of energy, skill and power.

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[MobiausGrander]

1) Another season, another wild and crazy season of ISFL football has taken place! As I am writing this, Season 30 has just concluded and there were a couple of surprises that were in store this season. Let's start off with the season review with analysis of the teams that made the playoffs and a playoff results review in the end.

The first team that I am going to talk about are the often-talked about (and sometimes mocked) Arizona Outlaws. In season 30, the Outlaws outdid themselves this season. Not only did the Outlaws obtain another dominant regular season but they did so in grandiose style going 14-2 and clinching the 1 seed in another wild season in the ASFC. This outcome, while the most predicted and expected outcome, was somewhat unexpected the Outlaws were by fair the best team in the league as they scored over 500 points and allowed less than 300 total points, illustrating how dominant of a season the Outlaws produced.

The second team that I am going to talk about are the New York Silverbacks. The Silverbacks last season have finally captured their first Ultimus last season and look to defend their title. In this regular season, the Silverbacks went a respectable 11-5 and capturing the 2nd seed in the ASFC; however, their PD was pretty skewed and not reflective of how strong of a team they are as they scored the fourth most points but allowed the eighth most points all season, a bad omen in their quest to defend their title.

The third team that I am going to talk about are the Berlin Fire Salamanders. The Salamanders, much like their expansion brothers in the Silverbacks, have also been noted to have quickly risen to the level of contender as noted these past few seasons with how competitive they have been like the Silverbacks as well. In addition, they are coming off of an Ultimus appearance against the Silverbacks where they were defeated handily. The Salamanders this season, however, underachieved a 9-7 record and feel to the 3 seed in the NSFC, an unexpected outcome in the minds of most fans and analysts as they were largely expected to compete for the Ultimus again alongside the Outlaws. The Salamanders were 5th in points scored and 3rd in points allowed, underscoring that they were underperforming this season as they should have had a better record a

The fourth team that I am going to talk about are also often-talked about Sarasota Sailfish. The Sailfish have still been largely competitive even after their Ultimus victory a few seasons ago. This season was nothing different and more of the same. The Sailfish went 11-5 this season and clinched the 1 seed in the NSFC; this has been underscored with the fact that the Sailfish have scored the 2nd most points in the league this season and have allowed the 4rd fewest points this season, leading many to believe that the Sailfish could be a darkhorse contender to win the Ultimus.

The fifth team that I am going to talk about are the Yellowknife Wraiths. The Wraiths have been always counted on to always be a hyper competitive team. However, last season, while the Yeti went 10-6, they missed out on the playoffs for the first time in a while. However, this season, the Wraiths have proved that last season was nothing more than a fluke as they went 10-6 but have clinched the 2 seed in the NSFC. They were 3rd in points scored and tied for the 3rd fewest points allowed, helping to show how well the Wraiths have bounced back this season.

The final team that I will discuss is the Austin Copperheads. In S29, despite coming off of a great season and playoff run, the Copperheads had a fluky and random disastrous 5-11 season out of nowhere despite none of the talent on the team falling off or no locker room conflict. Well, this season they proved that last season was a fluke as they went 11-5 and make the playoffs in emphatic fashion. In terms of point differential, the Copperheads were 6th in points scored and 5th in points allowed, helping for the team to bounce back and clinch a playoff spot amidst a changing league.

Now that I have discussed each playoff team's season, I will briefly discussed how the playoffs shaped up. In the ASFC wildcard, the Silverbacks went up against the Copperheads. The game was wildly entertaining and went back and forth for about one quarter at most; the Silverbacks managed to go on a scoring run to take a massive lead at halftime, shutting out any chance for the Copperheads to even mount a comeback, leading to a rout to the score of 47-24. The Silverbacks would advance to the ASFC Championship to face the Outlaws in a rematch. Unlike last season, however, this ASFC championship was no where even close. The Outlaws got extreme revenge on the Silverbacks for last season's championship and shut out the Silverbacks to a resounding score of 33-0, advancing the Outlaws to the expected Ultimus appearance. On the NSFC side of things, the NSFC wildcard pitted the Salamanders vs the Wraiths. In a game that was largely expected to be competitive, the Salamanders decisively defeated the Wraiths on route to the NSFC Championship. There, the Sailfish would face off against the Salamanders in a rematch. In a close game, the Sailfish would avenge themselves for last championship's punt debacle by closing out the game against the Salamanders, leading to an Ultimus matchup against the Outlaws. Unfortunately for the Outlaws, the Sailfish's godlike defense completely shut  down and made the Outlaw offense impotent, leading the Sailfish to their second title in 5 seasons!

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[mango8154]

21)
Well first of all I must say my only experience with the old sim was the S26 ultimmus and ultimini game as that is when I joined the league, so I may be very biased to one over the other, but here we go. First of all, now we have stadium sounds instead of free use music, this makes a better viewing as I much prefer the stadium sounds that give the slight hint of realism. Next I also much prefer that all of the plays are shown and aren't skipped if no moving up the pitch happens like they did in the old sim, this makes everything much more comprehensible and makes for a much better overall viewing. Another thing is that I much prefer viewing the whole field than having the scrolling field like the old version, it allows a much bigger comprehensible view at a glance and I don’t have to focus 100% to know what is happening. Another thing I prefer is that they give a split second before the play starts, this separates the plays so you can tell what is happening and makes the viewing experience much more enjoyable. The graphics also look much slicker and allows my eyes to view the sim for longer. I know some players want more stats and less of the field but I think it is fine as it is, my one issue is that sometimes some images like logos are to big or are out of line.

24)

I would create a really quacking squad, a team of friends who would, I believe, light up the league (presuming there was no salary cap), my qb 1 would be Jackie Daytona and my qb 2 would be int machine Ryan Negs, I have had the pleasure to play with both of these players, Daytona is just fantastic and Negs is my meme machine, mr int man himself but I would no want to have anyone else. My rb 1 would be Madison Hayes and rb 2 would be Zoe Watts, Watts is just really good and Hayes led us to a DSFL championship and was probably the best player in the league during that run. My wr’s would be Videl, Sam the onion man and Mason Malone. I have played with all three and they are all fantastic, Malone being a particular highlight. My Te would be Lewondoski, cause I like him. In defence I would bring the bois back together, me, Bender Rodriguez, Tim Soulja and Anton Bruckner, we come as a group and I would not dare omit these bois. I would also take Xavier Walls as he is amazing and would be truly goated with this team. I would also like Brach Thomaslacher as he is a sack machine.

29)

Well for one I would open up the awards to a bigger voting pool, bring in the players vote is important as it makes the players feel like they are seeing players being rewarded for what they deserve, of course this would make it a popularity contest but at the moment the majority of the player base has no knowledge on what is going on in the voting process, being able to contribute to the awards is a start to making the voting process more transparent, another thing I think could be improved is making voters take a deeper dive, specifically for awards like GM(s) of the year, when we won the ultimini with the team our GM’s built and yet they did not win it, they promoted a positive environment and made the team successful, i’m not saying that they should of won i’m just saying I don’t understand why they didn’t win, I think for awards like this people from teams should be interviewed to get a better idea on how the GM’s have done an a explanation on why who won the award and why it wasn’t give to other GM’s, I know this would be difficult but it would make the community a more calm place when the awards come out.

30)

To be honest, I had no idea this existed, so firstly a players association would have to get some coverage from the league so new players can easily know what it is, who is involved and how the association can help players so players know what to bring to the association and what to not to. A players association would greatly help communication between head office and the player base at large, at the moment I know the relationship between head office and the players aren't great, the players don’t like or trust the head office and a for sure way to improve relations between the to factions, the ability for players to influence the league and the direction the league is going in would greatly help improve the animosity that the players have towards the head office. It would also help in improving the league in general as a small group of people such has head office might not understand the view of the majority of players, allowing the players to vote would show head office what the players wants and they can infer what direction to take the league in going forward so head office can show they understand the players, improving relations more.

[j00]

10. 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.

This is a little known fact, but Juno Hu sent his parents on a vacation to China about three years ago, which should go without saying is an absolutely terrible idea. It was originally supposed to be a two week stay, but Juno's parents stayed past their scheduled time, and started asking for more and more money. It became apparent that they were being held ransom by the Chinese government, who are aware of how much monetary success Juno has had, and wants a piece of the pie. Juno's parents lost contact, and after a while, only video clips of his parents were being sent to Juno, with their mental conditions noticeably worsening over time. So, Juno has spent the last few years trying to fulfill the ransom request, but to no avail. Sadly, after paying over a couple million dollars in E-Thereum, the last time he has heard from his parents was at the start of the most recent season. This has been essentially the main reason for Juno's heavy drug abusing habits the past three years. So for those of you who have been making fun of Juno's performance over the past three seasons, well, shame on you all. You never know what someone is going through. As of the past few months, Juno is still mentally dealing with severe grief, and thinks that his parents are no longer alive. On the bright side, he has been able to stop making payments. However, he fears that the reach of the Chinese government is extending across the Pacific Ocean, and that there will be more interference with his business, and/or more collectors will be coming.

Breaking news just came in. Juno Hu was able to confirm that his parents are deceased. He is to make one final $5 million payment in E-Thereum to the Chinese government, who will then return the bodies of his parents to him. Juno Hu has filed for bankrupcy following this exchange, and is looking to be able to start a new chapter in his life, hopefully with a lucrative new contract. It's been a rough few years, but Juno is looking to get his mind off of things and be able to focus on football once again. Training camp is coming up quick! Will Juno persevere in the face of such hardship, or will he lose focus halfway through the season and disappoint his fans yet again?

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11. Write about your team’s biggest rivalry and what makes it so fierce. Is the competition founded in statistics and the team’s recent performance, or is it a rivalry that developed over time during the team’s history that would exist regardless of statistics?

Apparently the biggest rivals of the San Jose Sabercats is the Orange County Otters, but due to our performance the past few seasons, I'm not sure how fierce the rivalry is. But as a player, my rivalry has always been with others in my fellow draft class, most notably Anton Bruckner. I mean, it is truly some bullshit that he was able to position change from offensive line to cornerback, like are you kidding me? You mean to tell me that this man used to weigh 280+ lbs in college, and then lost 1/3 of that within a summer, and there have been no investigations into how he got it done? It's so obvious that he had been making use of very illicit performance enhancing drugs to be able to achieve such a feat. Not to mention the other members of our draft class have also started to play cornerback, such as Tim Soulja, Chunt the Badger, and Raeni Clarke. Why, couldn't handle the pressure of playing quarterback, Raeni? Well guess what, cornerbackin' ain't easy, neither!

But aside from that, I am kinda ignorant of the various rivalries that might exist. Honestly, team rivalries have never made sense to me, considering how quickly team rosters change over time. Player rivalries, I totally get, but when a team undergoes a complete makeover like the Baltimore Hawks, I feel like the rivalries kinda die with them, no? I mean, most of the rivalry angst seems to be fan driven rather than anything presented by players or the league. Remember how Oakland and San Francisco had teams in the NFL, and the fans would murder each other over preseason games? Total insanity, I tell ya, and I doubt the players even cared. I mean, the players come from all over the world, and, in my experience as a player in the ISFL, many of us are friends despite being on different teams, and some of us are enemies even if we're on the same team.

Anyways, I just think rivalries are made up so that fans will burn jerseys or whatever and then more jerseys are sold. I have a better idea for selling jerseys. What if the players were forced to change numbers every single season? So then the fans are forced to buy new jerseys every season. That's probably a terrible idea. I didn't go to marketing school, alright? Don't hate.