(S31) Ultimus Week

[slothfacekilla]

31. Affliate PT from either SHL/PBE/WSBL. The Weeks must match with the timeframe of this UW. And you may only use a max of 1.

WSBL PT

[Big_Papi]

8. With awards season upon us, make up an award for your player win for something not on the football field?

If ever there were an award for fastest eater or some type of eating contest, it’s almost a given that Bill de La T. Dauterive will win the award. Bill’s eating abilities have been well documented, as he has competed in and qualified for the National HotDog eating competition. I’m not even sure you can consider what Bill does eating, as he swallows the food whole and doesn’t chew most of what he consumes. It’s as if he is literally breathing the hotdogs in whole like they were oxygen. I am not sure if he could beat the best of the best in the country, but Bill could definitely compete. Bill isn’t an easy guy to beat, and with the amount of depression and emptiness he feels inside, I’m sure Bill will be able to shove a whole lot of hotdogs inside his stomach. Bill doesn’t eat a lot to show off, or to compete. No, Bill eats a lot because that’s just who Bill is. He once ate a whole party’s amount of hotdogs not because he was practicing for any sort of competition, but because he was hungry. Plus, if Bill is given a little extra motivation in the form of a female companion cheering him on, the Billdozer is pretty much unstoppable in an eating competition. Bill is not a single talented man however. If for some reason Bill was unable to win a food eating competition, for instance because his friend Dale entered the competition too and out eats Bill, Bill can find comfort in knowing he has another skill that he could surely win a competition with. Bill Dauterive is an excellent barber. He has a lot of experience being a barber for the US Army, and if there ever were a barbershop competition for who can cut the best hair, I have no doubts in my mind that win the competition. The things Bill is able to do with a pair of hair clippers is nothing short of magical. One time, Bill’s friend Hank had gotten a horrible haircut by his longtime barber Jack, and Hank needed to get his hair fixed in a hurry to look sharp for his company photo. Well Bill Dauterive came to the rescue and made Hank’s hair look flawless. Bill certainly has a lot of special talents, and hopefully one day Bill can win an award on the gridiron also.

14. Describe your player and/or team’s journey through this latest season. What were the highlights? What were the lower points? What might you have done differently? What are your expectations for next season?

The latest season of the ISFL was quite the roller coaster for the Orange County Otters. Coming into this season, I didn’t know much of what the expect as it was my rookie league in the pros. I wasn’t sure how our team did the previous season, but I knew everyone on our team had one goal in mind for this season, a championship trophy. As the season began, it was becoming more and more clear that the season was more of a rebuilding year for us than a championship caliber year. We hit many rough patches throughout the season, and the frustrations slowly seeped into the locker room. Adding to the mounting pressure we were facing to win more games and turn the season around, our team was beginning to become divided in the locker room. Tempers flared high as we all were visibly frustrated because our best efforts were coming up short. We lost both tight games and were blown out a few times. Aside from our running back Goat Tank, our team in general was not keeping up to the level of competition that the other teams were exemplifying. Despite the overall bad year that the Otters produced, there were a few bright point throughout our season that definitely shouldn’t be overlooked. The games we won were against quality potent teams that are currently in the playoffs. And some of those wins we got against them were blowouts. This fact alone is hugely important and something we reiterated in the locker room following the end of the regular season. No, this season was not going to be our championship season. However, we were not completely devoid of morale. We knew we could compete with the best of them. We lost a lot of close matchups this season, and honestly this has motivated me to work even hard in the offseason. This game of football is a game of inches and it’s is going to take all of us as a team to put our best foot forward and train to the best of our abilities this offseason to become the team I know we are capable of becoming. On a personal note, Bill Dauterive played excellent this year, especially considering he was the second to last draft pick in his draft class. Bill played so well, in fact, that there is a strong possibility he is nominated for defensive rookie of the year. The Otters have a lot of rebuilding to do, but luckily for them they have all the resources available to produce a competitive team next year. Especially if we are able to have a good draft to fill up a couple of our trouble areas on the team.

[CementHands]

Task 1:

Arizona unfortunately stumbled out of the gates this season, holding onto a losing record for a good chunk of the season. This was a huge surprise to both everyone inside and outside the organization. By no means were the Outlaws expected to repeat their season performance the season prior, but I don't think it's a stretch to say no one was expecting them to lost 2 games to Orange County this season en route to stumbling into the playoffs. They were able to win enough to make up for the stumble, but it has to be in the back of their minds heading in to the first week of playoffs. They also lost 2 appearances to Austin this season, so if they get past the first matchup, they have a very tough opponent waiting for them.

Honolulu tore through the back end of the schedule, going 5-1 in their last 6, and setting themselves up for a playoff spot with their last week win against NY. The one loss however was to Arizona, their playoff matchup in the first round, so we will see if that is a bit of foreshadowing. Honolulu preformed pretty well this season, they had a rough pre season and a 4 game loss stretch, but all four came against very tough opponents that they can't be faulted for slipping to. They kept their heads high and won when it mattered to make it this far, and now anything can happen.

Cleaning up the ASFC we have the Austin Copperheads who lead the league this season. Obvious favourites to go all the way, this author is very much aware that regular season results don't guarantee anything and they need to preform these next few games or have it all for nothing.  The only loss they had to a playoff team came in week 8 against Colorado, but their 3 losses to non playoff teams show they can be beaten. Look for them to go all the way.

Moving over conferences now we look at Colorado, Chicago and Sarasota. Chicago clinched in their last game by defeating Berlin handily to secure their spot, but they have really seemed to struggle against other playoff bound teams this season. An accomplishment to make the playoffs to be sure, but I think they are the least likely team to move on.

Sarasota Sailfish ended up with the same record as Chicago, and they also seemed to win all the games they should have, and lost against the higher competitive teams. Either them or Chicago will need to win their game, and I do truly believe the best team will win and get the privilege of playing in Colorado for the conference finals game.

Colorado lead the way in their conference by posting a 11-5-0 record. They had some odd losses in weeks 10 and 11 against Yellowknife and Philadelphia, but aside from that 2 week excerpt they seemed to put forward a very solid season. Their other losses came against highly competitive teams, and they were able to beat teams that they could be considered on par with , or better than. Colorado earned their conference championship position and should enjoy their playoff bye week while they watch and prepare for the winner of Chicago and Sarasota.

With everyones journey to this point, I want to stick with my guns and say Arizona is a dark horse underdog, potentially upsetting team. I do believe that Arizona should have had a better record through the season, but they were able to correct the ship with enough time to secure their playoff birth. They are largely untouched from the previous season where they fell one game short of the ultimate victory. The one thing that I think can force them to loose is the same thing that lead to them to drop some odd games this season, which is a mix of bad sim luck and themselves. Perhaps this bad sim luck will rear its ugly head in the playoffs as well, but I don't think a loss at this point in time can really be chalked up to poor luck, as it's down to the best of the best.

I think the NSFC is the most likely conference to produce an upset result. Specifically Sarasota emerging victorious to represent their conference. This would feature them against Austin, where I think Austin is the ultimate victor this season. Either way I do believe our league champion will be out of the ASFC, whether that is Austin, or if they manage to be upset by either Arizona or Honolulu.

Ultimately this is setting up to be a pretty good playoff series. I don't think there is any clear cut blow the competition away favourites, Arizona vs Honolulu, Chicago vs Sarasota, W1 vs Austin, W2 vs Colorado. It'll be a fun group of games to watch for sure and let the best team win!

[nunccoepi]

UW pass

[wuma]

Task 6

Often time when I start to write media or tasks, I like to try to get into a bit of In Active's head and his character. I found that it makes this league a lot more enjoyable to me, compared to when I do point tasks or championship week in the SHL. I'm not really sure what it is about the ISFL, but it reminds me a lot of the GOMHL when that was a thing. I'm going to go on a bit of a tangent here about the GOMHL, but I promise that it'll tie into the UW task about 800 words about a thing I enjoy about the league. If you've been a part of the ISFL, SHL, or PBE you know how it goes. You do your activity check, you crank out an article about god knows what that probably isn't really that interesting and you have to fight your way through it, then you do it all over again the next week. The PT usually counts for more of your TPE, so you really have to drudge your way through it. In the GOMHL, it was a lot different. It was a more casual league, so it would be an AC for 8 tpe, then a 200 word media about anything hockey, league, or player related that you wanted to do. It wasn't for money, it was just a 200 word media for 2 tpe. I had a series of media about how my GM kidnapped my family when I wanted more money on my next contract. The media's I've written here in the ISFL have reminded me a lot of the fun that I had doing those kind of media pieces in the GOMHL. While I may not be the most active person on here, it's very refreshing to have a league where a lot of people seem to have the same kind of light hearted approach to media and tasks. Hell, even player names and renders are off the wall in this league compared to SHL.

I guess what it really boils down to for me, is the fact that the league is a serious league but it doesn't take itself serious all the time . It's a very nice change from the other leagues I've been in. Having just had to do CW in the SHL, even the UW here isn't as much of a chore for me here. I don't really know much about the league, and it's not really an easy way to go about doing UW to pick a mix of tasks that give varying amounts of TPE where I have to look up the index, or try to bullshit my way through something that is at least somewhere sim related. This 10 tpe for 800 word task is one that I might struggle with right around the 500 word mark, or maybe the 480 word mark depending on how specific you want to be with my word count, but 500 is a pretty solid number for talking about the one task that makes the UW really stand out for me.

I guess another one of the things that really makes the ISFL, and the DSFL, stand out to me is probably my experience here. I guess in the SHL I kind of know teams I want to go to, or I'd want to avoid due to whatever reasons. Here, I created after the draft and was a waiver pickup. I had GM's messaging me trying to find out who I was or what I wanted to do with my player, and while those were coming in I was instantly picked up by Tijuana... Because of SHL connections. My experiences in Tijuana really kept me interested in the league, and helped get me through the most interesting draft experience I'd ever had in any sim league. As my rookie season went on, I realized I hadn't been reached out to by any scouts. I know I'm a multi-league user, so I kind of figured I'd be less likely to be scouted, but no one reached out. It turns out my name didn't even make it into the Mock Draft PT, and I was never on the TPE tracker for my class. I guess it's because I didn't format my name properly when I created or something. It worked out well, though, as Pat snagged me for the Philly Liberty. I knew Pat from the SHL, so I was really excited to get a chance to be on a team with him. One of the best things that I experienced in this league actually happened after Pat drafted me. I know in the DSFL, people really only stay down for a season or two max before they go up and play in the ISFL, but Pat knew how important it was for me to stay down in Tijuana as long as possible. He let me stay down for 3 seasons, knowing I was going to be 3 seasons closer to regression when I went up. That's probably second all time in my books as coolest move a GM did for me in any league.

862 words.

[zaynzk]

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[qWest]

Long Form Task 1 (Podcast Option):

Anchor Link

Spotify Link

[woelkers]

TASK ONE
I would like to start by looking at a team I think most of our users considered the favorite to win the ASFC: the Arizona Outlaws. This is a team that struggled through the early half of the season, winning just three of their first eight games and finding themselves chasing other perennial contenders and some surprising competition for a chance to appear in a playoff game. The second half of their slate was, fortunately, much kinder to them, and perhaps even more fortunately, the rest of the conference seemed to slip. Six more wins was just enough to allow the Outlaws to sneak past the Honolulu Hahalua for second in the conference, and although this team finds itself in unfamiliar territory playing in the wild card game, they managed to grit their teeth and ensure their fanbase would yet again get to see their team in a home playoff game.

The bigger surprise in the ASFC this season, however, may have been the shocking fall from grace we saw for the New York Silverbacks. Despite their relatively recent introduction to the league, this is a team that has time and time again managed to find success, including an improbable Ultimus victory against the Berlin Fire Salamanders. However, this season was not the same Silverbacks squad we are used to; despite opening this season 4-1 and positioning themselves as early favorites to make the playoffs, the Silverbacks dropped nine of eleven games down the stretch, finishing well outside of the playoff picture.

In place of the Silverbacks, we see a surprise challenger for the Outlaws: the Hahalua. It has been a rocky road since the Hahalua last appeared in the playoffs in season twenty-seven, and this season started no better for them, as they matched the Outlaws’ early showing of three wins through eight games. However, after starting the second half of the season with a dominant shutout victory over the Baltimore Hawks, the Hahalua added six wins down the stretch, and finished even with the Outlaws, although they tragically lost the tiebreaker and will be on the road for the wild card round.

All of that said, no ASFC team had a more complete showing this season than the Austin Copperheads, who, in spite of a few early missteps, took control of the conference relatively early and held on to finish the season as a twelve-win team. The Outlaws and the Hahalua are nothing to sneeze at, so the Copperheads shouldn’t get too comfortable with homefield advantage, but there is little doubt the Copperheads have earned the right to play on their turf.

Meanwhile in the NSFC, maybe the most surprising team in the league this season was the Chicago Butchers, who managed to find their way into the playoffs as a shocking ten-win team. Rookie quarterback Kazimir Oles Jr. had some mild growing pains, but stunned the league with his poise as he, backfield mate Madison Hayes, and lead receiver Mike Hunt showed time and time again what they are capable of doing with the football. What’s more, this team had the stingiest defense in the entire league, allowing just three hundred thirty points on their way to a wild card berth.

The Butchers’ opponents in the wild card are, of course, the perennial powerhouse Sarasota Sailfish. There was a lot of concern for both of these teams down the stretch, as both the Yellowknife Wraiths and Philadelphia Liberty were heavily in the hunt all season, and the Berlin Fire Salamanders even snuck back into the race late, but ultimately, the consistency of the Sailfish squad was enough to carry them back into the playoffs for a date with the Butchers in Sarasota.

And, of course, what playoff picture is complete without the looming presence of everybody’s favorite cryptids, the Colorado Yeti. Although this team cooled off as winter began to roll into the Rockies, they were easily the hottest team in football early, opening the season a sturdy 7-1. Even that early, the Yeti making the playoffs was almost a given, and despite winning just four of their last eight, they comfortably outlasted the Sailfish and the Butchers for first in the conference and homefield advantage for the conference championship. Once again, we have a dangerous Yeti team on the field, and they are not to be overlooked as the Ultimus looms.

This is an extremely difficult playoffs to call, as some of the better football teams on paper failed to secure homefield advantage and others failed to find their way into the picture altogether. I think if the Yeti can return to their dominant ways from the early half of the season, they might be the team to beat despite finishing with a worse record than the Copperheads (who are still, obviously, no joke); however, don’t count out the underperforming but dangerous Outlaws, the sturdiness of the Sailfish, or either of the surprise Butchers or Hahalua; anything is possible in the sim.

[ValorX77]

20 Minute ValorCast +10 TPE

[IsaStarcrossed]

6. Write 800 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 800 words about your team’s participation on a Werewolf server or something.

I've decided that I wanted to look at the curious case of the Yeti and how things seem to come down to sheer luck. I hate to put that out there, but as it turns out though, that is exactly the case overall. As we learned in Colorado this past season, you can do very little and have drastically different results. It really does come down to the dice rolls and when you look at how this season played out in comparison to the previous one for the Yeti. Last season the Yeti were 11th in points scored, 6th in yards offensively, 2nd in points allowed, and first in yards allowed. They had a middle of the pack offense and and an absolutely dominant shut down defense. Unfortunately, that didn't amount to much as Colorado only won half of their games and ended up missing the playoffs entirely after losing multiple close games and finding it difficult to close out against strong opponents in the conference.

This season was completely different for the Yeti though. They were 2nd in points scored, firs in offensive yards, 10th in points allowed, and 11th in yards allowed. They completely flipped the switch with a high flying offense that could score at will and defense that struggled to stop a stiff breeze, much less a football player. With this new style of play, the Yeti ended up winning 11 games, won their conference, and came second in the league in overall record, just barely missing taking Austin's spot as number one. The Yeti went from a middling team that struggled to win close games to being able to absolutely blow out teams that weren't on their level.

So you might ask what was different between these two teams. Did they drastically change strategies? Did they gain some incredible new talent to help bolster the roster? Why was it that they made such a dramatic shift in just one season?

Well you see it all started with our top running back, a talent with nearly 1000 TPE retired before the TDL last season, so we knew we wouldn't have him coming into this season. Instead, we'd be replacing him with his former backup that had 400 less TPE and calling up a new back up RB with less than 500 TPE. Next up our WR1 William Lim was looking a massive regression in the face and was looking at dropping well below 1000 TPE for the first time in his career and force long time backup Delacour to take his place. Then we were looking at three of our offensive linemen losing more than half of their total TPE. We were going from one of the best offensive lines in the league to one of the worst as Jenkins, Button, and Thruster all took massive hits as they descended into regression.

That wasn't all though. Long time defensive mainstays like Blackstone, Rikiya, and de Pengu were all hitting their second or more regression. This was seeing some of the top players on this team take massive strides backwards as their defense was looking at dropping nearly 1000 TPE from just those three players. Then you had stars like Drake and Murder-Moose starting their own regression journeys. Overall, it looked like this defense was losing a massive amount of power.

Through the offseason with regression, retirements, and players stepping away, the Colorado Yeti lost almost 4,000 TPE and their only respite was grabbing Buffalo Hunter, a young star that they hoped would boost their offense at tight end for a long while but to start wasn't much better than their previous player at the position. It all looked backwards for the Yeti and as such, the roster got worse between these two seasons.

They got better as a team though, so they had to make massive strategy changes, right? Wrong. The Yeti elected to run the same defensive strategy they always had. They changed not a single thing on that side of the ball. On the offense, all they did is make a small adjustment to the playbook they were running and left the passing ratios the exact same. After all, the Yeeti yeet and keeping all passing ratios at 80 just works for us. There is a reason we run two receiving backs.

All that to be said, it seemed pretty clear that the Yeti were supposed to get worse in the offseason. Especially as this season brought up shockers like the emergency of the Philadelphia roster finally playing well and a huge surge that no one saw coming from Chicago and their rookie quarterback. The NSFC looked like by far the best conference and they won over 75% of their games against the ASFC this season just to prove their dominance. There was no reason why the Yeti should have been better. But they were. Once more, it all comes down to luck and getting the right dice rolls.