*An Uneducated Review of the Season

[Drizzy]

An Uneducated Review of the Season (NSFC Edition)

Ever since I decided I was going to go down the route of launching a new career, I've been trying to think of ways to raise some much needed funds to get the old war chest looking a little more healthy than it's current state makes it look, and something I thought would be quite fun would be a sit down with the index and a summary of my thoughts on how each team performed. Obviously I've been out for a couple seasons so it should be interesting to be able to build my perception of where teams are now as opposed to my last memory of their performance, and to get an idea of how things might be able to shape up for them going into the future. I'm sure there's going to be a lot to discuss here, so without further ado, let's get into the teams that makePhi up the ISFL and the season that they all experienced in Season 32.

Baltimore Hawks  

The Hawks have endured some lean seasons in recent memories following the "tear it down and start it all over again" rebuild that came around not too long ago. Since they entered that process, they've focused on stockpiling talent, acquiring some of the league's prominent members and looking to really build a locker room made up of great characters which at least from an outsider's perspective, it looks like they've been able to do as the team looks to be performing much more solidly than it was just two seasons prior. The Hawks finished with a 5-11 record, which was tied for 5th best in the NSFC. Definitely an improvement on the results that they've had in the past, this definitely points to future success as their young roster continues to improve and grow into its peak, and I could see them being a real contender for many seasons to come in their conference. They've recently changed their GM group up slightly, so it should be something to keep an eye on going into the future to see how that develops, but for now all signs point to this being a team with a very bright future that I'm sure all of its players are very excited to be a part of.

Berlin Fire Salamanders    

Berlin continue to show exactly what a well-run ISFL franchise looks like, showing great development of their roster in order to be up their with the best in the conference after several strong seasons in recent years. They're a team that's built solidly from top to bottom and I think that they will continue to be a powerhouse in the league for some time to come if recent success is any indicator of what fans can expect going into the future. Sharing first place in the conference with the Philadelphia Liberty as both franchises sported an 11-5 record, the Fire Salamanders made it all the way to the Ultimus game where they were forced to endure the bitter taste of defeat at the hands of the New York Silverbacks (curiously enough the team that joined the league during the same expansion process and a team that Berlin has been rivals with ever since). It's always a disappointing way for someone to end their season, but I'm sure that everyone on the team will be proud of what they were able to achieve during S32, and will be looking to come back stronger next time around and be able to go all the way when the chips are pushed to the middle of the table.

Chicago Butchers  

I've found Chicago to have quite an interesting trajectory over the last few seasons, going from a team that was awfully mismanaged in the past, to a well-oiled machine that took the team from the bottom of the pack to having one of the highest TPE rosters in the entire league. Things hadn't quite played out for them in the way that they would have wanted, with them being unable to get over the line and cement themselves as a championship winning team with a couple of tough playoff losses in their recent history to think of. It looks like the Butchers are once again going through a bit of a transition phase, as evidenced by their 5-11 record, which is some way below .500 and leaves them tied for 5th in the NSFC. As far as I can tell, they have a young roster that should be set to hit its peak in years to come, so this is a record that should be set to improve going forward as the roster grows. A team to keep an eye on going into the future, and hopefully the Butchers will be able to win some rings with this iteration of the team.

Colorado Yeti  

The Yeti are another team that has had interesting history in recent seasons, going from one of the league's best consistently to coming back down to earth a little bit more in the last few seasons that I was around for. The team in S32 looked to have been on a bit of an interesting trajectory, having a QB who is in what you'd think of as his "peak years", but not being able to achieve the kind of record that they were hoping for, finishing 7-9 on the season, which was good for 4th in the NSFC. For the Yeti, I can imagine they'll be a little frustrated with this return based on the TPE that they have on their roster, but with the way that the sim works even a great roster with great strategies and coaching can get screwed over when it comes to the outcomes of games. It'll be interesting to see the way that things play out for the Yeti next season, as I'm sure that they'll be hoping they're able to make their way back to the playoffs and give their quarterback one last shot at a championship run on his way out.

Philadelphia Liberty  

Out of all of the teams in the league, I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to suggest that the Liberty have had the most dramatic turnaround in fortunes out of all of them since I was last actively following the league. Two or three seasons ago they were languishing toward the bottom of the conference, hoping to try and climb out of a difficult recent history and deliver on the young talent their roster promised, but it looks like they've now been able to achieve that as the team sits in first place in the conference with an 11-5 record. Kudos has to go to the general managers in Philadelphia who stepped into a difficult situation and have clearly done an effective job in turning the teams fortunes around. Their roster just looks to be going into its peak too so the success seen this season is unlikely to be an isolated occurrence, something that will give hope to the team that a potential run at an Ultimus championship is very much possible, and based on what we've seen this season, whose to say that isn't possible? While the team ultimately wasn't able to push through in the playoffs, all experience of this kind is useful for them and should enable them to mount an even better attempt next time round.

Sarasota Sailfish  

A team I'm very familiar with due to spending almost the entirety of one of my previous players' careers with them, the Sarasota Sailfish have been a model of a well run team in recent years, establishing themselves as a perpetual force in the NSFC during the tenure of their founding GM Frostbite. He stepped away from the role a few seasons ago but is still on the team, and from what I know of the new management they are more than up to the job of continuing his standard of success, but there are always times for any team where some seasons might be a little tougher than others. The Sailfish's record at the end of the season was good enough for 3rd place in the conference, sitting above .500 at 9-7 and proving that even in a "down year", the team still has the capability to deliver good returns. It'll be interesting to see how things move in the next couple of seasons, I think the team will soon be due for a QB change so that could be something to keep an eye on, and with that and a few other things in mind, there's certainly some storylines of interest to consider here.

Yellowknife Wraiths  

If I’m being totally honest, I’m struggling a little bit to remember exactly what kind of position the Wraiths were in when I was last active in the league. I think they’d been in a bit of a tougher position than they had been in the past (I was around for when they’d made something like four back to back Ultimuses) but they’ve always struck me as a team that’s been well managed and consistently seems to be loaded with some impressive talent to keep them there or there about. This season was a little bit tougher for them, finishing with a 5-11 record which kept them tied for 5th and in last place in the conference based on tiebreakers. Led by a rookie quarterback in Parmelee, it was always going to be a tough season for them and hopefully next time around a season of growth in the books is enough to help elevate the team to a higher position in the conference.

Hope you’ve enjoyed looking through a very brief run through of what’s happened in the NSFC this season, and it’s going to be interesting to follow some of the storylines mentioned here through into next season to see how they develop!

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1656 words, pay me double media money

[Frostbite]

Glad to see you're back