International Simulation Football League
(S26) Ultimus Week - Printable Version

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RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - j00 - 01-12-2021

8) 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.

Juno Hu comes from a long line of poverty stricken Chinese. His family was held in re-education camps until Juno was 5 years old. With some help and good fortune, they were able to escape and make their way to America, landing in Long Beach, California. Juno received what some would call a very standard Chinese upbringing, involving heavy pressure by tiger parents to succeed in school and graduate with a college degree.

In grade school, what started as attempts to bully Juno by subjecting him to be the main target of the commonly played schoolyard game "Smear The Queer", Juno was exposed to a very primitive version of football, discovering one of his main, and perhaps only, passion in life. Growing up as quite an angry kid, Juno found the physicality of the game to be a great outlet and stress reliever. Alongside his peers, he learned the game of football, discovering that he had quite a knack for catching and sniffing out his opponents moves.

Unfortunately, due to his malnourished childhood, Juno had trouble keeping up with his peers in terms of physicality. His parents forbid him from playing football, citing brain damage as well as football serving as an undesired distraction from the main goal of education, but the fire was lit. Forging parental signatures, Juno signed the papers required to join his high school football team, where he earned a starting spot.

Though almost all of his opponents were bigger, faster, taller, and stronger, Juno lucked into an extremely cerebral coach and became a student of the game. His ability to anticipate and recognize plays was almost precognitive, allowing Juno to be a spectacular player given his underwhelming physical specifications. Unfortunately, even though he was one of the best players on his team, he was heavily overlooked by scouts due to his team's lack of success.

After producing perfect SAT scores, Juno was able to earn a scholarship to USC. His parents were thrilled to know that their son was college-bound, but the celebrations would be short-lived, as they discover Juno's hidden life of football, and the fact that Juno was dead set on choosing Athletic Training as his major. "Why not doctor??" they yelled, as Juno was then promptly disowned on his 18th birthday.

As Juno progressed through summer football training with his new college team, he found that he was still too underweight to play at the college level. On his own and with nothing to lose, Juno took out a loan, paying for a very controversial "mass gainz" program, gaining 44 lbs in about 3 months time. Due to some injuries to his fellow DBs, Juno found playing time in the last game of the season. His opponents, thinking they had an easy win, targeted Juno all throughout the game, but Juno made them pay. With 3 interceptions, 2 of them going for 6, Juno not only helped win the game, he earned himself a starting spot and some nation-wide clout, with his performance being featured on Sportscenter.

2 years later following a very productive college career, Juno has declared himself for the 2041 DSFL draft! Don't you know who he is by now?

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9) What is it that keeps you interested in the league? Is it your love of dot football, the community, a specific job or role you play, or something else? What do you like most about it? What could be improved?

This is my first sim league so this will be my first season and player, but I was intrigued right from the start. I found this place through the recently posted reddit thread. If Football Manager had an American version, I reckon it'd be my most played game of all time. Sadly it is Futbol Manager. I'd always been drawn to Franchise Mode and Create-a-Player mode in Madden, and have tried my hand at a few sim games such as Football Mogul and a few others that I can't remember. None of them are all that great because making a good football sim is extremely difficult. I'm a huge cerebral football head. Love talking football Xs and Os. I decided to make a CB because that was my favorite position back when I used to play.

The community seems great so far. Have had quite a few people already reach out to me and ask if I needed anything. I've always thought something like this would be super cool, come to find that it already exists and people have been hard at work making it a reality! Honestly as someone who used to run a D&D server of over 500 members, I respect the work it takes to keep something like this going, and I hope it continues to grow.

I've been reading through some of the past history and I love the comedy factor. "Josh Garden showing off his ripped body." I'm looking forward to absorbing it all. Unfortunately, the biggest issue is the lack of time I have. With my current circumstances, I'll only be able to dedicate on average maybe 5-10 hrs at most every week, in small chunks. I was initially drawn by the promise of being able to keep a relatively strong player with this small time investment, so hopefully that rings true. But maybe life will free up in the future and I can look into more things like being a scout, GM, and so on.

As for what can be improved? My first impressions are that this is as good as it gets unless you're able to make a fully custom built website with all the functionality built in. So this current setup is probably the next best thing. You guys have done a hell of a job given the tools you have. Perhaps in a few weeks, months, or years I might be able to make better suggestions since I am still new to it all.

RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - Slothman07 - 01-12-2021

19) Championship Ring:
[Image: BjLcDUJ.jpg]
22) Endorsement:
Hi, I’m Dorothy Zbornak, and I’d like to talk to you about Poligrip.

Like many ISFL players, I wear dentures. There is nothing worse than feeling the rush from making an incredible sack against your rival team, but then you get hit with a delay of game penalty because your teeth fell out and you can’t find them. Well, my friend, those days are behind you now. Poligrip Denture Adhesives are designed specifically to prevent your dentures from flying out of your mouth while you’re pumping those TFL’s. The strong, all-day hold keeps your dentures firmly in place and prevents little nuggets of food from creeping under there; essentially, Poligrip holds on tight so that you can let loose. The confidence of knowing that my teeth aren’t going to fly out of my head during a game basically gives me an extra 50 TPE, for only $5.99! I didn’t even mention the minty fresh flavor that keeps your breath on point for those after-game nights on the town! Now, I know some of you neighsayers (horses) will be butting in with “Oh Dorothy, why don’t you just play without your dentures?” Because obviously my mouthguard wouldn’t fit right, so STFU Noobz and buy the Poligrip.

Poligrip: Keeping your teeth in, so you can knock your opponent’s teeth out.

27) Video Game Cover
[Image: 6Nzop9S.jpg]

RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - C9Van - 01-12-2021

7) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S26 class and later. In 400 words or more, how has your experience been in the league? Who have you met that has made your time here more fun, friendly, and exciting? Have you been satisfied with your player’s early start? What was it like being drafted for the first time? Do you have any comments or suggestions for the entire league that you think should be implemented?

My time in the league recreating has been nothing short of hell. I had issues with my last player but this is just painful. The only thing I wanted in DSFL was to go home to Tijuana. I fucking loved that team. They literally do not have anyone who was more Luchadores biased than me and the bastards threw me away to fluke 2 away wins and then finish last in the division. To then be placed on a back up team I was okay with being on and I personally don't give a shit how they did but to see them not back me up after carrying them is disgusting.

And then the draft. Every shit team passed on me for someone less active. I helped build the Yeti locker room back when it was active and not shit. I helped build Pau's TE and he is going over me. It is such bullshit. At least YKW respected me enough to say they couldnt get me unlike every other team. I would like and respect NOLA if it then was not for the fact that I was drafted by the Tijuana GM who didnt draft me in the first place. So my experience? Awful. I am trapped in a career that should be fun and is just awful. I have a gimmick of being toxic every single time I can think of something that will trigger someone on the forum (I'll even be nice to them on PBE minutes later if I see them.) and I can never get out of this career until I am old.

No-one gives 2 shits and I fucking hate this league. I can't retire cause I actually want to play running back. Why should retire just cause the league doesn't want me? 

I realise this then completely throws Lazzy's insane OL career chances at HoF away but...What is the point? If I can make 1 of the biggest OL monsters ever in the leagues history but not even get a hint of my small requests (for someone who always takes minimum) was is the fucking point...I am just trapped and I fucking hate every time I see any post on this forum and no-one fucking cares.

I get called up next season and I guess I have my rookie season to look forward too? But honestly what should be the funniest time in an ISFL career is nothing but a chore. I cannot even give any suggestions to HO cause they won't listen to me. No-one ever will. I doubt anyone actually read this shit in the first place.

[436 words]

9) What is it that keeps you interested in the league? Is it your love of dot football, the community, a specific job or role you play, or something else? What do you like most about it? What could be improved?

This is a little gimmick stealing since I have the same thing going in SHL but their GMs are also dumb AF at drafting but what keeps me interested is revenge. Like I said above in that 'rant' is what can I do to make teams regret not picking me up? Well, make the best and scariest running back I possible can since I am the only good RB in my draft class and S25s are also garbage. It has worked wonders for Jon41 who is doing great and it will be the biggest fuck you to hurt everyone when they are losing. 

I used to love writing good media and roleplaying as Lazzy so much. It was amazing fun. Now I just do not care and am motivated in ruining peoples moods. I am a firm believer on acting who people treat me. Take Tom Hanks, I love the guy and will be a bro and loyal to him. Now take every other team, they treat me like shit so naturally I am interested in treating them like shit. 

I guess at a push I would like to gun the offensive rookie award next season? I guess that is an interest but I doubt I win it with my attitude cause votes are friend based than stats based here. I am in a weird position of wanting to really help NOLA as much as I can but also not liking my own GM. 

I don't honestly know what could be improved. DSFL 100% needs GMs that aren't shit at being good human beings for starters. I think the league switching to a new fresh engine is quite exciting for the people that like that although I can imagine that is hard work for HO bless them. I am slightly interested to see how much of an improvement it is and what game breaking bugs they end up finding in it. Hopefully RBs are decent in it.

I guess I should also say I am interested to see how my team does in the future? I do love a lot of NOLA that I already knew and whilst ran by a dick it should be cool to see how they do after making finals. That could be potentially exciting. I dunno, I am grasping at straws right now. I realise my attitude and upset nature makes interest for the league a lot harder but I do enjoy the whole building a player up like I do my other monsters. I usually make someone who is very strong too so hopefully this guy is as strong as Lazzy was.

[438 words]

RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - Alucas - 01-12-2021

10) 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?

This year has been tough for A.J. Lucas and the Kansas City Coyotes. It is my sophmore year in the DSFL and after a pretty decent run last year where we nearly squeaked into the playoffs, this year has been anything but. For myself I had a career year, highlights for me included being the top linebacker in our team and also cementing myself as a top linebacker in the DSFL. I was able to grab myself my first interception and also had one terrific game where I had a forced fumble, fumble recovery and multiple tackles. The hard work that I put in the offseason has definietly come to fruition. I was able to lead the league in tackles with 148 tackles, just beating Lawrence Taylor (another very good linebacker) at the post with one extra tackle. I was less involved in blitz play and only came away with one sack but I am okay with that given my prolific play with tackling everyone in sight. Unfortunately the solo play from myself didn't really translate into team wins. This has to be one of the hardest seasons I have endured in any sport. We started the season strong with...10 straight losses. This was incredibly difficult as we had a couple of games that we were so close to winning and we fluffed it. It took us to game 11 to pick up a win and that was definitely a mental relief, I didn't want to go without a win and luckily we put it together. This game against the unfortunate Luchadores was the perhaps only highlight of the season. We managed to smother them on defense and put together a quality game from our running backs and Peterson threw a couple of touchdowns for the win. The lowest points of our season...well, they were the rest of the season unfortunately. We should be in a good position next season for a decent run at the Ultimini. I am unsure if I could have done anything different as a player, I am at my peak for the DSFL and performed in the top of the league for linebackers, I am hoping that I played well enough to earn a probowl spot in the DSFL. Trying to figure out what will happen next season is always a bit of a guessing game and I think it will be even more unpredictable with a change in the archetypes and also with a new sim engine. I will hope that we have a decent core and will be fine but I am just so unsure. Hopefully being capped will mean that I still stand out in the DSFL.

478 words


17) You’re in charge of entertainment for the Ultimus or Ultimini half-time show. What would you do?

Everyone knows that the superbowl's go to for half time entertainment is the old couple of musicians on stage singing and dancing. I think the Ultimus would need to be different, I think that having musicians is fine but they shouldn't be the main attraction. I would go with something far more attention grabbing and with far more people wanting to tune in. It has been done before but I would make it a full event, the puppy bowl. I would do a puppy bowl but actually come up with a quick tournament, four teams competing against each other in cute action, it would get the attention of a lot of people and surely ad revenue would skyrocket. We could still have musicians playing in the background but can you imagine having this epic battle between puppies down on the field and being shown on the big screen in a stadium. They could have other competitions for fastest puppy and which puppy could eat the quickest, a pro bowl style events day. It may not be the most original idea, but I think it is an idea that would get a lot of attention from people watching and would shake up the norm of music acts.

206 words

18) Write about another sim league you are in and which parts of it you enjoy. If you are only in the ISFL, write about your ideas for a sim league with another sport.

Another sim league I am involved in is the PBE league. For those that don't know it is a baseball related sim league and uses the OOTP engine to simulate the proceedings. PBE is a slightly younger than the ISFL but has a great base to continue to build on.  It has a great game engine that you can see your player in the flesh (pixels?) and is fun to see your player in action. The things I like the most about the PBE is that it has a great community, ever since I joined I have been welcomed in to the league and met a lot of great people. I am now a part of that community in the events team and also a rookie mentor, I think that is a testament to the league as I was keen to give back to the community in the way that I first received such a great introduction to the league. The PBE for me has been a bit of a grind, I came in as a pitcher and have mostly been battered in every which way possible. Now with some hard TPE earning under my belt, I have been able to just achieve my first all-star appearance and had a semi-decent season. I think the PBE is set to grow, so hop on in if you are interested!

228 Words

RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - excelsior - 01-12-2021

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.

So for this prompt I thought I'd do something history related, because it's been a while since I did one of my game reviews. But this time, I'll be doing a SEASON review, essentially going through all the games in a season and everything that has happened. IT makes sense to start with season 1.

Week 1 started off normally, with the Wraiths, Yeti and Outlaws winning. Outlaws won a non competitive game on the road vs a QB that threw 6 picks. Very interesting. We haven't seen a game with 6 interceptions in a while.
Week 2 has one repeat winner, the Yeti. So only one team was undefeated still. Most of the games were slow and low scoring, with only one team scoring more than 13 points, the San Jose Sabercats. 
In week 3 the Yeti, Outlaws and Otters all got a win and established themselves as the top dogs. The Yeti had started out strong, winning their first 3 games. We still haven't seen any team score over 30 points yet. 
In week 4 the 0-3 Hawks managed to upset the 3-0 Yeti on the road, probably one of the biggest upsets we'll see all year. The Hawks put up 39 points, the most ever by a team. The Outlaws and Otters improved on their winning ways.
In week 5, we saw two teams break 30 points, with the Yeti getting back to winning against the Otters. Wraiths and Hawks handled their business. 
In week 6, the Yeti established themselves as a top team, beating their demons, that being the Hawks. Outlaws and Wraiths won, and the Hawks and SJS continued staying at the bottom tier. There were really 3 tiers at the time. The Yeti at the top tier. Then in the middle tier you had the Outlaws, Wraiths and Otters. Then in the bottom tier you had SJS and Baltimore.
In week 7, the Yeti played the Hawks again and won, improving to 6-1 on the season. Outlaws won, and the Otters got the first shutout of the season against the Wraiths.
Week 8 marks the downfall of the Yeti, who lost against the Wraiths. The Hawks pulled off an upset against Arizona, and the Otters handled business.
In week 9, the Yeti lost again! This time to SJS, but this matchup was in Colorado, so it was quite baffling. The Wraiths lost on the road but the Outlaws handled business.
In week 10, The Yeti lost again, this time to a much more formidable foe, the Otters. The Wraiths put up the first 40 burger in the season. Outlaws continued their winning ways.
Week 11 marked a change in the tide. The Outlaws lost to the Yeti, who got back on track, or did they? SJS and Baltimore both lost, no surprise there.
Week 12 was where playoff picture was in the mind for some teams. Wraiths and Yeti were competing for the 1st seed, and Outlaws and Otters too, in the other conference. Wraiths, Outlaws and SJS all won.
Week 13 involved some of the big teams winning, Outlaws, Wraiths and Otters. 
entering week 14, the final regularualr season week, the Yeti had gone 1-4 in their last 5 games. They were a game behind the Wraiths, and if they beat them in the season finale, they would go get the first seed. That's exactly what they did. Arizona had clinched the 1st seed, so it didn't matter to them. San Jose and the Hawks were competing for the 1st overall draft pick. Hawks finished with a 5 game losing streak. 

The playoffs featured 2 week 16 rematches. The Outlaws had the home field advantage this time, and worked the Otters, winning 36-13, one of the largest margins of victory all year. Mike Boss did not come to play. throwing 4 interceptions. Vincent Draxel did enough to get his team to the win, relying on splash plays from his defense and special teams. This game was just 15-13, Arizona leading, with 3 mins left in the game, but a 97 yard kickoff TD plus back to back interceptions by OCO, one returned for a TD, made it look like a blowout. The Wraiths and Colorado game was also low scoring, but the Wraiths just had no answer on offense, generating near 200 yards, which is barely anything. The Colorado defense was shutdown, and held them to 6 points. 

The Ultimus was somewhat of a blowout. The Outlaws continued their dominance, completely shutting down Colorado's offense. The strong Colorado defense just had no answer for the Outlaws, and let up 16 unanswered points within the first 20 minutes of play. They couldn't stop the bleeding in the second half, and Arizona held on to win the game.

Well, there you have it, our season 1 review, with Arizona taking the championship. The Yeti's free fall here is something noteworthy I'd say

RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - 37thchamber - 01-12-2021

(01-04-2021, 10:10 AM)Kyamprac Wrote: 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.

The time when half the league's teams tried to sign a receiver who doesn't catch touchdowns

Raphael Delacour's debut season in the ISFL, it is safe to say, did NOT go according to plan. After an underwhelming year in Norfolk, the son of Baltimore Hawks legend and ISFL Hall of Famer Antoine Delacour put in extra time over the summer in preparation for his move to Chicago. It was expected that, with a better quarterback to work with, and a stronger supporting cast, he would finally be able to show his true talent. Instead, he made just five catches this season, and is now two years into a professional career at wide receiver, with no receiving touchdowns.

"I'm not sure what went wrong, to be honest," he admits. "Everything sounded good in pre-season when we talked about my likely role in the team and so on, there were no issues raised. But something happened later in the season and I just wasn't getting opportunities."

A count of all plays involving Delacour last season shows he featured in just nine plays for the Butchers across the entire season. Five of these, he caught, for a total of 120 yards. He dropped one, had one catch broken up, and one fell incomplete. The other was intercepted, and returned for 70 yards in his first game in the ISFL.

"Ah man that one hurt," he says. "I made the first catch, eight yards, I'm feeling good. I'm playing against the team I supported as a kid, you know? The team where my surname is associated with legend. And... I honestly don't know what happened. One second I thought 'hey I might have a chance at a touchdown here, its only ten yards or so' and next thing I'm looking at the DB's back, chasing after him. It was surreal."

It would be fair to call this the lowest point of his season, perhaps.

"Yeah, either that or the ... I wanna say six weeks? [it was five games, weeks five through nine, just short of six weeks between them - Ed.] where I didn't get on the field at all." He explains. "I thought maybe I'd done something wrong, but the last thing I'd done was make a pretty good catch for like, thirty yards or something. At first I thought maybe the other guys had just outperformed me in training or something, so I pushed harder. But after a few weeks pass, you start questioning whether it's something else."

In week nine, when the team travelled to Orange County, and Raphael once again did not feature, he nearly cracked. "I called my cousin that weekend, didn't get back on the team flight to Chicago. I just needed ... something. So I went to L.A. and linked up with family for a day. I knew we didn't have training the next day so I had time."

The break seemed to help, as Raphael found himself on the field the following week, in Yellowknife. "They don't tell you how tough it is to play up there," he laments. "So I knew I had to really bring my A-game, and the first look got broken up. I was thinking 'ah man that was my chance!' but George [O'Donnell] looked my way again on the next play, and I got the first down. And some more."

That was his lot for the day, however. The following week, he was back in the dark, left out again. This time against Philly. "The next week... was that the one where I dropped the pass?" He asks. It was, against Berlin. "Yeah that one was odd. I'd forgotten who it was against, but I know Berlin were interested before the draft. So I guess that wasn't the best time to drop one, huh?"

He would redeem himself in week fourteen, when Sarasota came to the Windy City, hauling in a forty yarder in the third quarter, to put the Butchers into field goal range. "That's probably the high point of the season," he says, almost forlorn. "A forty yard catch is always nice."

At the end of the season, Raphael opted out of his contract with the Butchers, believing that his opportunities are limited if he stays with Chicago, but we understand he has since spoken to the management about returning. "There's a few teams in the mix," he reveals. "Still haven't decided what I'm gonna do next."

We spoke about his next move, and Raphael reveals that his older sister, Elaine -- who is a statistician, fittingly -- has been helping him pore through various league statistics, analysing the metrics to find which of his suitors would be the best fit. "Elaine's a genius when it comes to numbers," Raphael gushes. "She helped me a lot at Harvard, too. When I was a bit drained from training and playing, she'd come over and help me refocus. Always had the answers."

So... what does the genius think for her brother's next move?

"She's being really vague about it," Raphael says. "I think she doesn't want to influence me unfairly, or something. We spoke about the different options and what it would mean going forward. How I would fit into each team's offense. What parts of my game I should focus on to get back on track with my goals, things like that. But she won't draw any conclusions for me. She just tells me 'what the numbers say' and keeps telling me I have to be the one to make the decision."

Apparently, his father is similarly not being particularly helpful. "Pops won't say anything because he would want me back in Baltimore, but the Hawks aren't interested. Failing that, I'm sure he'd love to see me end up in New Orleans, since that's where the family is, but again, no interest there. So now he doesn't much care where I land, from a personal standpoint. He just says to go where I can 'make the biggest impact' because I won't be able to join him in the Hall otherwise."

Interestingly, the person Raphael would normally turn to for advice -- his oldest sister, Sophia -- is unavailable, having moved to France last year. "Soph would just tell me straight up where I should go," he laughs. "She's always been pretty up-front about things. I called her the other day, but she seems pretty swamped so I thought I'd leave her to it. We'll catch up some other time."

Until then, the second year receiver has a big decision to make, that will potentially define his career. And he knows it.

"If I get this next move right, I could be set for the rest of my career maybe. But if I get it wrong, I might as well say bye to any chance of achieving my goal of making Hall of Fame, so there's a lot of pressure." He concedes. "It's even tougher when everyone's being so cool about everything, because you don't want to let anyone down. Especially when you're a receiver with no touchdowns. Like, why do these teams want me to sign so badly? I was always told that this business was cutthroat. I know I'm good, but they can only go by what they've seen from me on the field... and that's not a lot. It just makes you think, you know?"



(pretty sure I'm well over 1k words at this point so I'm gonna stop. I was gonna submit this as media but meh)

RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - SirBongo - 01-12-2021

#6 for 10TPE
Code:
836 Words

Hello all, I am Sirbongo, and I am speaking on the matter of the point tasks for Ultimus and the different things you must write about rather than having freedom. The short thing that I don't like is that some people, like myself, do not like following a set format to write about something, like me I prefer a loose end like just write about your player, I believe that there should be a more open-ended long point task rather then them all being about the teams and so forth because we get a lot of new players who can't really write about anything unless they go back and watch all the old games and read all the old articles, for example maybe you should add a point task for it that allows people to write about what their player is doing during ultimus in large detail, or maybe about how they think their team could have made the ultmus rather the about the teams in the ultimus. I understand that this is supposed to be a harder point task that is more rewarding, but it should also be a lot easier in the fact for rookies, because if we get someone who is new and wants to write about it but they don't know anything they will probably end up giving up, and maybe even leaving the server because they might assume that is how the entire point tasks will be. Now I know there will be some counters because there are in the other categories, 400 words, and 200 words, but some people are better and prefer to write one big paragraph on one topic rather than doing two or more because they can stay better focused on that one topic. Another thing is maybe making a rookie only ultmus that has easier tasks but only DSFL/ISFL rookies can do it, so people in their first two seasons on the server, because at least after that they will have expanded their knowledge and will be able to at least have some level of information on the server and on the different teams to write about ultimus week. Now I understand that this is supposed to be the hardest task but once again it should still be fair, for example as a person at a new job how would you feel if you were asked to write a document on something you know nothing about and it is very hard to learn about unless you were there? you would probably not be very happy,  now a job and this is different but it is the same idea because if you don't know about it, and you weren't here for it, it might make it a lot harder to keep the person wanting to stay in the league. One of the tasks we could add to make it more rookie friendly is having the rookie talk about their rookie season, and how they think they could have done better. I am sorry that I am repeating my self so much, but I just do not think it to be fair for rookies as I have said many times now, and if we want to keep expanding and getting more people we will have to make it more rookie friendly because there is going to be a point where if we don't get rookies we will only have recreates who will most likely be great at making builds for their players so the league is filled with elite level players, and there will be some insanely good teams, that get all the good players because they have connections, and then other really weak teams because the players and team do not have connections. One more thing that we could attempt to do is adding a separate ultmus week task line, that is for rookies, and second-year players so that they can get a taste of the league, but not have to be judged as harshly. Now another thing that we could possibly add, is adding videos on how to do different things in the league, for example maybe someone records how to do a jersey swap, or how to update their player because sometimes people find it easier to watch a video. One final thing that would be super useful to add, is maybe a jersey swap request for people who don't have photoshop, and when someone does a jersey swap for someone they get paid, and then the person who got the jersey swap can create media, and not be judged for not knowing how to do a jersey swap, now I understand media isn't required but it is a good way to earn money and it should be a better way to make it open to everyone, like me, for example, I had a friend do a jersey swap because I use photopeia which is like photoshop but is missing many key features which makes it a lot harder to do many different things.

RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - TheRocheLimit - 01-12-2021

#8

This is the story of the most eventful moment in Jack Banks' ISFL career, at least so far. Jack started out as a midrange prospect who spent two years in the DSFL before finally being called up to the big leagues. Banks was excited by the prospect of joining a new expansion team, the Honolulu Hahalua. And it was exciting. At least, at first. Playing in the ISFL for a brand new team looking to make it's mark on the league was a great opportunity. Jack Banks could not only prove himself as a player, but also help shake the league up with Honolulu. The Hahalua had their ups and downs in Banks' time there, but the general vibe was a good one. And then expansion happened. Again. As it turns out, Jack Banks was not selected as one of the players to be protected by Honolulu. At first this was discouraging. Although he had tried to help the team and make a name for himself it didn't seem to be enough. Since he was not protected it wasn't long before the two new expansion teams reached out. Banks had very productive conversations with both the Berlin Fire Salamanders and the New York Silverbacks. Soon the disappointment of leaving Honolulu was replaced with excitement and anticipation of joining a new team.

Expansion draft day arrived even more quickly than Banks would have thought, and the nerves were starting to get to him. Where would he end up? When would he be picked? WOULD he be picked or end up back in Honolulu? So many questions, but soon there would be answers. And then, it happened. The most eventful moment in Jack Banks' ISFL career. With the first pick in the expansion draft the New York Silverbacks selected Jack Banks, linebacker. A surreal moment. The shock of going first overall took a while to wear off. Once he was able to focus a bit more Banks made his way to the New York locker room. And this, truly, became the most eventful moment of his young career. You see, it wasn't being selected first that was the game changer, it was where he ended up. New York embraced Jack Banks and he, in turn, embraced them. Banks had finally found a place where he felt like he belonged. With the help of his teammates and general managers Banks became deeply involved with the team both on and off the field. Banks has not only put up the best seasons of his career in New York, he has also found a home. Jack Banks was meant to be a Silverback.

#9

I joined the league in March of 2020. There was a post on r/nfl that caught my eye and Coronavirus was starting to be a real thing so it seemed liked the perfect time to find a distraction. I joined a little later than most, so I had some catching up to do. Thankfully I got a lot of help (shoutout RainDelay) and ended up being drafted by the greatest boats to ever float, the Norfolk Seawolves. I don't think I could have picked a better landing spot. The team was friendly and helpful from the jump, and really made it easy for me to figure out what the hell I was doing. Without all the fine folks there (too many to name, really) I probably would have faded away from the league rather quickly. I lucked out again when I ended up being selected by the New York Silverbacks in the expansion draft. Once again I was surrounded by a bunch of fun and helpful people (and again, too many to name without accidentally forgetting someone).

Really, for me, that's what this league comes down to. Yeah, watching dots run around the screen and collecting stats is nice but it would be nothing without the community. The people in the league, and specifically for me in Norfolk and New York, are what keep the league going. And they keep me involved. Stat chasing would be fun for a bit, I guess, but it wouldn't keep me engaged.

In fact, because I've so enjoyed the community that has been built around this league, I've even started trying to help out where I can. I was an auditor for a season and met some really nice people while I was there. Unfortunately it was too much of a time commitment for me to stay but I'm happy I got to experience it. Currently I'm on the budget team and, once again, there are a bunch of super helpful and easygoing folks there. It seems like the vast majority of people in this league are friendly and kind and that speaks volumes about this whole thing.

So I'd really just like to end this by saying thank you to everyone who has reached out, lent a helping hand, sent a few words of encouragement, or just generally been fun to be around. It's because of each and every one of you that I'm still here almost a year later, and it's because of each and every one of you that this league is as great as it is.

RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - DrChops - 01-12-2021

9) What is it that keeps you interested in the league? Is it your love of dot football, the community, a specific job or role you play, or something else? What do you like most about it? What could be improved?

I have asked myself many times about what keeps me interested in dot football, and I have stumbled upon a few different answers. The first answer, and I think mostly likely the right answer, is that I just enjoy having something to follow along with. Its nice to have something that you can check up on, see how your team did the previous night and see who your team picks in the draft. For me, I think this league fits a niche kind of like social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram probably fill for other people. While a lot of people probably like to see their friends vacation pictures, cute babies or relationship status updates, I prefer to see final scores, football stats, and draft results. When the NFL is not in season or if the Denver Broncos are terrible, its nice to have a replacement league that I can follow. 

The second answer I have found is that this game provides a nice reward for only a little bit of work. Being about to do the weekly activity check, game predictions, and weekly training every week is kind of fun when it lets you add stats to your player as a reward. The best time is the end of the season were you get points for your season predictions, Ultimus Task, Playoff Predictions, Draft predictions, and multiple weekly activity checks in a single update, netting a massive amount of TPE. Lately, as I have been getting over 800 TPE I do feel that I do not get as much bang for my buck as each stat increase takes more and more time to get, but the reward is still there. It is difficult to motivate myself to do these writeups because it feels a lot more like work than it does feel enjoyable. However, one like this one were I do not need to do research is a welcome change. I hope more write ups are like this in the future, because I will probably do them.

My third answer is simple: I think I am addicted to football. I do not know why I like football so much; I never played it nor do I really know much about it. However, I have watched it and followed it since I was really young, so I guess it is like a life long addiction. I guess I like the storylines that naturally develop, like this year you had a veteran New Orleans Second Line team having a Ultimus rematch with Yellowknife from a few seasons prior.  

10) 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?

S26 was a bizarre season with a lot of ups and downs for the Berlin Fire Salamanders. Well, there was one giant down then a whole lot of ups. The season started promising, we went 3-1 in the preseason, beating the Butchers, Sailfish and the Silverbacks, all of which eventually became playoffs teams. Everyone in the team chat was happy, and excited for the potential of the teams to get its first playoff berth.  

Then the first game happened where we took a hard loss to the Silverbacks. That's okay, its just a single game where we had some bad luck with turnovers. Then the second game happened and we were blown out by the Sailfish. The game was awful, everything that could go wrong went wrong and we fell to 0-2. Still 14 games left, we can turn this around... and then game 3 happened were we lost by 1 point to the Butchers. All three of our first loses came to teams that we beat in the preseason.

0-3 is hard, but teams have come back from worse, I thought. Then the next two games happened, making that 0-3 become 0-5. At this point, I thought the season was basically over and we were playing for stats and draft picks. Then the Fire Salamanders caught fire, beating the Yeti and the Hawks pretty convincingly. I was actually a little upset at this point, since I figured we were better off locking on the top draft pick then picking up some meaningless midseason wins. 

However, the Fire Salamanders kept bringing the heat, and we won 3 of the next 5 to put us at 5-7. While not a great record, we somehow were only a game out of 3rd place in the NSFC and our first playoff appearance. This was likely my favorite point of the season: we just came back from being in a really bad 0-5 hole and now potentially have a chance to get to the playoffs. These last few games were great for my player, Hank Steel, as a got a sack in each game.  We then proceeded to drop the next two games by a combined 9 points, which made the playoffs seem impossible. Undeterred by the losses, we finished the season with a 2 game win streak to finish a respectable 7-9, 1 game out of being in a 3 way tie for 3rd.  The final game was amazing for Hank, as he got a career high SEVEN tackles with a sack, which is great for a DT!

Next year the Fire Salamanders are going to the playoffs! We finished last year 7-4 over the last 11 games and everyone on the team is still here!  ULTIMUS HERE WE COME!

RE: (S26) Ultimus Week - Menace0528 - 01-12-2021

6. 10 TPE

This is a 20 minute podcast on the statistics of the best and worst team in the ISFL and analyzing the players on each team:

https://anchor.fm/blorgl/episodes/Ultimus-task-eot88o