(S23) - Ultimus Week

[angeloc]

Just figure I would get it all in one go and do the 800 word one for 10 TPE, I am new to here so i'm not sure of ISFL history, yet. So im going to do an interview with ISFL's future, me .

[div align=\\\"center\\\"]A Night with Angelo Cerilli[/div]


Hello and welcome to the greatest interview ever constructed! I am your host, Joh. Today I have the pleasure to be joined with one of the ISFL's most intriguing prospects, defensive tackle, Angelo Cerilli.

Jon: Hello Angelo, one of the brightest and freshest faces, that only a mother could love, hows it going?

Angelo: Its going really good man, we just got to finish another season of the ISFL, I got to finish out my last year of playing college ball before heading to a developmental league for the ISFL, its all going really good for me.

Jon: Indeed you are, and I got the pleasure of getting to see you play live, you can be a force to be reckoned with, especially when the other team isn't up to the task of focusing you down and limiting you.

Angelo: Yeah, it can be tough sometimes when you have a team doing everything they can to limit your production, but its a team sport so the attention I take just leaves someone else in a one on one or allows a man to get free, getting a sack or stuffing a run is a team effort not just one guy can do it alone. And when they do fail and you get through anyway? Man, that's the best feeling in the world.

Jon: I'm sure it is, so did you accomplish everything you wanted to in college or is there something you wish you could've done but came up short.

Angelo: As far as a personal development standpoint goes, yes. I feel I have kind of hit a ceiling as far as developing and to further my development and improve even further I need to take it to the next level, I need to join the ISFL.

Jon: Well your next step is about to be taken, so tell me before we move on from college, who was the most interesting player you've ever shared a locker room with?

Angelo: Probably Jeffery Jefferson, man I have some wild stories for when he played in Dayton man, and the dude was an amazing pass rusher on the field as well, I just really enjoyed my time playing with him. I wished he would've stayed longer then he did but Jeff had to do his own thing man.

Jon: Yeah man, i'm sure we could go on for a while with stories about him. But anyway! That is the past lets look into the future a little bit, now tell me.......where do you want to be drafted, and don't give the school boy answer of, "oh no I don't care where i'm going man." Come on, give me something.

Angelo: Well.....I hate to break it to you, but I honestly really do not care where I get drafted too, hell, I don't care what round I get drafted in. Think about it this way, okay, you're me. I am going to be in developmental one year? Maybe two if I decide to grace a team with my presence that long. I'm still young and get to be dumb. Why would I care who drafts me? It doesn't matter, whoever drafts me gets an amazing run stuffer and pass rusher in the interior, which by the way, there aren't many good interior offensive linemen. So a team is going to have to move one of their prime linemen inside, just to deal with me or have me run rampant. Any team that drafts me is going to be able to create mismatches in their defensive scheming and who doesn't want more pressure on a quarterback and more run stuffs. Its why me and Jefferson were so successful at Dayton. You don't want to have to deal with that as an offensive coordinator.

Jon: Well, at least you bothered to divulge, so once you get into the ISFL what's your goal? Rings, awards, career stat milestones?

Angelo: Well, I mean it's a little too soon to be thinking about everything I want to accomplish, but I mean all those are nice. But right now I need to focus on whats in front me, because honestly, maybe i'll never win that championship, maybe i'll never get those accolades, but I don't think that would mean my career would be a complete failure. Right now as long as I focus on improving each and every year, I will be fine. Whatever team drafts me in this upcoming developmental and whatever team eventually drafts me in the ISFL, i'm just going to be me, in the end.

Jon: Well said man, we are approaching the end of this interview, is there anything you want to say before we sign out of here?

Angelo: Yes, scouts, GM's, anyone who wants to listen, my name is Angelo Cerilli. I am from Ohio, born and raised, and you'll be faced with a lot of hard and difficult decisions in the coming weeks and months, so i'm going to do all of you a favor and give you an easy one. Draft me, if you need a defensive tackle, draft me. I will come into work every day and work my butt off and do everything I can to make your team relevant and successful, and make everyone in that locker room and on that field happy to share it with me.

Jon: Well said, that's all the time we have now but, thank you for joining me Angelo, you have been awesome and this segment in done, cut to black.

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[YoungTB]

9) Pick any position, and determine who in your view is the greatest player to ever suit up at that position. Why do you view them as the GOAT? What achievements, records, accolades, or statistics do they hold? How do they stack up against the other legends in their position, and why does your chosen candidate come out on top?

There are many players that could viably be named the greatest ISFL runningback of all time. You have Owen Taylor, a legendary runningback that set the standard for many runningbacks today. You have Reg Mackworthy who was a long time bellcow for the Arizona Outlaws, and you have Darren Smallwood who had some of the greatest runningback seasons ever. Bit in my opinion, Marquise Brown is the greatest runningback of all time. I believe he is the greatest runningback of all time for multiple reasons. Let us start with the accolades. He was a 4 time RBotY from S12 to S15, he won OPOTY, and MVP. These are some incredible accolades that some runningbacks have never won. He has set many records such as most rushing yards ever for a player in the ISFL, most scrimmage yards ever for any player, and most rushing yards in a single season as well as the most rushing attempts. These are some incredible records that might not ever be touched again. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Liberty in S9 because they had the third pick, they were put into this position because they were really bad the season prior but they were also bad after they drafted Marquise Brown. They went winless. However, Marquise Brown was able to shine because he shattered the single season rushing record in his rookie year. He put up 1910 yards which is a number that will never be touched in this league probably ever because they had Logan Noble at quarter back which meant they needed to give Marquise Brown the ball all the time essentially because they could not get anything done on offense because their offense was so horrendous without Marquise Brown. Anyways, Marquise Brown spent 4 years with the team and did numbers. He got an MVP award in S13 because he was one of three of the best players in the league but he was the best offensive player of the league because he won the offensive player of the year because again he was so good. Anyways he left the Liberty to go to the Hawks with a stacked S14 and S15 team. They appeared in the NSFC conference championship in S14 and won the Ultimus in S15 because they were such a good team and Marquise Brown was doing an incredible job running the ball and playing offense. So yeah Marquise Brown is the greatest runningback of all time.

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13) Create an argument for your own player, or for someone else on your team, as to why they should be nominated for awards. Lay out their stats or compare them to other contenders. Make a convincing case.

Alright so Korbin Brown did not have the best season on the Portland Pythons as WR3 but this is for multiple reasons. He was playing behind some great wide receivers and never was able to play in a good position and get those yards like the other guys did. But one thing he did have? He has heart. He was an incredible player both on the field and off the field because he was so awesome and had the greatest attitude. Even though he never talked in the locker room and was kind of lazy in developing his player he was so awesome and had so much culture because he was really cool. Anyways he put his hardworking player on the field and did some really cool stuff on the field. He had like 250 yards and like 1 touchdown because he is super cool. He caught these touchdowns from Sam Howitzer because he's a good QB and Korbin Brown is a good WR and I'll tell you why. Howitzer and Korbin Brown have so much chemistry together. They were brothers off the field and on the field and were the brothers for life. They even kissed one time because he was really bored and Korbin Brown is so hot.

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19) Make a scouting report for any of the ISFL or DSFL draftees. Show their stats, abilities, TPE, highlights, or anti-Semitic Instagram posts. I’m joking about that last one, please don’t bring up bigotry.

Alright so Korbin Brown should definitely go number one because many reasons. The first reason was because he is super cool! He does a lot of cool stuff in the league. He is the son of Marquise Brown and he is the greatest running back in history because, well, look at the last PT! I literally told you fucking asshole? So second off he has the heart. I also told you about this fucker read my last PT. He has the heart the brains and a really big penis. He has been developing really well because take a look at the TPE. He might have fell off a couple of times with TPE but he still is earning fast hard and sexy because damn this dude can really fuck. This dude fucks. He has a lot of inches on his penis of his which should make him number one on the draft. If I even see any of the mock drafts on these stupid PTs with Korbin Brown not on number one? I won't do anything actually. I will laugh! How could you ever not have Korbin Brown the absolute big dick god as number one!? You will lose TPE! I hate you all. Korbin Brown will go number one. Goodbye!

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[sakrosankt]

6) The playoffs have finally arrived. Choose one playoff team that is not your own from either league and recount how they got here in 400 words or more. What challenges and hurdles did they face in the regular season? Did they cruise into home field advantage or have to fight off contenders for the wild card? Are they led by MVP players on offense, or is a stifling defense the engine to their success? Don’t be afraid to go deep.

The Kansas City Coyotes had a tough last season. Although they battled for a playoff spot until the very last game of the regular season, they lost and ended up with the 1st overall pick. So that‘s something. After having kept almost all of the players from last season, they had to only fill a few spots due to the banishing of inactive players. They did well in the draft, and added some really good prospects to their roster. Asher Montain replaced call up Son Goku at DE, and Brach Thomaslacher filled a glaring hole at LB. With GM pick Joshua Campbell, they also added a WR to give Reginald Covington III more targets. To tighten the line, LeBong Simwell was added at DT. The pick of RB Sergio Kitchens added some spicyness to their rushing attack, as he would be perfect to team up with Kevin Fakon.
The team looked like a well rounded team before the season. The success didn‘t come easy though, as other teams also had a great roster built. In the NFC, Kansas City and Lonon were seen as the favorites at the beginning of the season. After a couple of games, the favorite role went straight to the Coyotes, as the London Royals had a desastrous start into the season. Kanasas City played really good, and were at 3-1 after week 4. The first loss at home that season came against the Dallas Birddogs in a close matchup, which KC lost 14-15. It has to be said that the Birddogs defensive strategy blitz rate wasn‘t updated in that game, therefore they ran Nickel 50 – an illegal amount of blitz rate for this formation – on some downs. Nevertheless the game counted, and set back the Coyotes to 3-2. The following stretch of games was a strong one for the Coyotes. In 5 games, they only lost 1 game, and found themselves on top of the divsion and in the race for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. With 7-4, they had secured a playoff spot as the first team in the league. The last three games of the season, Kansas City started to choke. In their second matchup with the Birddogs, this time on the road, they were again close but lost by 28-31 by a late fourth quarter touchdown by Dallas. In week 13, they lost – again on the road – to the Minnesota Grey Ducks. Being at 7-6, they were at the same record now as the London Royals after 13 weeks. The Royals had a run and overcame their bad start into the season, by winning 5 in a row. In week 14, the deciding games for the division title were Pythons at Coyotes and Royals at Buccaneers. Easy game for Kansas City, tough matchup for London. But KC choked again and lost at home, seeing their chances on the home field advantage in the championship game fading. Luckily for them, the Royals also lost to the Bucs and finished the season at 7-7, as did KC. Kansas City sweeped them in the regular season, and also won the CC game to advance to the finals.

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12) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S22 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?

The start into the league was tough to be honest. I am part of the big S22 reddit recruitment class, and started out with many other players. When I saw the post on reddit, I found the concept on having your own player in a league fascinating. Soon after, I created an account and was ready to create a player. I pretty soon had the position I wanted to play, and chose to create as a wide receiver. I looked through the various pending players waiting for approval, and came across the roster page of Eddie Jeeta, user QuirkyTurtle. He created just a few minutes before me, also as WR. I checked the position templates, and always kept in mind what this one user did for creation, and followed his pattern. In the end I was approved and waited for the draft to roll by. Finally it was here, and I got drafted. How exciting! I went as the 53rd overall pick to the Kansas City Coyotes. I had a team. When I joined the locker room I first checked what was going on, and man, stuff was going on. So many new prospects from a huge draft class all at once. I got to know the two guys responsible for bringing me in, my former GMs starboy and butters. But it wasn‘t only them, the whole team and all the draftees were amazing. QuirkyTurtle was the first WR taken, what a coincidence we were on the same team as he already helped me in my creation process without even knowing. Kevin Fakon, the rushing Aussie and amazing dude. Matty and Pmoney were there, the two Scottish guys you have to like just because they are awesome. Ismael, Sweets and Booger, the three defensive guys and awesome people as well. Tree, who was a S21 create and spent another season down was great for our locker room flow. The team as a whole built up a nice and somewhat competitive atmosphere, which everyone liked.
I didn‘t get that many playing time early on, but spent improving to get to rack up some stats and help the team. I didn‘t let to get me down on less playing time, as it was just awesome to be on the team. It motivated me to improve even further. Near the end of the season I was added to the war room and joined the front office of the team. This was an amazing chance, and I learned really a lot.
In the upcoming scouting process, I got to know frostbite more, as he was around in the KC discord quite regularly. He got an expansion with RainDelay, and was one of my top destinations prior to the draft. Ever since I was drafted by them, I am glad that my first few years in this league turned out like that. Frostbite added me to the war room early on, which I am really thankful about. I learned some of the mechanics of the big league and was involved in decisions. After RainDelay stepped down, I even got the job as the new Sarasota co-GM. What exciting times I am in at the moment. Many of the guys who helped me along the way, are already in managment positions too, which shows what an amazing draft we had in KC when I joined.

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[Southie]

12) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S23 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?


Alright, So I've only been in the league for three days so I have very little experience with the league proper. I have been listening to the wonderful podcasts that the people of the NSFL have put out for months though. That's one of the main reasons that I signed up for the league in the world. I guess I'm a weird si league player in that I will listen to podcasts of leagues that I'm not in before I decide if I join a league or not. When I first joined, the biggest question was what posi0tion to create. I know there's a premium on the defensive player but I really wanted to be an offensive player for some reason. As a kid, I was always wanted to be and did play at running back. I was a heavy-set kid so the idea of being a heavy set power back/fullback always appealed to them. I played a little bit of middle linebacker as I grew older but my heart was always set on running back. The problem with the ISFL is that there's a lot fewer Running Back jobs then jobs at Wide Receiver. I actually thought about making a Tight End at one point but then I would've run into the same issue that I had at running back where there aren't my job opportunities at the position for me to fulfill.

In terms of defense, I debated being a Middle Linebacker because I do have some familiarity with the position but then I had doubts I could fulfill the leadership role required to be a linebacker. I could probably be an outside linebacker as opposed to an MLB but I wasn't sure how that worked in the ISFL. I never had any interest in the Defensive or Offensive Line. They just didn't appeal to me and I'm not sure. It might be a size thing. I always make my players small in sim leagues for some reason. I don't know why. I was really tempted to make a six-foot-six defensive back for the ISFL but the height limits canceled that plan so I had to go with my original thought and pick a Wide Receiver.

In terms of what I wish the ISFL did better, I wish it was easier to find information on build archetype because I chose possession receiver which seems pretty rare. I'm not sure if that's because it's a bad build or if it's just not popular. I searched through the graded media articles for information on builds and receiver builds in general but I couldn't find any that had information on that stuff. I chose the University of Pittsburgh because I was a Steelers fan when I watched football (I haven't watched the NFL in four or five years now.) and because there appears to no ACC representation in the entire league which shocks me.

The NCAA Seems real weird in the ISFL and I Want to write a media post about it.

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9) Pick any position, and determine who in your view is the greatest player to ever suit up at that position. Why do you view them as the GOAT? What achievements, records, accolades, or statistics do they hold? How do they stack up against the other legends in their position, and why does your chosen candidate come out on top?

When it comes to the Wide Receiver position, I think you have to have to Trey Willie as the goat. Willie has the most receiving touchdowns in ISFL history, The most receiving yards in ISFL history, and the third most receptions in ISFL history. The last ones a bit misleading as he is the all-time leader in receptions at Wide Receiver, the two players ahead of him are Tight Ends. He also lead the league in reception touchdowns twice. He's also got two Wide Receiver Of The Year awards in his trophy cabinet as well.

It's a bit odd because Bradley Westfield has four Wide Receiver Of The Year Awards and Vinny Valentine has three but if you look at from a career statics viewpoint there's no way to argue those guys ahead of Willie. Willie only has nine more touchdowns then Westfield but he's got 964 more yards than him as well. You could argue th it at Willie played a lot more games then Westfield but my counter-argument to that would be that Willie was good enough to continue to play further into his career then Westfield was and that Westfield slowed down faster than Willie did. It's an interesting argument to have. Do you value longevity and steadiness at the Wide Receiver position or do you value flashiness and explosiveness? I think reliability is the key to a great Wide Receiver and I think Willie was more reliable then Westfield over their careers.

Vladimir Fyodorovich also feels like he might deserve to be in this argument. He really doesn't have the career statics for a serious claim at the title of greatest ISFL receiver of all-time but he is the only Wide Receiver in ISFL history to win Offensive Player Of The Year which is noteworthy in itself. Vladimir Fyodorovich also has a Returner Of The Year award under his belt but I feel like that shouldn't factor into the greatest Wide Receiver of all-time discussion. You could use it to argue that Vladimir Fyodorovich was a more complete player than Willie and Westfield which I wouldn't argue but I don't think you can make a serious argument to have Fyodorovich over Willie or Westfield when you talk about GOAT WRs. Vinny Valentine also doesn't deserve to be in this conversation. Yes, he has three receiver of the year awards but he's also ninth in career reception yards. I respect him as a player and I pray that I have a career nearly as successful as his but I don't think you can call him the GOAT Wide Receiver. Does he deserve a spot in the Hall Of Fame? Absolutely but the greatest Wide Receiver In The History of the ISFL? No way.

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[Cynoblaze]

12) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S23 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?

So I am a rookie and I am hopefully going to be drafted fairly high in the upcoming draft. So far my experience has been a very welcoming one. I heard about this league from a reddit post asking for people to join in on this amazing community. At first I was a little hesitant. The reason I was is because I had tried to join once before and its was just way too much for me at the time. I had no time to sit down and really put thought into what I wanted to do so after I created my account, I never created a player. Now that I work from home, I have all the time in the world to check and participate in the forums and league events. This is actually my first point task posting, I am pretty nervous about doing this.

But as I was saying my experience has been a very welcoming one. Especially on the discord server where I had two very nice people help me. Users Tylus and 37thchamber have been very helpful. Tylus really helped me with my first few days and directed me with what I should be doing. 37thchamber was a huge help when I was creating my wiki page. I got stuck at several parts and they helped me resolve all of my issues and got me back on track. My player, Cleg Manclaw, is going to be an excellent asset to this league. Cleg is a blocking tight end which I feel is a great position to have on any offense. I have been very satisfied with how my players start has been. I have not been drafted yet, but some teams have reached out to me asking about what kind of player I would be and how I would help the team succeed. I will be happy no matter what team drafts me, I just really want to start playing and start making plays.

My only suggestion is maybe in the future, an app or a more streamlined process. Some parts of the process creating and filling out my players stats just felt a little clunky at first. I was very discouraged and almost quit because it felt a little daunting. Now that I have created my player, it has become pretty simple to track.

[209tacos]

Fishtacos Podcast: ep 3.5 the ISFL edition -task 12

@Skyfish and I talked about ISFL stuff

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PBE CW Week post

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Task 14

[golden_apricot]

Long task 5 - going on about kickers and kicker stats

Overall in terms of cutting statistics it was a pretty good year for the league. The overall make percentage of kicks was way up this year relative to last year the only kicker who seems to have really declined so to speak is McDermott who went from making every single kick to missing one kick granted last season he only had 14 field goal attempts so that's not really too much to statistically count. But overall picks for kick it appears that things were much better from the kicker position this season as opposed to s-22 season. Going back a bit further this season played out of similar to the S21 season where kickers did a majority of their kicks with a large number of kickers in the 90% make category and then cluster the 80s with the few scatterings of terrible kicking performances thrown in there from what I'm assuming is an active players going this far back I'm not positive on that however that said in s 51 there was a 60 yd field goal made, which is incredibly impressive and something that definitely didn't happen this season or two last based off what I can see. Overall I think the Improvement in the kicking game in this league is something that is going to greatly help move forward I think teams are going to be a bit more compare you're going to see a lot less of these missed kick games coming down to the wire as teams will convert more often than not once they get to the red area. Now if we can get rid of these were going to punt from the opponent's 30-yard line when we have a kicker who can clearly make a field goal from 47 yards that would be a great change in the league and we should try to find a Sim engine that can accurately do that

[gucci]

15) Choose your favorite non-playoffs game of this season, whether your own team or another. Explain what was so special and why the winner ultimately came out victorious, including key players and moments.

My favorite non-playoff game of the year was Honolulu’s 40-7 win over Austin. Specifically, because Austin has made a habit of handing us humiliating losses when we travel there. It felt great to come out and thump them. Austin QB Easton Cole was only able to manage a measly 39.6 quarterback rating in the game. The Haha defense was truly outstanding. LB Jack Banks put up 3 sacks in the game, Jim Waters had an incredible 3 interceptions in a single game and set the record for return yards in a game despite not taking a single one to the house. Personally, it wasn’t my player Ke’oke’o Kane-Maika’i’s greatest game, but still managed 81 total yards. After destroying the Austin defense in the week 1 loss at Austin, I was limited to a paltry 3.1 yards per carry. The defense put us in a position to milk the clock early however, and adding 4 FG’s from Venus powers was enough to see the offense through. Corvo Havran had possibly his best game of the season and threw a pair of TD’s to promising you receiver, William Alexander, and ran another touchdown in. It was a thoroughly satisfying game to be a part of when all was said and done.

21) Make a comparison between your own team and a playoff team, if your team failed to make the postseason, showing why your squad was better.

I want to take another chance to talk about the Austin Copperheads here. They’re a team that finished just 2 games ahead of us Hahalua, but now find themselves in the Ultimus game after two great wins vs New Orleans and Orange County. I want to compare where the major differences lie in the two teams. Right now, Austin has a QB in his prime in Easton Cole, where Honolulu has the former great, Corvo Havran manning QB. On top of that, Austin boasts a receiving corps that includes former great and probable Hall of Famer, Rod Tidwell, star Wide Receiver Net Gaines, and talent young Eddie Jeeta. Honolulu has two good receivers in Jed Podolak and William Alexander, but will almost never be able to match the production of Austin’s passing game. That is a major difference that allows Austin to beat anyone, where as so much responsibility falls on Honolulu’s young but talented defense to carry games when the offense is sputtering. However, watch for Honolulu’s offense to grow into its potential over the next 2-3 seasons as young stars like Alexander, Kane-Maika’i, and Luke Skywalker put their stamp on the offense. We could see something that compares to the firepower that Austin has now in their offense.

22) Imagine that the league’s Pro Bowl included a skills competition similar to the NFL. What sorts of games could you see being implemented? Which players do you think would perform the best in ultimate frisbee, dodgeball, or other games? Which conference would come out on top?

This is a great question to ponder. The first challenge would be simulating this skills competition. We have a great method of simulating the combine using the combination of attributes that players can gain, but translating that to a skills challenge could be tough. However, I’d like to see some of the big hog mollies in a tug of war, I’d like to see Ultimate Frisbee as well (I think my player would be a star at this), and I know I’d like to see a go-kart race similar to Mario Kart. Mix in some drinking games that happen behind the scenes (much like the NFL) and you’ve got a real Pro Bowl worthy party going. I know other players in the league would be interested in Pro Bowl Werewolf, Cards Against Humanity, UNO, and Dungeons and Dragons games. Maybe an e-sports tourney for some of the zoomers in the league as well. I think this is an idea that has an incredible amount of potential and that the head office should continue to look into as it would dramatically boost interest in the Pro Bowl and the offseason as a whole. Please make it happen if you can head office, I think the members of the league would thoroughly appreciate it.

24) The league is prone to change. Reflect on a past change in either the ISFL or DSFL that significantly impacted something - be it a rules change, an expansion or contraction, or even a complete rebranding. What were the effects of this change, and how has it shaken the status quo?

I have a lot of opinions on changes we’ve made in the past and how they’ve effected the league, but the one I’m going to focus on now is the split into two head offices. A move that I overwhelmingly agree with, though I know a ton of people in the league who don’t. First of all, I was very vocal about my belief that the DSFL had lost its way a few seasons back. As an expansion GM for the Dallas Birddogs, I experienced what the kids would call a “toxic” environment that included teams cheating and complete and utter animosity between the management of certain teams. While this was something that I don’t believe I did enough to personally combat, and may have even encouraged at times, I acknowledge my part in it and I’m glad that Head Office took action to nip it in the bud. One of the great parts of the DSFL is that it’s pure, low-stakes fun compared to the big leagues, and when it became clear that it had lost that aspect in some ways, I was very unsure of the future effects that would have on the league as a whole. So seeing a group of individuals who I trust whole-heartedly to do the right thing, like TH and the others on the DSFL HO, I can finally say that I believe we’ll not only make it, but flourish in the future. Good job all-around from the league management on this one.

[speculadora]

3) For any team, certain players and users have gone above and beyond, shaping the legacy of the franchise. Choose any ISFL or DSFL team - with the exception of the Sarasota Sailfish and Honolulu Hahalua - and create a Mount Rushmore for that team. Who in your mind are the four most noteworthy figures of the team’s history? Why does each one of your included figures deserve that recognition, and how did each of them make their mark?

It feels fitting in light of my recent retirement that I choose this task, I suppose. A nice chance to reflect on the history of the Orange County Otters and my own time there. Let's start with myself, since I suppose even I can't pretend I would not be a part of this crew for the Otters.

speculadora - General Manager (S9 - S19)
101-49 All-Time (67.3%), 5 Ultimus Championships
I spent eleven full seasons as the head of the Orange County franchise and stepped down feeling very good about the fact that I had managed to keep the team playing at a high level the whole way through. My career record was 101-49 as the head honcho, good for a winning percentage of 67.3%. Interestingly and almost kind of funnily, that number actually lowered the franchise's all-time winning percentage. Just a testament to how good things were before I ever even knew this league existed, but I'll get to that shortly. Perhaps the crowning achievements of my tenure were reloading the team through a brief rebuild after our S7 Ultimus loss and guiding us to back-to-back titles in S12 and S13, and the three-peat that stretched from S17 through S19. I was certainly lucky to win all five of those title games, but I also think my tenure shows the value of just always being in a position to compete, because this sim is crazy and you never know what will happen.

timeconsumer - Player/Sim Guru (S1 - S12)
ISFL Hall of Fame Player and User, 4 Ultimus Championships
Timeconsumer's impact on the success of the Otters franchise can not be understated at all. While he was never directly in charge of the decision making, he was always working behind the scenes to provide the team staff with sim insights that provided us a competitive advantage for quite some time. Additionally, he just has a innate knack for roster-building, frequently helping us get on the winning side of important trades. He was part of the trades that brought myself and Carlito Crush to the Otters, and certainly played an integral roll in the team's ability to accumulate and maintain talent over his time as a war room member. Often that just boiled down to giving a different perspective on potential trades or draftees than most people have. Whatever the secret sauce is, it worked and it worked well.

Molarpistols - General Manager (S3 - S8)
61-23 (72.6%), 3 Ultimus Championships
Molarpistols was my GM mentor when I first joined the Otters, and while some of his success and the success of the team as a whole can be fairly credited to timeconsumer, I always felt that Molar did not get the credit that he deserved because of TC's role as simmer and guy who knows things. Just look at that absolute unit of a record as general manager of the team. He also had a three-peat of his own, extending from S4 to S6, and very nearly extended that to a four-peat before finally being upset in an Ultimus against Philadelphia, actually the very day they agreed to the trade for me. Still, Molar had a very similar approach to roster building as TC, and I learned a lot from both. I think they both benefited from working together and both deserve a spot on an Otters Mt. Rushmore.

Mike Boss - Quarterback (S1 - S9)
87-39 (69.0%), 3 Ultimus Championships, 3 MVP Awards, Hall of Famer
You probably cannot tell the story of the Otters without including Mike Boss, so here we are. The most dominant quarterback in league history from both the standpoint of individual success and team success. Boss had an absolutely monstrous tenure as the quarterback of the Otters, leading the way to the three-peat while racking up passing numbers that will probably never be matched in the rest of the league's future. I'm not exactly sure what the tally on all of his individual accolades wound up at, but I know he won 3 MVP awards, a feat unmatched I believe until another Otter came along. Still, Boss to the early stages of this league was like combining Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. It was truly unfair.

Honestly, a Mount Rushmore limits me to four people and that is absolutely brutal when you're trying to encapsulate a team's entire history. I think Franklin Armstrong is well on his way to being a fifth face on this monument. He has 3 MVPs and 3 Ultimus trophies of his own, as well as some of the best overall stats as a rusher and passer that we've seen from a quarterback. He's been the model of efficiency as the league meta has shifted, and he probably shifted the entire quarterback meta with his play. His impact both as an Otter and just as a player in the story of the ISFL is really impressive and his face would belong up with the others the instant he retires. You could easily argue Bradley Westfield, for my money the greatest wideout in league history, as being deserving of the list above. Westy and Boss was such a dominant combo that it's nearly impossible to not appreciate them together.

That said, I can't just overlook some of the incredibly successful players and users we've had over the seasons who've been integral to our success. Marc Spector, Danny Grithead, Mason Brown, Tegan Atwell, Johnny Blaze, and so many more please don't kill me if I left a name off. Not including so many great players was a tough choice, and there are probably a ton of ways you could put together an OCO Mount Rushmore. I look forward to seeing all of the new faces worth adding as the league continues into the future.

[Evok]

3) For any team, certain players and users have gone above and beyond, shaping the legacy of the franchise. Choose any ISFL or DSFL team - with the exception of the Sarasota Sailfish and Honolulu Hahalua - and create a Mount Rushmore for that team. Who in your mind are the four most noteworthy figures of the team’s history? Why does each one of your included figures deserve that recognition, and how did each of them make their mark?

It would be hard to talk about this league without talking about the New Orleans Second line and everything that happened to them. They started out as the Las Vegas Legion. Things never looked good for them, with only 8 victories in their first three seasons. As the years went, moral was lower and lower for the team and the cataclysm happened in the offseason of 2019-2020, where the Legion announced a mass retirement. It was quite interesting to be involved in this, if I am honest. This sent a shockwave through the league and generated a lot of attention. At the end, only one player didn’t retire, me. The league named Bovo, as the general manager of the team, and this is the main guy I want to talk about today. Bovo managed to bring back a franchise from the death and go beyond, winning 2 championship with a new core of players.

He was dedicated to the team in more ways than others. His first decision was to move the team out of Las Vegas and the stigma of this mediatic storm as soon as possible. He established them in New Orleans the season after, and the team adopted the purple, teal and gold colors. He sold corpses of players in order to get picks, and managed to draft wonderfully, picking up wonderful players as soon as 2021. To name a few, they picked Brian Mills, Jaylon Broxton and Borkus Maximus III. The team was still not in a great shape, but managed to pick up 2 wins in the season with a young roster.

He traded for Julian O’Sullivan in 2022 due to lack of good pick in the draft. In 2022, the team won 4 games, still improving their record. The biggest move they did was in 2023, when the team traded for Vincent Sharpei and sent Jaylen Broxton, along with a first rounded) for now NOLA Legend Vladimir Fyodorovich. They also picked up William Harrison with the second overall pick. Those genius move allowed NOLA to move on to the playoff for the first time in their history, after a 9-win seasons. They lost in the finals against the wraiths.
Tio follow on this great building made by Bovo, the team traded for Benson Bayley and Paul Di Mirio in order to solidify themselves as a force to recon. Those acquisition helped them finish with 12 victories in the season and capture the first Ultimus cup of their history. They would proceed to win another one 2 years later.

I think for me it’s a no brainer that Bovo managed to bring one of the most powerful team to fruition after the ‘start of the league’ era. There are so many great names that he managed to draft or sign and the complete turn over of the franchise in so little time is a proof that he was a genius and went above and beyond for the team. In a few years, he moved the team from 2 wins a season to a record of 4-9-12-11-11 in the following 5. He brought in some dedicated players to the team and some name that will be forever tied to their history. They won the conference championship 4 years in a row following all the moves Bovo did and won the division 3 years in a row. For me, it’s an extraordinary feat to be done by a man that was handled a crippled franchise.

I don’t know a lot of people that would have want to take over the Las Vegas Legion after what happened. Hell, I was even making fun of my own team at the time calling them the Last Vegas Legion because we were sucking so much. I remember when Bovo came along and made sure everything would go smoothly afterward. I stuck around the league for a few seasons after he joined, but I unfortunately never really stuck with ISFL, due to not liking football in general. However, I still remember to this day the turnaround that we managed to do with this team and how fun it became after he took over. I am not blaming what happened on the previous GMs, as it's fairly hard to manage a team in general in my opinion, but Bovo did something good with the franchise, and I am really pleased to see the history of New Orleans today.

This team would have never done it to where they are right now without him, and it’s important to take the time to recognize what him, and honestly, everyone in NOLA at the time, did for the franchise. This league would have been way different if they didn’t manage to rescue the franchise with an amazing general manager. I thank you for everything you have done for NOLA and for the league Bovo.
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