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19. Oh boy! It’s about time Arizona got a new stadium. This thing is decrepit and ownership has neglected it for long enough. They wonder why no one comes to the games and blame everyone but themselves. It’s good to see them finally look in the mirror and see they are the issue. So, number 1 on my wish list for what I’d like to see in the new stadium is trough style urinals. Long lines be gone! With trough urinals it’s every man for himself. Nudge on in, there’s room to take a leak. Don’t worry if you bump elbows with the stranger next to you. They’re just as uncomfortable as you. But you know what makes the discomfort go away? The relief of relieving yourself and not standing in line holding it. Studies show that trough urinals shorten the wait time for bathrooms by half! That’s incredible. You’ll miss less of the game and be uncomfortable for a shorter period of time.
23. I think the sim engine is far superior to DDSPF16. Sure, it still has it's flaws, but it is much better than what we previously had. It's made the league more competitive and I think that's a good thing. In previous versions, you'd have some games where a team had a 90%+ chance of winning whereas now, it feels like the highest win rates are closer to 70% range. Lowering that win rate range causes more games to be closer. Yes, the better team still wins more often than not, but it will only be by one score instead of two scores. I also really like the feature where the WR catches the ball and then runs straight out of bounds instead of into the endzone. That evens it out and prevents "easy scores". The only real complaint is that spiking the ball and going for it on 4th down are a bit wonky. But at the end of the day, I'm of the belief that the game score gets quick simmed and the play-by-play then gets matched to fit that score. Once you believe that, nothing in the sim really matters cuz it's just weird coding to match the outcome. So if I give the sim the answer of 4, instead of always saying 2+2=4, sometimes it gives me 4/2+1(2)=4. In the end, it's all the same. 27. If I couldn’t pick CB (which I never wanted to in the first place) I would have picked QB. It’s the most glory based position. What youth football player doesn’t grow up dreaming about throwing bombs? As a star QB, you’re almost guaranteed to be the face of your franchise. It really would be a dream to one day make a QB and I hope the timing lines up for me to be one. It would have to be the right situation tho. I wouldn’t want to be a QB on a losing team who just racks up volume stats. I want to be the star of one of the top offenses in the league. Most of the time QBs will win MVP and it’s hard to win the MVP if you’re on a bad team. So keep an eye out for my third recreate in 6-7 seasons. I’ll be taking the league by storm. Or not. I may fail too. 36. Affiliate from the Simulation Hockey League (SHL btw)
04-07-2023, 08:09 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-07-2023, 09:08 PM by LHarm. Edited 1 time in total.)
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.
LeHarm James was born a kicker. In his mom's womb? He kicked. Playing soccer in the schoolyard? He kicked his way to a goal. A boy made fun of him? Believe it or not, he kicked them in the balls. Born in Memphis, he moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas the summer before Kindergarten. His favorite pastime was playing the Arkansas Razorbacks (the school he'd later attend) in his favorite game, NCAA Football 14 on the Xbox 360. When you look at the roster of the Razorbacks in that game, one name pops out as the highest rated player by far. Zach Hocker is rated a 93 overall, and that impressed itself on the young LeHarm James. So, set in motion was his goal for the rest of his life. He'd make himself look like Zach Hocker, he'd practice to be a kicker like Zach Hocker. Zach Hocker was love, and Zach Hocker was life. There was no better player than Zach Hocker. Then tragedy struck... he learned Zach Hocker got drafted into the league, only to get cut his first season. This infuriated him. His idol, his favorite player. Reduced to a real estate agent who advertised with signs on the side of the road. This would not stand, he'd take his place and become the ultimate kicker. He was the only 4-star kicker in his class coming out of high school. People would flock from around the country to see him drain 40-50 yarders as a teenager. He committed to the Razorbacks and set about breaking school records for his favorite team. Every record Zach Hocker had was shattered, he was simply better. Now, after his senior year, he enters the draft to see where he lands. The kicker is a needed position in the league, and he can't wait to see where his career will take him. This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S40 class and later. In 300 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 so far in this league has been really fun and the community here is really helpful and friendly. They're good at making rookies feel important, whether that be eye zooms or fire emojis of the like, when responding to something I said in #twitter-hype. In fact, I think I'll rank the teams in terms of how open they are! #1-4 is a tie between the Dallas Birddogs, the Kansas City Coyotes, the Minnesota Grey Ducks, and the Norfolk Seawolves (I mean Seawooves). All these teams immediately gave me the link to their team server if I asked or just gave it to me anyway, which I found really cool. The people I interacted with there were all great and gave me a good idea of what they were about. These four teams I'd like to be drafted by the most. #5 is the London Royals. Why? Well, they still haven't finished my interview and it's kinda taking long... The next three aren't bad, just different from what I want in a team. #6 is the Portland Pythons. They let me look in the servers, but most of the channels were members only. #7-8 is the Tijuana Luchadores and the Bondi Beach Buccaneers (though I like Tijuana slightly more for being the first to reach out to me). They sadly didn't give me their servers, which is understandable I guess. Still makes them closed off. I'd say my only complaint is one that can't really be fixed. The forums on phones are just bad, but to be fair, they are designed around computers. I think the best option for me in the future is to just wait until I can use a computer. Yeah, that just sounds easier for both parties... I look forward to being in this league regardless! (04-02-2023, 11:26 PM)dude_man Wrote: Tier 1: Long Form Tasks (Must be 600+ words) Season 38 Draft Class Another season, and I think I’m starting to look forward to this offseason task post, since it allows me to really deep dive into my fellow classmates and catch up on where everyone is. It’s also great to see how each successive draft class has a different feel and stands out in its own way. Unlike last season which saw a ton of rookie debuts in the ISFL, this is the first of the “business as usual” season, where everyone is starting to get adjusted to life in the league, and start working towards that rapidly approaching peak season. Most of the bigger round draft picks all saw their first extension of their young careers, and the majority of the first and second rounders are headed for that GM dream, the 4 Million / year forever deal, which you’ll start to see in the upcoming season. Differentiation With 3 players in the class rapidly crashing through Bot status, I think that S38 is fully cementing itself as the best Offensive Linemen draft in a very long time. I think that myself (Walrus Jones), Fortified Fridge, and Remi Musgrave-Smythe will all comfortably pass a max 1000 milestone in their careers, and the only recent class that comes close to that is the (coincidental) S37 class which will likely have two OL superstars. And who was the standout S38 Offensive Lineman this season? Not even close, Remi was dominating the league, with the highest human pancake count, BY A LOT. 11 more than the highest TPE lineman in the league. Walrus had one more pancake than him last season, and I’m starting to think that was just dumb luck. He’s got a hall of fame start to his career. Players Still in the DSFL As of today, I’m only seeing 5 players from this class still playing in the DSFL, with the highest player being Zero Gibson on the Minnesota Grey Ducks. And of those 5 players, only 1 appears to be active, Ben Goodwood on the Portland Pythons, who updated less than a month ago, but has only updated 4 times so it remains to be seen if he can get over the hump and get called up into the ISFL. A few inactive players have fallen out of the DSFL entirely but haven’t retired yet, 3 players are showing as free agents, but only one of those players, Jack Hammer, got drafted to the ISFL, so that isn’t much of a surprise. Overall Metrics The class size on the TPE tracker is down to 43, which is a little sad, especially seeing these Reddit classes with 134 users to start. That said, they are much larger than the two neighboring classes, with S37 at 28 players and the S39 class at only 35 players. So who is still earning in the S38 class? Another 4 players crossed that arbitrary but important 500 TPE boundary, and there are now 22 players over that mark. 26 players are still going strong, updating in the last month. And who is the big team in the draft? Officially that title still belongs to the Baltimore Hawks, with 5 players (they had 6 last season). But if you look closer, you’ll see that one of those players is low TPE and inactive, and the Berlin Fire Salamanders also have 4 active players from the class now (they had 3 last season). A couple other teams have 3 players from the class, like Austin, Chicago, Colorado, Orange County, and San Jose. When you look at it like that, there are a lot of very active teams in this class, and it should be fun to see what happens this season as players start looking for their long term >800 TPE contracts in the next season. Code: 636 words
19. Despite the history of the Orange County Otter's previous stadium, numerous foundation complaints and capacity issues have caused the team to tear it down and make a new one. This stadium called the Otter Collesium, has been rumored to contain plenty of upgrades. First things first, the stadium is placed near the shoreline, and has 5 times the parking capacity as the old one. Second, the arena has a theme, it's based around a jungle, a reference to the habitat of the Otters, being marshes and ponds/ any body of water. When you first walk in you'll notice the large open space in the lobby, numerous shops and museums displaying Orange County greatness. However, one area that will stand apart, is the petting zoo. Where you can view real life Otters, including many other cute small animals. Despite many of them not being orange, the branding is still there. In the end, although silly, I think this stadium idea is quite cool, and should be considered.
Code: 166 Words 23. The current sim engine, although a bit bland it get's the job done. However there are numerous issues that can detract many new users from wanting to tune in to streams and they may even stray away. I think the major issue a lot of new creates see, is the look of sims. People want to see players whacking eachother, not circles colliding. We could fix this with simple blocking, running, catching, and throwing animations with sprites. Simple fix that shoulden't be too difficult, it would help player retention, as well as give the game a better overall look. Second issue, the balance between stats is something that should really be talked about. I think a Offensive Linemen, should gain more overall with a boost in strength, then a boost in speed. And Vice Versa for a Wide Reciever, It would help with realism as well as balance, it would also give us better metas to study, and making each build special instead of, dump speed/dump endurance. Code: 168 Words 29. Branding is a difficult thing to perfect, not only do you have to look and judge the look of your own logo, but you have to remember the legacy and history of the city/region you are representing. You can't give Egypt the mascot of a Tuna, like you can't give Norway the branding of a Camel, it simply doesn't make sense. Now with that out of the way, I would like to announce the best branding, is easily the Sarasota Sailfish. Sarasota is a very exotic place, with many bodies of water full of healthy and thriving sea life. Their brand reflects that, with a vibrant blue and green coloring in a very vibrant sailfish. The fish looks very intimidating too, like it knows its a football logo, it's fierce and fits, despite contrasting with the vibrant idea it is able to use both very well. Another plus, it pulls off an animal well, like many other logos in the ISFL, I could totally see the Sailfish being a viable mascot, Sammy the Sailfish? Code: 175 Words 36. PBE Affilate
1. The Season 40 Ultimus and Ultimini have officially come to an end. Congratulations to the the Bondi Beach Buccaneers and Arizona Outlaws for each winning their respective championships. How did each of the finalists in either the Ultimus or Ultimini arrive at the playoffs? Were there any teams that surprised or disappointed during the playoffs? Did the outcome of either championship game surprise you at all?
Season 40 started off big for the Bondi Beach with a huge draft, put together by GMs Thor and Eric. With these picks the team seemed to be in a much better position then the previous year when the team only won 2 games. But right out of the gate the Buc had two quick losses and things seemed much the same. Then in week 3 vs an also much improved Portland squad the Bucs got their first win of the season 41-35 in Portland. The next week brought a home victory over London by 20 points and just like that the Bucs were trending up and back to .500. BBB would then rattle of three more wins beating KC, TJ, and Minn to cap off their 5 game winning streak. In week 8 the Seawooves came into Bondi Beach and dealt the Bucs a painful 21-20 loss beating the Bucs for the second time this season. Then a win vs Dallas had the Bucs back in the win column with Portland coming to town in week 10. The Pythons gave the Bucs all they could handle beating the home team 37-20 and putting the Bucs at 6-4 with 4 games remaining. The bucs though would rise to the occasion beating LON, KC, and TJ all for the second time this season putting BBB at 9-4 with a shot at the number one overall seed throughout the playoff. In a battle for the number one seed the Bucs in week 14 needed a loss from Norfolk who were playing the DSFL North Champion Pythons and needing a win over the Greyducks. The Pythons defeated the Seawooves so it came down to BBB beating the Ducks. Which didn't happen the ducks defense held the potent Buc offense to just 10 points and beat them 17-10. Which would send BBB to Norfolk for the conference championship game. Coming into the game Norfolk had already beaten Bondi Beach 2 times so the Bucs had a tough task ahead of them. Thew Bucs though were not daunted and came out firing and never let up in route to a 27-16 win to become the North Champions who would go on to face a team they had split regular season games with the Portland Pythons. In the Ultimini the Pythons came out firing with 14 first quarter points while the Bucs couldn't even get on the board. The second quarter held much of the same for BBB as they were held to just a field goal as Portland scored another touchdown to send it to the half with Portland on top 21-3. The third quarter was a mirror of the first with BBB scoring two touchdowns and the Bucs defense giving up no points. The fourth quarter start with the Pythons leading 21-16 and both teams struggling to find anything on offense. Until 3:47 left in the game Bondi Beach safety Amanda Hugandkiss came up with a huge interception and taking the ball down to the Portland 5 yard line where the very next play Smokin Jay hit Kairo Knight for a touchdown and a quick hit to Malik Jordan for the 2 point conversion and a 3 point lead. From there the Bucs defense held the Pythons out of range for even a feild goal and won the Ultimini. Overall I think the Ultimini was a huge surprise around the league, after and offseason where both teams were in risk of being no more both teams drafted well and played well all season. The huge surprise was Bondi Beach though just one season after only winning two games end the next season tied for most wins in the league. With up and coming stars on both sides of the ball. A quarterback and receiving group that some weeks could not be stopped and 2 great running backs on offense. To a defense with great players at every level D-line, LBs, and secondary a squad that gave up the least points and caused the most turnovers. The team ended up with 12 DSFL probowlers and a few players in the running for end of the year awards. Also a team that would be well represented in the early rounds of the ISFL draft. In the end it was a great season for us and a great first season for me in the league. (726 words)
Tier 2 - Task 10 - 300+ Words - 5 TPE
Okay under normal circumstances I would make some joke about being given divine providence over the league by being made commissioner, but I do have a few changes I would make if given the highest power position in the league for such a short duration that any of the fallout from these changes would not fall on me. First that I can think of actually relates to this point task as I would steal the system from the PBE that makes all written tasks eligible to be written as any given tier. If I write 150+ words about Task One it counts for 2.5 TPE, but I could write 450+ words about Task One to earn 7.5 TPE. I love that system way more because if something sparks my interest I can just ramble about it for all 600+ words to complete the whole thing, or if two things spark my interest a moderate amount I can do two at 300+ or one 450+ and one 150+ to get it done. That added flexibility is something I would love to see. Second and one that I know has come up off and on is a rule zero which states that Head Office reserves the right to do whatever the bleep they want as long as it is for the good of the league with the caveat that a majority vote by GMs or a unanimous vote by Appeals can overrule it along with the note that Head Office cannot use this power to get rid of more than one GM or Appeals team member at a time or to do away with those positions in totality. Reason being is a relatively recent case where we felt the need to put a rule into place to justify a decision that should been a simple slam dunk based on how our affiliate leagues handled it. I do appreciate the rule change of being able to take into account actions over in affiliate leagues, but as someone who views the league as a big D&D game where Head Office and other job holders are basically Dungeon Master I feel like they should be far more comfortable using their power to make sure things run smoothly while protecting the user base at large from evil. Third I would change media to a flat rate 2000 per word with the guideline for graders that they are to feel free to hand out bonuses up to double that if they feel the piece is deserving it and more with approval. Yes this means I would say an especially high quality article should get the equivalent of 4x pay during double media weeks. Graphics pay in this league has skyrocketed which is not a bad thing per se as much as it has caused a disparity relative to media. Just as the minimum wage should rise so too should media pay. Okay I am well over word count now, but one last idea is to genuinely work with our affiliate leagues in an attempt to make that a more meaningful connection. Joint league banking. Is that solely something I want so that I can use my vast fortune to max earn in PBE and SHL more easily? Yes. Don't I worry about how it would impact media and graphics creation? Mildly at best as I do not think people creating for finance sake alone is a good motivator. Do I genuinely think this is a good idea? Least a little bit I think it would help in recruiting regards from other leagues if they knew they did not have to struggle to earn if they have already earned. I hesitated to join SHL for a long time because I don't get hockey to be completely honest, and I imagine a lot of SHL members hesitate in the same regard jumping over here due to lack of football knowledge. If people could earn their money by doing media about their preferred sport I imagine they might be more inclined to add their name to a new league. Code: Word Count: 679 Tier 3 - Task 23 - 150+ Words - 2.5 TPE That is a whole gigantic can of worms that I don't really want to crawl around in at this point in time. There are quirks and oddities that could be ironed out, and honestly someone who tinkers with it would be better suited to pointing them all out. This point in my career I read the index occasionally at best so would not be well suited to the first question. The second question however is one where I have a few legitimate answers. If I could make improvements to the sim engine the thing I would want to do is actually work to optimize it for the sim league experience. Which would mean talking to our sim team, updaters, et cetera to try to make the interfaces more fitting for how we use it. I think that would go a huge way towards making it better overall as I know we have file hassle on a routine basis so getting genuine user input into how to make that side of things easier would work wonders for them. Next I would want to balance attribute importance. Should speed be king in a sport where everyone drools at forty times? Yes and no. Yes in the sense that the average player who can run really fast tends to be able to make at least a few flashy plays in their career even if the rest of their tool belt is empty. No in the sense that the player I consider the greatest in the league was not the fastest guy on the field as much as he was the most enduring. Thus I would make endurance more important by making it so that it sort of acts as a cap on other attributes in the form of something like if you have 100 speed, but only 70 endurance you might get a few snaps at that 100 speed but it would continue to fall as you take more snaps down to 70 as it is limited by your endurance. Whereas at this point the sim savvy tell me the improvement of endurance from 72 and up is minimal at best by comparison. Beyond that I would personally want to work to make sure that each position would be fun to play if someone were to play it in a sim league. Give offensive line the full stat details of sacks allowed, pancakes, penalties, and also rush yards generated by virtue of their blocking. Do the same for fullbacks and ideally study tape of guys like Lorenzo Neal to see how they could be used to make things more interesting. Pump defensive line up so that they can be involved in all facets of the defensive side of the ball without being overpowered. Show how the equivalent of a high TPE corner shut down their opponent by having passer rating allowed correlate more with better attributes and have it be a standard part of the index. Improve kickers by giving them a differing accuracy stat for field goals and kickoffs to account for people like Gostkowski who adjusted for one throwing off the other, and to give them a way of becoming specifically better at onside kicks, and I would make it so FG accuracy in this regard helps a punter make coffin kicks while kickoff accuracy helps keep them from outkicking their coverage unit. On that note I would also love to see more involvement in special teams, but that is a whole thing to dive into and I am already well past word count. Also just cause I will never not bring this up in these kinds of things I would love to see a sim team up with Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference in an attempt to make the most realistic gridiron football simulation possible, but that is sadly going to remain a distant dream for the time being. Code: Word Count: 651 Tier 3 - Task 27 - 150+ Words - 2.5 TPE This is a pretty easy one for me to answer as my initial create of Magnus Rikiya was a defensive tackle due more to the stated need of teams rather than due to strong personal interest in the position. Although it is a position I am fond of as I enjoy all the defensive positions, and it is one I think deserves more love as a fan of players like Bryant Young and Kevin Williams. That said having had a career there that ultimately ended up disappointing despite TPE earning I knew I wanted a change which is part of why I went with safety the second time around. If safety was not an option than I would have gone with my second choice at the time which would have been linebacker specifically the coverage linebacker archetype as if memory serves they have the highest intelligence cap of the defensive archetypes guaranteeing them the radio spot if capped, and that really appealed to me for some reason. Also of all the other positions I feel like coverage linebacker is the closest in nature to a safety given the gap between a box safety and linebacker has become heavily blurred in recent years, but of course to throw it back Seth Joyner is a superstar who would probably have done a lot to inspire my concept in that instance. Code: Word Count: 228
14. Expansion Expansion Expansion! Tell us why you think the league should expand / not expand or include any ideas (in words) for team branding ideas you have or team locations.
While I appreciate that expansion may not be top of the list for HO at the moment, I’ve been thinking about which city would be well suited for an expansion team for a while and it’s simply got to be Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. I’m currently torn as to whether they would be called the Wellington Wildcats or the Wellington Wolverines but in all honesty, either would be great — particularly as I’m a sucker for alliteration. Wellington is an ideal location for a new American football team for a number of non-sporting reasons but there are a few that are sports related that are just “a given”. Firstly, Wellington loves its sports teams and has a few franchises in other sports already — which have remained well supported for a number of years. Additionally, Rugby is a popular sport in New Zealand, and American football can appeal to fans looking for a different kind of physical, high-impact sport. While the comparisons between them are pretty much limited to the rough shape of the ball and the occasional broken bone, they do generally appeal to similar types of people. Wellington has a young, growing population, which could help make the new American football team appeal to fans at a young age and get them emotionally attached to the brand early on. The city is known for its vibrant arts and culture scene, which could also be leveraged to create a unique brand identity for the team. By tapping into the city's diverse community, a new American football team could create a strong connection with fans and build a loyal following. Finally, Wellington has a reputation as a hub for innovation and creativity, which could be applied to the development of a new American football team. The city is home to a thriving tech industry, as well as a range of other innovative businesses and startups. By embracing this spirit of innovation, a new American football team could differentiate itself from other sports franchises in New Zealand and build a unique brand that resonates with fans and supporters. This tech oriented economy would also make it easier for the company to obtain sponsorship on digital platforms, while headline sponsorship slots could easily be filled by the city’s bigger and more established companies that are simply seeking brand exposure. In conclusion, Wellington has all the ingredients for a successful American football team, including a passionate fan base, a diverse community, and a culture of innovation and creativity. By leveraging these strengths, a new American football team in Wellington could become a major player in the local sports scene and create a legacy that lasts for years to come. Code: 447 words (5 TPE) 19. Your team has announced that they will be laying ground on a new stadium next season. What additions would you like to see included in it. (Written Task) The Arizona Outlaws new stadium would be called the Wild West Arena, in keeping with the brand. Naturally, given the dynasty that has developed over the last 15 or so seasons in Arizona, there are ample funds available for investment here, so the arena would be truly state of the art — particularly in terms of being green! To reflect the growing importance of sustainability and environmental responsibility, Wild West Arena would be designed with eco-friendly features like solar panels, rainwater collection systems, and LED lighting. This could help reduce the stadium's carbon footprint and make it a model for sustainable design in the region. This would be the primary reason for the stadium having a full roof, as it would allow for substantial space for solar panels, which would be an exceptional investment, given Arizona’s climate. This would also help power the many large screen displays and electronic gadgets that you would expect to find in a modern stadium. Code: 159 words (2.5 TPE) 32. Your player has decided to start a podcast since it's what all the cool celebrities are doing these days. What would the name of your player's podcast be and what would they talk about/do on the podcast? The podcast would be called Smart Talk, playing on the name of Notso and being somewhat tongue in cheek, as the podcast would inevitably descend into chaos at times. Topics of discussion would likely be things such as football strategy and analysis, breaking down recent ISFL games and highlights. He would also be able to bring on many great guests for discussion, particularly from the Arizona Outlaws and hence the previously mentioned chaos. Notso would also be able to use the platform to discuss the latest trends in sports science, performance, the general day to day life of an ISFL player and perhaps most importantly fan interaction. Taking questions and comments from fans on social media or through a call-in segment would allow listeners to connect with the player and feel like they are part of the conversation, as opposed to just listeners. This would create interesting and intense points of debate in itself — or just result in yet further chaos, who knows?! Code: 163 words (2.5 TPE) |
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