I've been in this league a long time - since the teens seasons - so there are many memories that I cherish and hold close to my heart. The most obvious and significant for me is the S23 Ultimus Championship over the Austin Copperheads. It was my final season as General Manager of the Yellowknife Wraiths, and we had built a juggernaut team that was seemingly incapable of getting over the hump. We'd made it to, and lost, four straight Ultimus games in my previous five years as a GM and gotten bounced in the conference championship the season before despite dominating in the regular season. It was my last chance to send all of the friends that I had grown so close with over the years home with a victory, including several, like timeconsumer and Cooter Bigsby, for whom it would be the last chance before retirement. I streamed the game to my TV, I actively chatted with the team as the stream was occuring, and ultimately we celebrated heavily in the locker room. It was a moment that really cemented the ISFL (then NSFL) as an important part of my life and a memory that I won't soon forget.
NOLA sig by @AK41 from secret santa '22 and pew pew by me
My history in the ISFL, for me, was always uncertain in terms of how I’d be “remembered”. I mean, I came into the league in S4, and I have two HOF players. I helped Adam start the Austin Copperheads, and we did end up winning an Ultimus. I’ve been the Media Head for like, eternity (Shout out to the extended 2x media!). So, yes, even reading this now, it seems silly for me to be unsure how I’d be remembered. Even still, that doubt was all taken away this past awards ceremony when I was INCREDIBLY SURPRISED that the league had inducted me into the User Hall of Fame. I’m not going to lie, I tend to grossly underestimate my “importance” to people in sim leagues, so I really had no idea that I’d even be a candidate for such an honor. The fact that I’ve gone down in history as a pretty cool guy to people is humbling, truly. My personal greatest memory will always be that first Austin Ultimus victory. Easton Cole chucking Touchdowns was nice, but it was the messages afterwards. Specifically, from SDCore, my WR Rod Tidwell at the time. Just absolute jubilation thanking each other for the hard work we’ve both done and being so fucking happy we not only won, but with each other. It’s a moment that always stands out to me when I think back on my years here. So thank you, everyone, for giving me constant moments like that over the last 43 seasons. I’ll always cherish these memories. Always. (259)
My favourite memory in the league is a relatively recent one - Arizona's conference championship game vs Austin in the S46 playoffs. After a challenging couple of seasons mired at the bottom of Baltimore's rushing depth chart, Bertie managed to attract the attention of Arizona's management during the S45 offseason, and even though he couldn't possibly be promised anything close to RB1 there either, at least the prospect of rising up the ranks was not so dismal, given regression's slow but steady effect on the roster. He didn't expect all that much in his first season especially, but as the season came to a close, he was feeling confident, and this was highlighted in a career best 3 TD game vs bitter rival Austin. It was so exciting to contribute to a crucial team victory so early, and this definitely gave him the confidence to push through in clutch situations, as evidenced in his Ultimus-winning TD drive. He hopes to make even more happy memories on Arizona and in the ISFL at large!
I’ve been privileged to have had a shot at the ultimate prize, the Ultimus, for both of my players. What I want to talk about here is the 2nd out of 3 games in the Ultimus and the play Joel Drake made that came 2 minutes away from winning Colorado the championship.
It had been a back-and-forth affair but Honolulu held the reigns late in the 4th quarter. With one scoring drive and already in possession of a 3 point lead it was likely the game would come down to Colorado’s ability to at least hold Honolulu to a field goal. Drake didn’t let them get that far. With 5:30 left on the clock he took a pass from Joliet Christ Jr back for 20 yards and a touchdown to give Colorado their first lead since early in the 3rd. Had they held from there this play would have gone down in history. Unfortunately they allowed one final TD drive and lost the game.
Most of Zenzeroni's memories come in the form of individual accomplishments. The Cinderella run that happened last season as a Yellowknife Wraith was one for the history books and despite a lackluster season for the entire regular season the memories of kicking the game winning field goal in a playoff game will last a lifetime. Not only that but playing in the Ultimus and being the undisputed MVP of the game with players, fans, and coaches from all sides saying had the Wraiths won that game Zenzeorni would have received the MVP award was quite the honor. Being drafted was a memory although not a good one considering I was somehow not the first kicker off the board (yes I'm still salty @ Berlin Fire Salamanders). But my most valuable memories come in the form of Thor Dangerson who has followed me wherever I go and has now risen above me as my overlord and GM.
Howdy! I am responsible for quite possibly the greatest kicker to ever grace the ISFL and am the most accomplished media writer the ISFL has ever seen (no need to ask anyone else regarding either of those claims)
Important Media You Must Read If You Want To Be Cool Like Me
The Villainous Jreed12: The Case Against the WEAKly Mirror|Jreed is a multi|Coming soon
The Truth About Baron1898: The Self Proclaimed Queen|The Evil Queen|The Curse of Venus|The Truth
The Year of the Joker: Year of the Joker|Doubling Down|Bye to Losers|Win or Not?|Last Dance
Read the full 56 Chapter Book of Zen Catalog here: The Book of Zen
Miscellaneous Articles: The Clown Car Four|The Nauseating Nine|1 Star Mcdonalds Prospect Analysis
When I think back on my time here, I think mostly of the people. But there have been plenty of moments over my years that I think back on fondly. There were the game nights in MIN that lasted until 3am. @TheCC and @Dewalt27 have definitely NEVER heard me snore on the mic after falling asleep. Not even once. Those nights were fun enough to convince me that meeting them in real life wouldn't be so bad after all!
I've also been lucky enough to win 4 championships in my 4 years in the league. My first 2 came in back to back seasons very early in my first player's career with San Jose. The joy I felt after the second of that run is something I've been chasing for 4 years now. I started a VC nit he locker room and we all lost our marbles and talked about what a crazy run it was. I think this current crop of Sabercats is good enough to make it happen, and when they do, we're gunna party like it's S25!
I havent been in the league for that long so I dont have too many memories to pick from. There is a couple that stand out, when I first joined alikh claimed me on post tdl waivers and we had a playoff run in London. That was an awesome introduction to the league.
Everyone knows how rough NOLA's on field performance has been recently, so my memories there are more attached to the locker room. Which no matter how bad we have been in the sim the locker room has always stayed mainly positive biding our time as we waited for the player progression. I think this is the first season that we enter with expectations and it's been awesome. Every game builds memories, a tight one with HON were they hung tough and pushed us all the way. A heartbreaker away from home against San Jose only to back it up with a cruisy win over Chicago. Overall I'm just happy that I was lucky enough to be drafted by them thats a memory that will always stick with me
Since we are about to have 50 seasons of this league upon us by Halloween presumably, I want to reflect on the fondest moment that I had in this league to this day: the S26 and S27 seasons with NOLA. During those seasons, I was embodying my first player: Azarius Ranger. I had not yet learned how to max earn, but I was a contributing member to a team that was looking to return to glory. By the beginning of S26, it looked that it was same old of missing the playoffs; however, that season we had four teams go 9-7 with us being the 2nd seed. With that good fortune, we went to the Ultimus where we lost to the fish. And even more fun season came in the following season in S27 as Sloth led us to a comeback season with one of the greatest QB seasons of all time as he passed for over 5000 yards and 40 TDs. We rode this momentum all the way to the Ultimus where we unfortunately lost to the Wraiths. Still a great two seasons in memory though.
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