05-18-2024, 11:55 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-18-2024, 11:56 AM by Jimi64. Edited 1 time in total.)
1. The S47 Ultimini win for the Portland Pythons was unexpected and thrilling. Not only were the odds against us, but the road itself to the championship was a rocky one. Before the season even started, we collectively discussed, as a team, what are odds of success were for the season. Our eyes immediately went to TPE levels, as I think we’re all prone to doing. What immediately stuck out was Minnesota’s TPE. They had a significant TPE lead over every team in the DSFL, with many maxed out players to show for it. It was intimidating, and we were ready to hand them the trophy. Our TPE levels were average, pretty clearly in the middle compared to the rest of the league. However, the draft had brought in some exciting users, such as Willeh, so we were hopeful about our growth over the season relative to the other teams. On a personal note, I was not sure how much my player would be involved in the team during the season, as he was one of three running backs on the roster. I was pleased to see through preseason and week 1 that I was not only getting carries, I was actually getting most of them. The season started off poorly, as we dropped to 1-4 through the first five games of the season. I won’t say morale was the best, but it wasn’t toxic either, it was fiercely determined. The passion of our sim testers remained strong, with Willeh being a vocal leader on that front. That work testing, along with the consistent growth of our change, caused a total 180 degree turn for the rest of the season. Over 9 games of the season, we went 8-1. This was fantastic, but it actually still wasn’t enough to push us into the playoffs easily, as the ghost of our bad start haunted us. It came down to the very last week of the regular season to decide the final seeding. We were tied at an 8-5 record with the London Royals heading into week 14, setting up a true do or die matchup for us, with the winner getting the last playoff spot. It’s almost like we had to play an extra playoff game. We excitedly took care of business, and the team celebrated. It had been a difficult road, and there was a time in the season that playoffs didn’t seem a possibility to many of us. At that point, we considered the season a success. After all, in the conference championship we’d be facing the Minnesota Grey Ducks, essentially a powerhouse in our eyes, so we knew the chance of winning was slim, to say it lightly. The game started as a blowout for Minnesota. We were completely outclassed on both sides of the ball. At one point, we went down 27-0. That would seem to almost everyone as completely insurmountable. I wouldn’t be surprised if many simply turned the game off at that point and walked away. Not only were we down 27, we were still down 20 heading into the fourth quarter. If the Grey Ducks scored just a few more points or even just stalled the game out a bit more, it might have been just out of reach. As fate would have it, one of the most improbable fourth quarters of simulation football I’ve ever seen occurred, and scored 28 unanswered points to eek out a one point win against who we saw as the titans of DSFL heading into the season. With Tijuana up next, a more favorable opponent than the Ducks (though still strong in their own right), a championship appeared a real possibility. It wouldn’t be easy. The game was tight, a one score affair, for the majority of the game, with Tijuana spending most of the game leading. We swung the momentum in the second half and were able to hang on, claiming the S47 Ultimini. My player, Animal Blundetto, scored twice in the game, and I was proud to have made such in impact in that final game, one that would be my last as a Python. I have spent a decent amount of time in the DSFL as a user in this league, but this past season may have just been the most exciting.
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