(S50) Offseason Task

[Brad Woof]

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[LtHudz]

pass bb

[.Laser]

SHL Affiliate - 2.5/10

Task 14: Expansion! - 7.5/10 TPE
The league should absolutely not expand as of this moment in time. Though there are plenty of excellent users, there simply is not enough of a userbase to be able to sustain another two teams in the league, and there is certainly not a viable schedule for 15 teams. There are 637 players in the league right now. Of those, around 120 are 50 TPE and are not able to be realistically rostered by a ISFL team, and barely by a DSFL team. Some of those are S51 draftees, so let's call it 90 IA 50 TPE users and 30 S51 50 TPE draftees. That gives us 547 players over 50 TPE and 567 that could be over 50. Add our sub-100 TPE players and it's another 50. Most of those are likely IA or semi-active. Let's say 25 semi-active users from that bunch. Then, for sub-250 users, we have about 100 between 100 and 250. We'll say that we have about 45 active users in there. So, for players under 250 TPE, there are a total of 370 users with roughly 100 of those active. That brings our numbers from 637 players down to about 267 over 250, which is less than half the league. We also have about 100 active players that could get over 250, which is 367 and just under half the league. When you consider that every team needs one QB, one RB, one FB/RB, three WR, one TE/WR, three DL, three LB, one DL/LB, 5 CB/FS/SS, and one K/P, we come to a total of 20 players that are required for any ISFL roster. 14*20 is 280, which is less than the number of players that are over 250 TPE. Looking at those numbers, if we were to expand to 16 teams, we would require 320 players to field a full roster for each team - not counting those teams with 4 DL and 4 LB, or 1 TE and 4 WR, or 3 WR and 2 TE, or what have you. Those are bonuses. And this also does not count the OL members of the league, of which there are 63 - 6 50 TPE, 6 between 51 and 100, and 10 between 101-205. Realistically, and OL must be 350-ish TPE to start in ISFL, so when we filter out 251-325 TPE OL, we get another 6 players lost. So, as per my calculations, the league should realistically be looking at contracting more than they should be looking at expanding.

Task 20: Stadium Improvements - 10/10 TPE
If the New York Silverbacks were to build a new stadium, I would want to see bananas fucking everywhere. On every single number on the field, on the concourse, a huge banana bell at the top deck that gets rung any time the Silverbacks score a single point, and a banana counter that shows the number of completions for the QB or sacks for the defense when it shows stats on screen. I just want bananas incorporated in every single way possible. Banana splits in the concessions, fried bananas, chocolate dipped bananas on a stick, banana chips instead of potato chips, banana-shaped hot dogs, banana shaped urinals, banana-shaped balloons that get thrown to the crowd for them to bounce around and play with. Anything that has to do with a banana is to be included in the stadium. Oh, and of course, the player's jerseys feature bananas that create the numbers on the jerseys, on both shoulders and front and back, and a wild ass font that captures the essence of the Silverbacks spelling out each player's name.

[Fangorn]

16. 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?

The Rise and Rift
Season 49 (2064) was a turbulent one for Reginald Hammerfall, who began the year as the Orange County Otters’ rising star but ended it with a sudden departure to the New York Silverbacks. For the former first-round pick, this season was a rollercoaster filled with high hopes, simmering tensions, and a dramatic exit.

Highlights: Strong Performances Amidst Uncertainty
Despite the off-field drama, Hammerfall delivered when given the chance. The highlights of his season came in critical games where his versatility shone. In Week 8 against the Berlin Fire Salamanders, Hammerfall put up 1 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, proving he was more than capable of being the workhorse back the Otters needed. Hammerfall also embraced a leadership role within the locker room, guiding younger players and maintaining his commitment to team success despite the swirling rumours and the uncomfortable situation brewing behind the scenes.

Low Points: The Rift With Blundetto and the GMs
However, the season was marked by tension almost from the start. The prominence given to second-year running back Animal Blundetto cast a shadow over Hammerfall’s role. Despite Hammerfall’s superior development and experience, Blundetto was handed the lead back duties for the first half of the season. Hammerfall felt that this was not based on merit, but rather on favouritism and behind-the-scenes deals between Blundetto and the Otters’ general managers.

The now-infamous midseason meeting, where Hammerfall aired his frustrations, was a turning point. He expressed his dismay at how his career had been handled—particularly the wasted rookie season where he was barely utilised, losing valuable opportunities for growth and accolades. When it became clear that the Otters’ management had promised Blundetto the primary role regardless of performance metrics, Hammerfall’s trust in the organisation was shattered. His public comments about nepotism and the need for a players’ union only intensified the rift. Hammerfall’s limited involvement in the offense was a glaring sign that the Otters had already begun planning for a future without him.

What Hammerfall Might Have Done Differently
Reflecting on the season, Hammerfall has acknowledged that he could have managed his emotions better. The public airing of grievances, while understandable, may have escalated tensions unnecessarily. In hindsight, he admits that keeping some of those frustrations behind closed doors might have maintained a more stable relationship with the coaching staff and management.

However, Hammerfall stands by his belief that transparency and fairness are crucial. “I don’t regret speaking out,” he said in a post-season interview. “It’s bigger than me. It’s about making sure every player is treated fairly and that we don’t lose the spirit of competition to backroom deals.”

Expectations for the Future: A Fresh Start in New York
Now signed with the New York Silverbacks, Hammerfall is eager for a fresh start. He joins a young, hungry team looking to make a splash in the ISFL. With no clear-cut RB1 on the roster, Hammerfall expects to be heavily involved in the Silverbacks’ offense from day one. The prospect of proving himself in a new city, in a storied venue like the Concrete Jungle, has reinvigorated Hammerfall’s drive.

“New York is where I’ll show what I can really do,” he stated confidently. “The past is behind me, and now it’s time to run wild and make the Silverbacks a force to be reckoned with.”

Hammerfall’s expectations are high - he aims to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards, become a focal point of the Silverbacks’ offense, and lead his new team to their first playoff appearance since 2059 (season 44). With the drama of Season 49 in the rearview mirror, Hammerfall is ready to embrace the next chapter, fueled by the lessons learned and the desire to prove himself on a bigger stage.



17. Update your own players wiki page with a brief summary, 150 words minimum, of the most recent season, and Update your stats table to reflect your players career stats table to reflect the most recent season. Link your wiki page below along with a brief explanation of what was updated.

Added all stats and summary of season 49, updated team etc: https://wiki.sim-football.com/view/Regin...all#2063_2

[Wiggli]

17. Update your own players wiki page with a brief summary, 150 words minimum, of the most recent season, and Update your stats table to reflect your players career stats table to reflect the most recent season. Link your wiki page below along with a brief explanation of what was updated.

https://wiki.sim-football.com/view/Juan_Carrasco

200+ words (S49 update, touched up summary), stat table (not sure how best to handle CHI/OSK transition - CHI supported at the time of update)

11. 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.

Chopsticks. Bane of Juan ‘Rascal’ Carrasco’s existence. Moving to Osaka he quickly became addicted to the morsels of fish and rice that these foreign implements served to convey toward his eagerly awaiting mouth.  At his favorite dining establishment, the reprimands progressed from courteous to stern to threatening, not a physical threat (ludicrous as it would be given the 200 pound disparity between server and diner) but a threat of being cutoff from service if he continued to use his hands instead of the designed utensils.

But Juan’s hands, hideously disfigured in a teenage noodling accident, were not up to the task. They still held some of the magic from when he adroitly manipulated the taxidermy needle, but he had learned that as a child. Working these pieces of wood was something this old rascal really struggled to learn. He performed much better when he thought of the process as shoveling more than grasping. He wanted it to work like waving a magic wand, or conducting an orchestra, such was the joy he felt when eating the little treasures, but at the end of the day what was most important was getting it into his belly. A workaday task same as his contribution on the football field. Just hold down the fort, Juan felt no greater success than a key stop on third or fourth and short. A forced fumble, tackle for loss, or sack may attract more attention, but a good old fashioned turnover on downs or forced punt was what truly nourished the rookie, and that didn’t need to be pretty just functional.

World traveler Juan. Homeschooled for the majority of his life, becoming a Rajun Cajun was his first taste of the bigger and wider world. But then it opened up so many unexpected doors becoming a professional football player. Moving to London (learning to love tea) and now taking the first steps toward reaching his final form in Osaka (nourishing himself ungracefully). A big league defensive tackle. A cosmopolitan Carrasco.

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333 words

[oilmandan]

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[crash1005]

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[Knif3yMan87]

1. The Season 48 Ultimus and Ultimini have officially come to an end. Congratulations to the the Portland Pythons and New Orleans Second Line 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?


My player, J.C. Tomlinson, was a player on the Portland Pythons and I actually wrote a media article that covered some of our story, however I'd love to go into depth about it now. The Pythons' route to the Ultimini was pretty unlikely in my opinion, especially during pre-season and through the first quarter of the season. Portland was 1-3 in the Preseason and then started the regular season 1-4. Our offense was struggling to find its identity and the defense was hanging in there but not really making a lot of plays. We have to remember that the DSFL Regular Season is only 14 games, so 1-4 through 5 games doesn't leave a ton of wiggle room for earning one of the four playoff spots available. The London Royals were the best team in the DSFL through the first half of the season for sure, and they also ruined the Portland Python's homecoming game in week 3, so you know that we were going to have to pay them back later.

Finally in week 6 the Pythons earned a second win over Kansas City and things were looking up. Back to back wins over Tijuana in weeks 7 and 8 would have the Portland team at 4-4 and back to a .500 winning record. It was during this stretch of the season, about weeks 5-10 where my player JC Tomlinson really started to take off. A 7-game sack streak would help lead the offense, including plenty of tackles to help set the example that the Pythons defense was not going to be pushed around. And just when we thought the Pythons were taking off, we ended up losing to KC in a terrible game 40-14, to go back to a losing record.

Week 10 we saved our season by beating Bondi Beach 45-10, a convincing win that would have Portland's spirits up again in this rollercoaster season. Like clockwork, we'd disappoint again in week 11 dropping a close game to Norfolk, another team that we would need to get revenge on later if possible. Through 11 games, Portland was sitting at 5-6 with 3 games to go. Things were not looking good for us, however we were lucky that the rest of the league was beating each other up to keep us in the hunt mathematically. At this point I think it would have been honest to admit that the locker room was already looking ahead to the off-season and draft.

Then BOOM! Portland would get hot and go on a run, they'd win the last 3 games of the season and then get their revenge against London in the DSFL North division title game, and then on to defeat the Norfolk Seawolves in overwhelming fashion in the Ultimini. It all seemed to happen super-fast and I am still sort of in disbelief. Definitely a shoutout to Rockman (QB) and the offense who really got things together at the right time to put some a ton of points. The defense also did our thing, and I am proud to report that my player had a phenomenal season.  I ended up finishing with 14 sacks and 89 tackles which was both good for near the top on my team as well as around the DSFL. I think my player's performance mirrored that of the Portland Pythons pretty closely; we both got off to slow starts and eventually got hot at the right time and rode that wave all the way to a DSFL Ultimini Championship!

Another shoutout to Bamford & the Portland GMs for putting the team together and leading us on this miracle season. I am excited for the draft and hopeful that I'll be just as surprised there as I was for my team's playoff run. Thanks everyone and good luck next season!   Congratulations Portland!!!!

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Words: 637

[swoosh]

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[RoyRivers]

Tier 2 - Option 8 - "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?" (70 words until here)

So, as the prompt requests, I'm completely new to this league, and, I might add, completely new to the concept of a sim league. I'm telling you this so you know my opinion is further placed in context, so if I'm completely wrong on something, ignore that as a complete newb to this concept. For a little further context, I am however a veteran in a couple Mafia themed text-based MMORPGs very dedicated to roleplaying, so I'm not strange to tasks, writing and roleplaying. 

Even though I've not even played the Prospect Bowl yet, my experience has been very good with this league, I'm still a bit in disbelief that sim leagues exist to be honest, so I'm probably riding the excitement of that and really immersing myself into the worldbuilding you guys have here. Everyone I've been in contact so far, from Rookie Mentors to Scouts from the DSFL, random people in chat, have been very nice and very helpful to me. They've helped with flatenning a bit the steep learning curve of understanding a sim league. I'm not sure I'm completely there yet, but certainly on my way, just now I was talking to someone and I was so sure you'd only stay at the developmental league for 1 year, but turns out you can stay longer, which actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

About excitement, hell yes I'm excited! I'm excited to see my player take the field. I'm excited to get to the DSFL draft and watch the rounds go by and my player slipping, slipping until there seems to be no more hope, and maybe someone takes a "what-the-heck" flier on the newbie on the game. Or maybe I'll go undrafted, and I get my choice(?) of what team to visit? Oh! The possibilities are abundant! I'm not trying to ramble, I honestly am excited about the possibilities.

I can't speak much about my player early start, as I just started my journey yesterday, or about being drafted yet, but I do have some suggestions. Please see it as constructive criticism. Like I said, I have a good background in text-based games, and while the Forum is great to organize all the game, Discord for real-time conversation and community building, and the wiki is a great help, but it feels like there should be a website like a "NFL.com" but instead "ISFL.com", obviously at an acceptable scale, where you have all the information about the league, former winners, information on all the teams, but in a way that is really captivating for new players. Maybe that's too much work, but you guys put so much amazing detail and work into a casino, a fantasy league, collectible cards, it feels like it's missing something like that "face" of the league.

Another suggestion, probably a lot less megalomaniac, but maybe still very difficult to implement... Please do away with the Claims and updating on a forum character update page. Sure it would take some revamping the whole system, but there's gotta be a way to create an easier database more automated, saving on a lot of update checkers and auditors. 

Just my two cents guys, thanks for creating and maintaining an amazing game/concept. Look forward to immerse myself into it.

(531 words for the task)

Tier 2 - Option 11 - "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." (46 words here)

Wednesday, a chilly night, but in the Webberton Wombats locker room, you wouldn’t know.

Today, is the Prospects Bowl first game. There’s excitement in the air, but also a tension that is heavy and almost palpable. Everyone is playing for their future, their livelihood as a football player. Some players are quiet as a mouse, others are just cracking jokes, pretending like they don’t really care.

Today, is one of three nights you can prove your worth to the DSFL scouts. Sure, they saw your tape in college, sure, they talk you up like you’re the next big thing. Through all the scouts meetings, Roy wasn’t sure if he was going to be the a first round draft pick, or if it was just all talk, and he would just slide down the rounds.

“Ten safeties, ten safeties!” The words circled around his head. Ten safeties were drafted last year for eight teams, three of those ten even got spent first round capital. “How many more safeties will be drafted this year? Can I be one of them? When? What do they mean by ‘would you be open to change positions?’”

Roy kept taping his ankles. He couldn’t shake his own thoughts.

“Are they just planning to keep their options open, so when their actual targets get taken, they can get me as a Corner or a Linebacker to fill up backup ranks? Can I even make an impact on those positions? Will I be good enough? I can be a decent Corner, but being a Safety is what I’m really good at…”

Roy finished taping up his ankles, took a deep breath and remembered what his High School Coach and mentor told him on the phone just an hour earlier: “Don’t worry about that, just focus on the game, do your best, you’ll be great. If it all really goes to hell, I’ll hire you as my assistant and waterboy”. Coach Nolan always had a way with words and breaking the tension. He would be watching here tonight, and Roy wanted to make him proud.

“Ten minutes and we take the field” – the assistant yelled from the door.

Here goes nothing.

(362 words for the task)