That Magic Moment
In a hotly contested game between the Philadelphia Liberty and the Orange County Otters in the Ultimus Championship, one key defining play stands out. Philadelphia has the momentum late in the fourth, driving at will against the exhausted Otter defense who has had to contend with the passing attack of Tyler Oles. A crucial 31 yard pass sets up Philadelphia at the 5 yard line, ready to take the lead with 2:58 left in the game and down by 6. Offensive miscues lead to a 4 yard pass from Oles to his primary outlet at receiver, veteran Josh Garden. The magic moment is at 4th and goal from the one with barely a minute and a half left before the Otters claim their championship. Oles fires to his favorite target Garden! .... but he drops the game winning touchdown pass. The difference between coming home disappointed or returning champions can be illustrated in this one play. By far through all accounts, this has been the best Ultimus yet, most in part because of this thrilling play in the twilight of the game. This is a game that will go down in NSFL lore as one of the greatest, if not the defining championship game all others are compared to.
Word Count: 209
Sitdown With a Fan: Found Here
Sit-down with a star: Tyler Oles
Questions:
1. As a long time veteran of the NSFL, where would you like to see the league evolve in the coming months? Points of improvement perhaps?
2. What is your opinion on potentially switching league engines to the upcoming Out of the Park/Solecismic Software game to replace Draft Day Sports?
3. Philadelphia has been in the playoff mix for the past few seasons; is it possible in the near future for us to see your team take that next step and dethrone the Otters? Or is there another team out there who may be able to accomplish that goal?
4. What got you into this league?
Answers:
1. The biggest point of improvement has to be parity. While it's gotten better over the past few seasons we're still seeing one team that clearly reigns above the rest. While I feel like the Liberty made that push to the upper echelon this season we still need to get something to push up to compete with the Otters. The league has gotten a lot better over the past few seasons and really seems like it has the staying power now, and with people getting up there in age and experience we could really start to see the good players spread out and the dynasties stop.
2. I can't wait. I've been a big supporter and big force in the OOTP hype. OOTP Baseball is a great sim and I trust the developers to be able to really make a great football sim with the tools they have from OOTP and the tools that Front Office Football has. The two together seems like a great pairing and I'm really excited for the new sim to really help this league prosper.
3. I think Philly is the team with the best chance to make that leap and dethrone the Otters. We have a great foundation already established and I would say we are currently the best team in the NSFC. We were close to beating them in the Ultimus this season and that will be motivation to do even better next season, and we have a unique opportunity to cater to free agents in that we can say we've slugged it out with the best team, and convince them that they could be the piece we need to get the knockout blow on the top team in the league.
4. Browsing Reddit one day, it seemed interesting. Got into it immediately and fell in love with the community and the idea of the league. At the time I was a cornerback and immediately rose up the S2 draft boards, going 12oa when just a week prior I had no idea what the league was. Going to the expansion team in Philly also helped as I already felt like I was the number 1 corner on the team, and felt like I was on a team that I could help build and help be a part of something special.
Word Count: 387
Playoff Series MVP
Honestly, in perhaps an Ultimus Championship that may stand as the greatest of all time, many players could potentially be labeled the most valuable player of this series. However, the man who changed the momentum of the entire game with his leg deserves all the credit; that man is no other than kicker Bradley T Madlad. At ten second left in the second quarter, he boots a 55 yard field goal to send the Otters up by 3 into half time. From this point on, the Otters had recovered from early mishaps and gained full control of the the game's tempo. On the stat sheet, he is overshadowed by Mike Boss, but without that kick it's hard to say if the outcome of the game would have ultimately remained the same. All it would have taken in that scenario for the Liberty to send the game into overtime was a field goal. In a similar hypothetical, an extra point missed or any other of his two field goals may have proven fatal. Sometimes, game changers aren't that flashy on the scorecard, and kickers happen to be forgotten in the glory of other positions. Mister Madlad is forever enshrined in NSFL history as putting the points on the board to lead the Otters to their third championship.
Word Count: 216
In a hotly contested game between the Philadelphia Liberty and the Orange County Otters in the Ultimus Championship, one key defining play stands out. Philadelphia has the momentum late in the fourth, driving at will against the exhausted Otter defense who has had to contend with the passing attack of Tyler Oles. A crucial 31 yard pass sets up Philadelphia at the 5 yard line, ready to take the lead with 2:58 left in the game and down by 6. Offensive miscues lead to a 4 yard pass from Oles to his primary outlet at receiver, veteran Josh Garden. The magic moment is at 4th and goal from the one with barely a minute and a half left before the Otters claim their championship. Oles fires to his favorite target Garden! .... but he drops the game winning touchdown pass. The difference between coming home disappointed or returning champions can be illustrated in this one play. By far through all accounts, this has been the best Ultimus yet, most in part because of this thrilling play in the twilight of the game. This is a game that will go down in NSFL lore as one of the greatest, if not the defining championship game all others are compared to.
Word Count: 209
Sitdown With a Fan: Found Here
Sit-down with a star: Tyler Oles
Questions:
1. As a long time veteran of the NSFL, where would you like to see the league evolve in the coming months? Points of improvement perhaps?
2. What is your opinion on potentially switching league engines to the upcoming Out of the Park/Solecismic Software game to replace Draft Day Sports?
3. Philadelphia has been in the playoff mix for the past few seasons; is it possible in the near future for us to see your team take that next step and dethrone the Otters? Or is there another team out there who may be able to accomplish that goal?
4. What got you into this league?
Answers:
1. The biggest point of improvement has to be parity. While it's gotten better over the past few seasons we're still seeing one team that clearly reigns above the rest. While I feel like the Liberty made that push to the upper echelon this season we still need to get something to push up to compete with the Otters. The league has gotten a lot better over the past few seasons and really seems like it has the staying power now, and with people getting up there in age and experience we could really start to see the good players spread out and the dynasties stop.
2. I can't wait. I've been a big supporter and big force in the OOTP hype. OOTP Baseball is a great sim and I trust the developers to be able to really make a great football sim with the tools they have from OOTP and the tools that Front Office Football has. The two together seems like a great pairing and I'm really excited for the new sim to really help this league prosper.
3. I think Philly is the team with the best chance to make that leap and dethrone the Otters. We have a great foundation already established and I would say we are currently the best team in the NSFC. We were close to beating them in the Ultimus this season and that will be motivation to do even better next season, and we have a unique opportunity to cater to free agents in that we can say we've slugged it out with the best team, and convince them that they could be the piece we need to get the knockout blow on the top team in the league.
4. Browsing Reddit one day, it seemed interesting. Got into it immediately and fell in love with the community and the idea of the league. At the time I was a cornerback and immediately rose up the S2 draft boards, going 12oa when just a week prior I had no idea what the league was. Going to the expansion team in Philly also helped as I already felt like I was the number 1 corner on the team, and felt like I was on a team that I could help build and help be a part of something special.
Word Count: 387
Playoff Series MVP
Honestly, in perhaps an Ultimus Championship that may stand as the greatest of all time, many players could potentially be labeled the most valuable player of this series. However, the man who changed the momentum of the entire game with his leg deserves all the credit; that man is no other than kicker Bradley T Madlad. At ten second left in the second quarter, he boots a 55 yard field goal to send the Otters up by 3 into half time. From this point on, the Otters had recovered from early mishaps and gained full control of the the game's tempo. On the stat sheet, he is overshadowed by Mike Boss, but without that kick it's hard to say if the outcome of the game would have ultimately remained the same. All it would have taken in that scenario for the Liberty to send the game into overtime was a field goal. In a similar hypothetical, an extra point missed or any other of his two field goals may have proven fatal. Sometimes, game changers aren't that flashy on the scorecard, and kickers happen to be forgotten in the glory of other positions. Mister Madlad is forever enshrined in NSFL history as putting the points on the board to lead the Otters to their third championship.
Word Count: 216