2) This week will see the S25 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. In 800 words or more, recount any of the previous playoff cycles of either league. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse or Cinderella teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? How did the title game play out, and which players made their mark on the field? Tell the story of those playoffs as completely as you can. Do not simply recount your own experience in those playoffs or that of a singular team.
Before I begin, I would just like to take a moment to congratulate both the Tijuana Luchadores and San Jose SaberCats on their Ultimini and Ultimus victories, respectively. While being on the losing side in both of those matches stings, I am proud of the Royals and Yeti for their successful seasons. Twenty five seasons have now been completed in the ISFL, and each one has a story behind it. Between the ISFL and DSFL, there are almost 50 different seasons to choose from. However for this point task, I am choosing to focus in the DSFL. Specifically the Season 5, Ultimini-winning Palm Beach Solar Bears. While obviously a team wins the Ultimini every year, I think that their story is perhaps one of the more interesting ones.
If you are like me when I first heard about this, you may be thinking “Who are the Palm Beach Solar Bears and where are they now?”. Fear not, I have the answers. The Palm Beach Solar Bears were a team in the DSFL from season 5 all the way through season 17. In today’s DSFL, the Palm Beach Solar Bears rebranded to the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (who, coincidentally, just recently rebranded to the Bondi Beach Buccaneers). Why the rebrand? Well it just so happens that there’s an ECHL hockey team in Florida with the same exact name and logo. Weird coincidence. Anyway, season 5 was also the Solar Bears first season in the DSFL after replacing the short-lived Chicago Blues. Given the league’s relatively short existence at this point, a lot was still being worked out within the sim. At the time, it was decided that the Solar Bears would be the “guinea pig” team of the DSFL, used to test different player builds. The justification for this lied in the Solar Bears’ user composition: all bots. Not a single human user was on the season 5 Palm Beach Solar Bears, which makes their Ultimini victory that much more interesting.
Taking a look at the index for the team, we can see that they had a less than ideal start. The Solar Bears were 0-4-1 in their first 5 games, tying in their fifth game. While the index unfortunately does not detail it, it is at this point that I imagine some changes were made in player builds or strategy. After a terrible start, the Solar Bears would achieve an 8-1 record through their remaining 9 games, with the single loss coming from a matchup with their eventual Ultimini rival the Portland Pythons. On top of that impressive win streak, the Solar Bears led the league in every major offensive and defensive category except scoring defense (which they were second) and rushing defense (which they were third). After asking some league veterans about this team, I was told one reason for their success was the testing done with offensive linemen. The Solar Bears apparently had the heaviest offensive linemen in the league. As a result, they had some incredible rushing performances like their 313 yard’s rushing in an away victory, 47-14, against the Kansas City Coyotes. Interestingly, the Solar Bears did allow the second highest number of sacks in the league that season with 38. However, this could be due to the sheer number of offensive snaps the team was taking.
In the West, the Solar Bears would win their division with a record of 8-5-1. In the East, their eventual Ultimini opponent Portland Pythons would finish even better at 10-6. The Pythons, however, did have human players and put together a respectable season, I assume without any build changes midway through. The Pythons, like the Solar Bears, were at the top of both their division and the league statistically. Also like the Solar Bears, they started off poorly at 0-2, but finished with an 8-1 run to make the playoffs.
Once in the playoffs, the Solar Bears would handily defeat the Tijuana Luchadores by a score of 27-3, largely on the back of their quarterback Jim McMahon. Side note, since the Chicago Blues became the Palm Beach Solar Bears, all of the bots are named after real Chicago Bears players. McMahon threw for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the East, the Pythons escape with a 14-10 victory over the Seawolves. This game was more of a defensive struggle, with no scoring occurring in the second half. On to the Ultimini game, where the Pythons would jump out to an early 10-0 lead over Palm Beach. However, Palm Beach wasn’t out of it yet and would manage to score twice in the second quarter, making the score 14-0. Both scores were touchdown throws from Jim McMahon. The second half featured the teams exchanging field goals, making the final score 17-13. The Solar Bears offensive line advantage was certainly on display this game, as they had more than double the number of pancake blocks than the Pythons had. The real takeaway from this write-up, however, is that a team composed entirely of bots managed to defeat a team with real, human players on it. Inconceivable now, but it happened and is part of DSFL history.
Before I begin, I would just like to take a moment to congratulate both the Tijuana Luchadores and San Jose SaberCats on their Ultimini and Ultimus victories, respectively. While being on the losing side in both of those matches stings, I am proud of the Royals and Yeti for their successful seasons. Twenty five seasons have now been completed in the ISFL, and each one has a story behind it. Between the ISFL and DSFL, there are almost 50 different seasons to choose from. However for this point task, I am choosing to focus in the DSFL. Specifically the Season 5, Ultimini-winning Palm Beach Solar Bears. While obviously a team wins the Ultimini every year, I think that their story is perhaps one of the more interesting ones.
If you are like me when I first heard about this, you may be thinking “Who are the Palm Beach Solar Bears and where are they now?”. Fear not, I have the answers. The Palm Beach Solar Bears were a team in the DSFL from season 5 all the way through season 17. In today’s DSFL, the Palm Beach Solar Bears rebranded to the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (who, coincidentally, just recently rebranded to the Bondi Beach Buccaneers). Why the rebrand? Well it just so happens that there’s an ECHL hockey team in Florida with the same exact name and logo. Weird coincidence. Anyway, season 5 was also the Solar Bears first season in the DSFL after replacing the short-lived Chicago Blues. Given the league’s relatively short existence at this point, a lot was still being worked out within the sim. At the time, it was decided that the Solar Bears would be the “guinea pig” team of the DSFL, used to test different player builds. The justification for this lied in the Solar Bears’ user composition: all bots. Not a single human user was on the season 5 Palm Beach Solar Bears, which makes their Ultimini victory that much more interesting.
Taking a look at the index for the team, we can see that they had a less than ideal start. The Solar Bears were 0-4-1 in their first 5 games, tying in their fifth game. While the index unfortunately does not detail it, it is at this point that I imagine some changes were made in player builds or strategy. After a terrible start, the Solar Bears would achieve an 8-1 record through their remaining 9 games, with the single loss coming from a matchup with their eventual Ultimini rival the Portland Pythons. On top of that impressive win streak, the Solar Bears led the league in every major offensive and defensive category except scoring defense (which they were second) and rushing defense (which they were third). After asking some league veterans about this team, I was told one reason for their success was the testing done with offensive linemen. The Solar Bears apparently had the heaviest offensive linemen in the league. As a result, they had some incredible rushing performances like their 313 yard’s rushing in an away victory, 47-14, against the Kansas City Coyotes. Interestingly, the Solar Bears did allow the second highest number of sacks in the league that season with 38. However, this could be due to the sheer number of offensive snaps the team was taking.
In the West, the Solar Bears would win their division with a record of 8-5-1. In the East, their eventual Ultimini opponent Portland Pythons would finish even better at 10-6. The Pythons, however, did have human players and put together a respectable season, I assume without any build changes midway through. The Pythons, like the Solar Bears, were at the top of both their division and the league statistically. Also like the Solar Bears, they started off poorly at 0-2, but finished with an 8-1 run to make the playoffs.
Once in the playoffs, the Solar Bears would handily defeat the Tijuana Luchadores by a score of 27-3, largely on the back of their quarterback Jim McMahon. Side note, since the Chicago Blues became the Palm Beach Solar Bears, all of the bots are named after real Chicago Bears players. McMahon threw for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the East, the Pythons escape with a 14-10 victory over the Seawolves. This game was more of a defensive struggle, with no scoring occurring in the second half. On to the Ultimini game, where the Pythons would jump out to an early 10-0 lead over Palm Beach. However, Palm Beach wasn’t out of it yet and would manage to score twice in the second quarter, making the score 14-0. Both scores were touchdown throws from Jim McMahon. The second half featured the teams exchanging field goals, making the final score 17-13. The Solar Bears offensive line advantage was certainly on display this game, as they had more than double the number of pancake blocks than the Pythons had. The real takeaway from this write-up, however, is that a team composed entirely of bots managed to defeat a team with real, human players on it. Inconceivable now, but it happened and is part of DSFL history.
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