1) Man, S27 was a great and, for a lot of the time, surprising season for the ISFL! I am writing this after the playoffs and championship for the ISFL, so this will be a reflection on the teams that made the playoffs and how they got here and how each team did relative to their own expectations! Unlike last season, this season was completely done with a new sim engine so there were a lot of surprises to me.
I will begin with one of last season's true contenders, the Chicago Butchers. The Butchers went 11-5 this season which is usually a good record that should be enough to make the playoffs in any season; however, last season they went 10-6 and were second in the ASFC; by comparison, because they went 11-5 this year, they improved by one game compared to last season but nearly clinched 1 seed due to a last second loss that dropped them half a game below Honolulu for the 1 seed. The improvement the team showed through the improved record appeared to be marginally as they were dominated by the Yeti in the quarter finals and feel out of the playoffs early in a sort of disappointing manner. The final score of 24-19 makes the game closer than it is as the Yeti were up 24-7 at halftime and in typical fashion let the breaks off the gas allowing a comeback effort by the Butchers that ultimately fell short in the end.
The next team I will reflect upon are the Colorado Yeti. The Yeti, like the Butchers, had an improvement on their season record from a season ago as they went 10-5-1 and clinched the 3 seed in the NSFC. However, their exit from the playoffs was a bit brutal. After dominating the Chicago Butchers in the first game, 24-19, the Sarasota Sailfish mercilessly dominated the Yeti to a score of 47-27. Hell, the score is not even indicative of the destruction and decimation that was on display as Sarasota's defensive forced about 10 turnovers from the Yeti and had a sack party as well to the point as if they were just toying with the Yeti and had yet to unleash their full strength.
The next team up are the Sarasota Sailfish. The Sailfish's record this season was a massive step forword from their last season record of 8-8 as they went 12-4 and claimed the best record in the whole league. In addition, the Sailfish throughly dominated throughout the playoffs. In their first game, they matched up against the defending champions, the Yellowknife Wraiths. The game was close throughout as both teams went blow-for-blow against each other and gave the other all they can handle. However, the Sailfish came out on top with a score of 37-34. It would appear that the Wraiths were the toughest team that the Sailfish had to face as they humiliated and destroyed the Yeti, 47-27, and handily defeated my team, the New Orleans Second Line, in the Ultimus, 34-10 and even nearly shutting us out, capping off one of the most dominant season in ISFL history.
The next team up is the team that the Sailfish beat in the playoffs this year, the Yellowknife Wraiths. The Wraiths went 8-8 this season after going 13-3 last season and winning the Utlimus. However, this year was a bit of a underwhelming and disappointing one for the Wraiths as the Wraiths fell to the champs, the Sailfish, in the first round to a score of 37-34, capping off a disappointing defense of their championship a season ago.
The next two teams up that I will reflect on are going to be combined: the Arizona Outlaws and the San Jose Sabercats. The both of these two teams improved massively from last season as they were both iffy teams last season and exceed expectations by going above .500 and making the playoffs this season. Unfortunately, they both matched up in the playoffs against better teams and both lost massively, setting up mini setbacks to both teams despite having improved seasons from a year ago.
The final two teams that I will write about are the Honolulu Hahalua and the New Orleans Second Line! Both these teams had great seasons relative to last year where they both went 7-9. The Hahalua went 11-4-1 this season, while the Second Line went 9-7, leading to them being at the top of their respective conferences or at least towards playoff contention. The two teams were top 5 in both offense and defense throughout the season and it showed throughout the playoffs! The Honolulu easily defeated the Cats but against the Second Line in a close game, while the Second Line won against the Outlaws and emerged victorious in an epic conference championship game against the Hahalua, leading for the Line to matchup against the Sailfish in the Utimus. Unfortunately for the Second Line, the Ultimus went like Super Bowl 48 again where the Line were the Broncos and the Line were the Seahawks as the Sailfish as they blewout the Line 34-10, leading to the title for this season.
All in all, this was an interesting season filled with epic games, suspense, and a great playoffs! I hope that this kind of season can happen again with the introduction of the new simulation next season!
I will begin with one of last season's true contenders, the Chicago Butchers. The Butchers went 11-5 this season which is usually a good record that should be enough to make the playoffs in any season; however, last season they went 10-6 and were second in the ASFC; by comparison, because they went 11-5 this year, they improved by one game compared to last season but nearly clinched 1 seed due to a last second loss that dropped them half a game below Honolulu for the 1 seed. The improvement the team showed through the improved record appeared to be marginally as they were dominated by the Yeti in the quarter finals and feel out of the playoffs early in a sort of disappointing manner. The final score of 24-19 makes the game closer than it is as the Yeti were up 24-7 at halftime and in typical fashion let the breaks off the gas allowing a comeback effort by the Butchers that ultimately fell short in the end.
The next team I will reflect upon are the Colorado Yeti. The Yeti, like the Butchers, had an improvement on their season record from a season ago as they went 10-5-1 and clinched the 3 seed in the NSFC. However, their exit from the playoffs was a bit brutal. After dominating the Chicago Butchers in the first game, 24-19, the Sarasota Sailfish mercilessly dominated the Yeti to a score of 47-27. Hell, the score is not even indicative of the destruction and decimation that was on display as Sarasota's defensive forced about 10 turnovers from the Yeti and had a sack party as well to the point as if they were just toying with the Yeti and had yet to unleash their full strength.
The next team up are the Sarasota Sailfish. The Sailfish's record this season was a massive step forword from their last season record of 8-8 as they went 12-4 and claimed the best record in the whole league. In addition, the Sailfish throughly dominated throughout the playoffs. In their first game, they matched up against the defending champions, the Yellowknife Wraiths. The game was close throughout as both teams went blow-for-blow against each other and gave the other all they can handle. However, the Sailfish came out on top with a score of 37-34. It would appear that the Wraiths were the toughest team that the Sailfish had to face as they humiliated and destroyed the Yeti, 47-27, and handily defeated my team, the New Orleans Second Line, in the Ultimus, 34-10 and even nearly shutting us out, capping off one of the most dominant season in ISFL history.
The next team up is the team that the Sailfish beat in the playoffs this year, the Yellowknife Wraiths. The Wraiths went 8-8 this season after going 13-3 last season and winning the Utlimus. However, this year was a bit of a underwhelming and disappointing one for the Wraiths as the Wraiths fell to the champs, the Sailfish, in the first round to a score of 37-34, capping off a disappointing defense of their championship a season ago.
The next two teams up that I will reflect on are going to be combined: the Arizona Outlaws and the San Jose Sabercats. The both of these two teams improved massively from last season as they were both iffy teams last season and exceed expectations by going above .500 and making the playoffs this season. Unfortunately, they both matched up in the playoffs against better teams and both lost massively, setting up mini setbacks to both teams despite having improved seasons from a year ago.
The final two teams that I will write about are the Honolulu Hahalua and the New Orleans Second Line! Both these teams had great seasons relative to last year where they both went 7-9. The Hahalua went 11-4-1 this season, while the Second Line went 9-7, leading to them being at the top of their respective conferences or at least towards playoff contention. The two teams were top 5 in both offense and defense throughout the season and it showed throughout the playoffs! The Honolulu easily defeated the Cats but against the Second Line in a close game, while the Second Line won against the Outlaws and emerged victorious in an epic conference championship game against the Hahalua, leading for the Line to matchup against the Sailfish in the Utimus. Unfortunately for the Second Line, the Ultimus went like Super Bowl 48 again where the Line were the Broncos and the Line were the Seahawks as the Sailfish as they blewout the Line 34-10, leading to the title for this season.
All in all, this was an interesting season filled with epic games, suspense, and a great playoffs! I hope that this kind of season can happen again with the introduction of the new simulation next season!