13. Expansion Expansion Expansion! The league seems to love talking about it, but it has still not happened. Tell us why it should happen / should not happen soon?
Expansion is definitely a hot topic in the league, and for good reason as it could potentially have a giant impact on the league and it's future success. Obviously there are both pros and cons to expansion which is why it is so highly debated and deserves as much consideration as it is receiving. So let's go ahead and go over a few of the bigger points and their potential impacts to the league before weighing in on what the timeline of an expansion might look like.
Available Players vs. Available Roster Spots
So first and foremost an expansion is a numbers game, too many players and not enough roster spots leaves users stuck in the DSFL for multiple seasons without a chance to improve above their 250 TPE cap and they may lose interest and abandon the league. On the reverse, open up too many roster spots with not enough players and that forces players up from the DSFL that aren't yet ready to play with the more developed rosters in the league, which would likely lead to poor performance from the newer players that could lead to discouragement and again, abandonment of the league. These are both of the extremes for the con side of roster availability, but the other side of the coin would be that the league is more than capable of maintaining development and promotion with expansion. If the incoming players match pace with the levels of expansion, it would allow the new players to transition from the DSFL into the ISFL at a rate where they get a season or two to develop and but not get endlessly stuck in the lower league and can still contribute to their ISFL team in a meaningful way when they are called up.
Developed Parity or Watered Down League?
Another issue faced with expansion is the spread and distribution of talent, this ties in to the roster availability issue but has its own unique twists so I'll cover it separately. One of the biggest indicators of expansion readiness is if there is a nice competitive balance among the teams. Obviously there will be up years and down years for players and teams but if there is a general level of parity where any team has a chance to win then the distribution of talent is considered fairly even. We've seen with Baltimore that there isn't quite that level of balance yet, but with trades, free agency, and changing of the guard that can take a couple seasons to truly sort through so the winless streak may not be a true indication that the league is under-saturated with talent. If the talent pool is great enough that the expansion teams could come in and compete right away (with players from the expansion draft and then DSFL call ups and free agency) then there isn't a threat to league, however if there just isn't enough talent to support the larger collection of teams, then there runs a greater risk of the overall level of play decreasing and a lack of enjoyment from the results, that or the few good players all move to a super team and crush the rest of the league (which is also no fun for anyone besides the super team bullies). Conversely if there is enough talent to support the expansion but it still doesn't happen, good players will get buried in the depth charts and lower leagues, lose interest from lack of playtime and likely abandon the league.
Conclusion
With all that said, expansion probably won't happen as soon as it needs to as change is tough to accept. For the record I am for expansion but I'm just a S28er so who cares what I think. Lol
14. 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 Dallas Birddogs came in prepared for S29 of the DSFL after winning the franchise's first Ultimini (first playoff game too, but who's counting?). The first game came down to the wire with a 3 point loss to the Seawolves, but then came the highpoint of the season for the Dallas team, a 4 game win streak. With two one score games and two double digit victories, the Birddogs looked primed for another shot at the Ultimini. However, the low point of the season quickly followed with almost double the negativity in the form of a 7 game losing streak. This losing streak was particularly painful as 5 of the 7 games came down to 7 points or less. That kind of streak really takes a toll mentally and emotionally as it seems like no matter how hard you try, how talented the team and the coaches are, how much more you want to win, that the fates are just going to snatch that victory away and hand it over to the opposing team. It really tests your mental make up and the leadership of the team to see if you can pull it all together and make something out of the wreckage of the season. And the Birddogs did, by snapping the losing streak with a 28-0 revenge game against the Seawolves who gave out the opening week L to Dallas and got the season back on track. It was a statement game that brought the Birddogs back into the playoff race and gave them a shot at back to back Ultimini championships. If the team showed us anything, its that they can keep a game close and give themselves a real opportunity to win. As I'm an eager beaver and going to finish this wonderful Ultimus week assignment before the DSFL regular season finale and playoff games are actually played I'll have to wing it and throw out some predictions for the season conclusion. The final regular season game is against the Luchadors, who Dallas thoroughly stomped in their one previous game 31-3 in the heart of their win streak. I don't think the wholloping will be that great again, but I do see the Birddogs pulling out another victory to clinch the final playoff spot in the South. If the Birddogs do reach the playoffs they'll have a chance for the sweep of Tijuana by playing them again, and if it aint broke, don't fix it. The game plan and results will be the same, with Dallas coming out on top to play in their second straight Ultimini. It would be lame to come all this way just to lose, so the new high of the season will be the Birddogs second Ultimini wins in as many attempts
Expansion is definitely a hot topic in the league, and for good reason as it could potentially have a giant impact on the league and it's future success. Obviously there are both pros and cons to expansion which is why it is so highly debated and deserves as much consideration as it is receiving. So let's go ahead and go over a few of the bigger points and their potential impacts to the league before weighing in on what the timeline of an expansion might look like.
Available Players vs. Available Roster Spots
So first and foremost an expansion is a numbers game, too many players and not enough roster spots leaves users stuck in the DSFL for multiple seasons without a chance to improve above their 250 TPE cap and they may lose interest and abandon the league. On the reverse, open up too many roster spots with not enough players and that forces players up from the DSFL that aren't yet ready to play with the more developed rosters in the league, which would likely lead to poor performance from the newer players that could lead to discouragement and again, abandonment of the league. These are both of the extremes for the con side of roster availability, but the other side of the coin would be that the league is more than capable of maintaining development and promotion with expansion. If the incoming players match pace with the levels of expansion, it would allow the new players to transition from the DSFL into the ISFL at a rate where they get a season or two to develop and but not get endlessly stuck in the lower league and can still contribute to their ISFL team in a meaningful way when they are called up.
Developed Parity or Watered Down League?
Another issue faced with expansion is the spread and distribution of talent, this ties in to the roster availability issue but has its own unique twists so I'll cover it separately. One of the biggest indicators of expansion readiness is if there is a nice competitive balance among the teams. Obviously there will be up years and down years for players and teams but if there is a general level of parity where any team has a chance to win then the distribution of talent is considered fairly even. We've seen with Baltimore that there isn't quite that level of balance yet, but with trades, free agency, and changing of the guard that can take a couple seasons to truly sort through so the winless streak may not be a true indication that the league is under-saturated with talent. If the talent pool is great enough that the expansion teams could come in and compete right away (with players from the expansion draft and then DSFL call ups and free agency) then there isn't a threat to league, however if there just isn't enough talent to support the larger collection of teams, then there runs a greater risk of the overall level of play decreasing and a lack of enjoyment from the results, that or the few good players all move to a super team and crush the rest of the league (which is also no fun for anyone besides the super team bullies). Conversely if there is enough talent to support the expansion but it still doesn't happen, good players will get buried in the depth charts and lower leagues, lose interest from lack of playtime and likely abandon the league.
Conclusion
With all that said, expansion probably won't happen as soon as it needs to as change is tough to accept. For the record I am for expansion but I'm just a S28er so who cares what I think. Lol
14. 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 Dallas Birddogs came in prepared for S29 of the DSFL after winning the franchise's first Ultimini (first playoff game too, but who's counting?). The first game came down to the wire with a 3 point loss to the Seawolves, but then came the highpoint of the season for the Dallas team, a 4 game win streak. With two one score games and two double digit victories, the Birddogs looked primed for another shot at the Ultimini. However, the low point of the season quickly followed with almost double the negativity in the form of a 7 game losing streak. This losing streak was particularly painful as 5 of the 7 games came down to 7 points or less. That kind of streak really takes a toll mentally and emotionally as it seems like no matter how hard you try, how talented the team and the coaches are, how much more you want to win, that the fates are just going to snatch that victory away and hand it over to the opposing team. It really tests your mental make up and the leadership of the team to see if you can pull it all together and make something out of the wreckage of the season. And the Birddogs did, by snapping the losing streak with a 28-0 revenge game against the Seawolves who gave out the opening week L to Dallas and got the season back on track. It was a statement game that brought the Birddogs back into the playoff race and gave them a shot at back to back Ultimini championships. If the team showed us anything, its that they can keep a game close and give themselves a real opportunity to win. As I'm an eager beaver and going to finish this wonderful Ultimus week assignment before the DSFL regular season finale and playoff games are actually played I'll have to wing it and throw out some predictions for the season conclusion. The final regular season game is against the Luchadors, who Dallas thoroughly stomped in their one previous game 31-3 in the heart of their win streak. I don't think the wholloping will be that great again, but I do see the Birddogs pulling out another victory to clinch the final playoff spot in the South. If the Birddogs do reach the playoffs they'll have a chance for the sweep of Tijuana by playing them again, and if it aint broke, don't fix it. The game plan and results will be the same, with Dallas coming out on top to play in their second straight Ultimini. It would be lame to come all this way just to lose, so the new high of the season will be the Birddogs second Ultimini wins in as many attempts