4. “Sim gonna sim” is a popular expression in the league. Write about teams that have been graced by the sim gods and had amazing performances despite statistical odds, and/or about teams that were considered favorites but may have dealt with some bad sim luck that hampered their efforts. How much of an impact did it have on their season(s)?
One of the most common phrases in this league is that the sim is going to sim. While I would like to spend this time writing about my poor Yeti and the times they were messed up this season by the sim doing silly things, after a thorough review of their games I think I have to lean towards the Chicago Butchers in season 28 potentially being the team who got the short shaft from the sim more than any other team in league history.
Lets start from the beginning. After getting started off fast with two wins, one of which was against arguably the best team in the conference in Sarasota, they went into a game against the hapless Philadelphia Liberty. They held a lead through most of the game but with 22 seconds left on the clock, the Liberty managed to kick a field goal to take the lead for the first time in the game. That wasn't enough though. The sim gave Chicago hope by allowing them to get off a massive return and a long pass that set them up for a field goal to put them back in the lead with 5 seconds left. One may see this and say well, that isn't a curse. But then on the ensuing kickoff Philadelphia's Flash Panda returned the kick 102 yards for a walk off touchdown, leading to Chicago losing their first game of the season.
Two weeks later against the Yellowknife Wraiths, Chicago was now 2-2. They were looking to bounce back and get into the race again. The game came came down to the wire once more as YKW took the lead with 45 seconds left in the game off the back of a massive 48 yard field goal. The Butchers managed to drive down and put themselves in range to tie it back up. With 9 seconds left on the clock and a first down, they had time to try to run one more play to get a bit closer for their field goal. Instead they went for the 52 yarder and missed it, putting an end to the game.
The following week, now 2-3, the Butchers got to face their most glaring moment of the sim is going to sim when they played against the Arizona Outlaws. It was a tight game and Arizona drove down the field and scored a field goal with a minute and fifty seconds left on the clock.The way the game had gone, that was more than enough time for Chicago to drive down and take the lead back. Except the game just ended at that point. For some reason, the sim decided that Chicago just didn't deserve a chance to win that game. 1:50 on the clock in the fourth quarter, Arizona up by three, and the game was called. Never before had I seen such a blatant moment of the sim deciding that one team should win and the other should lose. This wasn't the end for Chicago though.
Chicago managed to tie things back up on their season after dealing Berlin their first loss of the season and taking down the Otters. Now at 4-4, it was time for them to face the San Jose Sabercats. Once again the game came down to the last minute. Chicago had taken the lead with 58 seconds left. Their defense held admirably and forced the Sabercats to kick from the 46 yard line. The Sabercats nailed in a massive 63 yard score that put them up by two. Chicago still had a bit of time left and they hit a wide open receiver who somehow got chased down after 51 yards despite having a 20 yard lead on the nearest defender, putting an end to the game. Once more the sim clearly did not want Chicago to win this one.
After a fairly even loss against Yellowknife, Chicago fell to 4-6. With 6 games remaining in the season, there was still a chance to bounce back. That said, their next game against Sarasota was the one where I realized the sim truly hated this team on a deep, unimaginable level. With 1:35 left in the game and up by three points, Chicago managed to drive the ball all the way down to Sarasota's 33 yard line. They got held up and it was obvious they should kick and extend their lead. It was a fully manageable 40 yard kick. Instead, they punted to Sarasota. This immediately let Sarasota drive down, kick a field goal, and tie the game with 19 seconds left. It seemed the game was going into overtime. Until Chicago went for it on 4th down at their own 33 with 4 seconds left on the clock. Now at the exact same spot Chicago was in roughly 80 seconds before, Sarasota did not punt. Instead they kicked the field goal to win the game. This was the ultimate "heck you" to Chicago.
Just a couple weeks later after their season was already out of reach, they gave Baltimore their only win of the season, solidifying the true hate that the sim had for Chicago. Had Chicago won the games that the sim didn't screw them out of, this is a team who was potentially sitting in first place in the NSFC at 11-5 with tie breakers over both Berlin and Sarasota. In this universe, it is them and not Sarasota who makes playoffs. It was a true disaster for this team at no fault of their own. It was purely the sim deciding Chicago was going to be bad.
One of the most common phrases in this league is that the sim is going to sim. While I would like to spend this time writing about my poor Yeti and the times they were messed up this season by the sim doing silly things, after a thorough review of their games I think I have to lean towards the Chicago Butchers in season 28 potentially being the team who got the short shaft from the sim more than any other team in league history.
Lets start from the beginning. After getting started off fast with two wins, one of which was against arguably the best team in the conference in Sarasota, they went into a game against the hapless Philadelphia Liberty. They held a lead through most of the game but with 22 seconds left on the clock, the Liberty managed to kick a field goal to take the lead for the first time in the game. That wasn't enough though. The sim gave Chicago hope by allowing them to get off a massive return and a long pass that set them up for a field goal to put them back in the lead with 5 seconds left. One may see this and say well, that isn't a curse. But then on the ensuing kickoff Philadelphia's Flash Panda returned the kick 102 yards for a walk off touchdown, leading to Chicago losing their first game of the season.
Two weeks later against the Yellowknife Wraiths, Chicago was now 2-2. They were looking to bounce back and get into the race again. The game came came down to the wire once more as YKW took the lead with 45 seconds left in the game off the back of a massive 48 yard field goal. The Butchers managed to drive down and put themselves in range to tie it back up. With 9 seconds left on the clock and a first down, they had time to try to run one more play to get a bit closer for their field goal. Instead they went for the 52 yarder and missed it, putting an end to the game.
The following week, now 2-3, the Butchers got to face their most glaring moment of the sim is going to sim when they played against the Arizona Outlaws. It was a tight game and Arizona drove down the field and scored a field goal with a minute and fifty seconds left on the clock.The way the game had gone, that was more than enough time for Chicago to drive down and take the lead back. Except the game just ended at that point. For some reason, the sim decided that Chicago just didn't deserve a chance to win that game. 1:50 on the clock in the fourth quarter, Arizona up by three, and the game was called. Never before had I seen such a blatant moment of the sim deciding that one team should win and the other should lose. This wasn't the end for Chicago though.
Chicago managed to tie things back up on their season after dealing Berlin their first loss of the season and taking down the Otters. Now at 4-4, it was time for them to face the San Jose Sabercats. Once again the game came down to the last minute. Chicago had taken the lead with 58 seconds left. Their defense held admirably and forced the Sabercats to kick from the 46 yard line. The Sabercats nailed in a massive 63 yard score that put them up by two. Chicago still had a bit of time left and they hit a wide open receiver who somehow got chased down after 51 yards despite having a 20 yard lead on the nearest defender, putting an end to the game. Once more the sim clearly did not want Chicago to win this one.
After a fairly even loss against Yellowknife, Chicago fell to 4-6. With 6 games remaining in the season, there was still a chance to bounce back. That said, their next game against Sarasota was the one where I realized the sim truly hated this team on a deep, unimaginable level. With 1:35 left in the game and up by three points, Chicago managed to drive the ball all the way down to Sarasota's 33 yard line. They got held up and it was obvious they should kick and extend their lead. It was a fully manageable 40 yard kick. Instead, they punted to Sarasota. This immediately let Sarasota drive down, kick a field goal, and tie the game with 19 seconds left. It seemed the game was going into overtime. Until Chicago went for it on 4th down at their own 33 with 4 seconds left on the clock. Now at the exact same spot Chicago was in roughly 80 seconds before, Sarasota did not punt. Instead they kicked the field goal to win the game. This was the ultimate "heck you" to Chicago.
Just a couple weeks later after their season was already out of reach, they gave Baltimore their only win of the season, solidifying the true hate that the sim had for Chicago. Had Chicago won the games that the sim didn't screw them out of, this is a team who was potentially sitting in first place in the NSFC at 11-5 with tie breakers over both Berlin and Sarasota. In this universe, it is them and not Sarasota who makes playoffs. It was a true disaster for this team at no fault of their own. It was purely the sim deciding Chicago was going to be bad.