Write a short biography or story about your player. This could include background about how they came to the ISFL and how they’ve done so far, a story about their role in an exciting game, or anything else related to their experience in the league. (400+)
Football runs in the veins of DSFL prospect Owen Reed, the eldest son of ISFL Hall of Famer, Apollo Reed. While he may have been only four to six years old during his father’s three year Ultimus dynasty with the Orange County Otters, his earliest memories include the view outside the window of the press box of The Dam in Anaheim, California, watching his father play with legendary players like Franklin Armstrong, Johnny Blaze, and Thorian Skarsgard. He knew, even from that age, that his destiny was to follow in his father’s footsteps. He was going to be an ISFL all-star.
His father Apollo may have had to struggle to even afford his education, but he made sure that his son wouldn’t have to suffer through the challenges of a poor upbringing and a cheap education. After retiring from his ISFL career in Baltimore, Apollo moved his family back to where his career started in Santa Ana, California to work with the Otters as an assistant coach. Not only was Owen a force on the field, but he was also able to maintain a solid GPA as well, allowing him enrollment into one of California’s most prestigious academic and football high schools, Mater Dei. At Mater Dei, Owen would play a multitude of positions, including CB, LB, and WR. With Mater Dei, Owen would qualify for the California State Playoffs all four years of his career and win the championship in his senior year.
While Apollo had to practically beg his way onto a D1 collegiate squad, Owen was a five-star, top 100 player being recruited by several major football programs, including schools from the SEC and the Big 10. Owen ultimately opted to remain in the Los Angeles area and play for the USC Trojans. In his freshman season with USC, Owen settled into the defensive back position and received limited play as the CB3. He rose through the depth chart in the following years, even seeing some play as a free safety. He finally became the CB1 for the team for his junior year. This year was a particularly successful one for the Trojans, as it saw them be a top 10 ranked team for the majority of the season, and defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl. Believing that this team was close to a national championship, Owen opted to return to USC for his senior season. This season, the Trojans finished ranked 3rd in the AP Top 25. While USC was able to upset Alabama in the playoffs, they ultimately were defeated by Clemson in the National Championship. Owen Reed is now training independently in preparation for the DSFL draft.
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? (400+)
The main benefit of expansion is, of course, the opportunities that it would provide to younger and brand new players. Every season, the ISFL loses users due to the current amount of talent saturation that exists in the ISFL. High activity users never see the fruits of their labor rewarded due to the DSFL’s TPE cap of 250. Expansion would allow these players to get to the big leagues much quicker and avoid burnout. Not only would more opportunities be available for players, but for users as well. Many GM roles can remain occupied for several months, barring them from new users who may be interested in a position. Expansion would allow users to potentially land a GM job, further investing them in the league and keeping them active.
The league currently sits at 14 teams, split into two divisions. For the playoffs, three teams from each division qualify. But, due to the amount of talent in the league, team records are often similar, and a deserving team with a record just as good as the 3rd seeded team may miss the playoffs. Some teams have missed the playoffs for several years due to this. By expanding to 16 teams, the league would be able to reorganize into 4 divisions made up of 4 teams. By proxy, this would allow the playoffs to expand to include 8 teams. An expanded playoff bracket would make the playoffs, the main appeal of any league, more interesting. More teams means more upset possibilities, more chances for a Cinderella story to gain traction.
A few seasons ago, the league rebranded to the International Simulation Football League. However, the league only has two of it’s fourteen teams in a foreign country: one of the founding six, the Yellowknife Wraiths, and one of the two youngest teams in the league, the Berlin Fire Salamanders. If the league wants to appeal to foreign markets, they need to expand to untapped markets, such as Asia, Australia, or South America. This would not only make the league more exciting, but make the league more unique.
Finally, league expansion inevitably brings an expansion draft alongside it. The expansion draft allows players who may be buried in the depth chart of their team to find new life on another, brand new team as a possible star player. An expansion draft also invigorates excitement around the league about the possibilities of the new team's future and the trades and signings that happen as a consequence of the expansion draft.
Football runs in the veins of DSFL prospect Owen Reed, the eldest son of ISFL Hall of Famer, Apollo Reed. While he may have been only four to six years old during his father’s three year Ultimus dynasty with the Orange County Otters, his earliest memories include the view outside the window of the press box of The Dam in Anaheim, California, watching his father play with legendary players like Franklin Armstrong, Johnny Blaze, and Thorian Skarsgard. He knew, even from that age, that his destiny was to follow in his father’s footsteps. He was going to be an ISFL all-star.
His father Apollo may have had to struggle to even afford his education, but he made sure that his son wouldn’t have to suffer through the challenges of a poor upbringing and a cheap education. After retiring from his ISFL career in Baltimore, Apollo moved his family back to where his career started in Santa Ana, California to work with the Otters as an assistant coach. Not only was Owen a force on the field, but he was also able to maintain a solid GPA as well, allowing him enrollment into one of California’s most prestigious academic and football high schools, Mater Dei. At Mater Dei, Owen would play a multitude of positions, including CB, LB, and WR. With Mater Dei, Owen would qualify for the California State Playoffs all four years of his career and win the championship in his senior year.
While Apollo had to practically beg his way onto a D1 collegiate squad, Owen was a five-star, top 100 player being recruited by several major football programs, including schools from the SEC and the Big 10. Owen ultimately opted to remain in the Los Angeles area and play for the USC Trojans. In his freshman season with USC, Owen settled into the defensive back position and received limited play as the CB3. He rose through the depth chart in the following years, even seeing some play as a free safety. He finally became the CB1 for the team for his junior year. This year was a particularly successful one for the Trojans, as it saw them be a top 10 ranked team for the majority of the season, and defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl. Believing that this team was close to a national championship, Owen opted to return to USC for his senior season. This season, the Trojans finished ranked 3rd in the AP Top 25. While USC was able to upset Alabama in the playoffs, they ultimately were defeated by Clemson in the National Championship. Owen Reed is now training independently in preparation for the DSFL draft.
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? (400+)
The main benefit of expansion is, of course, the opportunities that it would provide to younger and brand new players. Every season, the ISFL loses users due to the current amount of talent saturation that exists in the ISFL. High activity users never see the fruits of their labor rewarded due to the DSFL’s TPE cap of 250. Expansion would allow these players to get to the big leagues much quicker and avoid burnout. Not only would more opportunities be available for players, but for users as well. Many GM roles can remain occupied for several months, barring them from new users who may be interested in a position. Expansion would allow users to potentially land a GM job, further investing them in the league and keeping them active.
The league currently sits at 14 teams, split into two divisions. For the playoffs, three teams from each division qualify. But, due to the amount of talent in the league, team records are often similar, and a deserving team with a record just as good as the 3rd seeded team may miss the playoffs. Some teams have missed the playoffs for several years due to this. By expanding to 16 teams, the league would be able to reorganize into 4 divisions made up of 4 teams. By proxy, this would allow the playoffs to expand to include 8 teams. An expanded playoff bracket would make the playoffs, the main appeal of any league, more interesting. More teams means more upset possibilities, more chances for a Cinderella story to gain traction.
A few seasons ago, the league rebranded to the International Simulation Football League. However, the league only has two of it’s fourteen teams in a foreign country: one of the founding six, the Yellowknife Wraiths, and one of the two youngest teams in the league, the Berlin Fire Salamanders. If the league wants to appeal to foreign markets, they need to expand to untapped markets, such as Asia, Australia, or South America. This would not only make the league more exciting, but make the league more unique.
Finally, league expansion inevitably brings an expansion draft alongside it. The expansion draft allows players who may be buried in the depth chart of their team to find new life on another, brand new team as a possible star player. An expansion draft also invigorates excitement around the league about the possibilities of the new team's future and the trades and signings that happen as a consequence of the expansion draft.