Tier 6)
Ok so for this season's Ultimus Week I have decided to do something fun: I am comparing a few ISFL team's to real life NFL teams! I will not be doing all the teams because I only need 800 words for this but here are some comparisons I can think of right now:
We start with the Chicago Butchers who seem to be perpetually stuck in a never ending rebuild and never seems to get over the hump since their one playoff when in their inaugural season. Because of this I am comparing them to another NFL team stuck in constant limbo: the Detroit Lions. The Lions have only one playoff win in over fifty years and only one in the Superbowl Era. They would have had one more but they got screwed by the refs against the Cowboys. In a similar way the Butchers have had a lot of heartbreaking losses, with one very notable one being the game against Philadelphia where they gave up the lead, took it back, then lost on the very last play to a kickoff return that was taken to the house by Flash Panda.
Now we have the Orange County Otters amd they are one of the most dominant teams in the ISFL. They seem to be in the playoffs every single year and have had a lot of legendary players play for them. Now you might be thinking that I would just compare them to the New England Patriots and just be done with it. However I have a different team to compare them to and trust me this hurts a lot to say: the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite hitting some snags lately with both playoff losses and off the field drama, the Steelers historically have been one of the best teams in the NFL. They were the first team to win 6 superbowls as well and have usually been in the playoffs ever since they became good.
Just like the Steelers, OCO has been historically great and have won many titles. When I think of a great ISFL team I usually think of them so I think this is overall a really good comparison. Also just like the Steelers they have hit a few snags as of late but seen to be on the right path to correct them and be back in the playoff picture like they usually are. Heck Mike Boss could be thier answer to Terry Bradsaw.
Next up we have the Colorado Yeti who, despite that comback Ultimus win a few seasons back, are one of the most unlucky teams in the history of the ISFL. They have suffered through some of the worst seasons in the history of the league and were at one point were the most dysfunctional team in the league. Overall some people would say the Yeti are cursed and it is very hard to disagree. This might seem like an odd team to compare them to but hear me out: The New Orleans Saints.
Just think about it: despite the one superbowl win the Saints have been one of the most unlucky teams in the history of the NFL. One time they managed to get a last second touchdown due to some unbelievable laterals against the Jaguars but missed the game tying extra point. Do you realize what unbelievable odds that haf to combine for all of that to happen to them? Do not quote me on this but I think that is the only successful last second lateral touchdown in the history of the NFL only for it to not matter due to the missed extra point. Not only that, but they needed that win to make the playoffs!
You can now see how unlucky the Saints are. Just like them the Yeti may have a title but they have been extremely unlucky before and since. Heck I think two 13+ win Yeti teams lost in back to back Ultimus Bowls to 9-7 SJS! Honestly you could also call them the Cleveland Browns of the ISFL with how much losing they have done over the years. Thier winning percentage sits below .400. They once went 0-14 in back to back seasons which can be compared to Cleveland going 1-15 one season and then going 0-16 the next season. And yes the Cleveland Browns have been extremely unlucky over the years just like the Yeti.
There are also some more small comparisons I can make, like I think the Liberty can be compared to the Cincinnati Bengals with the lack of recent playoff success. Sarasota can be compared to the Baltimore Ravens with being a new team that got really good real quick. You could also way that about the New York Silverbacks and to a lesser extent the Berlin Fire Salamanders. Hell the two of them made up last season's Ultimus Bowl championship in the true Expansion Bowl and I don't remember a recent time in sports where two teams from the same expansion faced off in the championship!
Ok so for this season's Ultimus Week I have decided to do something fun: I am comparing a few ISFL team's to real life NFL teams! I will not be doing all the teams because I only need 800 words for this but here are some comparisons I can think of right now:
We start with the Chicago Butchers who seem to be perpetually stuck in a never ending rebuild and never seems to get over the hump since their one playoff when in their inaugural season. Because of this I am comparing them to another NFL team stuck in constant limbo: the Detroit Lions. The Lions have only one playoff win in over fifty years and only one in the Superbowl Era. They would have had one more but they got screwed by the refs against the Cowboys. In a similar way the Butchers have had a lot of heartbreaking losses, with one very notable one being the game against Philadelphia where they gave up the lead, took it back, then lost on the very last play to a kickoff return that was taken to the house by Flash Panda.
Now we have the Orange County Otters amd they are one of the most dominant teams in the ISFL. They seem to be in the playoffs every single year and have had a lot of legendary players play for them. Now you might be thinking that I would just compare them to the New England Patriots and just be done with it. However I have a different team to compare them to and trust me this hurts a lot to say: the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite hitting some snags lately with both playoff losses and off the field drama, the Steelers historically have been one of the best teams in the NFL. They were the first team to win 6 superbowls as well and have usually been in the playoffs ever since they became good.
Just like the Steelers, OCO has been historically great and have won many titles. When I think of a great ISFL team I usually think of them so I think this is overall a really good comparison. Also just like the Steelers they have hit a few snags as of late but seen to be on the right path to correct them and be back in the playoff picture like they usually are. Heck Mike Boss could be thier answer to Terry Bradsaw.
Next up we have the Colorado Yeti who, despite that comback Ultimus win a few seasons back, are one of the most unlucky teams in the history of the ISFL. They have suffered through some of the worst seasons in the history of the league and were at one point were the most dysfunctional team in the league. Overall some people would say the Yeti are cursed and it is very hard to disagree. This might seem like an odd team to compare them to but hear me out: The New Orleans Saints.
Just think about it: despite the one superbowl win the Saints have been one of the most unlucky teams in the history of the NFL. One time they managed to get a last second touchdown due to some unbelievable laterals against the Jaguars but missed the game tying extra point. Do you realize what unbelievable odds that haf to combine for all of that to happen to them? Do not quote me on this but I think that is the only successful last second lateral touchdown in the history of the NFL only for it to not matter due to the missed extra point. Not only that, but they needed that win to make the playoffs!
You can now see how unlucky the Saints are. Just like them the Yeti may have a title but they have been extremely unlucky before and since. Heck I think two 13+ win Yeti teams lost in back to back Ultimus Bowls to 9-7 SJS! Honestly you could also call them the Cleveland Browns of the ISFL with how much losing they have done over the years. Thier winning percentage sits below .400. They once went 0-14 in back to back seasons which can be compared to Cleveland going 1-15 one season and then going 0-16 the next season. And yes the Cleveland Browns have been extremely unlucky over the years just like the Yeti.
There are also some more small comparisons I can make, like I think the Liberty can be compared to the Cincinnati Bengals with the lack of recent playoff success. Sarasota can be compared to the Baltimore Ravens with being a new team that got really good real quick. You could also way that about the New York Silverbacks and to a lesser extent the Berlin Fire Salamanders. Hell the two of them made up last season's Ultimus Bowl championship in the true Expansion Bowl and I don't remember a recent time in sports where two teams from the same expansion faced off in the championship!