Tier 3: Written/Graphics Tasks (Each must be either 200+ words or a graphic)
Choose up to FOUR for 2.5 TPE each.
23. Create a billboard, magazine cover, unique trading card, or video game cover depicting a one of the league's stars.
25. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why?
I originally picked Tight End because I like making playmakers, but I didn't know how much time I would have for ISFL. I'm mainly an SHL guy, and my schedule has gotten very busy in the last few weeks. Even joining, I expected my earning to be much lower than my SHL pace. With that in mind, Running Back and Quarterback didn't seem like positions where I could have an impact. The league puts less pressure on TEs, so I was drawn to that, and then I got to thinking. Tight Ends really are what I was looking for; being a pivoting position that can block or receive means that my player will always try to be wherever the play needs him to be.
With the earning pace and ideas of play style in mind, I probably would have elected to make a defensive player instead if TE was not available. Given their line support and backfield duality, I think I would have gone for a Linebacker. Somebody who could defend against the rush or against passes in equal (and apparently half-hearted) measure. Joey Marston would still be mediocre at best though, since ISFL is my second league and my earning has really dropped off from what I thought it could be when I joined. (213 Words)
27. What team do you think has the best branding in the league? What team do you think could use a refresh? Why?
In general, this is difficult to say for sure. Resources for branding in the ISFL, compared to the SHL and PBE, are rather varied and hard to find. Hypothetically, all teams have information on their Wiki pages, but that simply isn't the case. The resources section of the Graphics forums is, likewise, only half-useful.
That said, I am rather partial to the brandings for Austin, Orange County, and New York. I like the colors for Austin, in particular. Teal and orange isn't something that a lot of teams do, but to take it a step further and go more copper than orange is kinda cool. I like Orange County because of otters; their being the Browns colors isn't the greatest to me, but it does work. I'm not sure how I would change it, but otters are just a great mascot. New York is kind of a homer pick, but I really like just about everything I've seen about it. The teal, light green, gold, and black colors all work together cleanly, and I love the art deco vibe. When I was setting up an expansion bid for the SHL, art deco was a big theme for my Miami concept. I really like the Silverbacks' branding vibe.
As far as brandings that I don't like, I have to say, I rather dislike San Jose. Every time I see the Sabercats logo, my brain can't decide if it's Thundercats or Power Rangers. Honestly, half the time I do end up calling them the San Jose Thundercats in my head. Then it's also dark green, darker green, and washed out gold. The colors don't contrast very well at all. I think the definitely ought to do something. To be honest, it'd be kind of interesting to see them lean into that "80s and 90s Saturday morning show" vibe and go for more outrageous colors and cartoonishness. If they wanted to play it more seriously, scrap the darker green for an alternative (navy blue feels right in my brain for some reason), brighten the remaining green a little bit, and then go for a brighter yellow instead of the "gold". Whatever happens, the current logo needs to go. (366 Words)
31. The World Football Association was established last season and is currently playing out for the first time. What do you think about the WFC as a whole and how it has been shaping out. Do you think it will end up a success?
I think the WFC can be a success and it's certainly an intriguing idea, but some things need to happen first. Right now, it's only in a separate Discord. I didn't know it was currently running until someone in the NYS LR pointed it out. Granted, I keep myself in only my team Discords in the ISFL, so it may be gaining traction in the main channels and I don't see it. It's still not really being mentioned around the site, though. It has a section for the different teams, but there's nothing really in it. Rosters are also only posted on the WFC Discord.
I think, before you even get to how it can improve on the SHL's IIHF model (which has some big faults), they need to just get to the SHL's level. The streams for WFC need to be announced. Since the framework seems to already be in place, posting them like the ISFL and DSFL sims seems reasonable. Actually, doing just that would be a lowkey improvement on IIHF because then people would know it was happening. The big piece that's missing from WFC right now, though, is media. Having media announcements and an index for WFC needs to happen. People saw some of the branding, but there's apparently more now, and there are supposed to be rosters. Who is playing in the WFC? What teams are they on? Who's winning? That this is a question is kinda bad.
I think if those fixes are implemented, WFC can and should be successful. (257 Words)
Choose up to FOUR for 2.5 TPE each.
23. Create a billboard, magazine cover, unique trading card, or video game cover depicting a one of the league's stars.
25. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why?
I originally picked Tight End because I like making playmakers, but I didn't know how much time I would have for ISFL. I'm mainly an SHL guy, and my schedule has gotten very busy in the last few weeks. Even joining, I expected my earning to be much lower than my SHL pace. With that in mind, Running Back and Quarterback didn't seem like positions where I could have an impact. The league puts less pressure on TEs, so I was drawn to that, and then I got to thinking. Tight Ends really are what I was looking for; being a pivoting position that can block or receive means that my player will always try to be wherever the play needs him to be.
With the earning pace and ideas of play style in mind, I probably would have elected to make a defensive player instead if TE was not available. Given their line support and backfield duality, I think I would have gone for a Linebacker. Somebody who could defend against the rush or against passes in equal (and apparently half-hearted) measure. Joey Marston would still be mediocre at best though, since ISFL is my second league and my earning has really dropped off from what I thought it could be when I joined. (213 Words)
27. What team do you think has the best branding in the league? What team do you think could use a refresh? Why?
In general, this is difficult to say for sure. Resources for branding in the ISFL, compared to the SHL and PBE, are rather varied and hard to find. Hypothetically, all teams have information on their Wiki pages, but that simply isn't the case. The resources section of the Graphics forums is, likewise, only half-useful.
That said, I am rather partial to the brandings for Austin, Orange County, and New York. I like the colors for Austin, in particular. Teal and orange isn't something that a lot of teams do, but to take it a step further and go more copper than orange is kinda cool. I like Orange County because of otters; their being the Browns colors isn't the greatest to me, but it does work. I'm not sure how I would change it, but otters are just a great mascot. New York is kind of a homer pick, but I really like just about everything I've seen about it. The teal, light green, gold, and black colors all work together cleanly, and I love the art deco vibe. When I was setting up an expansion bid for the SHL, art deco was a big theme for my Miami concept. I really like the Silverbacks' branding vibe.
As far as brandings that I don't like, I have to say, I rather dislike San Jose. Every time I see the Sabercats logo, my brain can't decide if it's Thundercats or Power Rangers. Honestly, half the time I do end up calling them the San Jose Thundercats in my head. Then it's also dark green, darker green, and washed out gold. The colors don't contrast very well at all. I think the definitely ought to do something. To be honest, it'd be kind of interesting to see them lean into that "80s and 90s Saturday morning show" vibe and go for more outrageous colors and cartoonishness. If they wanted to play it more seriously, scrap the darker green for an alternative (navy blue feels right in my brain for some reason), brighten the remaining green a little bit, and then go for a brighter yellow instead of the "gold". Whatever happens, the current logo needs to go. (366 Words)
31. The World Football Association was established last season and is currently playing out for the first time. What do you think about the WFC as a whole and how it has been shaping out. Do you think it will end up a success?
I think the WFC can be a success and it's certainly an intriguing idea, but some things need to happen first. Right now, it's only in a separate Discord. I didn't know it was currently running until someone in the NYS LR pointed it out. Granted, I keep myself in only my team Discords in the ISFL, so it may be gaining traction in the main channels and I don't see it. It's still not really being mentioned around the site, though. It has a section for the different teams, but there's nothing really in it. Rosters are also only posted on the WFC Discord.
I think, before you even get to how it can improve on the SHL's IIHF model (which has some big faults), they need to just get to the SHL's level. The streams for WFC need to be announced. Since the framework seems to already be in place, posting them like the ISFL and DSFL sims seems reasonable. Actually, doing just that would be a lowkey improvement on IIHF because then people would know it was happening. The big piece that's missing from WFC right now, though, is media. Having media announcements and an index for WFC needs to happen. People saw some of the branding, but there's apparently more now, and there are supposed to be rosters. Who is playing in the WFC? What teams are they on? Who's winning? That this is a question is kinda bad.
I think if those fixes are implemented, WFC can and should be successful. (257 Words)