Task 5
League history is something that can always be avoided by most of the general userbase since it does not affect them. Outside of major sim changes, there are not many different events that occur that can end up making the average user notice that something major had taken place. A team might break a record for most yards gained in a season, they might even set the most amount of wins in a season, or their quarterback might break every stat in the record book right before our eyes. However, this story is not about a team like that. The team that made history actually made no history at all as the only team that was created for an actual season, but never played a single down. The team without a stat is the Denver Grizzlies.
Our story begins before the first season begins as the folks setting up the Rocky Mountain’s first ISFL team, then the NSFL, had to come up with a proper team that could strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. There were teams already out there such as the Arizona Outlaws, Yellowknife Wraiths, and San Jose Sabercats who were all creating logos that the teams would eventually change but the Grizzlies were the only team that faced controversy due to their creation. The GM at the time decided that the “Denver Grizzlies” were far too generic of a team name since “everyone uses Grizzlies” when it came to sim leagues. Now, I cannot comment one way or the other since I have not was not in sim leagues prior to S15 of the ISFL, but I do not see a major issue with teams named after Grizzly bears or even bears in general. The complaints must have been coming from outside forces telling the GM that the Denver Grizzlies were too reminiscent of the Memphis Grizzlies and that seemed to be the tipping point, despite San Jose being the least original of the sim league teams, for change.
There were multiple ideas swirling through the mind of the first GM as he tried to decide what could be the replacement team name for the Denver Grizzlies. The two most important criteria that the team’s new name had to meet were: be original and be interesting. Nobody wants to play for a team that already has a sim league counterpart and nobody wants to play for a team named after something like a colored horse. The eventual decision is a team that continues to play today which took all of the possible stats away from the Denver Grizzlies since the change happened before the start of season one. The team taking its place is the Colorado Yeti.
There is plenty of debate if the “Colorado Yeti” is an interesting name or if the name is just something that everyone has grown toward liking. It meets the unique factor for sure, but there are plenty of unique names out there that might work well too and fit the area better. While I will not go into a full team name grading, the state of Colorado does not come close to the highest amount of bigfoot/yeti sightings in the continental US and immediately provides an issue with how well the name fits the area. It fits more toward the “San Jose Sabercats” end of the spectrum where team names do not match their areas. Beyond that, the new team has gone on to share in the greatest of highs and the lowest of lows. They are the only team in the league’s history to go winless for multiple seasons and win an Ultimus since the creation of the league. All that had to be sacrificed, were the Denver Grizzlies.
League history is something that can always be avoided by most of the general userbase since it does not affect them. Outside of major sim changes, there are not many different events that occur that can end up making the average user notice that something major had taken place. A team might break a record for most yards gained in a season, they might even set the most amount of wins in a season, or their quarterback might break every stat in the record book right before our eyes. However, this story is not about a team like that. The team that made history actually made no history at all as the only team that was created for an actual season, but never played a single down. The team without a stat is the Denver Grizzlies.
Our story begins before the first season begins as the folks setting up the Rocky Mountain’s first ISFL team, then the NSFL, had to come up with a proper team that could strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. There were teams already out there such as the Arizona Outlaws, Yellowknife Wraiths, and San Jose Sabercats who were all creating logos that the teams would eventually change but the Grizzlies were the only team that faced controversy due to their creation. The GM at the time decided that the “Denver Grizzlies” were far too generic of a team name since “everyone uses Grizzlies” when it came to sim leagues. Now, I cannot comment one way or the other since I have not was not in sim leagues prior to S15 of the ISFL, but I do not see a major issue with teams named after Grizzly bears or even bears in general. The complaints must have been coming from outside forces telling the GM that the Denver Grizzlies were too reminiscent of the Memphis Grizzlies and that seemed to be the tipping point, despite San Jose being the least original of the sim league teams, for change.
There were multiple ideas swirling through the mind of the first GM as he tried to decide what could be the replacement team name for the Denver Grizzlies. The two most important criteria that the team’s new name had to meet were: be original and be interesting. Nobody wants to play for a team that already has a sim league counterpart and nobody wants to play for a team named after something like a colored horse. The eventual decision is a team that continues to play today which took all of the possible stats away from the Denver Grizzlies since the change happened before the start of season one. The team taking its place is the Colorado Yeti.
There is plenty of debate if the “Colorado Yeti” is an interesting name or if the name is just something that everyone has grown toward liking. It meets the unique factor for sure, but there are plenty of unique names out there that might work well too and fit the area better. While I will not go into a full team name grading, the state of Colorado does not come close to the highest amount of bigfoot/yeti sightings in the continental US and immediately provides an issue with how well the name fits the area. It fits more toward the “San Jose Sabercats” end of the spectrum where team names do not match their areas. Beyond that, the new team has gone on to share in the greatest of highs and the lowest of lows. They are the only team in the league’s history to go winless for multiple seasons and win an Ultimus since the creation of the league. All that had to be sacrificed, were the Denver Grizzlies.