02-23-2022, 01:17 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-23-2022, 01:19 AM by GlimsTC. Edited 1 time in total.)
Prompt 1 - This week will see the S33 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? Who do you think will win the final? If you’re writing this after the finals were decided, were you surprised by the outcome?
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I've had the luxury of witnessing quite a few seasons now in the ISFL, but this one in-particular I have to say was an absolute wild one. Teams that were expected to do good under performed while teams that were expected to be contending for the Ultimus didn't even make the playoffs. I always felt like these are the best kind of seasons, so I've been really excited about the chance to write about it. So without further ado:
Starting with the ASFC, I'd say this division was the most "expected" outside of what happened with the New York Silverbacks. After just competing for another Ultimus and winning it, they ended stumbling heavily to a 6-10 record, two games away from a shot at the playoffs. For a team that just won the big game it's definitely gotta feel disappointing for them to have a season like this, but looking at their overall history, inconsistency tends to be this team's thing. It wouldn't surprise me if somehow they ended up right back in the Ultimus next season!
So, with New York out, who replaced them? Interestingly, the Orange County Otters did! A team who historically is super successful but had yet to punch their way into the playoffs when the sim switched over, many people doubted this team would be able to break the curse for quite some time, especially this season. However, despite starting 0-3, and then going 3-6, they miraculously went on to win 6 games in a row in order to end the season 9-8. But that wasn't enough, as they went on to beat both Austin and Arizona, shooting all the way to the Ultimus!
Moving onto the NSFC, this division was weird. No shock that Sarasota led every team, but past that you had Baltimore go from continuing their pain streak to looking like the best team in the entire league; the Butchers eclipsing both Berlin and Colorado to make the final playoff spot; then out of nowhere we had the Philadelphia Liberty going from their Baltimore-esc season of leading the NSFC to being 6-10 and almost dead last in the division. One can't even begin to imagine what sort of black magic played into how this side of the ISFL went, but it absolutely did not look like what most people were probably imagining.
The playoff side of things in the NSFC were also both what you'd expect, and unexpected. Baltimore beat the Butchers in a game that they controlled pretty handily, and then to everyone's surprise they dumped a whole 30 points on Sarasota on the road with only the game score looking close. But the game, I assure you, was anything but close, with the score being 30-10 in favor of Baltimore with 7:50 left in the 4th. And thus, the stage was set for OCO vs BAL.
So, we head to the Ultimus in what had to be one of the most unique matchups that could have happened this season, and the result was one of the best Ultimus games you will probably ever see in the history of the ISFL. The first quarter ended with OCO dominating at 24-0 with pretty much everyone thinking it was over. That sort of score really doesn't get beat in this league without a complete miracle. But luckily for Baltimore, they would be gifted that exact miracle, putting together a comeback for the ages. In the second quarter, they answered back twice to set the score to 24-14, something that looked much more manageable. The third quarter came and went, and it appeared that despite maybe a minor fright, OCO was still going to be driving to the end comfortably with the score at 31-17. But then, the fourth quarter happened, and WOW, this was some storybook crud. Baltimore scores almost immediately bringing it to 31-24. OCO would answer back with a TD of their own making it 38-24. With less than 9 minutes left and needing to score 14+ points to win, Baltimore faced the tough task like it was nothing, scoring 17 unanswered points and completely preventing OCO from having any chance of forcing OT or stealing back the lead. It's a shame either one of these teams had to be devastated like this, but hopefully both teams feel like winners in the end for having such a phenomenal game overall. It'll be really interesting to see how Baltimore continues to build off of this success now that all of their pieces are completely in place for the long run.
(758 words)
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I've had the luxury of witnessing quite a few seasons now in the ISFL, but this one in-particular I have to say was an absolute wild one. Teams that were expected to do good under performed while teams that were expected to be contending for the Ultimus didn't even make the playoffs. I always felt like these are the best kind of seasons, so I've been really excited about the chance to write about it. So without further ado:
Starting with the ASFC, I'd say this division was the most "expected" outside of what happened with the New York Silverbacks. After just competing for another Ultimus and winning it, they ended stumbling heavily to a 6-10 record, two games away from a shot at the playoffs. For a team that just won the big game it's definitely gotta feel disappointing for them to have a season like this, but looking at their overall history, inconsistency tends to be this team's thing. It wouldn't surprise me if somehow they ended up right back in the Ultimus next season!
So, with New York out, who replaced them? Interestingly, the Orange County Otters did! A team who historically is super successful but had yet to punch their way into the playoffs when the sim switched over, many people doubted this team would be able to break the curse for quite some time, especially this season. However, despite starting 0-3, and then going 3-6, they miraculously went on to win 6 games in a row in order to end the season 9-8. But that wasn't enough, as they went on to beat both Austin and Arizona, shooting all the way to the Ultimus!
Moving onto the NSFC, this division was weird. No shock that Sarasota led every team, but past that you had Baltimore go from continuing their pain streak to looking like the best team in the entire league; the Butchers eclipsing both Berlin and Colorado to make the final playoff spot; then out of nowhere we had the Philadelphia Liberty going from their Baltimore-esc season of leading the NSFC to being 6-10 and almost dead last in the division. One can't even begin to imagine what sort of black magic played into how this side of the ISFL went, but it absolutely did not look like what most people were probably imagining.
The playoff side of things in the NSFC were also both what you'd expect, and unexpected. Baltimore beat the Butchers in a game that they controlled pretty handily, and then to everyone's surprise they dumped a whole 30 points on Sarasota on the road with only the game score looking close. But the game, I assure you, was anything but close, with the score being 30-10 in favor of Baltimore with 7:50 left in the 4th. And thus, the stage was set for OCO vs BAL.
So, we head to the Ultimus in what had to be one of the most unique matchups that could have happened this season, and the result was one of the best Ultimus games you will probably ever see in the history of the ISFL. The first quarter ended with OCO dominating at 24-0 with pretty much everyone thinking it was over. That sort of score really doesn't get beat in this league without a complete miracle. But luckily for Baltimore, they would be gifted that exact miracle, putting together a comeback for the ages. In the second quarter, they answered back twice to set the score to 24-14, something that looked much more manageable. The third quarter came and went, and it appeared that despite maybe a minor fright, OCO was still going to be driving to the end comfortably with the score at 31-17. But then, the fourth quarter happened, and WOW, this was some storybook crud. Baltimore scores almost immediately bringing it to 31-24. OCO would answer back with a TD of their own making it 38-24. With less than 9 minutes left and needing to score 14+ points to win, Baltimore faced the tough task like it was nothing, scoring 17 unanswered points and completely preventing OCO from having any chance of forcing OT or stealing back the lead. It's a shame either one of these teams had to be devastated like this, but hopefully both teams feel like winners in the end for having such a phenomenal game overall. It'll be really interesting to see how Baltimore continues to build off of this success now that all of their pieces are completely in place for the long run.
(758 words)