Prompt 7 Wrote:The league has a rich and fascinating history, and our perspectives on it differ from person to person. In 600 words or more, describe any significant moment in ISFL or DSFL history, whether you were around for it or not. Describe the context, the significant members, and the events. What exactly made this event so famous (or infamous) and why does it deserve to be remembered? Events might include championship wins, the inducting of players to the hall of fame, or even a league scandal.
Missing out on the playoffs this year due to tiebreakers reminded me of the most ridiculous tiebreaker experience I've been involved in (on my previous player), which was the 5-way tie in the ASFC at 9-7 between the Silverbacks, Second Line, Copperheads, Otters, and Outlaws. This was really confusing at the time, in large part because the index showed Austin in 3rd, but we actually ended up as the 4th seed with the Otters making the playoffs as the third. As I remember it, the index post showing Austin higher came out before communication about the actual seedings and that led to eventually an announcement post explaining how the tiebreakers worked. As the last season played in the old version of the sim, this seemed like a hilarious way to highlight the absolute jank elements of the old sim. For all that drama in the seedings, the actual playoffs had some great games - the Sailfish beat the higher-seeded butchers in the first round and then only barely lost vs. Yellowknife, while the Silverbacks/Second Line game went to overtime, with NOLA winning after recovering a New York fumble deep in their own territory. The finals were a blowout, but still a decent set of playoff games overall.
Almost as wild as the tiebreakers to determine who would make it into the playoffs were the last 2 weeks of games setting everything up. First off, if San Jose had managed to win its week 15 matchup against the then 2-12 Hahalua, they would have also been 9-7 which would have been even more wild - I'm pretty sure a 5 way tie is unprecedented but a 6-way one seems impossible to ever have again. For the other teams, what happened in their last two weeks?
Silverbacks: A week 15 loss to the Butchers set up week 16 to be a must-win with 3 teams already at 9 wins. Chicago ended up with the second-best record in the league, so I don't think New York not pulling off a win really surprised anyone. Week 16 was also against the Otters and so that kept them from getting to 10 wins and getting above the giant tiebreaker.
Second Line: Winning in week 15 over Orange County (in a blowout) put New Orleans in position to be a 10-win team with a win in week 16. That didn't happen as a result of one of the most exciting games of the season. The Second Line led 20-3 going into the 4th quarter in what had been pretty much a one-sided affair. Arizona scored 17 points to tie the game, due to a short punt and a pair of long passes by QB Cue. Unlike many other swingy games, there were not flurry of turnovers leading to short fields - a punt from NOLA's 22 getting to AZ's 48 was convenient, though that only resulted in a field goal. That was still enough to get into overtime, where both teams had a chance to win. Arizona scored on their third drive, actually throwing an interception on their first possession. New Orleans was basically ineffectual in their two drives, though, with both being just 3 and outs. Their second punt did set Arizona up on the AZ 40, and 2 plays later they got a 45 yard catch and run to the NOLA 7 to set up a TD pass on the next play. Seeing as the Second Line ended up making it to the Ultimus despite being the second seed in the ASFC and that Arizona missed the playoffs regardless, the game seems to have not been really critical for either of the involved teams. If NOLA had won, I think the 2/3 seeds would have still been NYS/OCO and so, despite the drama of the game, I don't think it was super impactful on the playoffs.
Otters: Orange County was 9-5 heading into week 15 and lost two consecutive games to other teams that ended up at 9-7, NOLA and NYS. As discussed above, week 15 was a blowout, but week 16 was another game that went to overtime after a fairly close game where no team ever led by more than 7. Orange County did get the ball first in overtime, but a 3 and out let the Silverbacks take possession and they had a great drive, with their two third downs both being short. Winning either of these two games would have left the Otters as the first seed (and the other team probably out of the playoffs) and so could have helped Orange County do better than a first round exit.
Copperheads: Austin, like Orange County, was also 9-5 after week 14 and lost two games. The week 15 loss to the Outlaws was by 11 in a game that was close in the first half, but dominated by Arizona in the second half. Week 16 vs. San Jose was, much like the NOLA/AZ game, dominated by Austin until the fourth quarter, where the SaberCats scored 2 TDs in the last 7 minutes to win by 1. The Copperheads' drives consisted of driving 41 yards and getting a field goal, a 3 and out after a touchback that led to a blocked punt that led SJS score in 2 plays, a 5 play all pass 17 yard drive that only took 1:40 off the clock, and getting 8 yards before time ran out after taking the ball over with 21 seconds left. This was definitely a winnable game for both teams, and since Austin would have been the first seed if they had won that was definitely a huge swing.
Outlaws: Arizona won its last 2 games, but with losing or split head to head records against every other 9-7 team they didn't have a chance. I don't specifically recall if everyone involved knew that at the time, since they did have a higher division record than Orange County and so I think some people thought they might end up winning some tiebreakers. Still, the Outlaws did everything they could the last two weeks but it wasn't enough without other games having ended differently.
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