08-06-2023, 09:28 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-06-2023, 09:30 PM by goblin jr.. Edited 1 time in total.)
Ahhh the Ultimini. Despite serving as the championship game for the developmental league offshoot of the ISFL, great football minds often consider the Ultimini an honor on par, if not better, than the Ultimus itself. That said, the winning team of the Ultimini are often the strongest, smartest, toughest players out there, and this year’s winner, the Norfolk Seawolves, are no exception. They showed out all season, finishing #1 seed firmly in hand, dominating opponents in the postseason, and then running away with what felt like half the season awards. Despite their dominance, they don’t get the respect they deserve. As a Seawolf, their utter dominance was clear to me throughout my time in the league. But it seems as though a lot of the other users were surprised, nay, SHOCKED, that Norfolk won the Mini. When the final seconds ran out in that game, I could feel the collective DSFL staring slack jawed at their monitors, faces bathed in the pale white glow of monitors that read “NORFOLK SEAWOLVES S42 DSFL CHAMPIONS.” So how exactly did the Seawolves get here? To get the full story we’ll also have to consider the path of their Ultimini opponents, the Minnesota Grey Ducks.
Norfolk finished the regular season 11-3 off the back of a 4 game win streak (One of those wins coming against their eventual Ultimini opponent, The Minnesota Grey Ducks, in week 13, putting NOR 2-0 in their regular season matchups.). It was a close race til the end between Dallas, Tijuana, and Norfolk. Some late season Dallas/Tijuana missteps saw both of them ending the season at 9-5, Tijuana owning the tiebreaker and the last DSFL South playoff spot.
Meanwhile the North was a different story. Despite doing a LOT of losing against the Seawolves, Minnesota was doing a whole lot of winning against the rest of the league, and their high flying offense (With the hugest PF in the league, one point ahead of Norfolk) led them to a 9-5 record. Their playoff opponent would be the 6-8 Kansas City Coyotes, who actually made the playoffs ahead 2 full games of the next best team. The North saw a playoff matchup where the eventual winner held a 80-23 regular season point differential above the loser. It’s not Minnesota’s fault that they’re good, but it’s not a surprise that they won the conference against KC in a 27-7 beatdown.
Meanwhile the South sees Tijuana, a perennial favorite, looking up at Norfolk, a team who they beat 38-21 in their week 2 matchup, but ended up splitting the season series with after a 23-20 defeat in week 9. While everyone viewed Minnesota as locks, the opinion in the South was much more split. However, it seemed the prevailing sentiment was that Norfolk were pretenders, or “frauds,” while Tijuana was the true king, and that despite their record they were the team to beat. But this Norfolk team is no ordinary team. Their explosive wide receiver set the record for receiving TDs, and their defensive unit was bar none the best in the league. At the very least, people were expecting a close game. During the game itself Norfolk’s offense was uncharacteristically quiet for the first half, only putting up 7 points. Fortunately their defense kept them in the game, and they ended the half down a manageable 13-7. And manage it they did. TIJ scored 6 points in the 3rd quarter, and thanks to the elite NOR defense, those were their last points of the game. Norfolk on the other hand scored 31 second half points, and ended the game convincingly at 39-19.
On to the matchup with the Grey Ducks. The ducks seem like a popular team, they’re easy to root for. It feels fun when they win. So it seemed that most of the user base was convinced, or at least rooting for a, MINN win. Norfolk again showed out in the second half, scoring 17 of their 24 points in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Their defense also showed up again, and after 17 first half MINN points, they were held scoreless in the second half. NOR wins, 24-17. Despite this win, NOR is still being disrespected, and many around the league don’t expect that the Seawolves will continue their dominant streak. Once again, they will be proven wrong.
Norfolk finished the regular season 11-3 off the back of a 4 game win streak (One of those wins coming against their eventual Ultimini opponent, The Minnesota Grey Ducks, in week 13, putting NOR 2-0 in their regular season matchups.). It was a close race til the end between Dallas, Tijuana, and Norfolk. Some late season Dallas/Tijuana missteps saw both of them ending the season at 9-5, Tijuana owning the tiebreaker and the last DSFL South playoff spot.
Meanwhile the North was a different story. Despite doing a LOT of losing against the Seawolves, Minnesota was doing a whole lot of winning against the rest of the league, and their high flying offense (With the hugest PF in the league, one point ahead of Norfolk) led them to a 9-5 record. Their playoff opponent would be the 6-8 Kansas City Coyotes, who actually made the playoffs ahead 2 full games of the next best team. The North saw a playoff matchup where the eventual winner held a 80-23 regular season point differential above the loser. It’s not Minnesota’s fault that they’re good, but it’s not a surprise that they won the conference against KC in a 27-7 beatdown.
Meanwhile the South sees Tijuana, a perennial favorite, looking up at Norfolk, a team who they beat 38-21 in their week 2 matchup, but ended up splitting the season series with after a 23-20 defeat in week 9. While everyone viewed Minnesota as locks, the opinion in the South was much more split. However, it seemed the prevailing sentiment was that Norfolk were pretenders, or “frauds,” while Tijuana was the true king, and that despite their record they were the team to beat. But this Norfolk team is no ordinary team. Their explosive wide receiver set the record for receiving TDs, and their defensive unit was bar none the best in the league. At the very least, people were expecting a close game. During the game itself Norfolk’s offense was uncharacteristically quiet for the first half, only putting up 7 points. Fortunately their defense kept them in the game, and they ended the half down a manageable 13-7. And manage it they did. TIJ scored 6 points in the 3rd quarter, and thanks to the elite NOR defense, those were their last points of the game. Norfolk on the other hand scored 31 second half points, and ended the game convincingly at 39-19.
On to the matchup with the Grey Ducks. The ducks seem like a popular team, they’re easy to root for. It feels fun when they win. So it seemed that most of the user base was convinced, or at least rooting for a, MINN win. Norfolk again showed out in the second half, scoring 17 of their 24 points in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Their defense also showed up again, and after 17 first half MINN points, they were held scoreless in the second half. NOR wins, 24-17. Despite this win, NOR is still being disrespected, and many around the league don’t expect that the Seawolves will continue their dominant streak. Once again, they will be proven wrong.