01-14-2024, 10:53 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-15-2024, 10:59 AM by Kyamprac. Edited 2 times in total.)
Tier 1 Task 1:
I forgot to purchase my OT/PT pass for this season and couldn't be more furious with myself, so here I am to grudgingly ramble about the Season 45 Ultimus Championship. Thankfully, this one is at least a little fun for me because for the first time since season 20 the Austin Copperheads managed to bring home another Ultimus!
The last time this happened, I wasn't even in the league yet and the Copperheads were still rocking the old school upside-down triangle snek logo in the orange, copper and grey. Heck, this was so long ago we were playing in an entirely different sim and the Honolulu Hahalua, Sarasota Sailfish, New York Silverbacks, and Berlin Fire Salamanders hadn't joined the league yet either. We're talking like at least 4 real life years ago (maybe more? I'm losing count).
In any case, in that season, Austin put up a strong fight on their way up to the Ultimus, coming up with some pretty decisive victories. They first defeated the Arizona Outlaws (who at that time had leadership from the legendary Jay Cue I) 30-23, with Mako Mendonca leading the charge on the ground with 133 yards in 34 attempts. Next, they beat New Orleans Second Line 26-17, with Mendonca again killing it and putting up 83 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. Finally, Austin reached the Season 20 Ultimus final, where they defeated the Yellowknife Wraiths 37-20 under the guidance of legendary quarterback Easton Cole, who has never let us forget how much he contributed to that win (and to the team more generally). His receivers at the time - Clay, Tidwell, and Gaines - helped him out with 4 passing touchdowns, with support (again) from the amazing Mako Mendonca, who contributed another 81 yards to the cause.
Since then, the Copperheads have seen a lot of amazing players join and leave its ranks - folks like Zoe Watts, Queen Elizabeth II, Jackie Daytona, Johnny Patey, Tyler Montain, Jim The Vampire, Spicy Ron, Brach Thomaslacher, Dex Kennedy, Maverick Bowie and others contributed massive efforts to propel the team forward. While some found their way to individual awards or entries in to the hall of fame, they nonetheless experienced season after season of disappointment with respect to the Ultimus as the RNGesus of the sim just didn't have a lot of love for them.
While this was disappointing for many players, I know it was even more frustrating for the team's GMs, who have all continued to put time into helping the team whether they've stayed on in formal leadership roles over the years or not. Hours of sim testing, spending time helping players, scouring the free agent market, you name it they did it - have to give those guys some pretty big kudos for ensuring the team stayed an awesome place to be despite banging their heads against the wall after making playoffs and coming | | this close year after year. Thankfully, all of the time and effort they've put in have finally been rewarded with a ring.
This time around, Austin again faced the Arizona Outlaws in the quarterfinals, defeating them 41-19 with rookie Jay Cue III at the helm, which was super fun considering 25 seasons ago they had to play against a Cue in the quarterfinal. That said, it was less about Cue III and more about Howard Coward having a stellar performance for the Copperheads, putting up 115 yards in just 19 attempts and 3 massive touchdowns. Next, they faced the Honolulu Hahalua, where Coward again put up an amazing performance, but so too did the rookie quarterback Jay Cue III, who scored 3 touchdowns. Finally, they faced the Sarasota Sailfish in a nail biter of a finisher resulting in a 34-31 win.
The whole team contributed to the win which made it all the more sweet - Cue III, Coward, Newman, and Bickerman all added touchdowns to the scoresheet. The game was so tight it went to OT - Charlie Brown secured the last 3 points on a 34 yard field goal and Walter Gunther sealed the deal, intercepting a pass from Miller to Salem. After the win, the team was almost more shocked than excited at first. Things actually went their way, and just in time for the latest GM change. Here's hoping it's not another 25 seasons of banging their head against a desk until the next one!
(727 words)
I forgot to purchase my OT/PT pass for this season and couldn't be more furious with myself, so here I am to grudgingly ramble about the Season 45 Ultimus Championship. Thankfully, this one is at least a little fun for me because for the first time since season 20 the Austin Copperheads managed to bring home another Ultimus!
The last time this happened, I wasn't even in the league yet and the Copperheads were still rocking the old school upside-down triangle snek logo in the orange, copper and grey. Heck, this was so long ago we were playing in an entirely different sim and the Honolulu Hahalua, Sarasota Sailfish, New York Silverbacks, and Berlin Fire Salamanders hadn't joined the league yet either. We're talking like at least 4 real life years ago (maybe more? I'm losing count).
In any case, in that season, Austin put up a strong fight on their way up to the Ultimus, coming up with some pretty decisive victories. They first defeated the Arizona Outlaws (who at that time had leadership from the legendary Jay Cue I) 30-23, with Mako Mendonca leading the charge on the ground with 133 yards in 34 attempts. Next, they beat New Orleans Second Line 26-17, with Mendonca again killing it and putting up 83 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. Finally, Austin reached the Season 20 Ultimus final, where they defeated the Yellowknife Wraiths 37-20 under the guidance of legendary quarterback Easton Cole, who has never let us forget how much he contributed to that win (and to the team more generally). His receivers at the time - Clay, Tidwell, and Gaines - helped him out with 4 passing touchdowns, with support (again) from the amazing Mako Mendonca, who contributed another 81 yards to the cause.
Since then, the Copperheads have seen a lot of amazing players join and leave its ranks - folks like Zoe Watts, Queen Elizabeth II, Jackie Daytona, Johnny Patey, Tyler Montain, Jim The Vampire, Spicy Ron, Brach Thomaslacher, Dex Kennedy, Maverick Bowie and others contributed massive efforts to propel the team forward. While some found their way to individual awards or entries in to the hall of fame, they nonetheless experienced season after season of disappointment with respect to the Ultimus as the RNGesus of the sim just didn't have a lot of love for them.
While this was disappointing for many players, I know it was even more frustrating for the team's GMs, who have all continued to put time into helping the team whether they've stayed on in formal leadership roles over the years or not. Hours of sim testing, spending time helping players, scouring the free agent market, you name it they did it - have to give those guys some pretty big kudos for ensuring the team stayed an awesome place to be despite banging their heads against the wall after making playoffs and coming | | this close year after year. Thankfully, all of the time and effort they've put in have finally been rewarded with a ring.
This time around, Austin again faced the Arizona Outlaws in the quarterfinals, defeating them 41-19 with rookie Jay Cue III at the helm, which was super fun considering 25 seasons ago they had to play against a Cue in the quarterfinal. That said, it was less about Cue III and more about Howard Coward having a stellar performance for the Copperheads, putting up 115 yards in just 19 attempts and 3 massive touchdowns. Next, they faced the Honolulu Hahalua, where Coward again put up an amazing performance, but so too did the rookie quarterback Jay Cue III, who scored 3 touchdowns. Finally, they faced the Sarasota Sailfish in a nail biter of a finisher resulting in a 34-31 win.
The whole team contributed to the win which made it all the more sweet - Cue III, Coward, Newman, and Bickerman all added touchdowns to the scoresheet. The game was so tight it went to OT - Charlie Brown secured the last 3 points on a 34 yard field goal and Walter Gunther sealed the deal, intercepting a pass from Miller to Salem. After the win, the team was almost more shocked than excited at first. Things actually went their way, and just in time for the latest GM change. Here's hoping it's not another 25 seasons of banging their head against a desk until the next one!
(727 words)