1) This week will see the S26 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?
The S26 season in the ISFL went off without a hitch, which usually means that S27 is going to be fucked to hell and back. To start with my team the Butchers, I'd say we met expectations, but there's that hunger for that championship that is not going away any time soon. The next teams I want to talk about are the two newest teams, the Fire Salamanders and Silverbacks, who would be coming into the season with their improved rosters, hoping that their offseason additions would provide a much needed boost to last season's records. The second season of an expansion team in the ISFL seems to be the telling sign of how they'll perform for the next few seasons, so it was important for both of them to perform. In the hotly contested ASFC, there ended up being a 5 team pile up at 9-7, creating one of the most insane and confusing end season results of all time. The Copperheads and Outlaws were the unlucky two to get launched out of the playoffs, leaving the Otters, Second Line, and Silverbacks in on the ASFC side. The Silverbacks made it in off of the back of their solid defense, who had a bend don't break attitude, giving up the second lowest amount of points. Making it into the playoffs as an expansion team is hard enough on its own, but the Silverbacks were able to somehow get the number one seed as well. Unfortunately our wonderful sim had different ideas as to how the playoffs would go. The Second Line wound up the second best team in the ASFC, off of their strong defense and run game. When they would beat the Otters in the first round of the playoffs, they would end up getting the seeding over the Silverbacks, getting that immensly valuable home field advantage. The Otters who also made the playoffs once again, were on the verge of missing them for the first time in the franchise's history. Over on the NSFC, the Wraiths ended up as kings of the castle, boasting a league best 13-3 record, and hosting the best defense in the league by quite a margin. They gave up the fewest points and yards out of all the teams in the league. Behind them was the two seed, the Butchers, who made it to the playoffs for the third time in a row. After the chaotic S20-23 seasons for the Butchers, they have hit a stride, and are looking more and more likely to win the coveted Ultimus. For third place in the conference, there was a tie between the S23 champion Yeti, and the S22 expansion Sailfish. The Yeti were the odd men out and ended up spending the playoffs on the couch. Some other notable teams were the Berlin Fire Salamanders, who were projected at the top of the power rankings before the season started, but ended up finishing 5th in the division. The playoffs got underway and the first round had two incredibly close games. The SecondLine beat the Otters 24-15, moving on to face the Silverbacks at home. In the NSFC the second place Butchers had a bad stroke of luck, and ended up losing 24-23, thanks to a last second touchdown from Raphtilia Chan. In the second round of the playoffs, there were two more hotly contested matches, with the Wraiths beating the Sailfish 24-22, and the SecondLine beating the Silverbacks 43-37. With the Wraiths holding the homefield advantage, they were the favorites to win the Ultimus. With the expectations of winning, the Wraiths didn't disappoint, running through the SecondLine 49-17. The season is over now. The season had some surprises, but the expectations for most teams seemed to match what everyone thought. The teams that had their expected results were teams like the Hawks or Liberty, who were expected to have down years. The Hawks lost key pieces on defense and didn't gain much on the offensive side of the ball. The Liberty were coming off of a season where their GM abandoned them, but not before ruining their reputation thanks to the Brandon Booker fiasco. With such a young roster as well, the Liberty had a mediocre 4-12 season. The real surprise of the season was the Hahalua, who ended up going 3-13 after sniffing the playoffs one season earlier. There really isn't any answer as to why the Hahalua fell flat this season either, but they'll be more than happy to use that first overall pick in this upcoming draft. The S26 season of the ISFL was a fun season to be a part of and to watch. It had its many ups and downs, which is the best part of the league. Each season there is someone new knocking at the Ultimus' door, and with the next season around the corner, I'm sure that there will be many more surprises for us all.
The S26 season in the ISFL went off without a hitch, which usually means that S27 is going to be fucked to hell and back. To start with my team the Butchers, I'd say we met expectations, but there's that hunger for that championship that is not going away any time soon. The next teams I want to talk about are the two newest teams, the Fire Salamanders and Silverbacks, who would be coming into the season with their improved rosters, hoping that their offseason additions would provide a much needed boost to last season's records. The second season of an expansion team in the ISFL seems to be the telling sign of how they'll perform for the next few seasons, so it was important for both of them to perform. In the hotly contested ASFC, there ended up being a 5 team pile up at 9-7, creating one of the most insane and confusing end season results of all time. The Copperheads and Outlaws were the unlucky two to get launched out of the playoffs, leaving the Otters, Second Line, and Silverbacks in on the ASFC side. The Silverbacks made it in off of the back of their solid defense, who had a bend don't break attitude, giving up the second lowest amount of points. Making it into the playoffs as an expansion team is hard enough on its own, but the Silverbacks were able to somehow get the number one seed as well. Unfortunately our wonderful sim had different ideas as to how the playoffs would go. The Second Line wound up the second best team in the ASFC, off of their strong defense and run game. When they would beat the Otters in the first round of the playoffs, they would end up getting the seeding over the Silverbacks, getting that immensly valuable home field advantage. The Otters who also made the playoffs once again, were on the verge of missing them for the first time in the franchise's history. Over on the NSFC, the Wraiths ended up as kings of the castle, boasting a league best 13-3 record, and hosting the best defense in the league by quite a margin. They gave up the fewest points and yards out of all the teams in the league. Behind them was the two seed, the Butchers, who made it to the playoffs for the third time in a row. After the chaotic S20-23 seasons for the Butchers, they have hit a stride, and are looking more and more likely to win the coveted Ultimus. For third place in the conference, there was a tie between the S23 champion Yeti, and the S22 expansion Sailfish. The Yeti were the odd men out and ended up spending the playoffs on the couch. Some other notable teams were the Berlin Fire Salamanders, who were projected at the top of the power rankings before the season started, but ended up finishing 5th in the division. The playoffs got underway and the first round had two incredibly close games. The SecondLine beat the Otters 24-15, moving on to face the Silverbacks at home. In the NSFC the second place Butchers had a bad stroke of luck, and ended up losing 24-23, thanks to a last second touchdown from Raphtilia Chan. In the second round of the playoffs, there were two more hotly contested matches, with the Wraiths beating the Sailfish 24-22, and the SecondLine beating the Silverbacks 43-37. With the Wraiths holding the homefield advantage, they were the favorites to win the Ultimus. With the expectations of winning, the Wraiths didn't disappoint, running through the SecondLine 49-17. The season is over now. The season had some surprises, but the expectations for most teams seemed to match what everyone thought. The teams that had their expected results were teams like the Hawks or Liberty, who were expected to have down years. The Hawks lost key pieces on defense and didn't gain much on the offensive side of the ball. The Liberty were coming off of a season where their GM abandoned them, but not before ruining their reputation thanks to the Brandon Booker fiasco. With such a young roster as well, the Liberty had a mediocre 4-12 season. The real surprise of the season was the Hahalua, who ended up going 3-13 after sniffing the playoffs one season earlier. There really isn't any answer as to why the Hahalua fell flat this season either, but they'll be more than happy to use that first overall pick in this upcoming draft. The S26 season of the ISFL was a fun season to be a part of and to watch. It had its many ups and downs, which is the best part of the league. Each season there is someone new knocking at the Ultimus' door, and with the next season around the corner, I'm sure that there will be many more surprises for us all.