Quote:3314 words, some obvious repeat words so do with that what you want
Analysis of cities in the ISFL in comparison with USA city population
Now before I dive into this I would first like to say that I fully support having teams with creative and more unique places. During the last two expansions (and heck maybe even during the chicago/austin expansion) I was pretty vocal about preferring smaller cities which are unique to sim leagues and real life sport leagues in general than the general every major league as 20 teams in this city. So when New York City was announced as an expansion city I was not too thrilled, but hey to each their own, plenty of people who probably looked at Honolulu and thought, christ on a bicycle, who would put a team there.
Now for this list I used good ol’ Wikipedia, the very trusted source of information and used the page ‘List of United States cities by population’. Using this list I compiled a list of the cities by population and compared them to the list of cities we have here in the ISFL. First I will list the 14 most populated US cities and make note if they have a team and after that will continue with every other city that has a team in the league, but is not a top 14 city. Which cities will be complete outliers and which cities despite their population do not have a team.
The presentation will as following:
[# rank in population in United states cities], city name, sate, [2019 population]
[what team plays in that city if any]
Number 1: New York City, New York (population: 8,336,817)
ISFL team: New York Silverbacks
Thanks to our latest expansion in S25 we now have a team in the biggest city of the United States. The Silverbacks started their team history by ending the season with a 4-12 record in the ASFC. Running back Ashley Owens led the league in rushing yards with 1542 of them and rookie Hank Winchester led the league in tackles with 154. A young team brought into a tough conference will be an interesting story to follow for sure.
Number 2: Los Angeles, California (population: 3,979,576)
ISFL team: N/A
While the Orange County Otters are just around the corner, they are located within the city of Anaheim, which I will touch on later. Despite being the 2nd largest city in the States no team has tried to establish themselves in LA. Fierce competition from the Otters could be a reason for this, but could also create a magical and heated rivalry. LA fans will have to find their football needs in Anaheim for now however.
Number 3: Chicago, Illinois (population: 2,693,976)
ISFL team: Chicago Butchers
Chicago received their own team in the S16 expansion when the Chicago Butchers made their way into the ISFL. A team with a controversial history, starting right off the bat by being a contender in the NSFC, before heading for a nosedive which resulted in a timely period of turmoil. The Butchers seem to be on the right track again after new gms took over in S22 to put an end to the uncertainty. They finished last season with a 8-8 record in the NSFC which was their second year in a row of making the playoff after having missed it the previous 6 seasons.
Number 4: Houston, Texas (population: 2,320,268)
ISFL team: N/A
The number 4 city of Houston must fare without an ISFL in their city. Close to Houston however we do find the Austin Copperheads and the Dallas Birddogs. The city of Houston is big enough to host a team and create a rivalry with the nearby Austin Copperheads. (spoiler) Upcoming in spot 7 is San Antonio, imagine if Houston and San Antonio would also have ISFL teams. The football in Texas would be mental and there would be so much competition.
Number 5: Phoenix, Arizona (population: 1,680,992)
ISFL team: Arizona Outlaws
At number 5 we finally reach one of the original 6. Fun fact, back before the league had started the mask of the Outlaw was orange, but was later changed to red, because 3 of the original 6 teams used an orange colour scheme. Of course one of those are the Orange County Otters, but the other might be a team many are not familiar with. The Denver Grizzlies, which before the start of season 1 rebranded to the more familiar Colorado Yeti brand. Arizona is best known for winning the first 3 cups as well as the controversy around user Er and his effect on those first 3 cups. If you want to hear more about his bit of history I highly recommend iamslm’s 20 for 20 podcast on this subject https://forums.sim-football.com/showthre...?tid=20495. Skipping ahead to the future the Arizona Outlaws finished the S25 season with a 9-7 record, but saw an early wild card round loss to the San Jose Sabercats who ended up winning it all. Arizona is a team on the upswing after a period of drought (hah).
Number 6: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (population: 1,584,064)
ISFL team: Philadelphia Liberty
Take a shot for every time an expansion team appears in this list. The Liberty saw their birth in S2 when they became the first pair of expansion teams in the ISFL together with the Las Vegas Legion (rip), who after S5 relocated to New Orleans to become the New Orleans Second Line.
The Liberty became the first team to win an Ultimus Cup as the away team, a feat which did not happen again until the Otters (it’s always the otters) won three back to back cups while on the road starting in S17. Since then we have actually seen more away teams win cups then home teams (OCO S17&18&19, AUS S20, COL S22, SJS S24, S25) That’s 7 out of 9 championship games while it only happened once in the previous 16 seasons, which is quacking crazy. In S25 the Liberty finished 6th in the NSFC with a 7-9 record.
Number 7: San Antonio, Texas (population: 1,547,253)
ISFL team: N/A
See Houston for my take on this city
Number 8: San Diego, California (population: 1,423,851)
ISFL team: N/A
San Diego which lies all the way in the southern end of California, does not have an ISFL team. However right across the border you can find Tijuana which holds the DSFL team the Tijuana Luchadores. For ISFL action they have to travel about 88 miles to Anaheim and watch the Otters.
Number 9: Dallas, Texas (population: 1,343,573)
ISFL team: N/A
Dallas also kind of falls into the same boat as Houston and San Antonio. However what this team does have is a DSFL team, the Dallas Birddogs. Due to this fact Dalles will not be getting a ISFL team in the near future I reckon, unless the Bird Dogs decide to move out of Dallas for whatever reason.
Number 10: San Jose, California (population: 1,021,795)
ISFL team: San Jose Sabercats
Meow, it is Saberkitty time. After a few cities with no ISFL teams we see San Jose coming in who supports one of the original 6. The Sabercats have an interesting history with a few spells of dominance here and there, S14-15 was arguably one of their better periods. Winning a cup in S14 and being a finalist in S15. However in recent years they have resurged and as previously mentioned have won two back to back cups. So they are currently enjoying their best spell. The Saberkitties are still a young team and with two cups under their belts, who knows how many more they can win in the near future.
Number 11: Austin, Texas (population: 978,908)
ISFL team: Austin Copperheads
We are going to be looking at another expansion team. I have already touched upon the Copperheads in all the previous Texan city mentions, but now it is finally time to talk about them. The Austin Copperheads entered the league together with the Chicago Butchers in S16. Unlike the Butchers who opted to build a champion contending team, the Copperheads chose for a slow build up. Which proved to be the better methode at the end of the day. The Copperheads in their 10 season existence, won their first cup (S20) only 5 seasons after being created. They also attended another final in S23, however ended up losing to the Yellowknife Wraiths. Competing in a tough ASFC conference Austin has missed out on the last two playoffs, but competed for a spot every season. They finished S25 with a 7-9 record with put them 5th in the ASFC.
Number 12: Jacksonville, Florida (population: 911,507)
ISFL team: N/A
We finally get away from texan and Californian cities and end up in Florida. Florida saw a team being started in their state in the 22th season when the Sarasota Sailfish joined the ISFL, which means Jacksonville does not have a team. I will be honest I had to check google maps to find out where ‘Sarasota’ even is and to check if it is actually a real city, but good news it is! Jacksonville located football fans will have to travel 214 miles to attend a Sailfish game. So that is not too bad.
Number 13: Fort Worth, Texas (population: 909,585)
ISFL team: N/A
It had to be Texas again did it not? Check any of the other texas teams to see my thoughts on Fort Worth. If we look at the top 25 biggest United States cities we see 6 teams, which is enough to basically fill out one conference.
Number 14: Columbus, Ohio (population: 898,553)
ISFL team: N/A
Oh poor Columbo, with 3 big cities, Ohio supports not a single team. The nearest team for Columbus would be the Chicago Butchers which would require 279 miles of travelage. If they do not mind traveling an extra 60ish miles they could also go and see the Baltimore Hawks.
Right so those were the 14 biggest cities in the United States, for those eager beavers out there who have been keeping count they will see I have only mentioned 6 teams, not even half of all the teams in the ISFL. So let’s move down the list and see where our other ISFL teams can be found.
Number 19: Denver, Colorado (population: 727,211)
ISFL team: Colorado Yeti
For the next team we do not have to look too far down the list. Denver is the host for the Colorado Yeti. As I mentioned previously the Colorado Yeti were originally known as the Denver Grizzlies and sported a handsome orange grizzly as their logo. However in the Leagues attempt to crack down on the colour orange in the league we saw them rebrand to the more dark red sporting Colorado Yeti. It makes me sad every time I look at the Colorado logo and do not see that derpy Yeti they had as their logo for a pretty long time as far as I can remember. You should look it up when you get the chance. The Yeti have had a turbulent history in the league. A ton of tops, some ups, but were never able to establish themselves as a cup threat. They reached their first final in S1, but after that would not see themselves back again until S13. With two final losses under their name they had to wait until S22 when they finally secured their first cup. In recent years they have had a dominant showing, however have lost the last two cups to the San Jose Sabercats. Last season saw them finish top of the league with a 13-3 record, will the Yeti be able to get another cup? Time will tell.
Number 30: Baltimore, Maryland (population: 593,490)
ISFL team: Baltimore Hawks
The Hawks populate the city of Baltimore where they have been since the birth of the league. As an old life long Baltimore player I am very biased to the Hawks and will say that we have the worst final luck in league history. As we sport a 2-6 final record at this moment, which was 1-5 before the Hawks won their season cup in season 15 and they were 0-3 before winning their first cup in season 10. The Hawks enjoyed two early scandals in their history. I could have sworn iamslm did a part about them, but in my quick search could not find them. However I did write about it in the S23 Ultimus Week, so if you want to read the full story check here https://forums.sim-football.com/showthre...#pid326982, the short version however is a player got approved while his attributes were incorrect, played for the Hawks and people cried about it. The second scandal was the Broadway scandal, in which player Erasmo Broadway was incorrectly given 100 agility instead of 75 in the S2 conference final. Both had some controversy to them, but hey what is fun about a league unless there is a little controversy now and then. (this is a joke, controversy sucks). Last season the Hawks missed out on the playoffs with a 8-8 record tying Chicago, but sadly not winning the tiebreaker.
Number 50: New Orleans, Louisiana (population: 390,144)
ISFL team: New Orleans Second Line
The toots were a product of S2 expansion team Las Vegas Legion having an implosion with a bunch of their players retiring as they were unhappy about some kinda shit, once again I will refer you to iamslm who does great coverage for stuff like this https://forums.sim-football.com/showthre...?tid=24455. Anyways the aftermath of this event was Bojojojojojoojojoojo taking over as GM for the team and moving and rebranding it to the team we know and love today, the New Orleans Second Line. Under Bojo’s control the Second Line was about to tame the Otters dominance and make 4 finals in a row winning 2 of those. Between S9 and S11 we saw the Hawks and Second Line make the final and trade wins with each other. (Sadly NOLA winning 2 of those finals *shakes fist*) After which they took a step back and had to rebuild for a few seasons. We recently saw them make the final again in S21 and win the cup. They have continued to be a force in the league and are always competing for playoffs. This past season we saw them finish with a 7-9 record and finish 6th in the ASFC. Doot on dooters.
Number 55: Anaheim, California (population: 350,365)
ISFL team: Orange County Otters
Another original 6 team and one of the most consistent dominant teams in the league. The Otters have the best trophy case in the league with 8 cups in 10 finals. Besides 8 cups they are also the only team to have won three away cups in a row, with the San Jose Sabercats looking to tie that record as they are currently on 2. What can I really say about the Otters that has not been said before? They have never missed out on the playoffs throughout 25 seasons. They always are in possession of a quarterback who makes a name for themselves with Boss, Showbiz and Armstrong. In this league you can replace the word ‘dynasty’ and just say Otters instead and people will understand exactly what you are talking about. S25 saw them taking top of the conference as they often do with a 11-5 record and there is no sign they will suddenly fall off.
Number 56: Honolulu, Hawaii (population: 345,064)
ISFL team: Honolulu Hahalua
The Hahalua back forth in the fish themed S22 expansion draft together with the Sarasota Sailfish. Hahalua saw a slow build of the team trying to emulate what the Austin Copperhead had done in the previous expansion. In their first two seasons they saw negative seasons, however the last two seasons they have finished .500 with a 8-8 record, still waiting for their burst into the playoffs. As you all might know the Hahalua is a product of Dwyer and my imagination and we love the team very much. We have since both left the team, but we left them behind in capable hands who are steering the team in the right direction. As I mentioned the team finished with a 8-8 record last season which was good for 4th in the ASFC. We are young and coming up and I believe this season will see us finally make that push into the playoffs.
Number ?: Sarasota, Florida (population: 57,738)
ISFL team: Sarasota Sailfish
The wiki list I used only contained cities with a population greater than 100,000 which Sarasota does not have, so I have no idea where they rank and am too lazy to look it up. Sarasota joined the league together with Honolulu in the 22th season of the ISFL. They knew an explosive start to their history making the playoff in their first season with a 6-7 record. They have made the playoff 3 out of their 4 seasons in existence. Finishing behind the Colorado Yeti in the last two seasons. They have yet to taste the joys of the championship game, but seem to be close to getting their bite at the cherry. Last season saw them finish with a 11-5 season which as mentioned put them in second place in the NSFC. Who knows maybe this upcoming season will see a fishy final.
There we have it folks, all the teams in the ISFL!... wait we aren’t done yet? What do you mean this sport is not American only? Canada and Deutscheland? That is crazy talk… alright then.
Sorry folks, it seems like the list for United States cities is done, however we have some cheeky lads who decided to put teams not in the great nation of Murica.
Germany, Number 1: Berlin, Germany (population: 3,520,031)
ISFL team: Berlin Fire Salamanders
The latest expansion saw us have our first expansion out of the northern americas and saw us land in Europe. Germany to be precise. Berlin is easily the biggest city in German with Hamburg behind them with 1,787,408 habitants. Berlin comes into the league and finishes the last season with a 3-13 record in their very first season. Fun fact, the amount of time Berlin has to travel if they have to play in Honolulu would be 37 hours by commercial airline. Not sure how long the team's plan does over this journey, but one could imagine it would be a while aswell.
Canada, Number ?: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
ISFL team: Yellowknife Wraiths
Well well well, we have finally come to our final team and what a team to end on. The city has a population of 19,569 which puts them god knows where on the list of population of Canadian cities. The last of the original 6 teams in the league. If you ever want a spook, look up the prediction thread for the inaugural draft and take a peek at the original Yellowknife logo. Fun fact, the original arena the Yellowknife Wraiths played at was named ‘Burial Grounds’. The Wraiths won one cup in this arena in S8 and then lost three back to back cups at home between S18-S20. Not really a fun fact for Wraith fans, but still they are the only team to have done that, unless the Yeti tie that record next season. They have since moved to a new arena where in S23 they won a cup again after a 15 season cold spell (hah). The Wraiths have been one of the more consistent teams in the NSFC. The late noughties and early 10’s season saw them struggle for a while, however after that spell they rose back up again. This season saw them finish 5th with a 7-9 record.
That is finally the end of it. A look at the top 14 cities in the States and a look at all ISFL teams we have in general. This started out as a simple look at just where teams play exactly, but it ended up with a few history lessons along the way. If anyone read any of this I hope you enjoyed it.