4. “Sim gonna sim” is a popular expression in the league. Write about teams that have been graced by the sim gods and had amazing performances despite statistical odds, and/or about teams that were considered favorites but may have dealt with some bad sim luck that hampered their efforts. How much of an impact did it have on their season(s)?
I think the team that has a legit claim to "sim gonna sim" this season would be the Chicago Butchers. Going into the season they were one of the top contenders for the title this year as many pundits picked them to win their conference and make a serious run for the championship this year, however they fell well short of this goal once the season actually began and missed the playoffs entirely. There were a couple of noticeable games where the Butchers absolutely got simmed by the sim but none more so than the Week 11 matchup against the Sailfish where the Butchers lost to a last second field goal. While that in itself isn't a big deal or a surprise, and it's the matter of which they were able to pull this feat off as there was only 19 seconds left in the 4th quarter when the Sailfish tied it up. Then somehow, after a Sailfish kick off, followed by a Butchers run as well as a completed pass, and the Butcher's own punt after going three and out, there was still 2 seconds left for the Sailfish to kick the game winning field goal.
Let's break that down
a Kickoff, a rush, a completed pass, a punt all occurerd within 17 seconds of each other with the clock supposedly still running in all of these instances. Not only did the sim do it's thing by simming, but it also managed to slow the game clock down for the Sailfish to secure the win.
Another example of how bad things went for Chicago this year was their matchup against Baltimore. This Hawks team haven't won a game in nearly 2 seasons, and were the absolute underdog against the Butchers at Meatgrinder Stadium. The 0-whatever Hawks somehow went into Chicago and came out with a 14 point win in a game that was never close as they led by scores of 7-0, 14-0, 14-3, 17-3, 24-3 and finally 24-10. Against a very good Chicago defense... on the road... they were able to pick up their first win in almost 33 games, by 14 points. They also managed to hold standout WRs Luca Scabbia and Joshua Campbell along with Offensive Rookie of the year Madison Hayes to 10 points. When they were getting beat by lesser offenses by allowing 40+ points in multiple games leading up to their matchup against the Butchers.
One final example would be the matchup against the San Jose Sabercats. The Butchers lead in every offensive category the entire game including passing yards, rushing yards, completions, yards per carry, pretty much every single offensive stat that one would expect a winning team to lead in. So why is this an example of sim gonna sim? Simple, because in a game where inches matter the most, the Butchers have 5 turn overs, 2 interceptions and 3 fumbles, which they lost 1. In comparison how did the Butchers defense do against the Sabercats? 0 turnovers. The discrepancy isn't the most shocking thing, but it is pretty ridiculous when the penalties favored the Butchers as well, meaning they were the more disciplined team on the field that day. I find it very hard to believe that Chicago's defense could not force at least 1 turnover against San Jose.
Sim is always gonna sim, but none more obvious than what the Butchers just went through this past season.
This definitely affected the Butchers off season as well, as they were unable to attract notable free agents in this years free agency class and had a few of their own free agents sign with other teams as well as ownership and management have decided they may need to rebuild and retool this team after a very disappointing season by everyone's high standards. Can it truly be the fault of the GMs and ownership of the team if they put together a very strong team on paper and try to build a contending team only to be simmed by the sim in such ridiculous fashion? Something should be done and tweaked with the new sim as a lot of the plays don't really make sense and it makes it very frustrating to run a team and try to get the players engaged when building up your player doesn't matter because on any given day, the sim gonna sim.
In conclusion, there does not seem to be any consistency or really any real link between a players Stats or TPE vs performance on the field. While the sim may affect every team the same way with luck or lack of luck, it really does beg the question on why have an inconsistent sim dictate our enjoyment of the league? If the sims gonna do what it wants anyway why even bother earning TPE and spend time in a league where it ultimately doesn't matter what you do. Simple, because of the people, the users, not the dots and not the sim. Sim always gonna sim, but the people make the hardships and unlucky streaks worth it in the end.
846 words
I think the team that has a legit claim to "sim gonna sim" this season would be the Chicago Butchers. Going into the season they were one of the top contenders for the title this year as many pundits picked them to win their conference and make a serious run for the championship this year, however they fell well short of this goal once the season actually began and missed the playoffs entirely. There were a couple of noticeable games where the Butchers absolutely got simmed by the sim but none more so than the Week 11 matchup against the Sailfish where the Butchers lost to a last second field goal. While that in itself isn't a big deal or a surprise, and it's the matter of which they were able to pull this feat off as there was only 19 seconds left in the 4th quarter when the Sailfish tied it up. Then somehow, after a Sailfish kick off, followed by a Butchers run as well as a completed pass, and the Butcher's own punt after going three and out, there was still 2 seconds left for the Sailfish to kick the game winning field goal.
Let's break that down
a Kickoff, a rush, a completed pass, a punt all occurerd within 17 seconds of each other with the clock supposedly still running in all of these instances. Not only did the sim do it's thing by simming, but it also managed to slow the game clock down for the Sailfish to secure the win.
Another example of how bad things went for Chicago this year was their matchup against Baltimore. This Hawks team haven't won a game in nearly 2 seasons, and were the absolute underdog against the Butchers at Meatgrinder Stadium. The 0-whatever Hawks somehow went into Chicago and came out with a 14 point win in a game that was never close as they led by scores of 7-0, 14-0, 14-3, 17-3, 24-3 and finally 24-10. Against a very good Chicago defense... on the road... they were able to pick up their first win in almost 33 games, by 14 points. They also managed to hold standout WRs Luca Scabbia and Joshua Campbell along with Offensive Rookie of the year Madison Hayes to 10 points. When they were getting beat by lesser offenses by allowing 40+ points in multiple games leading up to their matchup against the Butchers.
One final example would be the matchup against the San Jose Sabercats. The Butchers lead in every offensive category the entire game including passing yards, rushing yards, completions, yards per carry, pretty much every single offensive stat that one would expect a winning team to lead in. So why is this an example of sim gonna sim? Simple, because in a game where inches matter the most, the Butchers have 5 turn overs, 2 interceptions and 3 fumbles, which they lost 1. In comparison how did the Butchers defense do against the Sabercats? 0 turnovers. The discrepancy isn't the most shocking thing, but it is pretty ridiculous when the penalties favored the Butchers as well, meaning they were the more disciplined team on the field that day. I find it very hard to believe that Chicago's defense could not force at least 1 turnover against San Jose.
Sim is always gonna sim, but none more obvious than what the Butchers just went through this past season.
This definitely affected the Butchers off season as well, as they were unable to attract notable free agents in this years free agency class and had a few of their own free agents sign with other teams as well as ownership and management have decided they may need to rebuild and retool this team after a very disappointing season by everyone's high standards. Can it truly be the fault of the GMs and ownership of the team if they put together a very strong team on paper and try to build a contending team only to be simmed by the sim in such ridiculous fashion? Something should be done and tweaked with the new sim as a lot of the plays don't really make sense and it makes it very frustrating to run a team and try to get the players engaged when building up your player doesn't matter because on any given day, the sim gonna sim.
In conclusion, there does not seem to be any consistency or really any real link between a players Stats or TPE vs performance on the field. While the sim may affect every team the same way with luck or lack of luck, it really does beg the question on why have an inconsistent sim dictate our enjoyment of the league? If the sims gonna do what it wants anyway why even bother earning TPE and spend time in a league where it ultimately doesn't matter what you do. Simple, because of the people, the users, not the dots and not the sim. Sim always gonna sim, but the people make the hardships and unlucky streaks worth it in the end.
846 words