11. Write about your team’s biggest rivalry and what makes it so fierce. Is the competition founded in statistics and the team’s recent performance, or is it a rivalry that developed over time during the team’s history that would exist regardless of statistics?
I have to write about this one first because of what is happening tonight. It is not often that a team's biggest rival be a team from the opposite conference, but that is absolutely the case for the Berlin Fire Salamanders. When Berlin entered the league in season 25, they were accompanied by another team, the New York Silverbacks. In their first few years, I know that I was rooting for the Silverbacks as we were both teams starting from scratch and at a big disadvantage as we began our campaigns. However, as we began to build our teams and become more relevant in the greater scheme of things in ISFL competition, it became clear that New York was a measuring stick for our success. They rose to success more quickly than Berlin did, making the playoffs before we did, yet Berlin then rattled off multiple seasons as the number 1 seed in our conference while New York remained on the fringe as a 3 seed more often than not. The rivalry did not amount to more than a game a year on the field and then watching the standings until Berlin and New York simultaneously reached the Ultimus for the very first time in Season 29. Berlin came into that game off of a franchise best 13-3 season, having just squeaked by their conference rivals of Sarasota and riding a high of confidence and excitement into their matchup with New York, who had just knocked off Arizona, the team that Berlin had seemed destined to meet that year in the Ultimus. What happened, however, was that New York absolutely crushed us. They had a tremendous game and our offense and defense collectively laid an egg. This has hurt ever since, but this year Berlin has rebounded behind second year quarterback Zaylren and a ridiculous 1-2 punch in the backfield of Goat Tank and Jay Cue Jr. We have made it back to the Ultimus, and it is only fitting that the team standing in our way is none other than the one that denied us 3 seasons ago - the New York Silverbacks. This is the last chance for much of the core that began Berlin to win an Ultimus and it's going to be a heck of a match between these two rivaling teams. I can't wait to see what happens.
21. Now thats five seasons on the new sim. What are your thoughts? Do you think that it is better than DDSPF16?
On the whole, I definitely like this sim better as a spectator. It is cleaner to watch and much easier to follow and the statistics are much more readily available to see as the game progresses. I did want to share one thing that bothers me about this sim, however, and that is penalties. The way that penalties are enforced in this sim is pretty awful. Not the calls, but the enforcement of the calls. It seems that most penalties that happen during the play result in a loss of down when I believe the only time that should happen is intentional grounding. I have seen several times just in Berlin's games this season where a penalty happens against the offense on 3rd down and rather than getting a 3rd and long, it is 4th down and a punt results. This may not change the result of many games, but I do believe it could change the result of some and if this happened in a big game, it would be EXTREMELY frustrating. I'd like to see this changed if it is at all possible.
32. What is your team doing this holiday season to help out the community?
Schell was born and raised in Kentucky, and recently a large tornado came through Western KY and caused a large amount of damage over roughly 200 miles of land. A couple of cities hit particularly hard were Mayfield and Bowling Green. The team is currently planning a trip post-Ultimus to the area to help with relief efforts and cleanup in these cities. They have already gathered supplies to send for immediate relief and are gathering some diapers to send to the area as that has been one of the biggest needs expressed by Red Cross in the area. While the Ultimus is a big deal and the players are all in on the game tonight, as soon as it is over they will shift into assisting with this project and helping those who have gone through hard times due to this storm. It is great to see professional athletes coming through for those in need in times like this and setting an example for us all to pay attention to.
I have to write about this one first because of what is happening tonight. It is not often that a team's biggest rival be a team from the opposite conference, but that is absolutely the case for the Berlin Fire Salamanders. When Berlin entered the league in season 25, they were accompanied by another team, the New York Silverbacks. In their first few years, I know that I was rooting for the Silverbacks as we were both teams starting from scratch and at a big disadvantage as we began our campaigns. However, as we began to build our teams and become more relevant in the greater scheme of things in ISFL competition, it became clear that New York was a measuring stick for our success. They rose to success more quickly than Berlin did, making the playoffs before we did, yet Berlin then rattled off multiple seasons as the number 1 seed in our conference while New York remained on the fringe as a 3 seed more often than not. The rivalry did not amount to more than a game a year on the field and then watching the standings until Berlin and New York simultaneously reached the Ultimus for the very first time in Season 29. Berlin came into that game off of a franchise best 13-3 season, having just squeaked by their conference rivals of Sarasota and riding a high of confidence and excitement into their matchup with New York, who had just knocked off Arizona, the team that Berlin had seemed destined to meet that year in the Ultimus. What happened, however, was that New York absolutely crushed us. They had a tremendous game and our offense and defense collectively laid an egg. This has hurt ever since, but this year Berlin has rebounded behind second year quarterback Zaylren and a ridiculous 1-2 punch in the backfield of Goat Tank and Jay Cue Jr. We have made it back to the Ultimus, and it is only fitting that the team standing in our way is none other than the one that denied us 3 seasons ago - the New York Silverbacks. This is the last chance for much of the core that began Berlin to win an Ultimus and it's going to be a heck of a match between these two rivaling teams. I can't wait to see what happens.
21. Now thats five seasons on the new sim. What are your thoughts? Do you think that it is better than DDSPF16?
On the whole, I definitely like this sim better as a spectator. It is cleaner to watch and much easier to follow and the statistics are much more readily available to see as the game progresses. I did want to share one thing that bothers me about this sim, however, and that is penalties. The way that penalties are enforced in this sim is pretty awful. Not the calls, but the enforcement of the calls. It seems that most penalties that happen during the play result in a loss of down when I believe the only time that should happen is intentional grounding. I have seen several times just in Berlin's games this season where a penalty happens against the offense on 3rd down and rather than getting a 3rd and long, it is 4th down and a punt results. This may not change the result of many games, but I do believe it could change the result of some and if this happened in a big game, it would be EXTREMELY frustrating. I'd like to see this changed if it is at all possible.
32. What is your team doing this holiday season to help out the community?
Schell was born and raised in Kentucky, and recently a large tornado came through Western KY and caused a large amount of damage over roughly 200 miles of land. A couple of cities hit particularly hard were Mayfield and Bowling Green. The team is currently planning a trip post-Ultimus to the area to help with relief efforts and cleanup in these cities. They have already gathered supplies to send for immediate relief and are gathering some diapers to send to the area as that has been one of the biggest needs expressed by Red Cross in the area. While the Ultimus is a big deal and the players are all in on the game tonight, as soon as it is over they will shift into assisting with this project and helping those who have gone through hard times due to this storm. It is great to see professional athletes coming through for those in need in times like this and setting an example for us all to pay attention to.