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)?
Oh boy, we’re gonna talk about the Chicago Butchers from this past season and the absolute crap sim luck they had. Going into the season, Chicago looked like a team that had a lot of things going for them. They had just strengthened their secondary by bringing up Evan Jones, who was nominated for Safety of the Year multiple times in the DSFL and earned a nomination for Defensive Rookie of the Year this year, and had strengthened their backfield by bringing up stud Running Back Madison Hayes, who ended up winning Offensive Rookie of the Year this season by becoming the main Chicago Running Back and having a fantastic season. With George O’Donnel remaining at QB, the only fully human Offensive Line in the league, and one of the best Defensive Lines, Chicago looked like they were ready to be strong contenders for the top of the division, if not the league. But looking at their record, a woeful 6-10, it’s clear that did not happen. One of the most obvious things to blame is the new sim engine, in which they ended up having 11 of their 16 games being decided by one touchdown or less (this includes 7 and 8 point differences, where a TD and a 2-Point conversion would result in OT or a win). Let's look back and see what happened in what I think are the most impactful of these games that they lost in this way.
Week 3: 34 - 29 Loss to PHI
This game was back and forth up until the 4th Quarter, which was one of the most intense and crazy endings to a game that I’ve ever witnessed in my short time watching dot football. At the start of the 4th, the score was 24 - 19 in the favor of Philadelphia. With just over 12 minutes to go, CHI kicker Sam Sidekick made it a 1 point game with a 49-yard field goal. After a lot of back and forth, including a forced fumble and recovery by CHI, Sidekick gave the Butcher the lead with a 34-yard field goal with 1:39 left on the clock. PHI took the ball and drove it down the field to give their kicker, Jake Fencik, a chance at heroics, and with 22 seconds left on the clock, he hit a 35-yard field goal to make it 27 - 26 PHI. Not to be counted out, CHI then took 2 plays to get Sidekick in range, and he banged a 53-yard field goal to supposedly end the game with 5 seconds left. Heartbreak in PHI, until on the final kickoff, Flash Panda took the ball out of the endzone and beat everyone to run the ball 102 yards down the sideline to have a walk-off touchdown with no time left, ending the game 34 - 29 in favor of Philadelphia. The heartbreak switched sides of the field as fast as Panda could make it down the field, and suddenly, instead of being 3-0 to start the season, the Butchers are 2-1 and Philadelphia has their first win of the season. This game is impactful because the Butchers and the Liberty ended up tied in the division at the end of the season at 6-10, and a win here only puts them one game back of the Colorado Yeti (8-8), making the other game they lost in the last minute even more impactful.
Week 11: 34-37 Loss to SAR
This game felt much more in hand than the game against Philadelphia, as at four different points in this matchup, the Butchers led the Sailfish by 10 points (17 - 7, 20 - 10, 27 - 17, and 34 - 24). The last of these points was with just under 9 minutes left to play in the 4th quarter, before Raphtalia Chan had a rushing touchdown (followed by a made XP kick) to make the game 34 - 31. The Butchers managed to hold the Sailfish from scoring until the final 20 seconds, when Sarasota kicker Jacob Small managed to nail a 51 yarder to tie the game at 34 with 19 seconds remaining. Then, with no timeouts remaining for the Sailfish, Chicago gets the ball back on their own 25 with all 3 timeouts left. A pass is broken up, which takes 3 seconds off the clock, followed by an incomplete pass. With 10 seconds left, on their own 25, Chicago passes the ball to Tight End Tree Gelbman, who only gains 8 yards before being tackled, and then the Butchers, instead of just taking a knee and going to overtime (which they could have done 3 times at this point) call a timeout with 10 seconds left on the clock. Their rookie running back and breakout star in the backfield, Madison Hayes, is only able to get 1 yard on the ensuing carry, resulting in a turnover on downs. Sarasota, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, immediately sends Jacob Small and the field goal unit onto the field. Small repeats himself, nailing a 51-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining. Truly baffling from the sim coaches in Chicago, that instead of going to overtime or even punting the ball, they would risk turning the ball over on downs in their own half against a kicker who had already proven himself deadly from that range. A win in this game, in addition to a win against Philly in Week 3, would have put the Butchers at 8-8, tied with the Colorado Yeti, and a chance to go to the playoffs within reach (depending on tiebreaker rules, which I don’t have memorized).
In short, the Chicago Butchers got screwed in the sim more than any other team this season.
Oh boy, we’re gonna talk about the Chicago Butchers from this past season and the absolute crap sim luck they had. Going into the season, Chicago looked like a team that had a lot of things going for them. They had just strengthened their secondary by bringing up Evan Jones, who was nominated for Safety of the Year multiple times in the DSFL and earned a nomination for Defensive Rookie of the Year this year, and had strengthened their backfield by bringing up stud Running Back Madison Hayes, who ended up winning Offensive Rookie of the Year this season by becoming the main Chicago Running Back and having a fantastic season. With George O’Donnel remaining at QB, the only fully human Offensive Line in the league, and one of the best Defensive Lines, Chicago looked like they were ready to be strong contenders for the top of the division, if not the league. But looking at their record, a woeful 6-10, it’s clear that did not happen. One of the most obvious things to blame is the new sim engine, in which they ended up having 11 of their 16 games being decided by one touchdown or less (this includes 7 and 8 point differences, where a TD and a 2-Point conversion would result in OT or a win). Let's look back and see what happened in what I think are the most impactful of these games that they lost in this way.
Week 3: 34 - 29 Loss to PHI
This game was back and forth up until the 4th Quarter, which was one of the most intense and crazy endings to a game that I’ve ever witnessed in my short time watching dot football. At the start of the 4th, the score was 24 - 19 in the favor of Philadelphia. With just over 12 minutes to go, CHI kicker Sam Sidekick made it a 1 point game with a 49-yard field goal. After a lot of back and forth, including a forced fumble and recovery by CHI, Sidekick gave the Butcher the lead with a 34-yard field goal with 1:39 left on the clock. PHI took the ball and drove it down the field to give their kicker, Jake Fencik, a chance at heroics, and with 22 seconds left on the clock, he hit a 35-yard field goal to make it 27 - 26 PHI. Not to be counted out, CHI then took 2 plays to get Sidekick in range, and he banged a 53-yard field goal to supposedly end the game with 5 seconds left. Heartbreak in PHI, until on the final kickoff, Flash Panda took the ball out of the endzone and beat everyone to run the ball 102 yards down the sideline to have a walk-off touchdown with no time left, ending the game 34 - 29 in favor of Philadelphia. The heartbreak switched sides of the field as fast as Panda could make it down the field, and suddenly, instead of being 3-0 to start the season, the Butchers are 2-1 and Philadelphia has their first win of the season. This game is impactful because the Butchers and the Liberty ended up tied in the division at the end of the season at 6-10, and a win here only puts them one game back of the Colorado Yeti (8-8), making the other game they lost in the last minute even more impactful.
Week 11: 34-37 Loss to SAR
This game felt much more in hand than the game against Philadelphia, as at four different points in this matchup, the Butchers led the Sailfish by 10 points (17 - 7, 20 - 10, 27 - 17, and 34 - 24). The last of these points was with just under 9 minutes left to play in the 4th quarter, before Raphtalia Chan had a rushing touchdown (followed by a made XP kick) to make the game 34 - 31. The Butchers managed to hold the Sailfish from scoring until the final 20 seconds, when Sarasota kicker Jacob Small managed to nail a 51 yarder to tie the game at 34 with 19 seconds remaining. Then, with no timeouts remaining for the Sailfish, Chicago gets the ball back on their own 25 with all 3 timeouts left. A pass is broken up, which takes 3 seconds off the clock, followed by an incomplete pass. With 10 seconds left, on their own 25, Chicago passes the ball to Tight End Tree Gelbman, who only gains 8 yards before being tackled, and then the Butchers, instead of just taking a knee and going to overtime (which they could have done 3 times at this point) call a timeout with 10 seconds left on the clock. Their rookie running back and breakout star in the backfield, Madison Hayes, is only able to get 1 yard on the ensuing carry, resulting in a turnover on downs. Sarasota, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, immediately sends Jacob Small and the field goal unit onto the field. Small repeats himself, nailing a 51-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining. Truly baffling from the sim coaches in Chicago, that instead of going to overtime or even punting the ball, they would risk turning the ball over on downs in their own half against a kicker who had already proven himself deadly from that range. A win in this game, in addition to a win against Philly in Week 3, would have put the Butchers at 8-8, tied with the Colorado Yeti, and a chance to go to the playoffs within reach (depending on tiebreaker rules, which I don’t have memorized).
In short, the Chicago Butchers got screwed in the sim more than any other team this season.
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