14. Describe your player and/or team’s journey through this latest season. What were the highlights? What were the lower points? What might you have done differently? What are your expectations for next season?
Compared to our performance in S28, the Yeti had a relatively successful season this time around. S28 was a frustrating affair. The team was good, but there were still some question marks. In general, we had some maturing to do before we really felt competitive, but there was hope that if a few things fell our way we might be able to surprise some people. Those plans got off to a rough start in week one, where we were dominated by Yellowknife. We knew a lot of how successful we were that season would rest on Caliban and that Yellowknife’s secondary is incredibly strong, but I don’t think we were fully prepared for Caliban to throw 3 interceptions and not have a single touchdown on the day. Our defense just could not keep up and we got routed. Even Baltimore made it close when we played them in week 3, although we did manage to pull off the win. By Week 6, we had lost to the three teams we knew would be our primary competition for the season. Losing to Chicago in week 13 really felt like the nail in the coffin, although that probably actually came when we lost to both Sarasota and Yellowknife late in the season. We finished at 8-8, which is not awful, but missing out on the playoffs to a Sarasota team that had a 10 win season. That feeling was not great, but we knew we were in a place to compete going forwards. Still, missing the playoffs sucks. But season 29 looked good for us. We had made some acquisitions to boost our depth and the team had grown a little bit. We knew we were in a really good place going into the season. Things got off to a good start for us this time. Week one was a huge matchup against Sarasota, who had beaten us twice the previous season. We managed to win by a narrow three point margin. But then we immediately dropped the ball to Chicago, which feels like a real theme among the last couple seasons. Week three saw us win against Berlin. We now had two wins against playoff teams from last season in the first three weeks of the new season. We were encouraged. At one point, we were on a seven game winning streak before Berlin got some revenge in week 13. We finished the season by beating Chicago, finally, and pulling off the season sweep against the Sailfish in dominant fashion. After missing the playoffs the season before, we secured the #2 seed in the NSFC, falling short of the top seed by one game. Unfortunately, despite beating them twice in the regular season, we fell short against Sarasota in a blowout game to end the season. While it wasn’t the ending we hoped for, returning the playoffs was worth celebrating and the team is poised to be successful over the next several seasons. I look forward to getting underway in our next campaign, where I hope we will again be a top competitor in a tight division.
25. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why?
The position I currently play did not even cross my mind when I recreated. Initially, I was thinking about creating at wide receiver and being one of those losers who runs after the ball that QBs somehow always manage to throw everywhere but right on target. But I was talked out of that by people who said that your stats would be inconsistent for a few seasons. In hindsight, I should not have let that persuade me. And there were reports that the new sim was going to shake things up. I created at defensive tackle because I thought that was a position that would allow me to still help a team even if my earning was nothing special. But when some need popped up in the secondary, I swapped over to cornerback to help the Yeti out. If I had it to do over again, I certainly would recreate on offense. The question is where? Perhaps I would have followed my original plan and created at wide receiver. I’m sure I could have put up with the inconsistent stats there just as well as I have at cornerback. I have no real need to be “the guy” so I could have been happy at WR2 or maybe even as a slot guy. But I think I would rather create at TE. Get to do a little bit of pass blocking and a little bit of ball catching, perhaps making my name as a redzone threat or the guy who sneakily gets open down the field…who knows. But I’ll probably go to TE when it’s time for my next create.
27. What team do you think has the best branding in the league? What team do you think could use a refresh? Why?
The best branding is obviously the Colorado Yeti. The logo is pretty genius. Infinite, I hope you’re reading this. It clearly makes the C, representing Colorado. It also uses the colors of the state flag in a nice tribute, and manages to feature the mascot in the middle of all that without it looking crowded. I think that is a pretty impressive feat of design. The look is iconic and I honestly see no need to even think about “freshening it up” anytime in the near future. Why change what is already literal perfection? I do think there are a few teams that could use some upgrading in the logo department. First amongst these teams are the Butchers. I have nothing against the colors, but the logo is basic at best and looks more like something you would see on a movie poster of some really bad slasher movie. In a league with this many skilled graphics people, I believe the Butchers could do better if they really tried. I also think the team could go in a whole new direction if they really wanted to. I know Baltimore is fresh off an update of their logo, but to be honest I am not convinced it’s enough of an upgrade to have been worth it. As someone pointed out to me the other die, it conjures images of friend chicken. Maye it’s the colors, I really don’t know. But again, I think the team could have done better. And speaking of fried chicken, it’s dinner time.