09-25-2021, 02:11 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-03-2021, 09:15 AM by Crunk. Edited 1 time in total.)
What if I told you that perfection was not found in the places you think? That teams still seek the ultimate prize that comes with having a 0 in the loss column, and to satisfy the hunger of doubting. Coaches and GMs have searched for the perfect formula to win since the dawn of time, but few have ever found it. You may ask yourself, has anyone found this illustrious prize? Has perfection been seen by the dots? For our answer, we have to go to an unlikely home of the ISFL in Atlanta, Georgia.
Saddle Up: The Origin Story
The story of the Pink Ponies begins in S20 in the Kansas City offices during an offseason talk between two of the GMs. GM Kaynine Howl and @TropicaliaCC were deep in talks about a possible move for the Coyotes to their home town of Atlanta with what sort of branding the team would get in the move. The Coyotes once had a similar move to Chicago but retained their Coyotes namesake in the quick move away from home, so the discussion included time given to remaining the same. However, both coaches realized that Atlanta was sorely lacking ISFL representation as the hotbed of the South East when teams like New Orleans had filled the spot at the time (Sarasota would not join the league until S22). The coaches continued the discussion for a week on various names before one seemed to stick with both that had a personal history with Atlanta itself. The infamous gentlemen’s club, The Pink Pony, gave GM Howl the perfect idea for a team name. With that, the Atlanta Pink Ponies name was born.
Although the team name had been decided in S20, the team would not be shown to the world until S24 during a postseason charity tournament featuring heavy hitters of the league and relatively new GMs hoping to get their feet wet on the professional level. Teams ranged from the Great Lakes Dragons being led by former legendary Tijuana Luchadores GMs to the Queensland Tigers who were by a new GM entirely. Toward the lower tier of teams sat the Atlanta Pink Ponies who had managed to sneak into the selection process due to a trailer produced for the team that caught the eyes of the selection team (that trailer can be viewed here). The team’s draft TPE numbers were not spectacular in the total lineup, being in the bottom two teams, and was not given a decent chance in order to win the tournament from the beginning due to this disadvantage. Looking at the roster now might seem odd for this statement, but many of these players had not reached their highest potential or were on the verge of retiring out of the league which left no room for errors in roster management with GM Kaynine Howl. Even with the doubters, Howl and the Pink Ponies were going to play their hardest regardless of what the odds said for their chances. That determination would ultimately become history.
Let the Games Begin
3-0
That’s the best winning percentage in the history of the ISFL from a short tournament run. No other team has had an undefeated run in their existence besides the Atlanta Pink Ponies who defied all odds. How did they do it?
The Pink Ponies managed to run through the tournament with a powerful display of luck and determination. With a 27% chance to win the championship, the Atlanta team managed to pull away from the champion favorite, the Orlando Galaxy. The Ponies were constantly on the edge of failure and it took a full team effort to stay in the games that they played. Former CB Xavien Adams and Safety Prince Vegeta played major roles in the team’s defensive success as well as the powerful defensive line led by Pete “Plop” Miller and Claude Miller II who powered through offensive lines in key moments to shut down any opposing teams. The offense was led by Jay Cue and the combined forces of Chizuru Ichinose (formerly Dax Frost), and Sean O’Leary who did more damage to defenses than many predicted with the TPE difference. Teams never could find a way to totally stop the Pink Ponies as they constantly got to the endzone to break apart close games. When the dust had settled, the Pink Ponies sat on top of the S24 Charity Tournament and had their donation sent to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta as a thank you for the support that they had for the area.
(Link to the team depth chart)
All The Glitters, is Not Gold: The Legacy
Every legend has its myth, the story told at bedtime to inspire others to become their own legends. However, many would be hard pressed to find anyone that still mentions the undefeated tournament run that the Pink Ponies had. A simple question to ask might be “why” but the answers to this question are far too easy to get. Many current players were not at the S24 Charity Tournament and did not witness the only undefeated team in the history of the league. With that, the story of the Pink Ponies could not grow naturally among players or coaches and the team lost out on becoming an ISFL legend. Another reason being that many do not care about offseason events and refuse to participate in them. This is obvious from the low view counts that many of the streams get during the offseason since they barely crack over ten or twelve at times. An odd issue since a higher number of players mention that they find the offseason boring without many events to fill the void between the season’s action. Although, that problem might be a story for another day…
Saddle Up: The Origin Story
The story of the Pink Ponies begins in S20 in the Kansas City offices during an offseason talk between two of the GMs. GM Kaynine Howl and @TropicaliaCC were deep in talks about a possible move for the Coyotes to their home town of Atlanta with what sort of branding the team would get in the move. The Coyotes once had a similar move to Chicago but retained their Coyotes namesake in the quick move away from home, so the discussion included time given to remaining the same. However, both coaches realized that Atlanta was sorely lacking ISFL representation as the hotbed of the South East when teams like New Orleans had filled the spot at the time (Sarasota would not join the league until S22). The coaches continued the discussion for a week on various names before one seemed to stick with both that had a personal history with Atlanta itself. The infamous gentlemen’s club, The Pink Pony, gave GM Howl the perfect idea for a team name. With that, the Atlanta Pink Ponies name was born.
Although the team name had been decided in S20, the team would not be shown to the world until S24 during a postseason charity tournament featuring heavy hitters of the league and relatively new GMs hoping to get their feet wet on the professional level. Teams ranged from the Great Lakes Dragons being led by former legendary Tijuana Luchadores GMs to the Queensland Tigers who were by a new GM entirely. Toward the lower tier of teams sat the Atlanta Pink Ponies who had managed to sneak into the selection process due to a trailer produced for the team that caught the eyes of the selection team (that trailer can be viewed here). The team’s draft TPE numbers were not spectacular in the total lineup, being in the bottom two teams, and was not given a decent chance in order to win the tournament from the beginning due to this disadvantage. Looking at the roster now might seem odd for this statement, but many of these players had not reached their highest potential or were on the verge of retiring out of the league which left no room for errors in roster management with GM Kaynine Howl. Even with the doubters, Howl and the Pink Ponies were going to play their hardest regardless of what the odds said for their chances. That determination would ultimately become history.
Let the Games Begin
3-0
That’s the best winning percentage in the history of the ISFL from a short tournament run. No other team has had an undefeated run in their existence besides the Atlanta Pink Ponies who defied all odds. How did they do it?
The Pink Ponies managed to run through the tournament with a powerful display of luck and determination. With a 27% chance to win the championship, the Atlanta team managed to pull away from the champion favorite, the Orlando Galaxy. The Ponies were constantly on the edge of failure and it took a full team effort to stay in the games that they played. Former CB Xavien Adams and Safety Prince Vegeta played major roles in the team’s defensive success as well as the powerful defensive line led by Pete “Plop” Miller and Claude Miller II who powered through offensive lines in key moments to shut down any opposing teams. The offense was led by Jay Cue and the combined forces of Chizuru Ichinose (formerly Dax Frost), and Sean O’Leary who did more damage to defenses than many predicted with the TPE difference. Teams never could find a way to totally stop the Pink Ponies as they constantly got to the endzone to break apart close games. When the dust had settled, the Pink Ponies sat on top of the S24 Charity Tournament and had their donation sent to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta as a thank you for the support that they had for the area.
(Link to the team depth chart)
All The Glitters, is Not Gold: The Legacy
Every legend has its myth, the story told at bedtime to inspire others to become their own legends. However, many would be hard pressed to find anyone that still mentions the undefeated tournament run that the Pink Ponies had. A simple question to ask might be “why” but the answers to this question are far too easy to get. Many current players were not at the S24 Charity Tournament and did not witness the only undefeated team in the history of the league. With that, the story of the Pink Ponies could not grow naturally among players or coaches and the team lost out on becoming an ISFL legend. Another reason being that many do not care about offseason events and refuse to participate in them. This is obvious from the low view counts that many of the streams get during the offseason since they barely crack over ten or twelve at times. An odd issue since a higher number of players mention that they find the offseason boring without many events to fill the void between the season’s action. Although, that problem might be a story for another day…
![[Image: kNvmTU0.png]](https://i.imgur.com/kNvmTU0.png)
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