(S31) Ultimus Week

[Jay_Doctor]

5.
The DD Scandal
I’m sure so many people are tired of hearing about and frankly I don’t really bring it up that often, but I figured it was certainly an important moment in league history (for better or worse) and people should know about the impact it had. This is all from my point of view of course, so there are a lot of other perspectives to look at this event. I’m talking about DylanDeluxe scandal.

The Backstory
Where to even begin with this. DylanDeluxe was a really popular user from the S18 class, one class before I joined. Some of league knowledge of him and all the events are vague at best, as I was just getting my feet wet in the DSFL at the time. DD had become highly involved in what was considered at the time to be one of the best classes the league had seen. Notably, he became the GM of the Tijuana Luchadores. My first interaction with DD came after the S19 contraction draft. League numbers were down, and it didn’t make sense to have 6 DSFL teams when a couple of them (namely Kansas City and Norfolk) didn’t have the activity compared to the other teams. As such, DD reached out and let me know that Tijuana took me 2nd in the contraction draft. I was really hesitant for a moment, as I had kind of disliked Tijuana. It’s easy to dislike a team that wins all the time and when you don’t know anyone there, it’s even easier. DD and everyone else there were amazing though. He was extremely knowledgeable, and the locker room was more active than anything I could have imagined. I didn’t realize just how dead of a locker I had been in prior. I got to know him better and really enjoyed him as a user and as my GM. He taught me quite a few things about the league, the sim and just generally wanted my player and my experience to be great.
It’s worth noting that DD was great friends with some of the other really prominent members of the S18 class. They were a close group of people, and they actually had their own group chat. The group chat itself is probably quite a common occurrence I would imagine. This comes into player later, though.

The Rift
Dylan’s player was a max earning linebacker for Philly at the time that caused his rift with the league. I was still new enough to not fully grasp the meaning of everything at the time, but here is my understanding of things. DD and Philly were trying to use what could be described as a loophole for lack of a better term. HO didn’t agree with what they were trying to do and came down against it. Memory is fuzzy now, but I want to say it was either a contract related thing trying to save the team a little money or it was a TPE thing, and he wasn’t allowed to claim something for some reason (sheesh maybe I shouldn’t even be telling this story without remembering all the details anymore). Either way, grand scheme it appeared to be something that really felt like small potatoes. DD took a stand though and decided to die on that hill. The mood in Tijuana was really sad. We all thought highly of him, and he felt so slighted that it didn’t matter how big or small an issue it seemed. He was done with the league. He retired and stepped down immediately. In hindsight, this was kind of a shitty move to do. I would say that this did slightly stunt the team, as Bagel got the position and had to fill in right away. Fuzzy, Bagel and I were the ones leading the charge for the draft and almost accidently violated the don’t be a dick rule because none of us were even aware of it at the time. That’s a story for a different day though and one that would be titled “my biggest mistake/regret of the league”. That title is more dramatic than it sounds, but that feeling during the draft was the worst of my sim league career. Anyways, back to the DD story. Tijuana wasn’t quite the same for a while. Things took some time to get back to a more positive energy. Still, this doesn’t really make for much of a story if the villain walks away and that’s that. There has to be more, right? Yep, there’s waaaaay more.

The Scandal
I don’t recall how much time went by after DD had left before it happened. I want to say maybe 1-2 months’ time. He had come back to say hi in the locker room. I was stoked. We all were stoked. My first thought was maybe some time away from the league allowed him to cool down and he would be interested in coming back. How naïve of me. He was really pleasant and chatting up a bit before he sent us a strange link. I imagine he had done this in as many locker rooms as he was a part of. He also posted it in the general discord as well. Not sure what it was about, I joined this new discord. It was mostly plain and there wasn’t much to it for channels. I was literally one of the first to join and I start clicking around, still not sure what was going on. Finally, I get past the first or second channel and I specific league member’s names that I recognize. As I start to read in the first thread, it hits me what is going on. DD had spent a significant amount of time combing through every possible message from his old friend’s group chat. Every little slight, inside joke, or mean comment that had been shared in confidence for who knows how long had been leaked to the whole league. Now, I think it’s really important to note that I don’t condone bullying and wasn’t thrilled to read those messages. That being said, there is a big difference in what you say in confidence verse what you say in public. I know for a fact I have had not nice things to say about certain members of the league at some point in time. I sure as hell would never say that to them, though. It’s rude and doesn’t do anyone any good. Sometimes you need to vent and that’s the easiest/best thing to do. It’s also easy to get carried away in the moment if we are heated. I have no doubt a lot of those messages were in the heat of the moment. That doesn’t mean they didn’t mean what they said, but there certainly is a difference.
Regardless of what the messages said or what the intent behind them was, DD’s goal was pretty clear. He was trying to cause a lot of pain and even potentially trying to bring down various members of the league. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say he even possibly hoped the league itself wouldn’t recover from it. I think in a couple of instances he wasn’t too far off. There was a major level of distrust that had happened. There was even a separate scandal regarding tampering that stemmed from this. In the end, we as a group eventually moved in from it all. There was a higher general level of toxicity and distrust than I could have imagined a free fake football league could cause. I personally never had a desire to quit, but I was pretty bitter about the whole thing. It was strange to see such a well-liked member completely ruin their whole reputation and show a side of them that the was pure spite.

The Aftermath
Eventually things did settle down. There was an investigation regarding the tampering allegation, and nothing came from it. It really did quick quite a lot of time for things to come back to normal. A lot of people had a general distrust of HO as a whole and specifically certain members of course. I’ve rarely had a beef with HO in my time and still think quite highly of most members who have taken on that burden. It’s a thankless job that inevitably pisses off a lot of people no matter what.

The Aftermath of the Aftermath
Okay, now these titles are just getting extra fluffy but there is something to it. One day, DD had tweeted with his old twitter account that he had recreated as a multi in the new class. There was some skepticism if this was actually true or just a bluff. From what I recall, he did actually recreate as a multi and was doing things for a while. I don’t think much ever really came of it, though I know there was some fear that he was going to try to cause more issues. It seems that the full saga has run its course and now it’s nothing more than a weird blip in the timeline of the league. The goal in writing about this wasn’t to bring up sour memories, so to that end I am sorry if that has happened for anyone. It’s an easy topic to spew out a lot of words on.

[kentakira]

20. Make a scouting report for any of the ISFL or DSFL draftees. Show their stats, abilities, TPE, or highlights. Written or graphic option available.

ok so because my player Lalu Muhammad Zohri is ISFL draftees so yeah gonna make a scouting report on Zohri. Zohri is one of the most talented draftees in S32 class, why? you can see by his stats, he is 1st in rushing Touchdowns with 15, almost break the season touchdowns recordm and he is 2nd in rushing yard with 1458 yards, only lost to Ken Oath who already in his 3rd seasons in DSFL so really a good stats for Zohri. OK next is TPE wise, Zohri already max his DSFL TPE, when i write this Zohri is already 261 TPEs, i think 5th most TPE in S32 class so yeah really a good earner. Ok next gonna talk about highlights, Zohri have a really good games so far, with 4 top offensive performances, but the one that really wow me is in week 5 against Tijuana Luchadores, Zohri step up in offense with 4 rushing touchdowns and 155 yards, really a good one right? Ok last gonna talk about DSFL awards nominee, from 6 awards that Zohri can get, he's nominated in 5, MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, RB of the Year, and Offensive Performance of the Year, not a bad one for a rookie right? and yeah i think Zohri really have a chance to win 1 or 2 awards

23. Create a billboard, magazine cover, unique trading card, or video game cover depicting a one of the league's stars.

30. The World Football Association was established last season and has run through its first season What do you think about the WFC as a whole and how it has been shaping out.

The World Football Association is a really good idea for pre-season, why? cause before we have to wait for the pre-season games, we can really enjoy football while waiting right? Ok so the World Football Association inaugural season is not bad but yeah maybe a little to much player from 1 country make it more harder for the GM, but really glad there is a trade for player or the player that is not pick by their Association can play in other (correct me if i am wrong). Really enjoy the inaugural season, because for me ISFL really need something like this from a couple seasons ago, cause in SHL i'm really enjoying the tournaments between country, not just for the major team, but the minor team itself have their own tournaments between country. I know it's only 1 season, but i hope it will stay and become bigger and bigger, maybe sometimes there's gonna be a tournament between country for DSFL? why not right? ahahha. Ok so not just because enjoying football in pre-season, but also we can know each other from the same country right? or maybe know more people from other teams, so making more friends also, really a great opportunity for all of us

31. Affliate PT from either SHL/PBE/WSBL. The Weeks must match with the timeframe of this UW. And you may only use a max of 1.

WSBL Affiliate

[allbetsonjames]

Task 1 - 10 Points

[KenitohMenara]

4) Sim gonna sim - Is there any phrase more despised in sim league history? It really is a massive dampener on everything, knowing that no matter how hard you work, how much you earn or whatever you try in strategy meetings, it all goes to pot. To put this in the nerdiest way possible, the sim is basically Chaotic Natural. It has no allegiances, it has no friends and usually results should pan out as expected. But then some days it's almost as if the sim comes alive, throws up its hands and just decides a winner arbitrarily. It’s like the gods of order and reason are around a table, looking over work they’ve done and they come to a logical conclusion of things and then Lady Chaos stumbles into the room drunk of her ass, pushes all the notes and planning off the table before collapsing on top of the table, takes another drink and then points at the first logo she sees and declares them the winner. Of all the examples I could find in league history, I decided to go with a very recent case. One where despite any analysis done by either team, the result was surprising and awe-inspiring and the most perfect representation of Lady Chaos’ will in “Sim gonna Sim”

Ultimini 27 - Minnesota Grey Ducks vs Tijuana Luchadores.

Let's get one thing perfectly clear before we continue. The Tijuana Luchadores were a good team. In fact, they were a VERY good team. You don’t go 9-5 and tie the class of south division in the Dallas Birddogs unless you are a talented side. The Luchadores were one of the finest defensive teams in the league, they allowed the third fewest points per game in the league (22.6pts per game), they allowed the third fewest yards per game in the league (348.2 yards per game) and they had the 2nd best rush defense in the lead which allowed only 90.8 yards per game. The front four of Sheriff Woody, Marcus Jones, In Active and Southof TheBorder were a shutdown unit that stop run plays in their tracks (in fact it was because of this play that Sheriff Woody is widely considered the presumptive first overall pick). The two cornerbacks of Jackson and Schwarzer combined for 40 pass deflections, which basically stopped 3 passes a game from 2 players. This was a good defensive unit that was complimented by an emerging offensive unit that felt like a return of Tijuana’s glory days of seasons past.

Leading the offensive core was Quarterback Ishe ReallyInvisible who showed up on the stat sheet in every possible metric. In the 14 game season, he threw for 3388 yards at 59.4 percent completion and 21 touchdowns to only 10 interceptions. He terrorized defences everywhere he went which made him the best QB of the south conference. It also helps that he was accompanied by an emerging all star running back in Miracle whip who bulldozed opponents on his way to collection 1275 yards and 6 touchdowns on the year. He would also flash his speed by getting 5 20+ yard runs on the year showing that he could absolutely take over games when needed to.

What complimented this core was an emerging wide receiver talent in Jason Waterfalls who would be one of only 7 wide receivers to eclipse 1000 yards and would become a key part of their offensive lineup as they would defeat the birddogs 26-13 in the Conference finals to punch their ticket to the ultimini title against the Minnesota Grey Ducks.

So now… if we take all of that to be true, how do you explain what happened in the Ultimini?

Now maybe the winner isn’t surprising as the Grey Ducks were also an excellent team. They were the outright first seeds. Kazimir Oles Jr would put up MVP level numbers for yards and put up 31 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Sophomore Running Back John Huntsman would have a season for the ages with 1470 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns which put him as the leagues best running back and rookie sensation Mason Malone would put up 1498 receiving yards, putting him deep in the conversation for Wide Receiver of the year and offensive rookie of the year. They had the best pass defenceman and offense in the league and were rated in the top two in pts and yards for offense and defence.

But even taking all of that to be true, that doesn’t explain how the Luchadores not only failed to not only put up a good fight for the championship, but even put up points at all. Minnesota smothered them all game long to the point where they set the record for largest point margin for victory in a championship game and would record the first ever shutout in Ultimini history. It was an awe inspiring sight and for the Luchadores, with all of their talent, skill and tenacity… it remains the best example of Sim gonna Sim

[Vaelynn]

“Sim Gonna Sim” is one of the most iconic phrase in all of ISFL history. It is used to describe the wackiest, craziest, and most unbelievable plays thought up by the sim in general. Just last season we saw a QB run past the line of scrimmage and attempt to throw the ball down the field, resulting in a penalty. Sure it has happened before in other leagues, but in a simulation you have to think there is some unwritten rule preventing it. As for this season, I feel that the sim really screwed over the entire Philadelphia franchise – we have one of the unluckiest max TPE QBs in history, combined with the highest capped defense in the league, yet we ended up 8 and 8 in overall record. Sometimes the sim really just hates playing by the rules.

Let’s take Negs for example – Negs has helmed the Liberty offense for several seasons now – but in that time he has thrown an inordinate amount of interceptions relative to his TPE earnings this season he threw 13 interceptions, a middle of the road statistic. Additionally, his completion percentage remains solidly at the league average as well. You might think to yourself “why is average such a big deal? What’s wrong with this guy? Why is he so salty that his team lost? What a cry baby,” when you take a look at these stats – but the stats don’t tell the whole story. One might not realize that this team is constructed incredibly well, we have two max wide receivers and a solid tight end to boot. You have to imagine that it is a statistical anomaly for a QB with max TPE throwing primarily to two max TPE receivers to have anything but a magical, if not record breaking, season. For us to have any problems whatsoever on offense is a joke – I’m not saying we should have steamrolled everyone or anything, but the fact that our offense struggled against less than stellar defenses all year strikes me as a classic “Sim gonna sim” issue.

On top of that, lets take a look at this defense – taking a look at the raw stats, you would think that this team did pretty well. Taking a closer look, though, reveals that this team really should have done much better than it turned out. We have a stout defensive line, a fantastic Linebacker core (shout out to Xavier Walls for MVP), and a strong secondary unit that really should have dominated during nearly every game. It wasn’t always the case though – I believe (do not fact check me) we are the highest TPE defensive unit in the league, yet we performed only slightly above league average in a number of important statistical categories (Turn over plus / minus, tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks). For a team of this caliber to struggle as much as they have, it really is a marvel how the sim can screw you.

Lets take a look at some real statistical outliers – I am taking a look at you Baltimore Hawks Defense. Baltimore led the league in turnovers, with an absolutely absurd turnover rate of nearly 3 a game (45 total possessions generated by the defense in 16 games), you have to wonder how much of this entire league is based off of luck. Baltimore’s defense, while not terrible, is not a high earning defense quite yet, but they still operated at a significantly higher level than that of the Liberty.
At the end of the day, all I want is to bring home a championship to Philly – it may take some time, but a closer look reveals that luck is also a major factor in winning these games. It is about being in the right place at the right time, calling the right plays, and overall not getting screwed up by the weighted coinflip that is this simulation.

Isn’t that what also brings the excitement, though? Knowing that despite everything, despite all of the odds and statistics being against you, your team can win on any given day. It reminds me of the most improbable game I have ever played in the league – my first championship game as the Kiwis in the S27 prospect bowl. My team quickly went down early in the game, not scoring a touchdown for most of the game, down 20 going into the 4th quarter things were looking bleak – trash was being talked and excuses were being made, but despite it all we made a comeback, scoring the final, game winning points with just a few seconds to spare. That is part of the excitement of the league – something that keeps you enraptured even during a rebuild – anything can happen at any time, you just have to sit back and watch it all unfold.

All that being said, I think next year is our year. Go Philly!

(814 words)

[LimJahey]

18.

In my time during this league, I have really only played on the Chicago Butchers. While some teammates have come and gone, others have stayed, and formed a really tightknit group in our locker room. People like Bayley and Muford really set the groundwork for a successful rebuild, as I joined when the Butchers were at their lowest. People like TheCC and Ithica really helped build a young core that eventually got us to making playoffs. We had great drafts with great pickups like Mag, enigmatic, and Crody just to name a few. But the one addition to our team that I see as our biggest team player would be RenoJackson. Reno is one of my employees, but is also a teammate of mine, they have always been one of the best people in the locker room. In their most recent recreate, in my class as well, they were originally slated to be a cornerback, as this was a position they wanted to play since they joined the league. With our team so well off at corner at the moment, he was okay with biting the bullet and switching to safety for his career. Even without that sacrifice, there is nobody who shows the way we want players on the Butchers to be besides him, and he has been one of the reasons I’ll always want to stay as a Butcher.

21.

Well I could start this with a simple phrase. “Sim sux lmap”. This sim is far from perfect, there are some seemingly stupid decision making calls towards the beginning and end of the game, like going for it on 4th and 10 in your own territory on your first drive, or on 4th and 7 with 10 seconds left in the 4th on your own 30. But comparing this to our old sim? This sim is soooooo much better. First off, there isn’t an absurd home field advantage anymore, as the old sim had it to where whoever got homefield advantage often won the Ultimus. Having a new sim that at least balanced it off a little bit has been a huge improvemet. The visuals are a little better in the new sim, but moves a lot faster compared to the old one, so it can be more difficult tracking everything. One of the biggest changes has been the disappearance of batch sim testing. On the old sim engine, people made batch loaders that would sim thousands of games, and give you a bulk result on how much you won, making sim testing easy and making those who knew how to make loaders like that instant top 3 draft picks. Overall though, there are still a lot of complaints about the sim, its bugginess, like when a Sarasota QB dropped back 80 yards just to throw a 9 yard interception, or when Chicago went for it on 4th on their 30 with 10 seconds remaining, losing the game. The sim is a brutal mistress, and we are in a toxic relationship with her.

27.

Out of all of the teams in the league, I like the Honolulu Hahalua’s branding the most. Our of all teams, theirs has some of the best coloring, and best theming, fitting in perfectly with their location. Easy to say, now if I wanted to chose a team that needed a refresh or restart, I would choose the Butchers. Chicago is cursed, ever since the beginning. Now its time for them to move on. The only team that hasn’t made it to the ultimus now, including all four new expansion teams since S22, they need to kill the old unlucky name. The branding for it is okay, but the colors are really boring, red and black/gray. If I had a decision to move and or rename the team, I would move them to Boston, and give them a naval team name. I would make their colors a light grey primary with a powder blue and race yellow as secondary colors. Being from Massachusetts, and being a massive Boston fan, it makes me sad that we do not have any teams from the New England area. While I would love a team to be in Boston, I would be okay settling for other New England cities, I just want to see the team I am on succeed, and I think the curse of the Butchers is a real thing.

WSBL Affiliate

[Pib]

Task #4

Okay, this should not be too difficult given everything that has transpired over the last few seasons in Arizona. We have been the best team in the league by some margin at points — arguably for a couple of seasons. However, all of that has been for naught, as we currently have nothing but one ultimus appearance to our name. Initially, Arizona’s edge in S27 was based around sim knowledge that our fearless leaders had pieced together with a lot of hard work and burning of wax. This took a near .500 team in S26 to a 11-5 record in the regular season. Interestingly, S26 actually saw five of the seven teams in the ASFC finish with a 9-7 record. That’s not something you see every season.

Anyway, S27 was the dawn of a new era for Arizona. Finishing the season at 11-5 was a statement for the rest of the league, who at this point were mildly aware of the knowledge that Arizona’s leadership were building, that would hopefully lead to a competitive team for a number of seasons. To date, this has indeed been the case. Arizona’s record from S27 to S31 has been 57-19 in the regular season. Those are Bill Belichick level numbers. Nonetheless, after storming through the regular season in commanding fashion, Arizona were obliterated in their first game in the playoffs by New Orleans Secondline. Now, I’m privy to the numbers on this one and I can tell you that this result was as statistically unlikely as they come but whatever, these things happen, right? Anomalies are just a fact we have to get used to.

Next up, Season 28 comes around. Again, a commanding performance in the regular season with a 12-4 record which was matched in the NSFC by the Berlin Fire Salamanders. That gave Arizona a strong argument for once again being the best team in the league — especially when you consider their points differential. Unfortunately, the ASFC conference game was to be against the Austin Copperheads, who squeezed out a 16-13 victory over Arizona. That’s a little frustrating but Austin has always been Arizona’s bogey team, so anything could have happened here and on this occasion, the Outlaws came up short. An unfortunate result and we’ve fallen short at the penultimate hurdle.

At this point, the folks in Arizona are a little frustrated and rightfully so. Nonetheless, knowing that they would likely be amongst the league's elite heading into season 29, spirits remained relatively high. After dominating their conference, once again, Arizona finished the regular season with an 11-5 record. This time around, everyone was sure that they stood a great chance at taking the Ultimus home with them. Arizona would face the New York Silverbacks in the conference game, who had seen themselves get a respectable 10-6 record in the regular season, so they were no slouches themselves. Of course, given that they were playing Arizona in the playoffs, that means they would essentially be on steroids for the entirety of the game and hand Arizona another loss in the playoffs, 34-7. Fantastic. Still, there’s always next season, right?

No. No, there’s not “next season”. Despite having the greatest offense that the league has ever seen, racking up an absurd amount of points (549) and keeping points against below 300 — which is a phenomenal achievement in itself — on their way to a 14-2 record, this was not to be Arizona’s year either. While Arizona completely dispatched of the Silverbacks in the conference game with a resounding 33-0 victory, which felt like vengeance for Season 29, they would then get crushed in the Ultimus by the Sarasota Sailfish. It was actually quite amusing to watch this game on stream, as in the first half there was a play where a Sarasota player literally ran half the length of the field with numerous Arizona players seemingly on their back - either refusing to make the tackle or simply not being able to due to some sort of magical force field. I really didn’t even need to watch the rest of the game. I know the sim well enough to know that this was a sign of the game’s intent to stick it in whatever orifice Arizona had available. The game ended 27-10 and let me tell you, it wasn’t even close.

Then we arrive in Season 31. We were certainly amongst the highest TPE teams in the league and still had everything we needed to be a success. But no. At one point, we were 3-5. Three and five, ladies and gentlemen. Based on our testing at an earlier point in the season, we were somewhere in the region of 200 to 1 odds to have been in the position we were in. That’s not just bad luck, that’s a damn curse. Sure, we clawed it all back and made the playoffs but take a wild guess at what happened once we were there? Yup. You guessed it.

In conclusion, screw the damn sim.

Code:

835 words

[ComebackZak]

Prompt 25:
I think if I were to play a position other than wide receiver, it would be quarterback or running back. And this is something that I will strongly consider as I soon enter regression and look to recreating in how many ever seasons I end up grinding out Tugg Speedman. As a max earner, I think I can justify being a quarterback and would love to be extremely involved in my teams offensive performance. it would be a lot of fun but I think the only downside is waiting for 3 to 5 seasons in the Developmental Simulation Football League would be tough. I want a situation where I can be called up immediately and focus on having an impact right away and making a run for the Hall of Fame. Which is why the other position is running back. You can definitely have your hand in the offense early as a running back as some can be game changers as a third down/change of pace back early in your career. Cobra Kai has made a career doing this as an elite receiving back and I would love to take that approach early on in my career. Eventually I would want to become an absolute weapon like Tatsu Nakamura or someone like Goat Tank. High aspirations but possible in the right system and if you are max earning.

Code:

229 words

Prompt 27:
There are a ton of great team brandings in the International Simulation Football League, there are also plenty of logos that need updated. For the purpose of being fair, I will leave out my team, the New York Silverbacks as I could ramble on and on about how great the branding is and not highlight another team. So for this prompt the team that I think has a great branding is the Yellowknife Wraiths. The colors are super sharp together (blue, white, and black) and the logo is just super clean and not overdone or underwhelming. I am a big fan of whoever created this logo and think it's my second favorite in the league. On the other side of the spectrum, I think a team like the Chicago Butchers could use an updated logo. I don't think it's flat out bad but I think it could be cleaned up a bit/get a refresher on the logo. Whether it be more mafia related if that's what they are going for due to Chicago's historical mob presence or like an actual butcher shop where I think they could get some new colors brought to the team (even if it's just the logo) with white. I think it would be a welcome upgrade especially something to coincide with their recent resurgence.

Code:

220 words

Prompt 30:
The World Football Championship was really freaking cool, especially being a main part of one of the teams' success. It definitely adds to the lore that simulation sports leagues have/generate after many many seasons of competition and media. I think seeing where all of the players were created to originate from is pretty cool and teaming up with people you have either never played with or have wanted to team up with whether it was in the International Simulation Football League or one of the other simulation leagues. I enjoyed being a part of another locker room and the one I was in (my team was the Atlantic-Midwest Region) was pretty active on game days. It also helped the transition from the post season to the next regular season move so much faster. More football definitely helps keep me engaged with the league and develop more friends that I might not have made before. I am definitely looking forward to the next World Football Championship to see if we can make another run and maybe this time come away with gold instead of the bronze. And if anything, coming in the top three and getting a medal is a nice consolation prize to not winning anything in the ISFL.

Code:

210 words

Prompt 31:
WSBL Affiliate

[mango8154]

21)

Well first of all I must say my only experience with the old sim was the S26 ultimmus and ultimini game as that is when I joined the league, so I may be very biased to one over the other, but here we go. First of all, now we have stadium sounds instead of free use music, this makes a better viewing as I much prefer the stadium sounds that give the slight hint of realism. Next I also much prefer that all of the plays are shown and aren't skipped if no moving up the pitch happens like they did in the old sim, this makes everything much more comprehensible and makes for a much better overall viewing. Another thing is that I much prefer viewing the whole field than having the scrolling field like the old version, it allows a much bigger comprehensible view at a glance and I don’t have to focus 100% to know what is happening. Another thing I prefer is that they give a split second before the play starts, this separates the plays so you can tell what is happening and makes the viewing experience much more enjoyable. The graphics also look much slicker and allows my eyes to view the sim for longer. So overall it is a better experience however in the last season the difference between viewing quality from game to game was very different, from different dimensions on the screen to the speed of games, I hope a standard is introduced in the future so a constant viewing experience can be had.

24)

My team would be created mostly around the players I played with in Austin and Minnesota with a sprinkling of my prospect team, this is presuming of course there is no salary cap, all the players I will pick I trust and get along with really well, my 1st qb would be my captain Ryan negs who lit up the league with my backup being jackie daytona, both of them have been in control of the teams i’ve played for and would trust them both in the most important position. My rb 1 would be Madison Hayes and rb 2 would be Zoe Watts, Watts is just really good and Hayes led us to a DSFL championship and was probably the best player in the league during that run. My wr’s would be Bayley Cowabunga, Sam the onion man and Mason Malone. I have of course shared playtime with the three of them and are all fantastic, Malone would be my 1st choice as he is a special player. My Te would be travis scott who had a fantastic rookie year. In defence I would bring all the bois back together, me, Bender Rodriguez, Tim Soulja and Anton Bruckner, we come as a group and we would strike fear into the opponent's offence. I would also take Xavier Walls as walls for mvp still lives with me. I would also like Brach Thomaslacher as he is my god and would carry, I would also bring Gluteus maximus as my kicker because he is simply the best.


25)

I have a few options that I would consider to create as (some of which I might be in the future as a different create), one would be an O-lineman, for one there are not many in the league as it isn’t really a big play position where you can see your dot pop off, which means I would be guaranteed playtime and a place on a team even if I wasn’t the most active in the league, which means I can earn as I go and not feel like I have to earn in the league, not only that they are also beloved in the team structure, every time one appears they are wanted and are always celebrates as a player, and if they manage to do anything special they get big celebrations in the locker room, not only this but I would probably be picked to a better team as bad teams would need positions of higher value to help the team while an O-lineman is a value pick (in the ISFL), being an o-lineman would also mean I can be chiller in general as I don’t have to stress about my dot making plays and can just cheer my team on game day. Another attractive pick would be a tight end, similarly there are not too many tight ends in the league so I would probably get game time for my dot to shine, and it would also allow me to play on the offence in a impact role which would be cool, it would allow me to contribute directly to the teams score which would be a cool sight to see instead of just tackles and the occasional sack.

29)

Well for one I would open up the awards to a bigger voting pool, with the main focus of change being bringing in a players vote, this would be an very important change as it would allow greater involvement from players into the league creating a better connection, it would also lead to a more accurate representation to what the league sees as important as it would be more balanced as the players would decide what is looked for in an award and not just HO. Of course this would make it a popularity contest which would be an issue that would need to be looked into but at the moment the majority of the player base has no knowledge on what is going on in the voting process, being able to contribute to the awards is a start to making the voting process more transparent, a way to stop the popularity is only allowing votes for other teams than the one the player is currently playing on, it is not a perfect solution to the problem but it is a solution. Another thing I think could be improved is making voters take a deeper dive, specifically for awards like GM(s) of the year, when we won the ultimini with the team our GM’s built and yet they did not win it, they promoted a positive environment and made the team successful, I'm not saying that they should of won I'm just saying I don’t understand why they didn’t win, I think for awards like this a more thorough explanation on why the awards were given would help greatly.

[MamaB]

#6 - 10 TPE (901 words)

I absolutely love being in this league and being part of the camaraderie that comes with the sim family.  I have said multiple times this season that my favorite part about being in this league and being part of the sim, has nothing to do with my player and everything to do with the community and the locker room banter.

As a stay at home parent, especially during the pandemic, I have felt more alone and isolated than I ever anticipated as a mother.  I envisioned taking my children to play-dates, sharing coffee with new friends, meeting other families, and having many social interactions for my children.  That just simply has not happened, and I have suffered with my mental health for it.  We also moved to a new area of the state, making it even more difficult for me to find friends and families that I could trust around my children, 

Finding this league has been wonderful for my husband and I.  He genuinely enjoys most, if not all, aspects of it.  I really enjoy the chat rooms.  I initially joined so that I could have a friend circle again.  Over time, I have found an online family that is extremely supportive and can banter with the best of them.  If you haven’t heard yet, I am very passionate about this league having mascots.  While it is hilarious and fun-natured, it would also address an issue that I see in the league, and would love to be part of mending.

If it were not for G encouraging me, in person, to join this league, I never would have.  It is a football sim league.  Sure, I know football, but I am not any kind of die-hard fan, and would never imagine myself making a player, to then watch a dot on Youtube run around each week.  That seemed so unreal and overwhelming to me.  I did, however, want to be in the chat rooms with G.  Each night, he would come home from work to unwind, and be giggling at his phone at things that people were saying.  I would constantly try to interact, be involved, and join in, but often he would say, “It’s kind of complicated to explain.” or “It would honestly be easier if you just made a player.”

I understood, but I absolutely hated that.  I wanted to be laughing along with him.  Sharing some similar moments, but I was hesitant about creating an entire player, being scouted, being drafted, writing articles, earning money, gaining TPE, etc.  It was a lot to take on, just for wanting to be in a chat room.  As you can see I am doing it, but I would LOVE to be able to do it with a little less responsibility as a player, and help out more as a team leader and motivator. 

I would love to enter the locker room every day with enthusiasm as a mascot.  As a lively character each day.  I would love to have a draft for mascots! It would bring joy and light-hearted humor to the entire sim community.  Other sim communities do not have this role, and I can only imagine that users would be thrilled about it! I have many users commenting their ideas, saying things like, “This would be epic.”, “How do we make this happen?”, “Is this an actual thing yet? Tell me how to do it!”  Their partners, significant others, families, support people, could join as a mascot to be supportive in another area of their lives, without having to take on the full role and responsibility of learning how to be a player.  People could step into the league without having to make a full commitment.

Additionally, on the other end of the spectrum, those who want to stay in the league as alumni, but not recreate, could be an asset as a mascot for locker rooms.  They could have their own channel and be the role model and person to go to on the team if users have questions.  Mascots could even take on league jobs if they wanted to, and it could help with some of the player burnout.  Players could still work, but the mascot community could also help with the burden of needing to get things done in a timely manner.  Many users become burnt out because they take on too much, too soon.  This idea could help people to take a step back, without having to completely leave the scene.  It would also keep alumni invested in what is going on in the league, and would maybe inspire them to recreate after a season as a mascot, as mascots could be earning for their recreate player. 

I just see this as a creative outlet that allows people to be part of the league, supporting those who are players, and adding another positive element to the sim community.  Positivity and encouragement can easily change a person’s day.  I really believe I would be an excellent mascot, I believe there is interest and room for growth, and I would love to see this added to the ISFL community.  If you have power, connections, ideas, or ways you could help this idea “get off the ground”, please let me know.  I am really passionate about it, and I definitely see this expansion as a way to really make a positive change and difference in the league.