05-08-2023, 05:31 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-18-2023, 02:12 PM by xenosthelegend. Edited 3 times in total.)
The Hawks are a team that I have not thought of in positive terms since I entered the league. That being said, they did have an extremely strong stretch before I entered the league, so I don't think they'll be in contention for last or anything like that. They have three Ultimus wins and tied for the most Ultimus losses in league history. Let's see how they did season by season.
S6: 7-7 (Antoine Delacour wins DPOY)
S7: 7-7
S8: 7-7 (0-1 in Playoffs
S9: 11-3 (1-1 in Playoffs, 3rd Ultimus berth)
S10: 13-1 (Owen Taylor wins OPOY) (2-0 in Playoffs, 4th Ultimus berth and 1st win)
During this decade, the Hawks went 81-59 for a 57.9% win rate, a 5-5 playoff record, and tied for the most Ultimus trips over the decade with the Otters. This win rate comes in between the Wraiths and the Outlaws for 3rd overall through the first 10 seasons, and the Hawks' S10 is, by the numbers, the second best season in the decade (and maybe league history?) behind only the S3 Outlaws who had the same record and a better award haul. So where would I place the Hawks over the decade, anyways? Well, while they were decently successful, they also ended up with the worst award cabinet of any team in the positives in terms of win loss record over this decade. I'd argue that the Second Line, even, ended up with a better award haul despite playing for one less season and existing as a laughingstock through S6. They also, like every other NSFC team not named the Yeti, only won a single Ultimus over the decade. They reached it 4 times, putting them above the Wraiths and the Outlaws' 3, but only made the playoffs 6 times to the Wraiths' 7. Still, when each team was at its peak, the Hawks were arguably stronger, so I think I'd give them the spot of 3rd best this decade. This is the best spot for any NSFC team this decade; that's what happens when they only won 3 Ultimus as a conference.
S11: 9-5 (Owen Taylor wins OPOY) (1-1 in Playoffs, 5th Ultimus berth)
S12: 8-6 (1-1 in Playoffs, 6th Ultimus berth)
S13: 4-10
S14: 11-3 (Childish Gambino wins MVP) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S15: 12-2 (Childish Gambino wins MVP, Arvin Asipi III wins DPOY) (2-0 in Playoffs, 7th Ultimus berth and 2nd win)
S16: 7-6
S17: 8-5 (Corvo Havran wins MVP) (2-1 in Playoffs, 8th Ultimus berth)
S18: 6-7 (1-1 in Playoffs)
S19: 8-5 (Ludicolo Bigby wins OPOY) (1-1 in Playoffs)
S20: 6-7 (0-1 in Playoffs)
During this decade, the Hawks had a 79-56 record, good for a 58.5% win rate. That stat, combined with their 4 Ultimus berths, their Ultimus win, their 8-7 playoff record, their 8 playoff trips, the 3 MVP awards and 3 other POY awards, and the fact that the second best record in the NSFC was the Wraiths with a 52.6% win rate, makes the Hawks the best team of the decade for the NSFC, again. Only this time, it's in a way that feels like it's by default if anything. Also notable is how the team took a bit of a step back after S15 and Childish Gambino's second straight MVP; after 3 seasons that would be 10 win in a 16 game season and two monstrous seasons that reached 10 wins in the 14 game schedule over the first 5 years, the next five years included two losing record seasons, no seasons that would reach 10 wins in an expanded schedule, and two different 6-7 playoff berths that came off of one really bad conference in S18 that somehow got the Hawks the second seed with a losing record in a 5 team conference, and a 3rd seed playoff berth in S20 that was immediately followed up with losing their first playoff game and bowing out with barely a participation award. Still, two decades into the ISFL, the Hawks were the class of the NSFC. Not comparable to the Otters in the slightest, but they had a decade where they were arguably the best team in the NSFC, and followed that up with a decade where they were by far the best in the NSFC. You might remember that this is when the Otters somewhat fell off and other teams took advantage, so how did the Hawks, probably the 2nd best team in the ISFL at the time, capitalize on the Otters showing signs of weakness?
S21: 9-4 (Corvo Havran wins OPOY) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S22: 3-10
S23: 8-8
S24: 3-13 (Derred De Ville wins DPOY)
S25: 8-8
S26: 6-10
S27: 0-16
S28: 2-14
S29: 3-13
S30: 4-12
Well, congratulations. You did it. Against all odds, you made the Liberty look competent during this decade, to say nothing of the Butchers. You won 46 games throughout the entire decade. You won 9 games in the last 4 seasons of said decade. Your record of 46-108, a 29.9% winning percentage, did something I wasn't expecting. It was something Wolfie probably wasn't expecting, something I'm guessing seemed impossible for a team who had gone to the playoffs for 5 straight seasons after S21 finished. After having one final playoff trip, during which they had a season that would reach 10 wins in a 16 game schedule, played, and lost their one playoff game of the entire decade, the Hawks promptly had no winning record for the final 9 seasons of the decade, putting together 7 losing records, a stretch of straight losses that neared the Colorado Yeti, and an S27 team that is the second worst ever by results. This decade on its own took the Hawks from 45 games over .500 to 17 games under it; if you were as mediocre as the Liberty were from S1 through S20 then this stretch would have you going straight below the Yeti in the all time rankings. Isn't it funny that this team managed to get two awards during this stretch? That doesn't even come CLOSE to saving this team and this decade from the ignoble title of Worst Decade Ever for an ISFL team.
S35: 9-7 (1-1 in Playoffs, 10th Ultimus berth)
S36: 7-9
S37: 8-8
S38: 9-7 (0-1 in Playoffs)
S39: 6-10
S40: 5-11
During this decade, the Baltimore Hawks went 70-90, for a 43.75% win rate. They had a 4-2 record in the postseason over 3 trips. This win rate is just above the Sabercats' S21 through 30, but this one, unlike that one, doesn't have the hilarity factor. They only won one of the two trips, and they were actually an OK team the time they won the title. Still, this is a team that managed to completely miss out on awards throughout the decade, made only 3 playoff appearances, had a single season with double digit wins, and put together 5 seasons with double digit losses. This means that over the past 20 seasons, the Hawks have had the incredible rate of 2 seasons on 10 win pace, and 12 ten loss seasons. Yes, the median Hawks season over this stretch is 6-10. By my count, this is the 4th worst record for this decade, with only the Yeti, the Otters, and the Second Line coming up worse. Speaking of the Otters, the Hawks just feel like a lesser version of them; a strong (but nowhere near Otters strength) team during the old sim era, who has completely fallen off (and to a much harder extent than the Otters) since the switch to the new sim.
All Time Record: 276-313-0 (46.9% win rate)
Playoff Record: 17-15 (53.1% win rate)
Ultimus Record: 3-7
Playoff Berths: 18 over 40 seasons, 45%
Hall of Famers: 16 (iamslm22, manicmav36 [prior 2 as GMs], Antoine Delacour, Kurt Hendrix, Turk Turkleton, Avon Blocksdale, Owen Taylor, Trey Willie, Austin Roenick, Verso L'Alto, Childish Gambino, Vinny Valentine, Errol Maddox, Corvo Havran, Dermot Lavelle Jr, Bruce Buckley)
Major Award Wins: 3 MVPs, 4 OPOYs, 2 DPOYs
Best Team Period: S9-S11 (3 playoff berths, 3 Ultimus Appearances, 1 title, 2 OPOYs, 33-9 record over 3 seasons, 78.6% win rate)
Worst Team Period: S27-S30 (9-55 record over 4 seasons, 14.1% win rate)
One side comment before I get deeper into this, I'm not sure why Bruce Buckley went into the Hall as a dual Wraith/Hawk; it seems like he did most of his best work as a Wraith and even did more of his best work as an Outlaw than as a Hawk. That one oddity aside, this is a team that, as expected considering how strong they were in the first 20 seasons of the ISFL, has a ton of history in the Ultimus and in the Hall of Famer category. Though they had a little less than I'd expect in the award cabinet considering how strong they were in a period of time where there were only 8 teams. Speaking of how strong they were, from S9 to S11 is one of the better 3 season stretches we've looked at; it's arguably comparable to the Otters' strongest 4 season stretch, just one less season in length. Through the first 2 seasons, they were on track to be better than the Wraiths at least; their win rate in both decades is higher than the Wraiths' win rate through 40. So what exactly is the issue? I mean, it's quite obvious, really. In terms of worst stretches and in terms of worst decades, only one team even is in the same ballpark as them; they manage to do worse than the Yeti in terms of a worst decade stretch, and even come close over a 15 year period where they managed to win an Ultimus: at 72-146, a 33.0% win rate, between S21 and S34, they manage to actually challenge the Yeti's worst period. If this team from S21-40 was literally any other NSFC team besides the Baltimore Hawks, they'd be the easy choice for the worst team ever. Yes, even if they were the Wraiths. As is, they manage to escape the Yeti/Crash clash, though I think I might still put them in competition for 3rd worst with the Second Line and the Sabercats.
Really, the most notable thing about the Hawks' awful stretch is how it automatically makes all the ASFC records look better and brings all the NSFC records into question at least a bit. The way the schedule works since the most recent expansions, every single NSFC team has been able to play this Hawks team twice a season, whereas barely over half the ASFC plays the Hawks once in a season. Even before the S25 expansion, the Hawks were still only playing every team in the ASFC half as often as the NSFC. This also applies, albeit to a lesser extent, to the Liberty between S22 and S30. Not as much, since the Liberty/Crash have had a winning record since S30, but still a notable thing to keep in mind.
To give one more stat as to just how bad the Hawks have been since S21, over the 19.5 seasons since then, the hawks have gone 111-200 for a 35.7% win rate. They have managed to lose 200 games in a 20 year period, a level of ineptitude that is Detroit Lions level since the turn of the century. Teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Washington Commanders, and the Las Vegas Raiders are all far better than the Hawks have been over the last 20 seasons.
The Hawks have been so bad as to completely overshadow the fact that they were the best team in the NSFC through the first 20 seasons; that's the best summation of them as a franchise.
Finally, I would like to congratulate @infinitempg. From S1 through S20, the Yeti went 99-176. This is exactly a 36% win rate, which is actually higher than the Hawks have done for the past 20 seasons.
Season 1 through 10
The Most Successful of an Unsuccessful Bunch?
S5: 8-6 (0-1 in Playoffs)The Most Successful of an Unsuccessful Bunch?
S1: 4-10
S2: 8-6 (1-1 in Playoffs, 1st Ultimus berth)
S3: 9-5 (1-1 in Playoffs, 2nd Ultimus berth)
S4: 7-7
S2: 8-6 (1-1 in Playoffs, 1st Ultimus berth)
S3: 9-5 (1-1 in Playoffs, 2nd Ultimus berth)
S4: 7-7
S6: 7-7 (Antoine Delacour wins DPOY)
S7: 7-7
S8: 7-7 (0-1 in Playoffs
S9: 11-3 (1-1 in Playoffs, 3rd Ultimus berth)
S10: 13-1 (Owen Taylor wins OPOY) (2-0 in Playoffs, 4th Ultimus berth and 1st win)
During this decade, the Hawks went 81-59 for a 57.9% win rate, a 5-5 playoff record, and tied for the most Ultimus trips over the decade with the Otters. This win rate comes in between the Wraiths and the Outlaws for 3rd overall through the first 10 seasons, and the Hawks' S10 is, by the numbers, the second best season in the decade (and maybe league history?) behind only the S3 Outlaws who had the same record and a better award haul. So where would I place the Hawks over the decade, anyways? Well, while they were decently successful, they also ended up with the worst award cabinet of any team in the positives in terms of win loss record over this decade. I'd argue that the Second Line, even, ended up with a better award haul despite playing for one less season and existing as a laughingstock through S6. They also, like every other NSFC team not named the Yeti, only won a single Ultimus over the decade. They reached it 4 times, putting them above the Wraiths and the Outlaws' 3, but only made the playoffs 6 times to the Wraiths' 7. Still, when each team was at its peak, the Hawks were arguably stronger, so I think I'd give them the spot of 3rd best this decade. This is the best spot for any NSFC team this decade; that's what happens when they only won 3 Ultimus as a conference.
Season 11 through 20
The Hawks Continue to Peak
The Hawks Continue to Peak
S11: 9-5 (Owen Taylor wins OPOY) (1-1 in Playoffs, 5th Ultimus berth)
S12: 8-6 (1-1 in Playoffs, 6th Ultimus berth)
S13: 4-10
S14: 11-3 (Childish Gambino wins MVP) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S15: 12-2 (Childish Gambino wins MVP, Arvin Asipi III wins DPOY) (2-0 in Playoffs, 7th Ultimus berth and 2nd win)
S16: 7-6
S17: 8-5 (Corvo Havran wins MVP) (2-1 in Playoffs, 8th Ultimus berth)
S18: 6-7 (1-1 in Playoffs)
S19: 8-5 (Ludicolo Bigby wins OPOY) (1-1 in Playoffs)
S20: 6-7 (0-1 in Playoffs)
During this decade, the Hawks had a 79-56 record, good for a 58.5% win rate. That stat, combined with their 4 Ultimus berths, their Ultimus win, their 8-7 playoff record, their 8 playoff trips, the 3 MVP awards and 3 other POY awards, and the fact that the second best record in the NSFC was the Wraiths with a 52.6% win rate, makes the Hawks the best team of the decade for the NSFC, again. Only this time, it's in a way that feels like it's by default if anything. Also notable is how the team took a bit of a step back after S15 and Childish Gambino's second straight MVP; after 3 seasons that would be 10 win in a 16 game season and two monstrous seasons that reached 10 wins in the 14 game schedule over the first 5 years, the next five years included two losing record seasons, no seasons that would reach 10 wins in an expanded schedule, and two different 6-7 playoff berths that came off of one really bad conference in S18 that somehow got the Hawks the second seed with a losing record in a 5 team conference, and a 3rd seed playoff berth in S20 that was immediately followed up with losing their first playoff game and bowing out with barely a participation award. Still, two decades into the ISFL, the Hawks were the class of the NSFC. Not comparable to the Otters in the slightest, but they had a decade where they were arguably the best team in the NSFC, and followed that up with a decade where they were by far the best in the NSFC. You might remember that this is when the Otters somewhat fell off and other teams took advantage, so how did the Hawks, probably the 2nd best team in the ISFL at the time, capitalize on the Otters showing signs of weakness?
Season 21 through 30
And you thought the Liberty collapsed the hardest in this decade, didn't you?
And you thought the Liberty collapsed the hardest in this decade, didn't you?
S21: 9-4 (Corvo Havran wins OPOY) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S22: 3-10
S23: 8-8
S24: 3-13 (Derred De Ville wins DPOY)
S25: 8-8
S26: 6-10
S27: 0-16
S28: 2-14
S29: 3-13
S30: 4-12
Well, congratulations. You did it. Against all odds, you made the Liberty look competent during this decade, to say nothing of the Butchers. You won 46 games throughout the entire decade. You won 9 games in the last 4 seasons of said decade. Your record of 46-108, a 29.9% winning percentage, did something I wasn't expecting. It was something Wolfie probably wasn't expecting, something I'm guessing seemed impossible for a team who had gone to the playoffs for 5 straight seasons after S21 finished. After having one final playoff trip, during which they had a season that would reach 10 wins in a 16 game schedule, played, and lost their one playoff game of the entire decade, the Hawks promptly had no winning record for the final 9 seasons of the decade, putting together 7 losing records, a stretch of straight losses that neared the Colorado Yeti, and an S27 team that is the second worst ever by results. This decade on its own took the Hawks from 45 games over .500 to 17 games under it; if you were as mediocre as the Liberty were from S1 through S20 then this stretch would have you going straight below the Yeti in the all time rankings. Isn't it funny that this team managed to get two awards during this stretch? That doesn't even come CLOSE to saving this team and this decade from the ignoble title of Worst Decade Ever for an ISFL team.
Season 31 through 40
Of all teams' decades to win an Ultimus, this might be the worst
S34: 6-10Of all teams' decades to win an Ultimus, this might be the worst
S31: 4-12
S32: 5-11
S33: 11-5 (3-0 in Playoffs, 9th Ultimus berth and 3rd title)
S32: 5-11
S33: 11-5 (3-0 in Playoffs, 9th Ultimus berth and 3rd title)
S35: 9-7 (1-1 in Playoffs, 10th Ultimus berth)
S36: 7-9
S37: 8-8
S38: 9-7 (0-1 in Playoffs)
S39: 6-10
S40: 5-11
During this decade, the Baltimore Hawks went 70-90, for a 43.75% win rate. They had a 4-2 record in the postseason over 3 trips. This win rate is just above the Sabercats' S21 through 30, but this one, unlike that one, doesn't have the hilarity factor. They only won one of the two trips, and they were actually an OK team the time they won the title. Still, this is a team that managed to completely miss out on awards throughout the decade, made only 3 playoff appearances, had a single season with double digit wins, and put together 5 seasons with double digit losses. This means that over the past 20 seasons, the Hawks have had the incredible rate of 2 seasons on 10 win pace, and 12 ten loss seasons. Yes, the median Hawks season over this stretch is 6-10. By my count, this is the 4th worst record for this decade, with only the Yeti, the Otters, and the Second Line coming up worse. Speaking of the Otters, the Hawks just feel like a lesser version of them; a strong (but nowhere near Otters strength) team during the old sim era, who has completely fallen off (and to a much harder extent than the Otters) since the switch to the new sim.
Overall Stats
More than just All Time Records here
More than just All Time Records here
All Time Record: 276-313-0 (46.9% win rate)
Playoff Record: 17-15 (53.1% win rate)
Ultimus Record: 3-7
Playoff Berths: 18 over 40 seasons, 45%
Hall of Famers: 16 (iamslm22, manicmav36 [prior 2 as GMs], Antoine Delacour, Kurt Hendrix, Turk Turkleton, Avon Blocksdale, Owen Taylor, Trey Willie, Austin Roenick, Verso L'Alto, Childish Gambino, Vinny Valentine, Errol Maddox, Corvo Havran, Dermot Lavelle Jr, Bruce Buckley)
Major Award Wins: 3 MVPs, 4 OPOYs, 2 DPOYs
Best Team Period: S9-S11 (3 playoff berths, 3 Ultimus Appearances, 1 title, 2 OPOYs, 33-9 record over 3 seasons, 78.6% win rate)
Worst Team Period: S27-S30 (9-55 record over 4 seasons, 14.1% win rate)
One side comment before I get deeper into this, I'm not sure why Bruce Buckley went into the Hall as a dual Wraith/Hawk; it seems like he did most of his best work as a Wraith and even did more of his best work as an Outlaw than as a Hawk. That one oddity aside, this is a team that, as expected considering how strong they were in the first 20 seasons of the ISFL, has a ton of history in the Ultimus and in the Hall of Famer category. Though they had a little less than I'd expect in the award cabinet considering how strong they were in a period of time where there were only 8 teams. Speaking of how strong they were, from S9 to S11 is one of the better 3 season stretches we've looked at; it's arguably comparable to the Otters' strongest 4 season stretch, just one less season in length. Through the first 2 seasons, they were on track to be better than the Wraiths at least; their win rate in both decades is higher than the Wraiths' win rate through 40. So what exactly is the issue? I mean, it's quite obvious, really. In terms of worst stretches and in terms of worst decades, only one team even is in the same ballpark as them; they manage to do worse than the Yeti in terms of a worst decade stretch, and even come close over a 15 year period where they managed to win an Ultimus: at 72-146, a 33.0% win rate, between S21 and S34, they manage to actually challenge the Yeti's worst period. If this team from S21-40 was literally any other NSFC team besides the Baltimore Hawks, they'd be the easy choice for the worst team ever. Yes, even if they were the Wraiths. As is, they manage to escape the Yeti/Crash clash, though I think I might still put them in competition for 3rd worst with the Second Line and the Sabercats.
Really, the most notable thing about the Hawks' awful stretch is how it automatically makes all the ASFC records look better and brings all the NSFC records into question at least a bit. The way the schedule works since the most recent expansions, every single NSFC team has been able to play this Hawks team twice a season, whereas barely over half the ASFC plays the Hawks once in a season. Even before the S25 expansion, the Hawks were still only playing every team in the ASFC half as often as the NSFC. This also applies, albeit to a lesser extent, to the Liberty between S22 and S30. Not as much, since the Liberty/Crash have had a winning record since S30, but still a notable thing to keep in mind.
To give one more stat as to just how bad the Hawks have been since S21, over the 19.5 seasons since then, the hawks have gone 111-200 for a 35.7% win rate. They have managed to lose 200 games in a 20 year period, a level of ineptitude that is Detroit Lions level since the turn of the century. Teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Washington Commanders, and the Las Vegas Raiders are all far better than the Hawks have been over the last 20 seasons.
The Hawks have been so bad as to completely overshadow the fact that they were the best team in the NSFC through the first 20 seasons; that's the best summation of them as a franchise.
Finally, I would like to congratulate @infinitempg. From S1 through S20, the Yeti went 99-176. This is exactly a 36% win rate, which is actually higher than the Hawks have done for the past 20 seasons.
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