Cape Town Crash
| Philadelphia Liberty | |||
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 Current season | |||
First season: 2017 Play in and headquartered in Taco Bell Stadium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
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| League/conference affiliations | |||
Current uniform
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| Team colors | Blue, Gold, Red | ||
| Mascot | Phil the Bell | ||
| Personnel | |||
| General manager | Derek Yeeter ([[User:|User:]]) | ||
| Team history | |||
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| Championships | |||
| League championships (1) | |||
Conference championships (4)
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| Division championships (2) | |||
| Playoff appearances (10) | |||
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| Home fields | |||
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The Philadelphia Liberty professional American football franchise based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Liberty currently compete in the National Simulation Football League (NSFL) as a member club of the league's National Simulation Football Conference (NSFC) which currently only has one division. The franchise was established in 2017 (S2) by Adam Owtevifevifowt (Adam2552) as one of the NSFL's first expansion teams. They have a storied rivalry with the Baltimore Hawks, which is widely considered the most intense rivalry in the league. The Liberty have won the NSFC Championship twice and have won one Ultimus Trophy (Ultimus Bowl VII).
Philadelphia was able to win five games in their inaugural season and quickly established themselves as a viable franchise reaching the playoffs in just their second year of existence. The Liberty have made 5 playoff appearances in total and won an Ultimus Championship in 2022 (S7), becoming the only team in NSFL history to win the Ultimus as the visiting team.
The Liberty are commonly known for their "Trust the Process" motto and were the first team to successfully introduce the "tanking" strategy in the NSFL.
Contents
History of the Philadelphia Liberty
On July 5, 2017, Adam Owtevifevifowt (adam2552) was given the rights to start a new NSFC team in Philadelphia. Prior to the 2017 (S2) Expansion Draft, Silver Fox was hired as the Liberty’s Co-GM. Shortly after the announcement, the Liberty traded for Stephen Harris, who would officially become the first Liberty player. In the time period leading up to the 2017 (S2) NSFL Draft, the Liberty made several trades to acquire more picks. First, they moved from the first to second overall pick and acquired two mid-round picks, then the Liberty moved from the second to the seventh overall pick and picked up another early pick. Through a series of these trades, the Liberty acquired a league-high eighteen picks in the historic 2017 (S2) NSFL draft. These picks formed the bulk of the Liberty’s 2017 (S2) roster and were the foundation of the team that won the Liberty’s first Ultimus Championship in 2022 (S7).
The Liberty went 5-9 in their first franchise season led by starting quarterback Jameis Christ, the capstone of which was a 45-7 win over the San Jose Sabercats in week fifteen. With the bulk of the team being young players, a sizable improvement was expected in 2018 (S3) for the Liberty. Additionally, the team made a change at quarterback, starting rookie Clifford Rove over Christ. The team started the season with an abysmal 0-3-1 record, but turned it around, winning eight of their last ten games to clinch the franchise's first playoff spot. The Liberty were then embarrassed on the road in the NSFC Championship by the Hawks, losing the game 34-3. In the following offseason, Owtevifevifowt had announced that he would be stepping down from the position of general manager to take the role as a special adviser to the front office. Former Seawolves general manager To12413 was hired as the new general manager. The Liberty started the 2019 (S4) season similarly weakly, winning just two of their first seven games. Once again, however, they turned it around towards the end of the season, going 5-2 to clinch their second consecutive playoff spot. This time, the story was different, as the Liberty played a competitive game on the road, forcing overtime against the Wraiths. However, they eventually lost after not touching the ball once in overtime.
In 2020 (S5), the Liberty offense enjoyed by far their best season yet as Rove exploded into the upper tier of NSFL quarterbacks by tossing 38 TDs and only 17 INTs. However, the Liberty defense faltered late into the season and the Liberty missed the playoffs on the conference record tiebreaker. The following year, 2021 (S6), star cornerback Tyler Oles, who also played quarterback in high school, decided to change positions and take up the role of signal-caller full-time, while former starter Rove went the other way, and became a cornerback. Oles had a very effective first season, setting new franchise records for passing attempts, completions, completion percentage, and passing yards. Oles also became the first Liberty quarterback to pass for over 5,000 yards. Led by Oles, the Liberty enjoyed their most prolific season yet, starting the season with an upset of the Wraiths on the road and earning the franchise's first number one seed with a 9-5 record. The Liberty earned a convincing win over the Wraiths in the playoffs to advance to their first-ever Ultimus (Ultimus Bowl V), where they went toe-to-toe with the Otters until the last drive, when star wide receiver Josh Garden dropped the would-be game-winning touchdown pass.
The following season, 2022 (S7), the Liberty offense enjoyed another productive season, assisted by Oles’ best season yet. The defense improved even more from 2021 (S6)’s NSFC-winning team, driving the Liberty to a 10-4 record, the best ever seen by the Liberty. However, the Wraiths saw nearly unprecedented success, finishing the season with a record of 13-1, meaning the Liberty would be forced to settle for the number two seed and play in Yellowknife for the conference title. In the conference title game, the Liberty played a nearly perfect first quarter against the overwhelmingly favored Wraiths, allowing them to surge ahead to a 17-0 lead. The Liberty beat the Wraiths 40-31 with Oles throwing for 365 yards, bringing the team to their second Ultimus apperance (Ultimus Bowl VII), this time against the Orange County Otters. The Liberty, once again massive underdogs, surged out to a 21-3 lead that was just too much for the Otters to overcome. The Liberty became the first NSFC team to win the prestigious Ultimus trophy.
During the 2022 (S7) season, To12413 announced that he'd be stepping down after the season to pursue further opportunities. He promoted co-general manager Rashaad Brooks to general manager, and immediately following Oles' departure, Brooks brought on former San Antonio Marshals GM Kevin Kolbe (Kckolbe) to be his co-GM. When Brooks stepped in as GM, he saw the current Liberty roster as an older team that would soon need to be rebuilt. This vision was further reinforced after Tyler Oles announced he'd be retiring at the end of the 2023 (S8) season. Brooks decided that they would start the season with the goal of winning an Ultimus or bust, but after seeing the team perform below his standards at the trade deadline, he decided to tear down the former Ultimus winning roster and begin a full rebuild. Brooks started with a massive trade sending cornerstone defensive tackle Eli Kamaka, running back Damien Kroetch, and the Liberty's 2024 ISFL Draft (S9) first round pick to the Yeti for their 2024 (S9) 1st and 2025 (S10) 1st and 2nd round picks. The firesale continued with a trade with Baltimore acquiring Clifford Rove, Vikian Marmeladov, and $7m in cap space for the 2023 (S8) season in exchange for Scrub Kyubee and the Hawks' 2024 (S9) 4th and 2025 (S10) 3rd round picks. The final trade the Liberty made before the trade deadline was with the New Orleans Second Line, sending the worse of COL 2025 (S10) 1st and NOLA 2025 (S10) 1st (Second Line ended up getting NOLA 2025 (S10) 1st), PHI 2024 (S9) 4th, star TE Paul DiMirio and DT Godfrey King for the best of COL 2025 (S10) 1st and NOLA 2025 (S10) 1st (Liberty ended up getting COL 2025 (S10) 1st), NOLA 2025 (S10) 2nd, YKW 2024 (S9) 3rd (from NOLA), Stormblessed, and Omar Wrong. These series of trades would set up a blueprint for the Liberty's future. The Liberty finished off the 2023 (S8) season with a record of 7-7, going 2-5 in the final 7 games of the season. In his final season, Tyler Oles threw for 4,666 yards and 36 touchdowns. Brooks left the Liberty franchise after the season and the next day, Kolbe would leave as well. They left the team with huge question marks and animosity from Liberty fans. Former general manager and owner of the team Adam Owtevifevifowt re-assumed a position in management, and hired Brock Weathers Sr. (BWIII) to be his co-GM.
The Liberty held the 3rd pick (from COL) going into the 2024 (S9) draft, just behind the San Jose Sabercats and Arizona Outlaws. They went into the draft with the mindset of taking the best player available to start their rebuild. Many mock drafts had San Antonio QB Kevin Fitzpatrick, son of Kevin Kolbe, going third to the Liberty. Instead, the Liberty take Fitzpatrick's former Marshals teammate, the running back Marquise Brown with the pick. This pick would kick-start what the Liberty had coined to be "The Process". The Process, explained by Brown in an interview, was the idea of building for the future by sacrificing seasons. Both Owtevifevifowt and Weathers knew that they wouldn't be contending for an Ultimus with the current state of their roster, so they decided to focus on the future by sending down their draft picks to the DSFL and stockpiling stock in future drafts which forecasted to be filled with second-generation talent. Brown, along with the Liberty's entire 2024 (S9) draft class, was sent down to the DSFL to further develop for the future.
Going into the 2024 (S9) season, the Liberty had very low expectations. In need of a starting QB, the team signed former Yeti QB Logan Noble to spearhead the Process. Noble led the team to a 4-10 record, surprising quite a few analysts as they were predicted to do much worse. The offense was led primarily by RB Darlane Farlane, rushing for 1264 yards and 8 touchdowns before ultimately announcing his retirement after the season. With their lacklustre season, the Liberty were again given the third pick of the draft, this time with their own pick. Along with the third, they also held the fifth pick and the seventh pick from the Yeti and the Wraiths. The Liberty had their choice at a potential franchise QB in this draft class, with two major talents in Adriana Falconi and Joilet L. Christ headlining the draft. After the first two picks by the Sabercats (D'Pez Poopsie and Kazimir Oles respectively), the Liberty decided to let the Sabercats pick which QB they want to take by giving the defense a cornerstone CB in Lucari Felix. After the third pick, the Sabercats decide to go with Christ with the fourth, allowing the Liberty to go with Falconi as their franchise QB. With the Liberty's final pick of the first round, they go with RB Achilles Hondo to pair with Brown in the backfield. The draft stock doesn't stop there though. In the second round, the Liberty take WR Felix Hasselhoff, WR Jordan Von Matt and LB A.J. Robertson with the 11th, 12th, and 13th picks respectively. After the draft had ended, the Liberty had amassed a whopping 11 prospects to go along with the five being called up from the DSFL. But once again, the Liberty sent most of the class down while calling up the rest of the 2024 (S9) draft class in the name of the Process. Noble still stood at the forefront of the Process, now in his ninth year in the league. Shortly after the draft had ended, Noble had announced that 2025 (S10) would be his last year playing in the NSFL.
The Liberty were projected to do even worse in 2025 (S10), and that they did, failing to get a single win throughout the entire season. The Liberty finished with an 0-14 record, earning them the first pick. While the Liberty had a losing season, the locker room was still in high hopes. There were many bright spots during the season, one being Marquise Brown. In his rookie year, Brown managed to break the single-season rushing attempts and rushing yardage records, with 451 attempts and 1902 rushing yards. The Liberty realized that they had a bright future, especially with an offensive spark plug like Brown. Now with the first pick in the 2026 (S11) draft, the Liberty had quite a few prospects to choose from. The Liberty selected free safety Lennox Garnett with the pick to add to the Liberty's young and bright secondary. This time, however, the Liberty were going a different route with their prospects. They called the entire 2025 (S10) draft class up and called most of the 2026 (S11) class up as well, including first overall pick Garnett. The Liberty now consisted of a very young squad that was looking to make a run in the near future, a completely different roster than the one that prompted the rebuild in 2023 (S8). After the draft, head GM Adam Owtevifevifowt had announced that he would be stepping back down to special advisor at the earliest opportunity, and would be promoting co-GM Brock Weathers to the head GM spot with immediate effect. Later in the season, Weathers would – on the recommendation of Lennox Garnett – hire "Prince" Dennis Minott to serve as his co-GM moving forward.
The first move that Weathers made as head GM was a big one. The Liberty would trade their 2027 (S12) 2nd round pick for star CB Andre Bly Jr. and former Liberty DT Eli Kamaka. The move was met with some heat by critics, saying that the Liberty had abandoned their future for temporary rentals. Kamaka had already stated that 2026 (S11) would be his last season and Bly Jr. publicly stated that he wouldn't be signing with anybody but Yellowknife next season. But the move had improved their defense tenfold, and in 2026 (S11), the Liberty ended the season with one of the best defenses in the league, headlined by their young secondary dubbed as the "No Fly Zone", consisting of Felix, Garnett, Cobalt, and Bly. The group had tallied as much as 19 picks, the highest in the league, along with 87 pass deflections, the second highest in the league. On the offensive side, Falconi would be entering her rookie NSFL season with a strong supporting cast. Falconi finished off the year with 2977 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions, doing better overall than the QB picked above her, Joilet L. Christ. The capstone of the season was a 30-14 win in week 6 over the undefeated rival Hawks. The worst loss of the season was against the 0-13 Sabercats with a final score of 27-21. This game would keep them just out of playoff contention by one loss. All in all, a huge improvement over their previous 0-14 season.
Despite winning 7 games the previous season and returning basically the same team, many still predicted the Liberty to finish 3rd in the NSFC in the 2027 (S12) season. With losing Eli Kamaka to retirement and Drew Davidson to free agency, the Liberty drafted both Luke Smyles and Ikaika Kalilimoku in the draft hoping to fill both those spots. With rookies starting immediately on both sides of the ball, Philadelphia had a lot of youthful exuberance and in turn they were able to post a 3-1 record in the preseason. Of course the preseason doesn't mean much and the Liberty would learn that right away, getting demolished at home by Baltimore and then losing on the road to Orange County to begin the year 0-2. The Liberty would then go 3-4 over the next seven games and kind of be on the outside looking in as far as playoffs go. That's when management talked with Achilles Hondo to moving to cornerback from fullback, something the young player was open to doing. After that switch, Philadelphia would win the next four games to close out the year and secure themselves a playoff birth. In the playoffs, Philadelphia was slated to take on the Baltimore Hawks who had absolutely embarrassed them twice in the regular season. Despite never leading during the game, the Liberty gave Baltimore all they could handle as they forced overtime and it took the Hawks almost 7 minutes to secure the deal.
WR Felix Hasselhoff left before the start of the 2028 (S13) season, but his replacement was already there, in rookie Roger Batoff. A 2-1 record during the preseason was giving glimpses of what could follow for Philly. The regular season was a whole different story though. 2 wins in the first 5 games, including a 59-0 loss to the Colorado Yeti. They had an easier schedule in the last 9 games though. And they took advantage of it. 6-3 over that timespan, 8-6 total record, losing the division title to Colorado due to being swept during the season. The two teams would face for the third time that season in the Conference Championship Game, with a berth to Ultimus Bowl XIII on the line. The Yeti would prove to be too much for Philly to handle, as the Liberty got blown out for the third time in as many meetings that season, 50-27, ending their season.
There was hope for the future. The 2030 (S15) draft was fast approaching. And they were already close to contending. So they did in 2029 (S14). Despite star RB Marquise Brown leaving to sign with the Baltimore Hawks, Philly was still in contention. The 2-2 showing in the preseason possibly fooled people, as Liberty marched to a 5-0 record after 5 weeks, and another 3 wins in the next 4 weeks, sitting comfortably atop the NSFC with a 8-1 record, 3 games ahead of the Baltimore Hawks, with 5 weeks left to play. The team collapsed in the remaining games, only winning one of them, but 9-5 was more than enough to secure them a trip to the playoffs, where they would have to visit the star-loaded, and on a 5-game winstreak to end the season, Hawks. Philly would overcome a 11-point deficit with 14 minutes left in the game, scoring 14 unanswered points, capped off by a 32-yard field goal from Kulture Fulture, iwht 19 seconds on the gameclock. Philly would then visit the San Jose Sabercats in the Ultimus Bowl XV, only to lose 36-24. They ended the season as conference champions, but they were left wanting more.
2030 (S15) was the "need to win" season for Philly. But they had a rocky regular season, only managing to win 8 games, finishing 2nd in the NSFC, and had to visit the Hawks in the Conference Game. The Hawks were too much to handle, as they demolished Philly, 34-13, en route to a Ultimus victory. Philly could win in the future, they knew it. They only needed to be patient.
2031 (S16) was a rocky season for Philly. They were alternating between wins and losses for the first 6 weeks, when a 3-game winstreak brought them to 6-3 with 4 games left to play, inside the top-3 in NSFC. Despite only winning one of those 4 games, Philly edged Baltimore in head-to-head record, as both teams finished tied at 7-6. This meant Philly would travel to Yellowknife in the first ever NSFC Wildcard game, to face one of the best defensive units the league has ever seen. It was a shootout, with Liberty escaping by the skin of their teeth, beating the Wraiths 35-34, earning the right to travel to Windy City, to face the Chicago Butchers in the Championship Game. There, they would capitalize on Chicago QB Rose Jenkins throwing 3 Interceptions, winning another shootout, 47-34, making it to their second straight Ultimus. As with two years prior, they would come up short once again, losing to the Arizona Outlaws, in another shootout, 34-30.
They had come so close for two straight seasons, but didn't win. The roster would stay the same. But the Hawks, Butchers, and Wraiths were only improving. Philly had a very rough 2032 (S17) season, winning their season opener, and then dropping 5 games in a row. They won 4 of their last 7, but it was already too late, as Philadelphia would finish dead last, not only in metrics, but also in the NSFC, with a poor 5-8 record, which would ironically be enough for the Austin Cooperheads and the Colorado Yeti to make it in the following season.
2033 (S18) was more of the same for Philly. Only one win in the first 7 games, 4 wins in total, rightfully finished last in the ASFC with a 4-9 record. They were in dire need of a chance, and so it happened. GM Iam Essellemm stepped down, and Derek Yeeter took charge to lead the team into the 2034 (S19) season.
2034 (S19) showed an improved team, but still, they needed something more to catch up to the opposition. However, Philly had a 5-4 record after 9 weeks, and they were looking into the playoffs. But it didn't come to be. They would drop three of the last four, finishing with a 6-7 record, 4th in the ASFC, only able to look in the future through the 2035 (S20) draft.
The Philadelphia Liberty were inconsistent throughout the next several seasons, failing to put together a winning season. It was a tumultuous period where they struggled to retain a core group of players at the right positions to create a foundation to make a strong playoff window. As they started to retain more veterans and spend more time together as a team, it was in 2038 that changes could start being seen.
ISFL Season 23 (2038)
The 2038 season proved to be a real growing point for the Philadelphia Liberty. The old guard on defence and the hotshot season twenty-two draftees seemed to have gelled more and built up more of a chemistry. In particular, Brandon Booker (Cornerback), Matt ‘Son of Havoc’ Cross (Free Safety) and Wesley Eriksen (Strong Safety) seemed to have breakout seasons, with each of them recording three interceptions over the regular season. For the Liberty, this season can be described as one of peaks and valleys. From starting the season with two incredibly close losses against the Yeti and the Butchers, to a four week win streak against the Otters, the SaberCats, the Yeti and the Butchers. However, the biggest peak of the season would likely be Philadelphia’s last game against the Yellowknife Wraiths. When these two teams faced off in week five, the Liberty suffered a bitter twenty-four to twenty-three loss. To add to the fuel of this match, the game was a win and in situation for the Liberty. Their thirty-five to seventeen win against the Wraiths ended a seven year playoff drought. Although the Liberty’s season would eventually end to a late Colorado touchdown in the NSFC Divisional game, it is safe to say that this season was one of great triumph for Philadelphia, and they will certainly be looking to build off of it.
ISFL Season 24 (2039)
The Philadelphia Liberty’s 2039 season was one of great expectation, and yet one of great disappointment. The Liberty, coming off of a season which saw them make the playoffs for the first time in seven years looked to get off to a strong start. Unfortunately, they would start the season, losing nine straight games. Some of the painful lowlights from this stretch include week six against the SaberCats where the Liberty lost the lead late in the fourth, and then proceeded to take a three and out, and never get the ball again, week eight against the Outlaws, where Philly kept the Outlaws scoreless in the first half, and then failed to score in the second half and lost thirteen to twelve. Finally, in week nine against the Hahalua, the Liberty had a late lead, and were just unable to stop the Hahalua from marching down the field and were unable to stop the game winning drive. In the midst of this losing streak, the Liberty also suffered a head office crisis, losing their primary general manager. However, as can be expected, the times could only be bad for so long. An interim general manager was named, and Philly were able to win three of their next seven games. Still, there were bright spots throughout the year. Sam Torenson, Avon Blocksdale Jr, Simon Tremblay, Brandon Booker and Karmichael Hunt were all able to make the probowl. Going into 2040, the Liberty will look to rebound, trying to prove that this last year was just blip in the grander picture of their franchise history, and that they can make it back to the playoffs.
Season-by-season records
| Season | Regular Season Record | Post Season Record | ||||||
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| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | |||
| 2017 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 8 | 5 | 1 | .607 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2019 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | 0 | 14 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2026 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2027 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2028 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2029 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2030 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2031 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2032 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2033 | 4 | 9 | 0 | .308 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2034 | 6 | 7 | 0 | .462 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2035 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .462 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2036 | 3 | 10 | 0 | .231 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2037 | 6 | 7 | 0 | .462 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2038 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 142 | 153 | 1 | .479 | 6 | 12 | ||
Current roster
Philadelphia Liberty roster
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| Quarterbacks
Running backs Wide receivers
Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
DSFL Send-downs
Rookies in italics
Roster updated August 5th, 2022 | ||||||
Current staff
Philadelphia Liberty staff
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