Colorado Yeti
Colorado Yeti | |||
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First season: 2016 Play in and headquartered in Yeti Stadium Denver, Colorado | |||
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League/conference affiliations | |||
Current uniform
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Team colors | Red, White, Black | ||
Personnel | |||
General manager | Bobby Wasabi ([[User:|User:]]) | ||
Team history | |||
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Championships | |||
League championships (0) | |||
Conference championships (3)
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Division championships (2)
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Playoff appearances (11) | |||
Home fields | |||
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The Colorado Yeti are a professional American football franchise based in Denver, Colorado. The Yeti 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 2016 (S1) by InciteHysteria.
Contents
History of the Colorado Yeti
The Colorado Yeti were established in 2016 as one of six founding teams of the NSFL. The 2016 ISFL season was the Yeti's most successful season to date, and saw them compete for the Ultimus against the Arizona Outlaws. The Yeti lost Ultimus Bowl I 29-6.
Prior to the 2017 (S2) season the NSFL held an expansion draft as two new teams joined the league. In that draft the Yeti would lose their top defensive back, Vikian Marmeladov, and their top defensive tackle, Vinny Cox, as well as their kicker Bojo Kicksit. After they draft the Yeti would trade to get their kicker back, giving up a 4th round pick in the S2 draft. Despite losing Marmeladov and Cox in the expansion draft things were still looking pretty good for Colorado as they won three of their first five games. The Yeti would stumble though for the middle part of the year, but a strong finish would have them finishing at 8-6 once again. In another year this might have been a great finish, however, the Baltimore Hawks and Yellowknife Wraiths both finished at 8-6 as well and due to tiebreakers the Yeti were left at home watching the playoffs.
The hits would continue to come headed into 2018 (S3) for the Yeti as the interim general managers would step down just after the S3 draft. TheMemeMaestro would become the next Yeti GM and would make a trade for Brice Boggs and in turn Daybe would become Co-GM of the team. Not only were GM changes happening in Colorado, but at the same time the Logan Noble TPE scandal happened leaving the Yeti without a quarterback. Colorado would end up trading the NSFL's 4th leading tackler from 2017 (S2), Luke Tiernen, to the Yellowknife Wraiths for Nicholas Pierno and two future draft picks. No one really knew what the Yeti were going to look like offensively with Pierno given almost no time with his new team, but things didn't look so bad as they'd win all of their preseason games and the first game of the regular season seemingly able to make something happen out of nothing every game. This would only prove to be false hope as the team kind of fell apart after that, failing to score more than 10 points in most of their games. After a few successful seasons the Yeti would fall hard down to a 3-11 record.
Another year and another shakeup in the Yeti front office would continue the feeling of uncertainty in Colorado for the 2019 (S4) season. The team, however, would return all key members from the previous season and Boss Tweed is still running the ball, so the hope would be that if all team members grew together maybe the team would make strides. Unfortunately though optimism would only hold for so long as the team was dealt loss after loss. The lone bright spot on the year would be the fact that they would upset the Baltimore Hawks, a loss that some argue is the reason why Baltimore came up short in their bid for the playoffs. Aside from that though the Yeti would drop every other game on the year (including preseason) and finish at 1-13.
2020 (S5) started off with a lot of excitement for the Yeti. With a 1-13 season in their rear view mirror they now were focused on the draft and they managed to grab the top two overall picks in the draft, meaning they were able to add great talent to their team that could start and grow from day one. With those picks Colorado selected Carlito Crush, an exciting tight end prospect, and Andre Bly Jr., a cornerback who would immediately fill the hole left my the departure of Alex Hayden. The Yeti also were able to snag Michael Tillman in the draft to add a fairly decent strong safety to their secondary. Once the season began though things went a little differently. The Yeti invested heavily into offensive linemen who could bolster their run game and to their credit the Yeti had the best rushing team in the entire NSFL, however, the passing game limited how good the team could be. Pierno was far from a good quarterback and the results went to prove that as he was almost 2000 yards behind the next closest quarterback and also posted 4 touchdowns to 19 interceptions. Colorado would pick up two wins on the year, but both would come at the expense of the Las Vegas Legion who were the worst team in the league.
Colorado would have to put another bad season behind them and focus yet again on the draft, however, the 2021 (S6) offseason started off about as poorly as it could have as star cornerback, Brice Boggs, unexpectedly retired. They would pick up one of the league's best linebackers in AC Hackett to try and ease the pain, but the secondary was looking painfully thin. Through the draft Colorado would pick up Dwayne Aaron, Bobby Ruckus, and Micycle McCormick to help out in all three phases of the game. Pierno would actually do a bit better after getting a few more weapons as he'd up his touchdowns to 10 and lower his interceptions to 13, but this year the offense wasn't as much the problem as the defense. With the loss of their top corner, having to rely on so many young players the Yeti's defense would rank dead least in basically every defensive category. This would lead to yet another disappointing season as they wouldn't win any games and thus have one of the worst stretch of seasons the NSFL has ever seen.
2022 (S7) would be yet another year of retooling and rebuilding for the Yeti. More losses would occur, this time not in terms of games, as they would lose star running back Boss Tweed and tight end Carlito Crush, as well as ending the Pierno experience just as he was starting to come into his own, instead electing to have the quarterback transition into a defensive tackle. There would be a lot more youth added to the team though with quarterback Ryan Applehort joining team team along with Desta Danger and Howard Miller. With players constantly coming and going, Colorado really hasn't had much cohesion and time to gel with each other. These feelings would continue to be felt in the results. For a second straight year the Yeti would lose every single game posting the worst offensive and defensive football team in the league. Applehort would post a 4 TD to 21 INT ratio and would give the Yeti faithful flashbacks of the early Pierno days.
After a few bad seasons and a full year of development under Applehort's belt, the Yeti were poised to turn things around in 2023 (S8), especially after an offseason that saw they draft Rickey Ramero and Mark Grau and trading two first round picks away for Eli Kamaka. With the addition of Ramero and Kamaka, the Yeti would have one of the better front sevens in the league. The Yeti would jump out to a 3-3 record showing a lot of strides, but they'd kind of just ride that wave. Colorado would actually post pretty impressive numbers in terms of their run defense, however, they allowed over 300 yards passing a game to opponents and that would ultimately be their Achilles heel as they'd wind up 6-8, but still in last place in the NSFC.
After six seasons of mostly unsuccessful football, Yeti GM Meme Maestro would step down, and Dwayne Aaron would step up in his place starting in the 2024 (S9) season. Aaron really wouldn't do a whole lot in terms of overhauling the roster, instead choosing to add some depth pieces in the draft and free agency, but no major moves. This would prove to be a great strategy as Applehort would take the next step and carve together a great passing attack with Howard Miller becoming one of the league's best receivers. Aaron would provide a great second receiver option, while the tandem of Grau & Kroetch would be competent enough on the ground to move the chains when needed. The Yeti would finally get back to the promised land of the playoffs after putting together an 8-6 record, good enough for 2nd best in the NSFC and would put up a great fight, but ultimately lose to the Hawks 40-34.
The 2024 (S9) season, which saw the Yeti get back to the playoffs, would be the lone season for Dwayne Aaron as general manager. In his place would step Scott Michaels for 2025 (S10). Michaels would largely follow suit of Aaron and not make too many changes, however, he did make a fairly significant move in trading two fourth round picks for Terrell Brister, who would be a great upgrade for the Yeti at their second cornerback spot. Still, with Applehort now being in the upper echelon of NSFL quarterbacks, the Yeti didn't need much improvement. Mark Grau would take over full time for Colorado and eclipse 1K yards on the year, while both Aaron and Miller would gain 1K receiving and newcomer Fox North wouldn't be too far behind. With the help of Brister, the Yeti would put up one of the better defenses in the league and find themselves once again 2nd in the NSFC with a 9-5 record. Again slated to face the Hawks they'd make it another close contest, but fall yet again in the first round of the playoffs.
2026 (S11) would certainly be interesting with quite a bit of changes. Quaterback Ryan Applehort would opt out of his contract and just to the rival Baltimore Hawks leaving a hole for the Yeti. Kicker/Punter Micycle McCormick would spend the offseason training and ultimately become the new gunslinger for Colorado. Aside from that they also traded away Andre Bly, Eli Kamaka, Rickey Ramero, and Norman Bagwell. From all intents and purposes it looked like a rebuild was in store for the Yeti. For whatever reason fate would not have that and the Philadelphia Liberty would lose a couple games they shouldn't have, including one to the winless San Jose Sabercats, pushing the Yeti into the 2nd place for their third straight year. Unlike the last two though, they would lose handedly to the Hawks in the playoffs.
The Yeti's offseason coming into 2027 (S12) was less focused on the team and more on identity as they rebranded with a new logo concept and new team colors. As far as their team goes though, it changed quite a bit as some of the older members moved on and eight rookies would join the NSFL ranks, looking to take over. Despite their best efforts, the Yeti looked too young even in preseason despite going 2-2. As the season opened teams exploited the rookies and showed just how young the team really was as opposing offenses would score at least 41 points in each of the first four games of the year. Colorado would find themselves a bit in the second half of the season though as they'd win four of their last five and win 6 games on the year. In the end though the youthful defense was really their Achilles heel as they ranked dead last or 2nd to last in every defensive metric.
Weirdly enough, 2028 (S13) was a winning season for the Yeti. But it was not that weird, considering who they signed. Hornbacher, L'Alto, Oakes, and Mills are to name a few. Colorado finished atop the NSFC, with a 8-6 record, despite a 4-5 record after 9 weeks, reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2016 (S1), where they would host Philadelphia Liberty, beating them 50-27, qualifying for Ultimus Bowl XIII. There, they faced the Orange County Otters, and lost a nailbiter, 24-21, dropping to 0-2 in Ultimus Trophy games.
2029 (S14) saw a massive exodus from Colorado, and the Yeti were back to the drawing board, planning a rebuild. They had one of the worst defensive seasons in NSFL history, allowing 31.2 points per game, finishing the season with a 4-10 record, beating Arizona twice, San Jose at home, and NOLA away, but they were lucky enough to have the 2nd overall draft pick for the massive 2030 (S15) draft, hoping they would strike gold there.
2030 (S15) was the big draft season, and Colorado had multiple picks. The problem was that those picks were traded away in the past seasons, meaning the Yeti would stick to mediocrity for yet another season, and with the expansion draft looming, future was not looking so bright for Colorado. The team was bad. Worst offence, worst defence, and the worst record in the league. 2 wins in 14 games, including a 9-game losing streak, between weeks 5 and 13, but the #1 OA pick was theirs to make in the next draft.
2031 (S16) saw an expansion draft, as two new teams started competing, but only one player was to leave Colorado. In the draft, last season's debacle was averted, as Colorado had 6 picks, in a 29-player class, boosting the team significantly, not right then, but for the future. The season went as bad as the team front office could imagine. Only one win in the now shorter 13-game season, against the expansion Austin Copperheads. But the future was finally looking bright in Colorado. They only needed to give the youngsters more playing time.
During 2032 (S17), Colorado showed signs of improvement, with more rookies joining the fray, but the NSFC was top-heavy, and the Yeti finished with a 5-8 record, snatching wins from contenders in Yellowknife and Arizona. In terms of metrics though, Colorado hit rock-bottom both in offence and defence, but they knew they were close to the breakout season. They only needed a spark. And they were sure they'd find it next season.
The big 2033 (S18) draft class was exactly what they needed in Colorado. Their first four players selected from the season's draft joined the team and propelled them to the first playoff appearance after 2028 (S13), despite the 5-8 finish. A mediocre-to-bad season was worthy of a playoff spot, where anything could happen. But the Hawks were no match for Colorado, as the young Yeti crumbled under the big stage pressure, dropping the Wildcard game 31-0. The signs were there though. They only needed to work. And it would pay off.
And it did. 2034 (S19) was the first winning season for the Yeti since 2028 (S13). They had matured enough. Three wins out of three games to start the season, and another five in the remaining ten. 8-5 total record, 4th best offence, 6th best defence, and the Yeti were playoff bound for the second year in a row, finishing 3rd in the NSFC, having to visit the Hawks for the second straight year. Nothing changed in the Wildcard game, compared to last year, apart from the score. The Yeti put up a fight, but fell 39-17. Their season was over, but they had hopes for the future, as the team was finally heading in the right direction.
The 2035 (S20) season saw a second straight winning season for the Yeti, only the third time to date they had achieved this feat since the beginning of the league. The Yeti alternated evenly between wins and losses throughout the season, never winning or losing twice in a row until week 9 when they went on a three game winning streak, two of which came on the road. Those two road wins would also end up being the team’s only road wins for the entire season, and helped them to secure the second seed playoff spot for the season. While this would mark their 4th straight season of making the playoffs, the Yeti took it a step further by winning their first playoff game since the 2028 (S13) season. The 29-26 victory came against the 6-7 Baltimore Hawks, and was mostly carried by Wolfie McDummy in a 263 yard and 2 touchdown performance, as well as James Bishop with a 105 yard kick return for a touchdown that came about midway through the third quarter. The Yeti would lose the follow-up playoff game against the Yellowknife Wraiths, but similar to 2034 (S19), the season showed promise and another step in the right direction.
Coming off ever increasing success from the prior two seasons, the Yeti entered 2036 (S21) with high expectations. The team’s confidence would waver in the beginning of the season, as the team lost 3 of the first 4 games of the season. Nevertheless, the Yeti would persevere and went on a tear the rest of the season, winning all but two of the remaining 9 games and ending the regular season for them at a healthy 8-5. This marked the third straight winning season, tying their longest stretch to date from the 2024 (S9)-2026 (S11) seasons. The Yeti had ridden to their playoff berth mostly on the backs of the defense, who had allowed the second least points in the NSFC behind only the conference winning Baltimore Hawks. Despite having home field advantage, the Yeti would be eliminated in the wildcard round of the playoffs to the eventual Ultimus contending Yellowknife Wraiths after failing to score a single point in the second half. While not the ending they had hoped for after coming on hot for the second half of the season, the Yeti remained optimistic for the future.
2037 (S22) would turn out to be an eventful season for the Yeti for multiple reasons. Firstly, the league announced the expansion of two more teams, the Sarasota Sailfish and Honolulu Hahalua. The expansion draft resulted in a couple key departures from Colorado. With their 5th pick in the expansion draft, the Sailfish would claim defensive end Steco Ocewilder off the Yeti roster. Later again, the Sailfish would claim former leading receiver Laszlo Forty-Two for themselves. A third player, receiver James Bishop, was picked by Honolulu at the end of the draft, however the Yeti would immediately return him to the team in exchange for a 9th round pick in the upcoming rookie draft. The beginning of the regular season would see the Yeti off to a white-hot start, winning 5 straight. That feast would soon turn to famine though, as the Yeti dropped the next 4 before finishing the season by winning 3 of the last 4, placing them back at 8-5 in the second playoff seed once again, and marking a franchise best 4 straight winning seasons. The Yeti would begin the playoffs with a 36-14 shellacking of the brand new Sarasota Sailfish in the wildcard round. The next round of playoffs would end with a 17-16 victory over the Yellowknife Wraiths, bringing the team to their second Ultimus. The Yeti met the Orange County Otters in the Ultimus. The game looked very lopsided at first, with the Otters marching out to a 21-3 lead about halfway through the third quarter. The Yeti would rally though, scoring 22 points in the last 17 minutes of the game, including a 10 yard touchdown from McDummy to Bishop with 38 seconds left on the clock to give the team a 25-24 lead. The defense held, resulting in the Colorado Yeti’s second franchise Ultimus appearance becoming their first franchise Ultimus win as well.
The Yeti entered the 2038 (S23) season as popular favorites. They had just come off their Ultimus win and they hadn’t lost any of their main contributors to free agency or retirement, although some of their offensive and defensive mainstays were getting up in age and had passed their prime. Additionally, due to the expansion in the prior season the decision was made to increase the regular season by 3 games to 16 total games. The Yeti’s season would prove to be a bit of a roller coaster, with two game winning streaks followed by two game losing streaks making up the entire first half of the season. As in the previous season though, the Yeti got hot for the second half, winning 6 of the last 8. That last ditch effort late in the season was enough to give the Yeti a 10-6 record, which tied them for the top playoff seed, though the Yellowknife Wraiths would be awarded the tiebreaker. The Yeti would defeat the Philadelphia Liberty in the wildcard round of the playoffs, but were then defeated by the rival Yellowknife Wraiths after once again being shut out in the second half. The end of the 2038 (S23) season would also signify the end of Mo Berry’s career, a longtime mainstay of the venerated Yeti defense.
Barring the Las Vegas Legion, who relocated to New Orleans, the Colorado Yeti are the losingest franchise in NSFL history.
Season-by-season records
Season | Regular Season Record | Post Season Record | ||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | W | L | |||
2016 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 1 | 1 | ||
2017 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 0 | ||
2018 | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 0 | 0 | ||
2019 | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 0 | 0 | ||
2020 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0 | 0 | ||
2021 | 0 | 14 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | ||
2022 | 0 | 14 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | ||
2023 | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 0 | ||
2024 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 1 | ||
2025 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .642 | 0 | 1 | ||
2026 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 1 | ||
2027 | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 0 | ||
2028 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 1 | 1 | ||
2029 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 0 | 0 | ||
2030 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0 | 0 | ||
2031 | 1 | 12 | 0 | .077 | 0 | 0 | ||
2032 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 0 | 1 | ||
2033 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 0 | 1 | ||
2034 | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | 0 | 1 | ||
2035 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 1 | 1 | ||
2036 | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | 0 | 1 | ||
2037 | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | 3 | 0 | ||
2038 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1 | 1 | ||
2039 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 2 | 1 | ||
2040 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .812 | 2 | 1 | ||
2041 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 1 | ||
2042 | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 1 | 1 | ||
2043 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 1 | ||
2044 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 0 | 1 | ||
2045 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 1 | ||
2046 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2 | 1 | ||
2047 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 0 | 1 | ||
2048 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 0 | ||
2049 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0 | 0 | ||
2050 | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 0 | 0 | ||
2051 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .312 | 0 | 0 | ||
2052 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .312 | 0 | 0 | ||
2053 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .312 | 0 | 0 | ||
2054 | 9 | 6 | 1 | .594 | 0 | 1 | ||
2055 | 7 | 8 | 1 | .469 | 0 | 0 | ||
2056 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0 | 0 | ||
2057 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0 | 0 | ||
2058 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 1 | ||
2059 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .312 | 0 | 0 | ||
2060 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1 | 1 | ||
2061 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 1 | 0 | ||
2062 | 1 | 15 | 0 | .062 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 303 | 395 | 3 | .434 | 15 | 23 |
Current roster
This article is pending review by an Approver on the wiki team. Do not award TPE yet. |
Colorado Yeti 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 January 24, 2024 | ||||||
Current staff
Colorado Yeti staff
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References