RecapWinter 2022After Party vs Skylife

After Party has had a great season this year and they finished it with their last two games being against the top two ranked teams in the B Division. Clearly that wasn’t going to stop them though. Here’s Castro’s recap of their game against Skylife.

ULTIMATE CENTRAL STANDINGS DON’T MAKE SENSE!!!

Last week After Party beat Deez Nauts and yesterday we played against Sky Life who were 7-0. This was a big game due to the B Division Tournament format providing a double bye for the Top 2 teams.

The game was tight and close throughout, but in the end, After Party pulled away in the 2nd half, winning 13-10. See below for the current Ultimate Central Standings (after last night’s games).

With After Party beating both Sky Life and Deez Nauts, one would think we would be ranked above them due to Head to Head Wins. Question is how are we ranked behind both teams we have beaten ? We even have a better record than Deez Nauts.

We understand point differential is a thing, but we discussed as a team, it’s not fun for the other newer teams to get beat down. How are we going to grow the sport within our community if games are so lopsided? League is supposed to be fun, and when opponents are scoring 1 or 2 points a game, what gives them the incentive to return to play next year? Maybe we need a C division next year (just a thought).

Also I’m not a morning person. Think we can all agree that playing your first game at 11:45am rather than 8:15am is more ideal.

Either way I’m excited for the tournament this weekend. Will see if the standings change after the rest of the games are finalized on Thursday.

Don’t forget to bring sunscreen and most importantly those post tournament beers!

Well. I guess this wasn’t a recap of the game so much as it’s an open plea to explain the Ultimate Central standings? Unfortunately I have no insider info on how this is calculated, but I did click on the “How are standings ordered?” link and got these details about the Power Ratings:

Power Rating

Teams are ordered based on their point differential (their margin of victory across all games) and the relative strength of schedule (how strong/weak their opponents were). With this algorithm, scoring a lot of points is more important than winning games. For example, a team that wins every game by 10 but loses one or two games will do better than a team that wins every game by 1 and has no losses. Similarly, scoring points against better teams will improve a team’s rating, even if the team doesn’t win those matcheups. A team that loses by 1 to three strong opponents will be ranked higher than a team that wins by 1 against three weak opponents.

I gotta say though, that I agree with Castro on this one as far as encouraging newer teams to learn and enjoy the sport vs roasting them on every point. Where would the fun be in that? I can see how Ultimate Central’s system would be more beneficial for a highly competitive league and even makes sense for A Division, but it seems a little harsh here. I think they’ve explored C Division options in past seasons and it’s never really worked out in the past, but maybe the tides are changing now that we have more newer teams?

After Party ends their season with an impressive 7-1 record and may or may not be in 3rd place.

Sky Life made it through their first 7 games undefeated, but couldn’t hold on to the streak and also ends their season at 7-1. Their power ratings put them into 1st place though so I guess it didn’t matter and they’ll still get to keep their first round bye for the tournament.

Good luck at the tournament! And remember to set a loud alarm, Castro!