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The Simulation Football League continues on during the COVID-19 pandemic
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The Simulation Football League continues on during the COVID-19 pandemic
CHICAGO — He’s a member of a football team that wears the color orange and calls Chicago home. They were even in the playoffs the past two weekends and even got a victory.
Mike Improta is a fullback for this team, and he lives in Rhode Island, but he does understand what it means to represent the Windy City.
“Mike Ditka used to call the Chicago Bears ‘The Grabowski’s.’ There’s a lot of good, hard-working people,” said Improta and his team and the league.
This isn’t the Ditka-era Bears who are playing at the moment but rather the Chicago Wildcats — one of 20 teams in the Simulation Football League. They have the biggest advantage in sports at the moment — their games are played virtually — leaving them going strong in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Wildcats won their opening game against St. Louis in the playoffs before falling on Saturday to Atlanta. It might be disappointing, but the experience is the thing for those participants.
“It helps you build confidence,” said Improta. “If you’re a person that didn’t have the athletic ability or never had an interest in getting involved with sports or had an opportunity to be on a team, you get to meet people all over the country embrace you.”
Going strong since 2013, the SFL continues to build its brand along with other eSports that have seen more and more mainstream attention over the past few years. That visibility is only increasing as the pandemic continues, as fans get to learn what’s unique about this league.
Unlike other eSports, the Simulation Football League lives up to its name, with no controllers used. Players, who take part in a real draft, have a chance during the week to build their skills virtually. Coaches design game plans based on watching film on the other teams, then put that into the game itself, which is then simulated on those plans.
It’s a different league that was started by Cameron Irvine in Texas seven years ago, as they ditched the controllers to put even more spotlight on their players.
“We want to take that viewer, that fan, that die-hard person, we want to make them the talent, the star, the people that are talked about,” said Irvine. “So when you’re at home with your family, with your friends, you’re watching you.”
One of them is St. Louis quarterback Jonny Pichler, who lives in Elmhurst, and he was the league’s top overall pick in their last draft. He’s been in eGaming in the past, having worked with the Golden State Warriors to increase their efforts in virtual sports, and enjoys the chance the SFL gives him.
“It’s a really neat opportunity for people to be able to capitalize on that,” said Pichler. “If you’ve experienced it in the past and can no longer or never had the opportunity because they weren’t physically gifted enough, had a disability, had this, that, or the other, and or it’s just later in life and you want to be a part of team.
“It’s a cool thing that way.”
