6 years. 6 of the 9 years in the LOC, Larry Fitzgerald has sported an IKSAN jersey (it might even be 7, the history doesn't show if he played for them in 2009!). No player has had such a tenured career with any team in the LOC.
IKNAN's love affinity with Larry Fitzgerald started in 2010 - as a Cardinals fan himself, he not only became a fan favourite for Coach Sherwood, but all IKNAN fans. In 2010 he cost Coach Sherwood a third round draft pick, number 23 overall. In that season he delivered IKNAN a respectable 152 points, assisting them to an 8-6 record and a playoff appearance. Mostly a steady performer, he did have a few blockbuster appearances, including Week 8 vs Forge Flyers where he shipped 19 points to the 134 total, and Week 11 v IDELES with 15 points in a 94-73 point win. He had an admirable game of IKSAN in week 15, but they couldn't overcome Gridiron Gang.
Fitzgerald has been a special player - mainly because sine Kurt Warner retired he really has not had even a serviceable QB to throw him the ball - but he has still managed to produce. In 2011 Fitzgerald once again joined IKSAN for a 3rd round pick, this time 27 overall, this time delivering an impressive 189 points. Unfortunately in this season IKSAN did not make the playoffs, but Fitzgerald still helped the team to a 7-7 record, with big performances in week 2 (19pts in a 128-142 loss to Forge Flyers), week 10 (27pts in a 96-47 win over Bear Necessities), and week 14 (21pts in a 162-103 win over ADRZ). But he still continued to be a steady contributor.
But after such a good season, naturally Fitzgerald's price would rise - and it would take a 2nd round pick, number 15 overall, to secure his services for IKSAN the next season. Though the price went up, the performance went down - drastically. Fitgerald would only post 103 points for IKSAN in the 2012 season, en route to a 6-8 record with the team and another year without playoffs. Like in real life, Corona bowl glory had eluded both of them up to this point. There were still bright spots in the 2012 season, with a 17 point performance in Week 3 in a 111-87 win over The Tuckfards, and a 15 point performance in Week 6 in a 95-125 loss to The Dream Team. But this was not a steady year for him, and in fact 2012 saw the first non-bye benching of Fitzgerald for IKSAN.
After a bad year, some teams and fans can sour on players they have loved. And no one could have blamed Coach Sherwood for doing so - Fitz was another year older, and he had a seemingly washed up QB in Carson Palmer as his QB. But despite this, Coach Sherwood remained loyal, and selected Fitzgerald once again in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft, number 16 overall. And for this he was rewarded with a 154 point resurgent season from his superstar player. This performance also helped lead IKSAN back to the playoffs with a career best 9-5 record. In Week 1 Fitz turned up with a 20 point game en route to a 114-89 victory over Gridiron Gang. And again in Week 6 with 16 points in a 85-67 victory over The Dream Team. And again in Week 12 with 18 points in a 99-123 loss to Burdettinators. But most importantly, he turned up in the crucial week 14 win to deliver a playoff berth, scoring 16 points and helping IKSAN beat Bear Necessities 146-76.
After another good season you know exactly what is going to happen next - IKSAN drafted Fitzgerald once again - this time back in the 3rd round, with the 28th overall pick. Unfortunately for Coach Sherwood, this was the worst season of his career in an IKSAN jersey. Larry only scored 88 points for IKSAN in 2014, despite the team going 8-6, but ultimately missing out on the playoffs. There were a couple of notable weeks, one coming in Week 6 where Fitzgerald notched 16 points in a 122-77 victory over Forge Flyers, and another in Week 8 where he scored 22 in a 131-102 victory over ADRZ. An injury in Week 13 would sadly sideline him for the rest of the season.
2015 would be the first year in 5 years (perhaps since the founding of the league) that Fitzgerald did not suit up in an IKSAN uniform. Seemingly fallen out of favour with Coach Sherwood, he was drafted by Coach Nunn in the 10th round, number 115 overall, the lowest position he had ever been drafted in the LOC. He went on to have a great season for Coach Nunn however, rebounding for 172 points. This renaissance season lead him back to IKSAN in 2016 for one last run at a title, as he was drafted with the 62nd pick of the draft, in the 6th round.
Despite being of an advanced age at this point (and his quarter back), Fitzgerald went on to have a decent season, worthy of his draft stock, scoring 137 points, but most importantly leading Coach Sherwood's team to an 8-6 record and the ever elusive Corona Bowl. He had a great performance in week 1 and week 5 (20). He only missed two games due to a coaching decision, but outside of these 2 games there was not a lot of production. But he did start in his first Corona Bowl, and chipped in 3 points to the winning effort over ADRZ, 118-99.
After winning the title with IKSAN in 2016, he moved onto greener pastures in 2017, playing for long time rival Coach Leach in a Forge Flyers jersey. Drafted in the 5th round with the 52nd pick of the draft, Larry was a key part of another title season, chipping in 152 points for the Corona Bowl IX winning Forge Flyers, notching 19 points in that game himself.
After so long, The Mighty Fitz (as he came to be known) finally got his title in an IKSAN jersey, and got one more to boot the very next year. As you can see, his career in the LOC with IKSAN is long and storied, and is arguably the most worthy of any players career with a team to be in the hall of fame. Larry Fitzgerald will play in 2018, and perhaps beyond - will the legend of Larry Fitzgerald, star IKSAN wide receiver, continue?
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