+- International Simulation Football League (https://forums.sim-football.com)
+-- Forum: Community (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Media (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=37)
+---- Forum: Graded Articles (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: *Vander Jones Interviews Himself (/showthread.php?tid=22413)
*Vander Jones Interviews Himself - Rise of Smitty - 05-24-2020
It has been a long time since I, Vander Jones, has been in the NSFL. Sure I have attempted a comeback on a couple different occasions but those flamed out quickly. My desire to truly come back to the league was there for a second and then quickly drifted away like a fart in the wind. Admittedly I have had trouble staying motivated in sim leagues and I really don't know how I have kept Smitty Springfield going in the Pro Baseball Experience Sim League. Over there I am a little over 1,200 TPE which is well below what I am capable of but by all accounts is a good player just under the elite tier. I used to be a legend, I used to be a joke, I used to be an asshole, I used to be beloved, and most of all I used to be someone that thoroughly enjoyed these leagues. Well today I am trying to get back to loving leagues again and giving that classic Smitty (or Vander Jones as most of you may know me) effort that typically results in an "S-Tier" player that people are clamoring to get. Now that I have said all that useless stuff above I will be giving myself interview questions to try and give as candid of answers as I can on an array of topics. They will range from my days in the NSFL when I was at my peak with Vander Jones to current day topics. For whoever reads this, thank you, for whoever doesn't ready this, thank you. Let's go!
Q: When you first joined the NSFL it wasn't as Vander Jones. Why did you give up so quickly on it before attempting again as Vander Jones?
VJ: Well when I first joined the NSFL I was right in the middle of being a top dog in the Elite Football League and I was still involved in the SHL. I was just in a league joining phase at the time like many people who do these leagues are but I quickly realized I was not ready for another league. Heck, I don't even remember what name I joined under, all I remember was I joined as a received with the vision of being exclusively a slot receiver. I fizzled out quickly as the EFL grew more important to me as I was the GM of the Seattle Predators and I was still participating a little bit in the SHL. Over in the EFL I had my team at the top of the league and simply put we were head and shoulders above the competition. My draft was immaculate and the guys on my team gave it their all, not for me, but for each other. Our locker room was amazing and the success on the field was even better. We ultimately won the EFL inaugural championship and honestly we did it with classic grinding out TPE and being better than the rest. I didn't have the energy or the smarts in me to constantly research the sim engine we used like TimeConsumer or Shaka did and eventually they discovered all the cheap exploits that I just didn't have energy to keep up with. I faded away from the EFL after that first season and ultimately faded away from all leagues. I was not in any leagues for awhile until I discovered the Pro Baseball Experience Sim League and joined that and found that urge again. It was then that I joined here again as Vander Jones and gave it a second chance.
Q: When you came back to the NSFL you didn't put forth full effort and were not a max earner. Can you tell us a bit why that was?
VJ: Well I joined as a corner back and I wasn't ready to fully invest in the league as I wanted to make the PBE my main priority before I determined if I was ready to actually make a comeback or not. So I started out with the easy stuff, activity checks, trivia, prime time, etc. I was cautious to go full board and quickly burn myself out so I paced myself. That is also part of the reason I originally joined as a corner back because corner back is such a random position in this sim engine that I knew I could succeed without needing to be a max TPE earner. That plan was going well as I was having big success in the DSFL, even tying the single season interception record at the time, and I was doing it with half effort. Once I kind of figured that I could handle the PBE and didn't get burned out I decided to put more effort into the NSFL and Vander Jones and I started to want more than just being a nobody corner back. So as time went, my effort grew, and so did my wants and desires for Vander. I didn't want to put in more effort with fewer results so I also became a bit more vocal in the locker room, which at the time was Orange County, as they drafted me. My time in Orange County was a mixed bag but it didn't deter me from continuing to put forth max effort for the time I was at my peak with Vander.
Q: So, as you said, you're early days were spent in Orange County. You never made it to the team, as you were in their DSFL system, before you left the franchise in free agency. Can you tell us a bit about your time in Orange County and why it didn't work out?
VJ: You know Orange County was an odd time for me. They were an extremely active team, extremely talented, and extremely dedicated to each other. However that team had been together with most of the same guys for so long that I always felt like an outsider that tried to fit in but was ignored. I remember frequently I would try to join in conversations and would not get acknowledged at all. A lot of times I would even try and start a new conversation when things were dead and then someone like LGM or tlk would jump in and totally change topics and not acknowledge me and then the rest of the team would pick up on that. I guess I would say that being a rookie for that organization that was at it's prime in the NSFL and only focused on that was not easy. So I bit my tongue for three seasons there as a DSFL rookie, dominating the DSFL ranks, and not getting any notice from the Orange County squad. I had plenty of talks privately with speculadora who was the GM of Orange County at the time and there was plenty of visions of the future on how I would be part of the team. Those talks were with promise of being a starting corner or safety on the team as I passed my time being DSFL eligible and was getting ready for the big time. So when I became a free agent during my first season of being ready for the NSFL I spoke with speculadora and was ready to sign back. However, all those talks of grandeur leading up to that point were thrown out the window, as speculadora essentially told me he wasn't going to sign me yet because he wanted to drafted another rookie that didn't want to stay in the DSFL as well as he had an inactive with more TPE that he wanted to keep. That rubbed me the wrong way as I dedicated my time for three seasons to getting better for this organization and showed my loyalty to speculadora during that time. So when he told me he wanted to wait and see if he could draft some rookie before deciding to bring me back that basically closed the door for my on wanting to return. The funny thing is on the day I was about to sign a contract with my next team, speculadora messaged me saying he wanted me back and had the cap for me and acted like our other conversations never happened. I stayed cordial and told him I was signing with a new team and had a great opportunity there and thanked him but on the inside I was laughing at this guy and the fake loyalty a GM like him showed.
Q: That sounds like a tough time to go through for a rookie that was ready to show loyalty but it wasn't shown back until something else didn't work out as planned. Moving on; the team you did sign with were the Philadelphia Liberty and not only that, you moved to running back. Can you tell us that process and how your time in Philadelphia went?
VJ: Yeah, so, it was a crazy turn of events there. I was heavily contemplating signing with NOLA or Philadelphia to be a corner back at the time. If I decided on NOLA, they were horrible at the time, but I could of become a building block and a staple of a rebuilding secondary but if I went to Philadelphia I could be playing with an old buddy in BW and fill in opposite of his player at the time at corner back. As I was discussing with teams and weighing my options I had noticed that Philadelphia's running back situation was in shambles. I knew that if I wanted to have a better chance of being here long term that a position like running back would make it more enjoyable for me. So before deciding where to sign I proposed the idea of me playing running back for Philadelphia to BW and not only was he on board with it he was stoked about it. That made for an easy decision for me and I signed on the dotted line with Philadelphia. Once I got there the stark contrast between the Philadelphia locker room and the Orange County locker room was evident. The Philadelphia locker room was extremely stale, there was hardly any chatter, and frankly it was a very boring environment. It was tough to play for because having an active locker room is just as important to winning to most members in these leagues, including me. However I was getting to play running back, I was playing with an old friend as my GM, and I wanted to stick it to speculadora by winning a championship before him. I had a lot of success at running back, despite splitting time early on, and I quickly became a top 3 fantasy running back for fantasy players which admittedly was a lot of fun. I alternated between being a dominate running back on ground and dominate through the air. Playing a versatile running back position was great and if I could do it again I would. Unfortunately we never won a championship, despite reaching it twice, but Orange County never won either so I guess that personal battle ended in a draw. In fact Orange County never won again until I retired from the league so to me that was a curse being lifted and they were finally allowed to win once I officially left. Overall my time in Philadelphia was fun. I had a lot of success on the field and even became co-GM for a couple seasons with them before my mental state away from the field became altered and I just didn't have mental capacity to deal with being a GM in either the NSFL or the PBE where I was a co-GM at the time as well.
Q: You mentioned your mental state changed and you stepped down from all roles in your leagues. How have things changed since then and what makes you think you will be successful this time around with your new wide receiver?
VJ: Since then my mental state has gotten better. Although with all this COVID-19 crap going on it did take a hit again a little bit, like it did for millions, but I have adjusted since then and am feeling better and able to give it another go. I think the itch is back and it's real this time. I started in this league as a wide receiver and failed miserably. I want to try and succeed this time around as a receiver and become a virtual lock at the top of the statistic leader boards every season when I reach my peak. A big help this time around is that I will be going it with my good friend Mike Boss aka J Blaze. Whenever we are in a league together and are keeping each other accountable we usually have major success. We win championships together and it was most recently proven in the EFL when he was my quarterback for the Predators. We have been dominating together for a lot of years and have had our share of dominance in the leagues that are still standing today in the SBA, EFL, and PBE. Now we are giving it an official go at the NSFL as he attempts his comeback to being one of the all-time great quarterbacks as he once was with Mike Boss for Orange County back in the early days of the NSFL. The goal is we come up together and hit our prime together for the same team and that will lead to eventual championships. When you have a friend with a common goal it makes for an easier, more fun, time and I think this will help the both of us stick with it and show that the cream always rises to the top.
Q: So you are coming back as a receiver, can you tell us your plan for your receiver?
VJ: I would love to reprise my attempted role at being a slot receiver specialist but my goals are much bigger than that this time around. I have created as a 6'3'' 225 pound speed receiver which is simply the best archetype for statistical success. I plan to use my DSFL time to boost my speed up and hopefully max it out for when I reach the NSFL. That alone should let me enjoy some success as a rookie while I work on rounding out my other attributes in my early career. Speed kills everything else is cheap thrills. Usually I try to not go with a "meta" as they say but you literally can not beat them, I am looking at you PBE, so this time I am joining them. I want all the individual success; Pro Bowls, 1st Team All-Pro, wide receiver triple crowns, and multiple wide receiver of the year awards. The reason I am focusing more on that than just saying "winning" is because you simply don't get those stats unless you are on a winning team. They go hand in hand so if I shoot for one then the other will follow. I don't want to shoot for "winning" because I don't want to be a simple part of winning I want to be a major reason for the winning. Tre'Darius J'Vathon is going to be a dominate force in this league and ideally it will be with Mike Boss Jr. throwing him the rock. I don't consider these goals, I consider these inevitable milestones so to whoever doesn't draft (or sign) Boss Jr and I better watch out. The gauntlet has officially been thrown down.
Q: Well before you can do all that with Tre'Darius J'Vathon you have to go through the DSFL first and you were claimed by the London Royals for their playoff run. Are you excited to play for the Royals? Do you hope they draft you in the DSFL draft during the off season?
VJ: Honestly I was not expecting to get picked up by a team because it was playoff time. So when I got a message from the Royals coaching staff I was very surprised. I don't know what my role is going to be for them as I literally have only the starting TPE but hey if I can help in any way by picking up a critical first down or some yardage to make for a closer field goal then I will do that. It will be cool to get a shot at a championship right away without having to do anything but again I want to be a critical reason for success and not just a small piece of the puzzle. I have been in the locker room for the Royals for a couple days now and they seem like cool people, although I am only in the public portion and not the team locker room. That is fine as technically I am a rental player for them for a game or two and I will potentially be going somewhere else when the DSFL draft happens. However in my elder years of being a sim league player I have become more loyal to the teams that draft me so if the Royals do draft me I will be very happy. I don't really like to move around much anymore unless the team simply isn't trying to get better or are full of jack wagons and I don't want to be around them. Since I can't truly tell what the Royals are like, as I do not have access to the team only locker room, I can't really say that I hope they draft me. I will be happy wherever I go because the DSFL is just the stepping stone to the glory but it is a critical stepping stone as this is the time I prove to the league and myself that I am back and back for the long haul.
Q: We are nearing the end of this interview and I have just one last question for you; is there a particular NSFL team that you would like to be drafted by in two seasons?
VJ: It is really too soon to determine what team I would want to draft me. I can't really use my old experiences as a gauge because things have changed so much. I see so many new members in a lot of team's management as well as brand new teams that I have to re-learn the landscape. I guess it would be cool to be drafted by Honolulu or Sarasota as they are the newest teams and have pretty cool branding. I do worry they may be a ways off from competing however I am a ways off from contributing how I want to so maybe if I get on one of those teams then our trajectory to competing and being ready to contribute will collide at the same time and it could make for a beautiful marriage. I will say I don't really want to go to Orange County or Philadelphia as I have plenty of experience, good or bad, with both of them and I would prefer something new and fresh. Ultimately where I end up I hope I can make that my permanent home and also have my good friend Mike Boss throwing me passes throughout my career.
Code:
3,212 words