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+---- Thread: *Interview with Daniel O’Leary! (/showthread.php?tid=30155)
*Interview with Daniel O’Leary! - Gragg9 - 02-21-2021
Split pay 95% Mango, 5% Gragg. Word Count ~2515
Interview from the Minnesota locker room! Unqualified interviewer Gragg9 (Anton Brucker) interviews Daniel O’Leary (username: Mango8154)!
Gragg: Today I’ll be interviewing rookie defensive tackle Daniel O’Leary of the Minnesota Grey Ducks! O’Leary was taken 35th overall by the Grey Ducks and has been an integral part of the young and quickly improving Minnesota defense. Of the members of this elite DSFL defense, Daniel O’Leary is one of the most mysterious figures. That ends today as we riddle them with questions and seek to find their deepest darkest secrets! Without further ado, let’s give a warm welcome to Daniel O’Leary!
O’Leary: Thanks for having me!
Gragg: Let’s start with you telling me a bit about your background. When did you decide to pursue a career in the ISFL and why did you make that decision?
O’Leary: Well I didn’t start playing the sport until I got to uni, they roped me in as when I used to play rugby I enjoyed the tackling aspect but not the offensive aspect of the game, so when I learned I could be in a position to tackle men I joined up, it wasn’t until my second year until I became good and it was that year I was told scouts from the league were looking at me, that was the first point I actually thought about doing it as a career, my third year was better than my second, I got the call and haven’t looked back.
Gragg: Glad to hear the scouts are out there doing good work!
Did you have any role models in football that you try to emulate? In this league or others.
O’Leary: Not really, I want to create my football, not laboured by other names labels, and I want future players to emulate me, so really I’m my own role model
Gragg: Interesting answer! I’m eager to see how many young players will list you as an answer to this question over the next few seasons.
Did you have any other sports or activities you were involved in growing up?
O’Leary: Yeah, back when I was younger I used to play rugby for my school, I was alright at it as well but I was told I was “Too aggressive” and that I needed to calm down, which I will neither confirm nor deny that statement. Of course like any small British boy that liked sport I played football (soccer) alot.
Gragg: Did you ever think about joining other sports leagues to pursue a career in some of those other sports as well?
O’Leary: Eh not really, the ISFL and DSFL really fit my style and it is something I’m especially good at compared to other sports, so I have always been focused on this league and doing well in it
Gragg: What were your thoughts on draft night when you were picked up by the Minnesota Grey Ducks? Had you had any previous connection with the team?
O’Leary: I had brief talks with them before with their scouts, I also popped into their locker room to see the team atmosphere, I wasn’t talking to them massively but I wasn’t too surprised that I was at least known to them, so I was happy, I wanted to go higher of course but I’ll just have to show everyone on the field that I should’ve gone higher, and make them regret.
Gragg: Well I’m sure the Grey Ducks are happy with the value they got out of your draft pick.
O’Leary: Hopefully
Speaking of draft night, where do you hope to land in the ISFL draft? Where do you think you’ll land?
O’Leary: Well for one i’m not gonna say I want to be drafted by a specific team, because I aint that dumb to alianate all but one of the teams, In reality I wanna be the first DT off the board and i’ll be trying to make teams look at me like the premier DT, realistically I think I can be the second DT off the board and I wanna put my stamp on that spot, also I prefferably want to be taken in the top three rounds but we’ll see.
Gragg: Beating Prof. Godfrey Gravity for the first DT taken is a tall order, but the second DT is a very real, and I think likely, possibility.
O’Leary: glad you agree!
Why should an ISFL team draft you in that spot, and what can you bring to a future team?
O’Leary: Well for one I’ll bring intensity, in my game and the intensity on the training ground to improve, the team will also get a loyal player who’ll play for the shirt and bring 100% effort in every game and training session, I ain’t built to betray
Gragg: Do you have any special draft night plans?
O’Leary: Get blackout drunk at home with the bois, not gonna be a great morning after but sacrifices have to be made
Gragg: Moving on to talking about the current season. The Minnesota Grey Ducks started out 0-4. Where was your confidence level at that point? What sort of adjustment, if any, did you make to win the next 5 out of 6 games?
O’Leary: For the season, confidence hit rock bottom, I wasn’t worried too much overall for the future but I thought this season was a bust. I made slight adjustments, working with the rest of the D-line more to become a better unit together, and it’s been paying off, the entire team is on a high and I believe we can make it to the postseason and compete for the title.
Gragg: I can certainly vouch for the unity the defence has been playing with in the past few weeks. A real night and day improvement.
Anybody watching film will have noticed that your speed has improved significantly over the last few games. What sort of training regiment are you using to get those rapid gains?’
O’Leary: Lost a bit of weight, more leg exercises to build up explosive power, that and I got blasted by electricity so That probably helped (/s)
Gragg: Hmm. I may have to try that
What are your personal goals for this season?
O’Leary: Well at the moment to get just one sack! However I would like to increase my tackles per game and to improve my usefulness to the team, that would be good.
Gragg: A good goal! We’ll be sure to ping spam you in the locker room when you get your first sack (ya I’m breaking the 4th wall a little. Deal with it)
And what are the team goals for this season? Are you focused on just improving as much as possible or do you see a playoff or even Ultimini appearance in your future?
O’Leary: Well earlier In the season when we were a bit trash I was just focused on improving for the next season so we didn’t have such a bad season again, but now I believe we can make the playoffs and maybe if we play well make it to the Ultimini, we’ve turned it around that much.
Gragg: One last question regarding the Grey Ducks. Which player in the locker room smells the worst?
O’Leary: Well there is this one guy called Anton Bruckner, cool dude but reeks, don’t know why he won’t shower, might have to drop a few hints, really stinks out the room
Gragg: Maybe that’s why wide receivers keep trying to run away from me? It is weirdly consistent.
How about let’s talk a bit more about the league in general now. As we enter the final stretch of the playoff race, what teams do you think will make it to the Ultimus game and who are you rooting for at this point?
O’Leary: Of course I won’t choose any team yet, I don’t want to show favouritism that might affect my draft stock, the Wraiths have a cool design though.
Gragg: Oof. Draft stock tanked for every team but the Wraiths. Oh well.
O’Leary: You're the one that asked!! Hahaha
Gragg: Hey I don’t write the questions [Editor's note: I wrote the questions]
Are there any DSFL teams that you would consider a rival already after only a brief time in the league? Perhaps a particular divisional opponent r just a team you have a beef with?
O’Leary: Well originally I considered the Seawolves rivals as we were the worst team in the leagues, now I consider both the Pythons and the Buccaneers, the Pythons because they're the best team in the division, and the Buccaneers because Brandon Prince plays for them and I wanna see him lose.
Gragg: I’m sure Brandon Prince will be glad to hear that. Let’s pour one out for the Seawolves though (I feel like I keep having reason to say that this season. F)
There have been a number of really stellar media pieces and graphics so far this season. Do you have any favorites, whether it be written media or graphics?
O’Leary: Well for graphics I would have to say the sig made for me is a personal favourite but also the the sig made for my good teammate Tim Soulja, both made by the talented xQCFamous (shoutout to him and his great work), for media pieces I like any that mention me are of course some of the best out there, however the one that brought the smile on my face the most was the mid season review of the DSFL players by representing each player as a gen 1 pokemon (by shrub02) it was truly magnificent.
Gragg: Perhaps I’m biased, but it does seem like the Grey Ducks (shrub, xQC, Soulja, etc) are putting out some stellar media this season. Glad you agree.
O’Leary: funny you agree
Gragg: If you could change any rule in the ISFL, what would it be and why?
O’Leary: The rules are fine I think, I would like the O-line bois to be unable to pancake players however, It would help me out greatly!
Gragg: Careful, you’re gunna get those O-Line bois coming at you even harder now.
There’s been a lot of talk about expansion in the past couple months. Do you have any locations or team themes that you’re hoping get added?
O’Leary: Well whenever I’m asked questions like this for any sport, I always like to give an interesting answer that's very different to the other locations already in use, one location could be a team from the UK but a northern team, maybe something like manchester (for example a team could be the Manchester Miners). Other potential locations I feel should access new countries and continents, maybe like a Japan based team or a South African based team (for team names maybe the Osaka Oni’s and the Johannesburg Goldfinders)
Gragg: Actually better than most of the suggestions I’m seeing from other people, but let’s keep that between us. Do you have color schemes in mind for some of these suggestions?
O’Leary: For the Mancester idea, the main colour could be either red or sky blue (for the main football(soccer) teams in the area) and black for coal, The Osaka Oni’s would play in red blue and whit as those are the main colours of Oni, and the Johannesburg Goldfinders would play in Gold (duh) and green.
Gragg: What is your numero uno favorite part about being in the league?
O’Leary: At the moment training and playing with the boi’s, they’re a great group of guys and makes me want to come and play, which is a great thing to be a part of.
Gragg: Finally, let’s end off with some personal questions. First, and most importantly, what is your deepest darkest secret.
O’Leary: That I’m not an actual buff Wooper, I know shocking.
Gragg: Oh f….!
When you’re not playing or training for football, what do you do in your free time?
O’Leary: I have many likes, for one I like to play video games, sports games and others, games allow me to blow off steam if necessary. I also like to watch different sports, like rugby and football (soccer), the competitiveness fuels me and gives me life.
Gragg: Do you have any games in particular you’re currently enjoying?
O’Leary: Well I’m always playing football manager which combines my likes, games and football (soccer), so yeah that's the game I’m enjoying at the moment.
Gragg: Some say your social media profile picture is a disturbingly buff Wooper pokeman. What the heck is up with that?
O’Leary: Buff Wooper isn’t disturbing, it’s strong and tough which represents me well, it does truly represent me and acts like a spirit pokemon, its right to say I would give my life for buff Wooper, and anyone that would try to take it would feel my wrath.
Gragg: Think carefully before answering this one as it is a bit of a contentious topic. Do pineapples belong on pizza?
O’Leary: No, not even a question
Gragg: Now for something a little different. You own a catering business that makes specialty cakes. Your company has decided to create three types of cakes. To create these cakes, it takes a team that consists of a decorator, a baker, and a design consultant. Cake A takes the decorator 9 hours, the baker 6 hours, and the design consultant 1 hour to complete. Cake B takes the decorator 10 hours, the baker 4 hours, and the design consultant 2 hours. Cake C takes the decorator 12 hours, the baker 4 hour, and the design consultant 1 hour. Without hiring additional employees, there are 398 decorator hours available, 164 baker hours available, and 58 design consultant hours available. How many of each type of cake can be created?
O’Leary: Listen I liked maths in school, it was actually a subject I did pretty well in, however screw that question and screw the way it makes my brain hurt and i’m not gonna even try to answer it, i’m not in school anymore.
Gragg: One last question from me for now. What are the three digits on the back of your league issued credit card and what is your mothers maiden name?
O’Leary: The 3 digits are 111 and my mothers name is F you, nice try mr interviewer, you're not getting me today.
Gragg: I don’t know what you’re talking about, that seems like a perfectly normal interview question. Disappointed we’ll never know the answer
Anyway, that concludes our interview with Daniel O’Leary AKA Mango! It’s been great getting to know a fellow member of the Grey Ducks defense. The improvement of this squad over the past few weeks has been a huge part of the miraculous 0-4 to 5-5 (+playoff position) turnaround the Minnesota Grey Ducks have experienced this season. Y’all scouts out there really ought to take a close look at this prospect. They’ve been putting in the work and would be a great addition to any locker room. (but if ducks fly together that’d be even better). Toodaloo, and see y’all next time!