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+---- Thread: *The halfway point of my first career (/showthread.php?tid=31853)
*The halfway point of my first career - ajtigger - 05-06-2021
So with the regular season of S28 wrapping up with the San Jose Sabercats at 5-11, the fifth season of my time in this simulation football league has come to an end. So far I have spent 2 seasons in the DSFL and 3 in the ISFL. I figured given my TPE earning rate, I probably only have 4 or 5 more seasons left before my player is no longer valuable for an ISFL franchise due to regression. So I wanted to take some time and reflect on how those first five seasons have gone, what my teams and player has accomplished and how that matches what I had hoped to accomplish. So without much further ado let's get started.
Background
For those who don't haven't had a chance to get to know me I joined this league in the summer of 2020 as part of the very large season 25 r/NFL class. At this point in my life I had just left my job at a large public accounting firm where I had spent 5 years (if you ever have questions about getting into accounting feel free to give me a shout) to attend a PhD program also in the exciting subject of accounting. I choose to join this league because I love football and love the idea of trying something I viewed a little bit as an RPG. It also was because I was joining a program that only accepted 3 people a year and it was during a pandemic so meeting new people would be hard. I hoped this league would allow me to still feel connected to others and so it was a no brainer to sign up.
Player Performance
I want to start with a discussion on how my player has performed because it is the least important to me so best to get it out of the way. My first stop was with Myrtle Beach in the DSFL. Man what a great experience that was. My player had some absolutely dominate performances on a team that was always competitive. The highlights would easily be my three touchdown game in my first season, and just my overall second DSFL season where I finished as the only WR above 1000 yards. After 2 seasons I was ready for the big leagues and joining San Jose.
My ISFL career has not been quite as successful stats wise. My first year I only had 430 yards as I was functioning as the teams third wide receiver alongside two absolute beasts of targets. My second year was my most successful as I moved up to the second WR role and was able to have my first and only 1000 yard season. The third year I only ended with about 900 yards which was disappointing but multiple 100 yard games toward the end of the season has me hopeful for a second 1000 yard season next year.
Team Performance
Anyone who scouted me during the draft process knows that I said that the one thing that truly matters to me in the ISFL is team performance. For my first two seasons with Myrtle Beach, we had some real success. The first year we were completely rebuilding but our GM put us in a place to succeed so that we only missed the playoffs by a game. Year two, the buccaneers were a dominate force, easily winning 11 games and clinching homefield. Sadly the team played poorly in our playoff game and were bounced first round. I will always treasure those times in Myrtle Beach. It was fun to get to know the guys and I learned so much. So massive shout out to Uber, Mooty, Spec, Goat Tank, Thor, Teddy and others for really making my first experience with this league so fun.
Moving to the San Jose Sabercats was very exciting for me as the team was coming off two straight ISFL championships. This was everything I wanted for my player joining the league. Sadly, we have not been to the playoffs since I joined the team making me feel like a bit of a bad luck charm. The team has had two 8-8 seasons in my three years there however which is still quite competitive and on the doorstep of being the playoffs. This last season did hurt with the 5-11 record but 4 OT losses contributed to that (curse you Honolulu). Overall, I have been very happy with the San Jose team. We have had some young pieces leave but overall I trust the GMs and know that we are building that winning culture. While this may not have been our best season i am confident that we will be knocking at the door of the playoffs again next year.
What's Left for Zach Crossley
At the conclusion of the season one year would have tolled on my new contract with San Jose. I still have two years remaining with the Sabercats and hope they will allow me to play out the rest of my contract without a trade. After this contract I hope I am able to re-sign with the team for the rest of my career. I made it clear to all those who scouted me that I want to have a career with one team and being on San Jose has done nothing to change that. I have loved my time with the team and getting to know so many amazing players. I love rooting for these guys to succeed more than I do my own player I have found.
In terms of Crossley's position with the team, he will be WR2 for a couple more seasons I would imagine. Hood is just an amazing WR1 and overtaking him in TPE will not happen even with a season of regression. I am more than happy with being WR2 on this team and thus have no qualms about playing the role for my almost whole career. With the departure of Tugg Speedman, I may get some time to shine as a WR1 for a season unless we bring in a stud Free agent. Tugg was likely to Pass me on TPE and assume that WR1 role after Hood left but now that spot should fall to me. I look forward to continuing trying to produce for this team and hope I end up top 10 all time in every receiving category for the team. While I will never be a hall of famer, I hope that Zach Crossley's name can hold among the top 10 all-time San Jose Wide Receivers for a long time.
What's next for me as a user
Being at the midpoint of Crossley's career made me also think about if I am going to recreate at the end of the career. I'm honestly no sure at all. I would probably put the chances at 50/50 of a recreate. I have loved the league and all the people I have met but am not sure where I will be in my life at the time I would be recreating. My program is only going to be more demanding as I move forward with dissertation requirements and teaching requirements. While this league does not take up an extreme amount of time, it is something I feel bad about when I miss a point task or otherwise miss a chance to develop my player. While I know that GMs and everyone else in this league is very understanding I am the type of person who only likes to commit to things (and I view my contract with the team as a commitment) they can give a fair shake too. I really do hope I am in a spot to make that commitment again when Crossley's career has ended. I also have a great name picked out for a recreate Kicker that I feel just has to be used so that is some extra motivation.
I also hope to get some more media pieces done this summer. I have a little bit more time to relax so it should be a solid time for me to write a few pieces about the league. I plan on reviving the "who to copy" version of those who made the best predications and may look to expand in to a few other fields assuming I have the time and creative ability. If you have made it this far thank you, and feel free to make a request on a type of article you would like to see.