[div align=\\\"center\\\"] A Season Review - Tyron Shields [/div]
Well, there you have it. The end of my DSFL career. It went by like a flash. It didn’t end the way that we wanted it to. Far from it, as we were eliminated from playoff contention in the conference championship as the number one seed in the north. As much effort, and earning, and heart and soul as we put into this league so far this season, the sim didn’t want us to be in the Ultimini. This may be my first active season in the league, but even I know that the sim is a fickle bitch sometimes.
Let’s go back to last season’s NSFL draft. I was watching the NSFL draft as a near inactive, hoping I didn’t get picked (I didn’t know how the draft worked back then) so that I wouldn’t feel bad for quitting the league. Unfortunately for me, I was obviously taken, albeit in the 11th round. I decided that if an NSFL team was going to take me, I was going to make their pick count. From that day on, I’ve been a max earner. Bet you didn’t expect to get that in the 11th round, did you, Chicago? Anyway, that night I remember going to the Minnesota locker room. I saw Buck Thornton, current Defensive Back of the Year, max earner, Buck Thornton say something like, “hey guys, I’ll be back in Minnesota next season, go Grey Ducks!”. Seeing this, and making the connection that I had also been drafted, and would be returning, I decided to make my own post in the Discord server. As a fresh person in the league, not knowing how many TPE is a good amount, I exclaimed at 71 TPE, “hey guys, I’ll also be returning to the Minnesota Grey Ducks this season!”. Silence. I’m sure they had heard it before, and I didn’t blame them. I got a couple of emotes on my message, but that was it. Oh well, I knew I’d prove myself eventually.
That offseason, I earned very well. I’m not sure if I was technically a max-earner, but I know that I was added to the Minnesota Grey Ducks TPE Opportunities channel, as well as the Chicago Butchers one. So I knew what I needed to do, and I did everything that I had time for. When the next season, this season, started, I was the starting nickel corner for the Minnesota Grey Ducks. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the team, Ray-Ray Jackson (Jason) had been drafted by the Minnesota Grey Ducks. I wound up being the starting nickel corner for the team for the first few weeks. After Matt Krause (Reaper) continued to do his thing, and Ray-Ray Jackson continued his sim league legacy, I was left neck and neck with Jason (Ray-Ray Jackson). We didn’t see good results running a lot of nickel formations, even though most of the NSFL and DSFL see a lot of success with that formation. We moved to a different formation. Because of our high earning corners, I was left out of the starting line up. My dedication never faltered. I was active in the Minnesota Grey Ducks locker room, so I didn’t want to let my guys down in case something happened. I also knew that I was actually earning for my people on the Chicago Butchers.
I’ll be honest, I wanted my starting spot back. Ray-Ray Jackson and I were neck and neck in TPE all season, because he’s a pro, and I was just trying my best. I just trusted the process. I didn’t want to make a fuss about it, because I don’t want to be a selfish player and whine about playing time. I just kept trying to work hard and out do him. It was more of a friendly competition, and I know that it benefited our team. Also side note, if any general managers are reading this, Ray-Ray Jackson should be in the top three on your draft board or you are doing something wrong. Just a heads up for you. I didn’t reel my starting spot back in until week one of the playoffs. Actually, that day was today. I have been told that our team tested better with me starting at the second cornerback spot than Jason, but I can’t help but feel that we shook things up at the wrong time. I know that the testing results showed that I gave us a better chance to win, but it just feels weird since I was the only thing that changed, and then we ended up losing against the London Royals. We had Ultimini hopes and dreams. I wanted to win it very badly, I really did, but there were other guys in the Minnesota Grey Ducks locker room that wanted it even more than I did, and I feel so bad for them. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t able to help us bring the title back to Minnesota again. I tried my best, and I think that most of the guys in the Minnesota locker room can say the same thing. We gave it our all. Almost all of the actives were max earners, and we closed the gap with the other teams as well as we could. That’s all that we can do. We tried our best.
Now we have to look to the future. I wish we didn’t have to. A lot of us Grey Ducks wish we didn’t have to look to the future. A lot of the guys in Minnesota wish we could stay there one more season. We had a special group of guys. I had a lot of fun with everyone there. I wish I didn’t have to go as well. But my people in Chicago need me. Getting called up is a bittersweet feeling. I can’t wait to help my people in the NSFL, but I don’t want to leave all of the friends that I’ve made with the Minnesota Grey Ducks. I truly hope that I’m able to keep in touch with most of these guys for a long time. Dewalt keeps telling all of us that we don’t have to leave the locker room, and we can stay as long as we want. But it’s not being forced out of the locker room that we’re afraid of. I think that we’re afraid of leaving our friends. We’re afraid that we aren’t going to be able to talk to each other as much as the Minnesota Grey Ducks have given us the opportunity to. I play a popular MMO where it’s pretty much become a meme that you will make friends with people, and then never talk to them again. I hope that that same thing doesn’t happen to me here, when I get called up to the NSFL.
Some people may think that I sound pathetic in this piece, but I just don’t want to lose touch with the friends I’ve made so far. If there’s anything that I could say to my Minnesota Grey Duck family, it’s that I appreciate them. They took a chance on me, a complete unknown. They introduced me to the league. They helped me get over the obstacles and oddities that rookies tend to face. They helped to keep me just invested enough to avoid completely abandoning the league. They helped to reel me back to the league. Then, they turned me into a max earner. They made me a veteran. This may be my first sim league that I’ve ever been a part of, and the Minnesota Grey Ducks may be the first simulation football league team that I’ve ever been a part of, but I’d like to thank them, from the bottom of my heart, for introducing me to this world. I know that this was the best place that I could’ve ended up. I have no doubt about that.
I figured I’d get one more media piece written before the end of the 1.5x media week this season, so here it is. It’s a bittersweet one, and even a kind of sad one at times. I wish it wasn’t on such a somber note that me and my other Minnesota Grey Ducks have to say goodbye to one another. We will meet again in the NSFL. Whether it ends up being in the same jerseys or not, only fate and our general managers will decide. We may have one last party in the works for everyone else, though, so make sure that you’re on the lookout for that. I do know one thing that is for sure, I will be advocating that all of Dewalt and Boomer’s boys get drafted by the Chicago Butchers. Those two guys make some good babies together. GO DUCKS!
Also yes, the MMO is RuneScape. And yes, I’m very cool and have a skillcape. Only one though, I have a life - it’s a ranged cape. Message me on here and I’ll add you next time I'm online, I promise <3
1504 words
Well, there you have it. The end of my DSFL career. It went by like a flash. It didn’t end the way that we wanted it to. Far from it, as we were eliminated from playoff contention in the conference championship as the number one seed in the north. As much effort, and earning, and heart and soul as we put into this league so far this season, the sim didn’t want us to be in the Ultimini. This may be my first active season in the league, but even I know that the sim is a fickle bitch sometimes.
Let’s go back to last season’s NSFL draft. I was watching the NSFL draft as a near inactive, hoping I didn’t get picked (I didn’t know how the draft worked back then) so that I wouldn’t feel bad for quitting the league. Unfortunately for me, I was obviously taken, albeit in the 11th round. I decided that if an NSFL team was going to take me, I was going to make their pick count. From that day on, I’ve been a max earner. Bet you didn’t expect to get that in the 11th round, did you, Chicago? Anyway, that night I remember going to the Minnesota locker room. I saw Buck Thornton, current Defensive Back of the Year, max earner, Buck Thornton say something like, “hey guys, I’ll be back in Minnesota next season, go Grey Ducks!”. Seeing this, and making the connection that I had also been drafted, and would be returning, I decided to make my own post in the Discord server. As a fresh person in the league, not knowing how many TPE is a good amount, I exclaimed at 71 TPE, “hey guys, I’ll also be returning to the Minnesota Grey Ducks this season!”. Silence. I’m sure they had heard it before, and I didn’t blame them. I got a couple of emotes on my message, but that was it. Oh well, I knew I’d prove myself eventually.
That offseason, I earned very well. I’m not sure if I was technically a max-earner, but I know that I was added to the Minnesota Grey Ducks TPE Opportunities channel, as well as the Chicago Butchers one. So I knew what I needed to do, and I did everything that I had time for. When the next season, this season, started, I was the starting nickel corner for the Minnesota Grey Ducks. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the team, Ray-Ray Jackson (Jason) had been drafted by the Minnesota Grey Ducks. I wound up being the starting nickel corner for the team for the first few weeks. After Matt Krause (Reaper) continued to do his thing, and Ray-Ray Jackson continued his sim league legacy, I was left neck and neck with Jason (Ray-Ray Jackson). We didn’t see good results running a lot of nickel formations, even though most of the NSFL and DSFL see a lot of success with that formation. We moved to a different formation. Because of our high earning corners, I was left out of the starting line up. My dedication never faltered. I was active in the Minnesota Grey Ducks locker room, so I didn’t want to let my guys down in case something happened. I also knew that I was actually earning for my people on the Chicago Butchers.
I’ll be honest, I wanted my starting spot back. Ray-Ray Jackson and I were neck and neck in TPE all season, because he’s a pro, and I was just trying my best. I just trusted the process. I didn’t want to make a fuss about it, because I don’t want to be a selfish player and whine about playing time. I just kept trying to work hard and out do him. It was more of a friendly competition, and I know that it benefited our team. Also side note, if any general managers are reading this, Ray-Ray Jackson should be in the top three on your draft board or you are doing something wrong. Just a heads up for you. I didn’t reel my starting spot back in until week one of the playoffs. Actually, that day was today. I have been told that our team tested better with me starting at the second cornerback spot than Jason, but I can’t help but feel that we shook things up at the wrong time. I know that the testing results showed that I gave us a better chance to win, but it just feels weird since I was the only thing that changed, and then we ended up losing against the London Royals. We had Ultimini hopes and dreams. I wanted to win it very badly, I really did, but there were other guys in the Minnesota Grey Ducks locker room that wanted it even more than I did, and I feel so bad for them. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t able to help us bring the title back to Minnesota again. I tried my best, and I think that most of the guys in the Minnesota locker room can say the same thing. We gave it our all. Almost all of the actives were max earners, and we closed the gap with the other teams as well as we could. That’s all that we can do. We tried our best.
Now we have to look to the future. I wish we didn’t have to. A lot of us Grey Ducks wish we didn’t have to look to the future. A lot of the guys in Minnesota wish we could stay there one more season. We had a special group of guys. I had a lot of fun with everyone there. I wish I didn’t have to go as well. But my people in Chicago need me. Getting called up is a bittersweet feeling. I can’t wait to help my people in the NSFL, but I don’t want to leave all of the friends that I’ve made with the Minnesota Grey Ducks. I truly hope that I’m able to keep in touch with most of these guys for a long time. Dewalt keeps telling all of us that we don’t have to leave the locker room, and we can stay as long as we want. But it’s not being forced out of the locker room that we’re afraid of. I think that we’re afraid of leaving our friends. We’re afraid that we aren’t going to be able to talk to each other as much as the Minnesota Grey Ducks have given us the opportunity to. I play a popular MMO where it’s pretty much become a meme that you will make friends with people, and then never talk to them again. I hope that that same thing doesn’t happen to me here, when I get called up to the NSFL.
Some people may think that I sound pathetic in this piece, but I just don’t want to lose touch with the friends I’ve made so far. If there’s anything that I could say to my Minnesota Grey Duck family, it’s that I appreciate them. They took a chance on me, a complete unknown. They introduced me to the league. They helped me get over the obstacles and oddities that rookies tend to face. They helped to keep me just invested enough to avoid completely abandoning the league. They helped to reel me back to the league. Then, they turned me into a max earner. They made me a veteran. This may be my first sim league that I’ve ever been a part of, and the Minnesota Grey Ducks may be the first simulation football league team that I’ve ever been a part of, but I’d like to thank them, from the bottom of my heart, for introducing me to this world. I know that this was the best place that I could’ve ended up. I have no doubt about that.
I figured I’d get one more media piece written before the end of the 1.5x media week this season, so here it is. It’s a bittersweet one, and even a kind of sad one at times. I wish it wasn’t on such a somber note that me and my other Minnesota Grey Ducks have to say goodbye to one another. We will meet again in the NSFL. Whether it ends up being in the same jerseys or not, only fate and our general managers will decide. We may have one last party in the works for everyone else, though, so make sure that you’re on the lookout for that. I do know one thing that is for sure, I will be advocating that all of Dewalt and Boomer’s boys get drafted by the Chicago Butchers. Those two guys make some good babies together. GO DUCKS!
Also yes, the MMO is RuneScape. And yes, I’m very cool and have a skillcape. Only one though, I have a life - it’s a ranged cape. Message me on here and I’ll add you next time I'm online, I promise <3
1504 words