04-15-2023, 10:25 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-21-2023, 02:11 AM by xenosthelegend. Edited 1 time in total.)
Today I'll be talking about the league, not a deep dive into the inner workings or anything of that nature, simply my thoughts as I’ve spent time here and got to know a lot of people. Yes it’s a media piece all about love and there's no better way to express love than to start off with some backstory to give the entire thing context and I'm a man that loves being overly verbose so as to make the est. media payout go up, kinda like what I'm doing now but I digress. Media team you can feel free to dock me 50 words because of this.
When I saw a random Reddit post in r/Ravens I was curious, sim football? Is this like fantasy football? I pondered to myself among other things. But I was bored and I figured it was worth a look. I hopped into discord and found pure chaos, but my kind of pure chaos. I didn’t talk…at all. I like to scope out the environment first and get a feel for things. I spent the better part of 3 hours reading over the forums before I even touched the player creator. I was determined to learn everything I could before hopping in. I waffled back and forth between Tight End and Kicker but eventually settled in on Kicker. I figured it would be nice and easy, only 2 real stats to worry about so I could focus on everything else and learn as much as possible.
With my player under my belt I still mainly kept quiet, then the scouting started, that was….interesting to say the least. But I think out of all the scouts I talked to it was @lordcoolcats that was my most enjoyable experience. It didn’t feel like a scouting conversation so much as it was just shooting the breeze and we had known each other forever. When it comes to my initial interest in the league I really attribute the bulk of it to LCC. Draft day came and wouldn’t you know it, Norfolk picks me in the second round and honestly I couldn’t have been drafted to a better place. Yes I’m probably biased at this point considering I’m now General Manager of Norfolk but it was my experience there that lead to me wanting to even do the job. I didn’t even know you got paid to do it before accepting. It was there that I got to meet @Beck who would also become the next person on my list to speak of but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
My time in Norfolk has been great, there’s been a lot of great names in those hallowed halls and I can only hope to be half a good as many of them. But during my short time I’ve met a lot of great people.
@jollyjiggs @WildfireMicro @McGriddy10 @Ephenssta @TheRake are just a few of the people I’ve come to get to know and really enjoy hanging out with. There’s a lot more I’m not listing but honestly I’m being lazy and not looking up their forum names. If you're in the Norfolk Locker Room, you're the GOAT.
It only took me about two weeks before I found myself wanting to learn more about how the league works and LCC asks if I’d like to join the War Room to see if a behind the scenes role would be something I’d be interested in. I jumped at the opportunity, there was no way I was going to pass it up. I was already hooked on the league and a chance at possibly getting a league job or even learning how to be a General Manager was exactly what I was looking for. Again, I didn’t do a whole lot starting off, I continued to watch and learn. Seeing what Eph and LCC did and committing it to memory. Finally the season ends, we come up short in the Mini but spirits were still high. Once again scouting starts but this time I know what to expect. I had a lot of great scouting conversations this time around. @IceBear32 was the most memorable, but @RussDrivesTheBus was also a great scout. That one was also more conversation than interview and felt very natural. At the time I didn’t realize that Beck was a part of Orange County, I was still figuring out my way around the league and had not looked at the ISFL level at all so I didn’t really have a preference on where I went. I hear my name called and see I’ve been selected by the Orange County Otters. “Oh, that’s cool, I don’t know much about them, I wonder if I know anyone in there.” I said to myself. Then I received my invite and I look and see Beck right there. Of course I know what my job is, I hit him instantly with the Heck Beck and I’ve felt right at home ever since. Both Beck and @slate have been the other people that I’ve come to greatly enjoy talking with. It was a no brainer to join Orange Counties war room and from there I’ve continued to learn, this time about trades, roster management and a myriad other things. Both Beck and Slate have been great General Managers and this will be my first season playing on the team. I’m really looking forward to seeing what we’ll accomplish but I already have the same feeling with Orange County that I do with Norfolk, I was drafted to the exact place I needed to be drafted to. It already feels like home and I count myself lucky to be a part of that Locker Room.
During this time I was also asked if I’d potentially like to become General Manager of Norfolk but it was all very hush hush, I of course jumped at the opportunity. I would have no clue what I’m doing but I want to do it. I learn by doing, you can throw a million pages of tutorial but it won’t stick, just throw me in, tell me to do it and I’ll figure it out. Obviously I’ll ask questions when needed but it’s how I thrive. The season flew past and I thought I’d be GMing next to LCC and then shock and surprise, they’re both stepping down! Well now what in the world is happening? Turns out me and some random person named @Gumbaman are going to be the new General Managers for Norfolk. What? Who is this guy? Isn’t he just some random waiver we picked up?
Well :gumbabad: turns out this guy is actually really cool and has a deep history with sim leagues. So really I’m the only FNG GMing at Norfolk. I will attribute Gumba as the last person who has influenced my time here in the league. It’s been awesome being able to co-GM with him and I feel like Norfolk has a bright future. This is not to have hubris, I am well aware of my lack of knowledge and the need to continue learning. I do want to GM an ISFL team at some point. So I need to prove my chops down here at the DSFL level, learn as much as possible and continue making friends.
The DSFL discord channel has been a blast, especially with all the S41 folks, I think just shooting the breeze with all those people has been some of the most fun I’ve had so far, especially during the draft. There are far too many people to shout out and because I don’t want to make anyone feel left out I’ll just shout out the entire S41 class. Though there’s one person who thinks all I do is post one GIF. You know who you are and all I have to say is you’re absolutely right. That GIF is GOATED and I’ll not hear any slander about it.
Lastly to wrap all of this up, all I want to say is that I’ve had nothing but positive experiences since I’ve been here. Every single person I’ve talked or interacted with has been great. I’m glad I was very bored on a random day and found this league. It’s been a blast and I hope to get to know a lot of you better, play next to you or play against you. Regardless of what happens, what matters is two very specific things. What happens on the field and the bonds we form behind the scenes to make this whole thing work.
I’ll end this sappy piece with one final thing.
Fire LCC and Gumba bad.
Ok maybe two.
When I saw a random Reddit post in r/Ravens I was curious, sim football? Is this like fantasy football? I pondered to myself among other things. But I was bored and I figured it was worth a look. I hopped into discord and found pure chaos, but my kind of pure chaos. I didn’t talk…at all. I like to scope out the environment first and get a feel for things. I spent the better part of 3 hours reading over the forums before I even touched the player creator. I was determined to learn everything I could before hopping in. I waffled back and forth between Tight End and Kicker but eventually settled in on Kicker. I figured it would be nice and easy, only 2 real stats to worry about so I could focus on everything else and learn as much as possible.
With my player under my belt I still mainly kept quiet, then the scouting started, that was….interesting to say the least. But I think out of all the scouts I talked to it was @lordcoolcats that was my most enjoyable experience. It didn’t feel like a scouting conversation so much as it was just shooting the breeze and we had known each other forever. When it comes to my initial interest in the league I really attribute the bulk of it to LCC. Draft day came and wouldn’t you know it, Norfolk picks me in the second round and honestly I couldn’t have been drafted to a better place. Yes I’m probably biased at this point considering I’m now General Manager of Norfolk but it was my experience there that lead to me wanting to even do the job. I didn’t even know you got paid to do it before accepting. It was there that I got to meet @Beck who would also become the next person on my list to speak of but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
My time in Norfolk has been great, there’s been a lot of great names in those hallowed halls and I can only hope to be half a good as many of them. But during my short time I’ve met a lot of great people.
@jollyjiggs @WildfireMicro @McGriddy10 @Ephenssta @TheRake are just a few of the people I’ve come to get to know and really enjoy hanging out with. There’s a lot more I’m not listing but honestly I’m being lazy and not looking up their forum names. If you're in the Norfolk Locker Room, you're the GOAT.
It only took me about two weeks before I found myself wanting to learn more about how the league works and LCC asks if I’d like to join the War Room to see if a behind the scenes role would be something I’d be interested in. I jumped at the opportunity, there was no way I was going to pass it up. I was already hooked on the league and a chance at possibly getting a league job or even learning how to be a General Manager was exactly what I was looking for. Again, I didn’t do a whole lot starting off, I continued to watch and learn. Seeing what Eph and LCC did and committing it to memory. Finally the season ends, we come up short in the Mini but spirits were still high. Once again scouting starts but this time I know what to expect. I had a lot of great scouting conversations this time around. @IceBear32 was the most memorable, but @RussDrivesTheBus was also a great scout. That one was also more conversation than interview and felt very natural. At the time I didn’t realize that Beck was a part of Orange County, I was still figuring out my way around the league and had not looked at the ISFL level at all so I didn’t really have a preference on where I went. I hear my name called and see I’ve been selected by the Orange County Otters. “Oh, that’s cool, I don’t know much about them, I wonder if I know anyone in there.” I said to myself. Then I received my invite and I look and see Beck right there. Of course I know what my job is, I hit him instantly with the Heck Beck and I’ve felt right at home ever since. Both Beck and @slate have been the other people that I’ve come to greatly enjoy talking with. It was a no brainer to join Orange Counties war room and from there I’ve continued to learn, this time about trades, roster management and a myriad other things. Both Beck and Slate have been great General Managers and this will be my first season playing on the team. I’m really looking forward to seeing what we’ll accomplish but I already have the same feeling with Orange County that I do with Norfolk, I was drafted to the exact place I needed to be drafted to. It already feels like home and I count myself lucky to be a part of that Locker Room.
During this time I was also asked if I’d potentially like to become General Manager of Norfolk but it was all very hush hush, I of course jumped at the opportunity. I would have no clue what I’m doing but I want to do it. I learn by doing, you can throw a million pages of tutorial but it won’t stick, just throw me in, tell me to do it and I’ll figure it out. Obviously I’ll ask questions when needed but it’s how I thrive. The season flew past and I thought I’d be GMing next to LCC and then shock and surprise, they’re both stepping down! Well now what in the world is happening? Turns out me and some random person named @Gumbaman are going to be the new General Managers for Norfolk. What? Who is this guy? Isn’t he just some random waiver we picked up?
Well :gumbabad: turns out this guy is actually really cool and has a deep history with sim leagues. So really I’m the only FNG GMing at Norfolk. I will attribute Gumba as the last person who has influenced my time here in the league. It’s been awesome being able to co-GM with him and I feel like Norfolk has a bright future. This is not to have hubris, I am well aware of my lack of knowledge and the need to continue learning. I do want to GM an ISFL team at some point. So I need to prove my chops down here at the DSFL level, learn as much as possible and continue making friends.
The DSFL discord channel has been a blast, especially with all the S41 folks, I think just shooting the breeze with all those people has been some of the most fun I’ve had so far, especially during the draft. There are far too many people to shout out and because I don’t want to make anyone feel left out I’ll just shout out the entire S41 class. Though there’s one person who thinks all I do is post one GIF. You know who you are and all I have to say is you’re absolutely right. That GIF is GOATED and I’ll not hear any slander about it.
Lastly to wrap all of this up, all I want to say is that I’ve had nothing but positive experiences since I’ve been here. Every single person I’ve talked or interacted with has been great. I’m glad I was very bored on a random day and found this league. It’s been a blast and I hope to get to know a lot of you better, play next to you or play against you. Regardless of what happens, what matters is two very specific things. What happens on the field and the bonds we form behind the scenes to make this whole thing work.
I’ll end this sappy piece with one final thing.
Fire LCC and Gumba bad.
Ok maybe two.