Well, this is extremely late, as I originally wanted to write this after Tijuana won the Ultimini in Season 25, since I would finally be traveling from the team that drafted me and gave me a home when I first entered the league, to the team that put so much faith in me that they traded up to get me. This is my goodbye letter to Tijuana, and while the timing is really off, this will be eligible for 2x money, and being the poverty ridden person I am, I like money, so now is as good of a time as any!
I originally joined this league back near the end of July, and along with many of the other Reddit users, I had no idea what I was getting into. It was so overwhelming at the time because the league ended up being so much more than I thought. There was a massive community, a lot of different teams, all with their own history. Hell I was joining the DSFL in Season 24, meaning there had been 23 seasons before I even arrived. On top of all of that was trying to figure out how to use the site, as well as getting constant messages from people inviting me to locker rooms and scouting me. Like I said, it was all super overwhelming, and I was still gauging out the league, but I decided to stick with it since I was still having fun talking to a bunch of new people.
Come draft night, I had a fairly unimpressive resume since joining the league. I had not max earned, not done really any media, wasn’t really talking in a bunch of locker rooms. The only thing I really was doing was talking to scouts and earning things that I felt comfortable earning. This showed on draft night, as I ultimately fell to the 8th round. It didn’t bother me as I had specifically told people I was not gonna be a max earner, and also being a r/nfl Reddit class there is so much talent and great people to be found in those classes. I actually really enjoyed sitting in the rookie discord and watching the draft and seeing all of these great people find their teams. Eventually it was my turn, and on the 62nd Pick of the 8th round, I was drafted by the Tijuana Luchadores.
The feeling of getting drafted for the first time is really like no other, and I was lucky enough to be taken by the team I wanted to go to the most. While I had no interaction with the Tijuana locker room itself at the time, I did have an amazing conversation with my Tijuana scout CalvinGolladay. The conversation I had with him felt like the first real conversation I had in the league, and it really made me want to join the team. I was still extremely nervous and wasn’t sure what type of person I’d be like in the league yet, but I went ahead and joined the locker room and was met to so many welcoming people. Alumni, teammates, fellow rookies, and my GMs at the time all welcomed me in with open arms and really solidified draft night as one of the best of my life.
I didn’t realize how involved I’d want to get with this league until I reached Tijuana, and that is entirely thanks to some of my fellow rookies. While there were so many new faces in Tijuana, my fellow teammates Kotasa, Pat (Punter715), and Deadlunatic really are the reason I really got into the league. Us four all pushed each other to be max earners and to be as great as we could be. We were always active and talking in the locker room, and they all played a major part in how far I have come. I like to think that our excitement and drive to one up each other carried over to the other rookies, as 9 of the picks Tijuana made in the first 12 rounds all ended up capping at some point.
On top of the rookies, there were some other teammates that I got along with great, including some Captains/Legends of the team: Tonzy, Rufio, Sloth, JPach, BigRed, and Ben. There were also some players that played for Tijuana the season before that I really enjoyed my time with, such as Cincyfan96 and 209tacos. Really I want to just list every person that I interacted with in Tijuana, as everyone played a part in making me love this league and this team.
Finally, I wanted to bring up the GMs at the time who drafted me and gave me a chance. Thank you most of all to Mithrandir and SwankyPants31. Both of you two created an amazing locker room experience and made me really appreciate and love the team. Even being a closed locker room, you two and the captains still made sure to do things like Game Balls, Pancake Battles, the infamous Lucha Tag Team Contest, and many other things that still made the locker room and fun place to be and encouraged activity.
My first season was special, as a team we ended up being the best in the league, ending with a record of 10-4 and making the playoffs. Everyone in the locker room was excited and expected the DSFL S24 season to be our year. But, we ended up falling to Norfolk in a crazy game that went to overtime and ended when Mike Boss Jr. threw a devastating pick. It was a crushing blow, as many of the team vets were being called up and left us with a barren team. Luckily, most of the rookies from the class stayed down, except a extremely surprising call up for Mark Walker aka Deadlunatic that left out WR room completely empty. We had a lot of work to do to try and be as good next season.
During the season, I was given the honor of becoming a team captain, along side my rookie teammate Kotasa, and veteran teammate Cincyfan96. So this coming season I decided to do everything in my power to bring the Ultimini to Tijuana before I left. Being a team captain, I helped scout for Tijuana and helped them in deciding who to take in a critical draft.
At the same time, I was also being scouted and having conversations with ISFL teams, and figuring out what the future held for my player. I had many great conversations with a bunch of different teams, but eventually when draft day came, with the 19th pick in the 2nd round, I was drafted by NOLA, who had traded up to get me. It was an amazing feeling, as not only did I get to continue the Tijuana to New Orleans pipeline, but I also got to join some of my teammates and friends from Tijuana over in NOLA. While I was excited to be on the team though, I felt I had a responsibility to Tijuana after that heartbreaking loss, and requested to be sent back down for one more season, which they gladly complied with.
Back down in Tijuana for one more season, I helped scout and discuss the draft, as well as took over as the primary simmer to the team with the help of Kotasa and Pat. I was also capped out and earning as much as I could. I was all in this season to make sure we won it all. The second season was a bit more rough, as we struggled heavily in home games. Our offense was abysmal, as we went from having one of the best receiving corps to having a bunch of new rookies. We struggled to win most games, and we were definitely a different team than the previous season. But we were not a bad team by any stretch. The season before we were the best team in the league, but this season we were somewhere in the middle. But even with all of the teams faults, there was something we were uncannily good at, and that was winning road games. For some reason, we were completely awful whenever we played at home, but whenever we went and faced others, we were basically a completely new team. It must have been the water in Tijuana or we ate too many tacos before the games or something.
We struggled through the season, but we were lucky enough to make a playoff spot going 6-8. Having a losing record and making the playoffs made us kind of a laughing stock, but all me and the team cared about is that we had a shot. We all worked as a team to face against Myrtle Beach at the time, and being that they won HFA and the fact that we were the Road Warriors, we felt pretty good about our chances. It was a tough battle, but we ended up pulling off the win in a crazy overtime game and advanced to the Ultimini where we had to face off against London; the matchup that should have happened the season before. Basically at this point, the team was as excited as it has ever been, and we all had one goal in mind, to win the Ultimini. Pretty much every sim tester in the past came together to test for the game and make a strategy that could defeat the dominant London team.
Finally, the day came, and we were all ready to watch it. But as it turned out, for some reason the stream acted wonky, and basically the entire league was not able to see it. So as a locker room, we got the sim file, a bunch of us joined a voice chat while someone streamed the game, and we watched as the Tijuana Luchadores took down the London Royals in the S25 Ultimini 42-16. It was such an amazing moment for all of our locker room to see all the hard work pay off and win. We also were able to solidify our GMs, Mith and Swanky, as Tijuana Legends as they were the GMs to lead the team to their 8th Ultimini.
Now, we are here. The team has now pretty much all been called up, so Tijuana is now heading in a new direction, especially with Mithrandir stepping down and having Tonzy come in as the new GM to help Swanky build another championship caliber team. There were so many times in Tijuana that just made me appreciate what this league has done for me and how grateful I am to have found it. I have found some really great friends and talk to them still all the time. I plan on sticking around Tijuana and helping them out in making a good future.
Even though I am a part of NOLA now and have moved on from playing for Tijuana, it will always be my home. Not only did I meet great friends and teammates there, I met my family, and I want to help make sure they succeed moving forward. So thank you Tijuana, thank you for bringing me into this league, and helping me realize how amazing it is and showing me all the amazing people that I know am proud and happy to call friends.
Thank you again to @CalvinGolladay, @Kotasa, @"Punter715", @deadlunatic, @mithrandir, @SwankyPants31, @Tonzy, @Rufio_NZ, @JPach, @Bigred83, @slothfacekilla, @Ben, @Cincyfan96, @209tacos, and every other Tijuana member I have interacted with or have had the pleasure of being teammates with. If I listed you all, this article would be twice as long. Thank you all again for everything.
See ya around Tijuana, I may be leaving the team as a player, but you will always be my family, and I will always support you all for as long as I am in this league. Now I am headed to the bayou to the city of music and onto my next adventure in this league.
P.S. This isn’t a retirement thing or anything, I am just really broke and need money
P.S.S I forgot to mention @Dewalt27, the GOAT updater. I consider you part of the family for the time you spent dealing with our shit. Love ya buddy
I originally joined this league back near the end of July, and along with many of the other Reddit users, I had no idea what I was getting into. It was so overwhelming at the time because the league ended up being so much more than I thought. There was a massive community, a lot of different teams, all with their own history. Hell I was joining the DSFL in Season 24, meaning there had been 23 seasons before I even arrived. On top of all of that was trying to figure out how to use the site, as well as getting constant messages from people inviting me to locker rooms and scouting me. Like I said, it was all super overwhelming, and I was still gauging out the league, but I decided to stick with it since I was still having fun talking to a bunch of new people.
Come draft night, I had a fairly unimpressive resume since joining the league. I had not max earned, not done really any media, wasn’t really talking in a bunch of locker rooms. The only thing I really was doing was talking to scouts and earning things that I felt comfortable earning. This showed on draft night, as I ultimately fell to the 8th round. It didn’t bother me as I had specifically told people I was not gonna be a max earner, and also being a r/nfl Reddit class there is so much talent and great people to be found in those classes. I actually really enjoyed sitting in the rookie discord and watching the draft and seeing all of these great people find their teams. Eventually it was my turn, and on the 62nd Pick of the 8th round, I was drafted by the Tijuana Luchadores.
The feeling of getting drafted for the first time is really like no other, and I was lucky enough to be taken by the team I wanted to go to the most. While I had no interaction with the Tijuana locker room itself at the time, I did have an amazing conversation with my Tijuana scout CalvinGolladay. The conversation I had with him felt like the first real conversation I had in the league, and it really made me want to join the team. I was still extremely nervous and wasn’t sure what type of person I’d be like in the league yet, but I went ahead and joined the locker room and was met to so many welcoming people. Alumni, teammates, fellow rookies, and my GMs at the time all welcomed me in with open arms and really solidified draft night as one of the best of my life.
I didn’t realize how involved I’d want to get with this league until I reached Tijuana, and that is entirely thanks to some of my fellow rookies. While there were so many new faces in Tijuana, my fellow teammates Kotasa, Pat (Punter715), and Deadlunatic really are the reason I really got into the league. Us four all pushed each other to be max earners and to be as great as we could be. We were always active and talking in the locker room, and they all played a major part in how far I have come. I like to think that our excitement and drive to one up each other carried over to the other rookies, as 9 of the picks Tijuana made in the first 12 rounds all ended up capping at some point.
On top of the rookies, there were some other teammates that I got along with great, including some Captains/Legends of the team: Tonzy, Rufio, Sloth, JPach, BigRed, and Ben. There were also some players that played for Tijuana the season before that I really enjoyed my time with, such as Cincyfan96 and 209tacos. Really I want to just list every person that I interacted with in Tijuana, as everyone played a part in making me love this league and this team.
Finally, I wanted to bring up the GMs at the time who drafted me and gave me a chance. Thank you most of all to Mithrandir and SwankyPants31. Both of you two created an amazing locker room experience and made me really appreciate and love the team. Even being a closed locker room, you two and the captains still made sure to do things like Game Balls, Pancake Battles, the infamous Lucha Tag Team Contest, and many other things that still made the locker room and fun place to be and encouraged activity.
My first season was special, as a team we ended up being the best in the league, ending with a record of 10-4 and making the playoffs. Everyone in the locker room was excited and expected the DSFL S24 season to be our year. But, we ended up falling to Norfolk in a crazy game that went to overtime and ended when Mike Boss Jr. threw a devastating pick. It was a crushing blow, as many of the team vets were being called up and left us with a barren team. Luckily, most of the rookies from the class stayed down, except a extremely surprising call up for Mark Walker aka Deadlunatic that left out WR room completely empty. We had a lot of work to do to try and be as good next season.
During the season, I was given the honor of becoming a team captain, along side my rookie teammate Kotasa, and veteran teammate Cincyfan96. So this coming season I decided to do everything in my power to bring the Ultimini to Tijuana before I left. Being a team captain, I helped scout for Tijuana and helped them in deciding who to take in a critical draft.
At the same time, I was also being scouted and having conversations with ISFL teams, and figuring out what the future held for my player. I had many great conversations with a bunch of different teams, but eventually when draft day came, with the 19th pick in the 2nd round, I was drafted by NOLA, who had traded up to get me. It was an amazing feeling, as not only did I get to continue the Tijuana to New Orleans pipeline, but I also got to join some of my teammates and friends from Tijuana over in NOLA. While I was excited to be on the team though, I felt I had a responsibility to Tijuana after that heartbreaking loss, and requested to be sent back down for one more season, which they gladly complied with.
Back down in Tijuana for one more season, I helped scout and discuss the draft, as well as took over as the primary simmer to the team with the help of Kotasa and Pat. I was also capped out and earning as much as I could. I was all in this season to make sure we won it all. The second season was a bit more rough, as we struggled heavily in home games. Our offense was abysmal, as we went from having one of the best receiving corps to having a bunch of new rookies. We struggled to win most games, and we were definitely a different team than the previous season. But we were not a bad team by any stretch. The season before we were the best team in the league, but this season we were somewhere in the middle. But even with all of the teams faults, there was something we were uncannily good at, and that was winning road games. For some reason, we were completely awful whenever we played at home, but whenever we went and faced others, we were basically a completely new team. It must have been the water in Tijuana or we ate too many tacos before the games or something.
We struggled through the season, but we were lucky enough to make a playoff spot going 6-8. Having a losing record and making the playoffs made us kind of a laughing stock, but all me and the team cared about is that we had a shot. We all worked as a team to face against Myrtle Beach at the time, and being that they won HFA and the fact that we were the Road Warriors, we felt pretty good about our chances. It was a tough battle, but we ended up pulling off the win in a crazy overtime game and advanced to the Ultimini where we had to face off against London; the matchup that should have happened the season before. Basically at this point, the team was as excited as it has ever been, and we all had one goal in mind, to win the Ultimini. Pretty much every sim tester in the past came together to test for the game and make a strategy that could defeat the dominant London team.
Finally, the day came, and we were all ready to watch it. But as it turned out, for some reason the stream acted wonky, and basically the entire league was not able to see it. So as a locker room, we got the sim file, a bunch of us joined a voice chat while someone streamed the game, and we watched as the Tijuana Luchadores took down the London Royals in the S25 Ultimini 42-16. It was such an amazing moment for all of our locker room to see all the hard work pay off and win. We also were able to solidify our GMs, Mith and Swanky, as Tijuana Legends as they were the GMs to lead the team to their 8th Ultimini.
Now, we are here. The team has now pretty much all been called up, so Tijuana is now heading in a new direction, especially with Mithrandir stepping down and having Tonzy come in as the new GM to help Swanky build another championship caliber team. There were so many times in Tijuana that just made me appreciate what this league has done for me and how grateful I am to have found it. I have found some really great friends and talk to them still all the time. I plan on sticking around Tijuana and helping them out in making a good future.
Even though I am a part of NOLA now and have moved on from playing for Tijuana, it will always be my home. Not only did I meet great friends and teammates there, I met my family, and I want to help make sure they succeed moving forward. So thank you Tijuana, thank you for bringing me into this league, and helping me realize how amazing it is and showing me all the amazing people that I know am proud and happy to call friends.
Thank you again to @CalvinGolladay, @Kotasa, @"Punter715", @deadlunatic, @mithrandir, @SwankyPants31, @Tonzy, @Rufio_NZ, @JPach, @Bigred83, @slothfacekilla, @Ben, @Cincyfan96, @209tacos, and every other Tijuana member I have interacted with or have had the pleasure of being teammates with. If I listed you all, this article would be twice as long. Thank you all again for everything.
See ya around Tijuana, I may be leaving the team as a player, but you will always be my family, and I will always support you all for as long as I am in this league. Now I am headed to the bayou to the city of music and onto my next adventure in this league.
P.S. This isn’t a retirement thing or anything, I am just really broke and need money
P.S.S I forgot to mention @Dewalt27, the GOAT updater. I consider you part of the family for the time you spent dealing with our shit. Love ya buddy
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