07-01-2024, 11:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-02-2024, 12:20 PM by bachirafan. Edited 2 times in total.)
14. Expansion Expansion Expansion! Tell us why you think the league should expand / not expand or include any ideas (in words) for team branding ideas you have or team locations.
I'm not going to write like I'm well versed in the league. In fact, quite the opposite! I joined yesterday. So who better to talk about a vital part of a league discussion that should likely be left to those who are experienced and respected among their peers. I am neither, so here we go!
I will start by saying that based on what I've seen so far in my time exploring the forums and associated websites, I do not believe that expansion is a viable option for the ISFL at this time. The biggest piece of evidence to support this is the position tracker, a vital tool for all new recruits like myself when we decide where we want to build our legacy. I've always been a fan of staunch defenses, and I myself am not built all that big, per se, so I was looking to be a cornerback from the get-go. However, the position tracker has listed 41 existing active cornerbacks with a target of 42. That's not a lot of availability to slot into. This is both good and bad. I myself had no qualms about choosing to play a safety instead, but there could be rookies who are so engrossed in playing one position (QB, LB, both competitive positions) and don't want to try something else. The lack of availability could disillusion players from the league. But those people will likely be few and far between. The problem isn't large enough to necessitate expansion. Rather, it's position groups like OL, DL, and to a lesser extent, S, that pose a bigger problem in the opposite direction. Safety has six current 'available' spots at the time of writing, and DL and OL are closer to half filled. Sure, these positions aren't necessarily as glamorous as a quarterback, wide reciever, or linebacker, but they are vital positions in the game of football nonetheless. Without a consistent near-capacity state for all positions, I find it hard to justify expansion and increase the amount of bot players in the league. It could introduce an imbalance, especially for the expansion squad who would find themselves already in a massive TPE hole. While expansion is great to shine light on new ideas for team concepts, it's unfeasible for a league this size at the moment, but hopefully in the future expansion is a much more viable option on the table.
18. This task is exclusive to recreate/non-recreate rookies of the S49 class and later. The season is over and the draft is coming up. What do you bring to a team, and why should a team choose to take a chance on you next season? (Written Task)
What I lack in charisma or intelligence (severely lacking, in the case of the former) I can make up for with my locker room presence. I feel like a lot of people can claim to be a fun person to be around, and while I'm not denying that they are, I feel like nobody is more of a motivator than I am. I graduated from high school in 2020, but when I was still in my high school years, I felt a lot like the therapist of my friend group. My school was insanely tough. At the time of my graduation, we were top-ranked in my state, and #21 in the entire nation, per US World and News Report. What came along with the knowledge was an uncountable slew of mental illnesses for us. It was extremely tough, and many times I'd seen students break down over the workload. We went from almost 400 in my freshman class to 112 in my final graduating class. But through it all, every time that my friends would have struggles in their academic or personal life, I was happy to be a shoulder to cry on or someone to give a shove to help them get over the final hurdle. I'm not physically strong by any means, nor am I emotionally strong. I suffer with my own bingo card of mental disorders. But that doesn't mean that I won't help anyone I see that needs it. I can be the foundation of not only the team, once I put the effort in, but I will guarantee to be the foundation of a community far after my time as a player.
27. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why? (Written Task)
I'm going to skip the obvious answer here of Cornerback and go a little more outside the box. I feel like I would play quarterback if I had to pick something else.
pause to let the boos silence
There's a reason! If you saw me IRL, you would not think I played football at some point. I am 6'1, and barely hitting 140 pounds. I am a skeleton with skin. But back in 7th and 8th grade, I did play football before switching to swimming in high school (a wonderful choice, I adore the swim team). I really only saw the field as a safety, because shocker I was not any more muscular back then. However, I was also the backup quarterback on my 8th grade team. The starter had a much better arm than me, could throw it probably ten to fifteen yards further than I could. I had the more accurate arm, but my coach, probably smartly, didn't want to throw slants all game and have the defense know to just play within the first fifteen yards down the field. Now, I could have said DL here. Yes, I, the guy who could play Skeletor in a live-action remake of He-Man, played defensive line. Not just DL, I played NOSE TACKLE. I was flattened day in and day out. We really didn't have anyone else though and I was just happy to get on the field. I did get one QB pressure once when I played a snap at OLB and they didn't block me. Highlight of my football career.
I'm not going to write like I'm well versed in the league. In fact, quite the opposite! I joined yesterday. So who better to talk about a vital part of a league discussion that should likely be left to those who are experienced and respected among their peers. I am neither, so here we go!
I will start by saying that based on what I've seen so far in my time exploring the forums and associated websites, I do not believe that expansion is a viable option for the ISFL at this time. The biggest piece of evidence to support this is the position tracker, a vital tool for all new recruits like myself when we decide where we want to build our legacy. I've always been a fan of staunch defenses, and I myself am not built all that big, per se, so I was looking to be a cornerback from the get-go. However, the position tracker has listed 41 existing active cornerbacks with a target of 42. That's not a lot of availability to slot into. This is both good and bad. I myself had no qualms about choosing to play a safety instead, but there could be rookies who are so engrossed in playing one position (QB, LB, both competitive positions) and don't want to try something else. The lack of availability could disillusion players from the league. But those people will likely be few and far between. The problem isn't large enough to necessitate expansion. Rather, it's position groups like OL, DL, and to a lesser extent, S, that pose a bigger problem in the opposite direction. Safety has six current 'available' spots at the time of writing, and DL and OL are closer to half filled. Sure, these positions aren't necessarily as glamorous as a quarterback, wide reciever, or linebacker, but they are vital positions in the game of football nonetheless. Without a consistent near-capacity state for all positions, I find it hard to justify expansion and increase the amount of bot players in the league. It could introduce an imbalance, especially for the expansion squad who would find themselves already in a massive TPE hole. While expansion is great to shine light on new ideas for team concepts, it's unfeasible for a league this size at the moment, but hopefully in the future expansion is a much more viable option on the table.
18. This task is exclusive to recreate/non-recreate rookies of the S49 class and later. The season is over and the draft is coming up. What do you bring to a team, and why should a team choose to take a chance on you next season? (Written Task)
What I lack in charisma or intelligence (severely lacking, in the case of the former) I can make up for with my locker room presence. I feel like a lot of people can claim to be a fun person to be around, and while I'm not denying that they are, I feel like nobody is more of a motivator than I am. I graduated from high school in 2020, but when I was still in my high school years, I felt a lot like the therapist of my friend group. My school was insanely tough. At the time of my graduation, we were top-ranked in my state, and #21 in the entire nation, per US World and News Report. What came along with the knowledge was an uncountable slew of mental illnesses for us. It was extremely tough, and many times I'd seen students break down over the workload. We went from almost 400 in my freshman class to 112 in my final graduating class. But through it all, every time that my friends would have struggles in their academic or personal life, I was happy to be a shoulder to cry on or someone to give a shove to help them get over the final hurdle. I'm not physically strong by any means, nor am I emotionally strong. I suffer with my own bingo card of mental disorders. But that doesn't mean that I won't help anyone I see that needs it. I can be the foundation of not only the team, once I put the effort in, but I will guarantee to be the foundation of a community far after my time as a player.
27. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why? (Written Task)
I'm going to skip the obvious answer here of Cornerback and go a little more outside the box. I feel like I would play quarterback if I had to pick something else.
pause to let the boos silence
There's a reason! If you saw me IRL, you would not think I played football at some point. I am 6'1, and barely hitting 140 pounds. I am a skeleton with skin. But back in 7th and 8th grade, I did play football before switching to swimming in high school (a wonderful choice, I adore the swim team). I really only saw the field as a safety, because shocker I was not any more muscular back then. However, I was also the backup quarterback on my 8th grade team. The starter had a much better arm than me, could throw it probably ten to fifteen yards further than I could. I had the more accurate arm, but my coach, probably smartly, didn't want to throw slants all game and have the defense know to just play within the first fifteen yards down the field. Now, I could have said DL here. Yes, I, the guy who could play Skeletor in a live-action remake of He-Man, played defensive line. Not just DL, I played NOSE TACKLE. I was flattened day in and day out. We really didn't have anyone else though and I was just happy to get on the field. I did get one QB pressure once when I played a snap at OLB and they didn't block me. Highlight of my football career.