Story 1: the draft experience
So on draft day, it was a roller coaster for defensive tackle Bogdan Wojcik. He'd heard some mild rumbling before the draft of a potential first round destination for him, one he didn't really feel he deserved, but that he was also one of five players up for the spot and likely wouldn't end up there. Other than that, he knew his floor was a certain late second round pick, as he'd heard all but confirmation from a team picking there that he was the target (and this pick would certainly have been a place Wojcik would have been happy with, although he's also happy at his current team). He'd intended to be there for the draft itself, but ultimately he could only watch the recorded version after the fact. The destination was a bit spoiled for him, as he had already been invited into a discord with the team that selected him, but how, when, and why were still up in the air.
So of course, the recorded version of the draft was available to all draftees. Wojcik watched it with interest, trying to figure out what went down to turn him from a Lucha into an Otter. The first round went by without much issue, and he was not selected, as he thought was fair. He did notice one interesting piece of information, however; Lucha teammate Elvin Enchant was about to be Otter teammate Elvin Enchant. Wojcik didn't know a ton of the NSFL level players on really any of the teams, so it was a pleasant surprise to have someone to figure things out with.
Picks started to go by in the second, and just a few picks before what he knew to be his floor, there was a seemingly nothing pick. The Liberty were selecting, and everyone knew that was designated to be Blessed Storm, so nothing to see here - waaaait? There's been a trade! The Otters traded up to that pick, shortly ahead of where he was basically predetermined to go, and surely that had to be it. Waiting and watching just to be sure, then the name flashed on the bottom of the screen... Bogdan Wojcik, DT. This was the spot. He was an Otter.
Story 2: Wojcik's thoughts
Wojcik had stated publicly prior to the draft that he'd have been happy with any draft location, which was certainly true, but there were teams he'd have been happier with than others. Any draftee who says they have absolutely no preference is lying. For Wojcik, this came in the form of three tiers. Tier 3 consisted of the two teams that didn't contact him at all. While the teams in the other two tiers will mostly be kept secret, it doesn't hurt anything to say that these two teams were the Liberty and Sabercats. Draft-wise, this made sense. The Liberty had already committed their second rounder, and otherwise to go to either of these two teams, Wojcik would have had to have been a top 4 pick. That just wasn't realistic.
Tier 2 consisted of three teams that contacted him, and he answered their questions and even talked extensively with some of them. There absolutely would have been nothing wrong with any of the tier 2 teams had they selected him, he'd have been happy and loyal to any of them, although one of them (the Second Line, the only tier 2 team that will be specified) dropped off just a tad with a name change he wasn't a fan of (this team probably would have been a tier 1.5 on its own prior to the name change, bordering on tier 1, he actually really enjoyed conversing with their representative). Nonetheless, he'd have happily played there or any of the tier 2 teams.
Tier 1 consisted of three teams that contacted him, talked extensively with him, and he had something in common with their representative. One was a long unending string of PMs between the two where they discussed a topic of interest to both. One was a team that had gone so far as to add him to their discord ahead of time, and he spoke to their representative often as well. Another was a team where one of their reps had seen Wojcik in the discord often, especially in the pokemon server, and that sparked a conversation as well... a conversation that would ultimately lead to a draft position, as that team was the Otters. For what it's worth, the other team that had specifically mentioned where they planned to take Wojcik had he been at that spot, only shortly after he'd actually been drafted, was another tier 1 team. Between the two, there really was no way to go wrong. One additional minor positive (such a small thing it barely matters, but is the case nonetheless) is that otters are one of Wojcik's favorite animals, behind only rhinos and seals.
823 words
So on draft day, it was a roller coaster for defensive tackle Bogdan Wojcik. He'd heard some mild rumbling before the draft of a potential first round destination for him, one he didn't really feel he deserved, but that he was also one of five players up for the spot and likely wouldn't end up there. Other than that, he knew his floor was a certain late second round pick, as he'd heard all but confirmation from a team picking there that he was the target (and this pick would certainly have been a place Wojcik would have been happy with, although he's also happy at his current team). He'd intended to be there for the draft itself, but ultimately he could only watch the recorded version after the fact. The destination was a bit spoiled for him, as he had already been invited into a discord with the team that selected him, but how, when, and why were still up in the air.
So of course, the recorded version of the draft was available to all draftees. Wojcik watched it with interest, trying to figure out what went down to turn him from a Lucha into an Otter. The first round went by without much issue, and he was not selected, as he thought was fair. He did notice one interesting piece of information, however; Lucha teammate Elvin Enchant was about to be Otter teammate Elvin Enchant. Wojcik didn't know a ton of the NSFL level players on really any of the teams, so it was a pleasant surprise to have someone to figure things out with.
Picks started to go by in the second, and just a few picks before what he knew to be his floor, there was a seemingly nothing pick. The Liberty were selecting, and everyone knew that was designated to be Blessed Storm, so nothing to see here - waaaait? There's been a trade! The Otters traded up to that pick, shortly ahead of where he was basically predetermined to go, and surely that had to be it. Waiting and watching just to be sure, then the name flashed on the bottom of the screen... Bogdan Wojcik, DT. This was the spot. He was an Otter.
Story 2: Wojcik's thoughts
Wojcik had stated publicly prior to the draft that he'd have been happy with any draft location, which was certainly true, but there were teams he'd have been happier with than others. Any draftee who says they have absolutely no preference is lying. For Wojcik, this came in the form of three tiers. Tier 3 consisted of the two teams that didn't contact him at all. While the teams in the other two tiers will mostly be kept secret, it doesn't hurt anything to say that these two teams were the Liberty and Sabercats. Draft-wise, this made sense. The Liberty had already committed their second rounder, and otherwise to go to either of these two teams, Wojcik would have had to have been a top 4 pick. That just wasn't realistic.
Tier 2 consisted of three teams that contacted him, and he answered their questions and even talked extensively with some of them. There absolutely would have been nothing wrong with any of the tier 2 teams had they selected him, he'd have been happy and loyal to any of them, although one of them (the Second Line, the only tier 2 team that will be specified) dropped off just a tad with a name change he wasn't a fan of (this team probably would have been a tier 1.5 on its own prior to the name change, bordering on tier 1, he actually really enjoyed conversing with their representative). Nonetheless, he'd have happily played there or any of the tier 2 teams.
Tier 1 consisted of three teams that contacted him, talked extensively with him, and he had something in common with their representative. One was a long unending string of PMs between the two where they discussed a topic of interest to both. One was a team that had gone so far as to add him to their discord ahead of time, and he spoke to their representative often as well. Another was a team where one of their reps had seen Wojcik in the discord often, especially in the pokemon server, and that sparked a conversation as well... a conversation that would ultimately lead to a draft position, as that team was the Otters. For what it's worth, the other team that had specifically mentioned where they planned to take Wojcik had he been at that spot, only shortly after he'd actually been drafted, was another tier 1 team. Between the two, there really was no way to go wrong. One additional minor positive (such a small thing it barely matters, but is the case nonetheless) is that otters are one of Wojcik's favorite animals, behind only rhinos and seals.
823 words