A Lion's Share: Road to the Ultimini
(Note to the grader: Deadly and Sylphreni have asked me to keep the money but you can share it with the rest)
Well to be honest with you all, I didn't think we would get this far. I expected a decent season, maybe contending for a playoff spot, but at the beginning of the season i wasn't holding my breath for it. But now we made it to the Ultimini! In my first season I am in a championship game!
I have a lot of people to thank, including our kicker Datsum Phastbawls, aka Rabidsponge, Greedy Sly aka Sylphreni, and the rest of our amazing locker room. No matter what happens tonight, I am extremely proud of our team and what we have been able to do. I had the idea to interview some members of our locker room about our season and hopes for the future.
I have gotten a hold of and interviewed Highhachdi our co-GM, Sylphreni, DeadlyPlayer who is another Co-GM, LamborghiniAlfedo who is the Tight End Donatello Arrabiata, and Ed Ball who is a safety. I asked them all the same questions and got some good answers for all of them. So let's get started!
Question #1: what were your honest expectations at the beginning of the season?
Sylphreni: Tough to say. I think initially I was hoping we'd have a shot at making playoffs, even though the mocks seemed to have us lower then that. As the season progressed however, it felt more and more possible we might be able to make a real push for it. We had a rough losing streak, but I'm really proud of how the team rallied around each other and made a late season push.
DeadlyPlayer: tbh our expectations for the beginning of the season were grim. We had most of our defense plundered by the NSFL with an unusual amount of call ups. We basically had to replace our entire defense through the draft and waivers. So while our offense was going to be better with 2 newly maxed WRs, we expected a maybe a slightly worse record due to defense taking a huge step back.
Highhachdi: That's a good question. After I saw that our whole defense got called up except Ed Ball, I thought it was gonna be another rough season for us. But I think we did very well in the draft. So before the first season game, I hoped that our offense could carry us the first few games with our defense becoming stronger and stronger. My goal was to finish better than last season record-wise, but I didn't think that we could make the playoffs to be honest.
Lamborghini: I didn’t have too many expectations this season. It’s only the Royals second season and we lost a lot of good players, so the team was still very new. Since this is my last season with the Royals and I’m considered one of the vets, I wanted to help the team improve, as well as, improve personally. Although we only improved by one win, we made big strides in game-planning and in the LR.
Ed Ball: I was just hoping to continue to develop myself and gain more experience overall in the DSFL. I saw an opportunity to help lead the royals defense and show that i can become NSFL material
Question #2: what is your favorite part of the Royals locker room?
Sylphreni: I'd have to say just the comradery of all the people in there. We have a fantastic group of people, who have really come together to form a team atmosphere. I'm excited to see what the future holds for all of us!
DeadlyPlayer: Favorite part of the royals locker room has to be the closeness. I wont claim we have the most active LR, but whenever someone asks a question, you have people answering it, whenever someone needs a podcast guest, multiple people volunteer. When someone is having a rough day, we're right there for em. We've had the luck to have drafted guys that really care about one another, and would do anything for them.
Highhachdi: Absolutely everything is awesome in the Royals locker room. There is lots of talking and we have lots of fun there and I really like the attitude of our whole team. There is not one person in the locker room that caused some trouble, they're all great, friendly and motivated. I really feel like everybody wants to help the team and their teammates all the time.
Lamborghini: The guys are awesome. No drama. Everyone is there to have fun and everyone encourages each other. I haven’t seen any negativity towards another player since I’ve joined.
Ed Ball: Just the players overall. We are all helpful and supportive towards one another. We all want the same goal but aren't afraid to see others succeed at a quicker rate
Question #3: who do you think was the biggest difference maker in the Royals most recent draft?
Sylphreni: I think it has to be Rabidsponge aka Datsum Phastbawls. Last season the Royals did not have a K/P and it killed them... This season we have the best one in the class. He's had some incredible moments, including a 57 yard FG and a 70 yd punt. Really glad he's been on the team, and looking forward to seeing him make it big in the NSFL
DeadlyPlayer: I personally would say, our biggest difference maker was our kicker, user Rabidsponge. Last season there were multiple games where we'd be missing multiple 20-40 yd FGs that would total a significant amount of points. A key point in our draft was to take an active kicker that hopefully would stay active. And so far he's been an excellent addition.
Highhachdi: That's difficult to answer as we signed lots of great players in the draft last year. They were great addition on and off the field. But if I had to pick one, I'd say our kicker Datsum Phastbawls was the biggest difference maker. Last year we had some close games and lost them, because our kicker often missed easy field goals. With Phastbawls we now have a kicker that won us already some games this year.
Lamborghini: Probably Eric Richards. Killing it on the field. Super active in the LR, really seems to enjoy it all.
Ed Ball: I see some potential in Joseph Joestar honestly. I think he can be a good starter once his time comes
Question #4: what will be your biggest takeaway from this season?
Sylphreni: Hmmm. Probably the friends we've made along the way? It's super cliché, but I've met a bunch of awesome people this season. Excited to see how they continue to develop in the league and with the teams they get drafted to!
DeadlyPlayer: My biggest takeaway from this season is probably perseverance. You have to just keep chugging along. I had a co-GM step down about half way through the season due to some circumstances, and right there we could've just gave up and said "maybe next season" but we were able to find a great replacement in Highhaschdi and we kept trying everything in our power to win for the team.
Highhachdi: That we are already looking really great as an expansion team and that we definitely can compete with the best teams in the DSFL. I think the Royals will have a bright future ahead of them.
Lamborghini: Don’t sleep on the Royals. We were at the bottom of pre-rankings. Some might say it was luck or a fluke that got us into the playoffs, but now we’re in the Ultimini and that’s all that matters.
Ed ball: My biggest takeaway will be that the more I grind for TPE, the better I will be for my player and for my chances to stand out as a player in the DSFL
Question #5: and finally what's your biggest hope for the future?
Sylphreni: An Ultimini win? Followed by multiple Ultimus wins.... I'm a man of small goals
DeadlyPlayer: My biggest hope for the future of the Royals is that they continue to move forward and draft awesome people. I will be stepping down at the end of the season to allow newer users to get GMing experience, and I hope that the Royals can really be a place in the league that people want to come to and be apart of a family.
Highhachdi: My biggest hope is that the London Royals will continue to play such good football, help to develop such great players and produce future hall of famers for the NSFL.
Lamborghini: Right now, win the god d**m Ultimini
Hope the Royals continue succeeding
Hope that the Liberty, who drafted me, have seen enough to make me a big part of their team
Ed Ball: My biggest hope is to be called up to the NSFL and finally prove I can make it in the big leagues but I know my time will come eventually so until then, I will continue to improve myself
Whew! That was quite a long series of answers. I hope this was entertaining for you all, and I hope to raise the trophy tonight!
(Note to the grader: Deadly and Sylphreni have asked me to keep the money but you can share it with the rest)
Well to be honest with you all, I didn't think we would get this far. I expected a decent season, maybe contending for a playoff spot, but at the beginning of the season i wasn't holding my breath for it. But now we made it to the Ultimini! In my first season I am in a championship game!
I have a lot of people to thank, including our kicker Datsum Phastbawls, aka Rabidsponge, Greedy Sly aka Sylphreni, and the rest of our amazing locker room. No matter what happens tonight, I am extremely proud of our team and what we have been able to do. I had the idea to interview some members of our locker room about our season and hopes for the future.
I have gotten a hold of and interviewed Highhachdi our co-GM, Sylphreni, DeadlyPlayer who is another Co-GM, LamborghiniAlfedo who is the Tight End Donatello Arrabiata, and Ed Ball who is a safety. I asked them all the same questions and got some good answers for all of them. So let's get started!
Question #1: what were your honest expectations at the beginning of the season?
Sylphreni: Tough to say. I think initially I was hoping we'd have a shot at making playoffs, even though the mocks seemed to have us lower then that. As the season progressed however, it felt more and more possible we might be able to make a real push for it. We had a rough losing streak, but I'm really proud of how the team rallied around each other and made a late season push.
DeadlyPlayer: tbh our expectations for the beginning of the season were grim. We had most of our defense plundered by the NSFL with an unusual amount of call ups. We basically had to replace our entire defense through the draft and waivers. So while our offense was going to be better with 2 newly maxed WRs, we expected a maybe a slightly worse record due to defense taking a huge step back.
Highhachdi: That's a good question. After I saw that our whole defense got called up except Ed Ball, I thought it was gonna be another rough season for us. But I think we did very well in the draft. So before the first season game, I hoped that our offense could carry us the first few games with our defense becoming stronger and stronger. My goal was to finish better than last season record-wise, but I didn't think that we could make the playoffs to be honest.
Lamborghini: I didn’t have too many expectations this season. It’s only the Royals second season and we lost a lot of good players, so the team was still very new. Since this is my last season with the Royals and I’m considered one of the vets, I wanted to help the team improve, as well as, improve personally. Although we only improved by one win, we made big strides in game-planning and in the LR.
Ed Ball: I was just hoping to continue to develop myself and gain more experience overall in the DSFL. I saw an opportunity to help lead the royals defense and show that i can become NSFL material
Question #2: what is your favorite part of the Royals locker room?
Sylphreni: I'd have to say just the comradery of all the people in there. We have a fantastic group of people, who have really come together to form a team atmosphere. I'm excited to see what the future holds for all of us!
DeadlyPlayer: Favorite part of the royals locker room has to be the closeness. I wont claim we have the most active LR, but whenever someone asks a question, you have people answering it, whenever someone needs a podcast guest, multiple people volunteer. When someone is having a rough day, we're right there for em. We've had the luck to have drafted guys that really care about one another, and would do anything for them.
Highhachdi: Absolutely everything is awesome in the Royals locker room. There is lots of talking and we have lots of fun there and I really like the attitude of our whole team. There is not one person in the locker room that caused some trouble, they're all great, friendly and motivated. I really feel like everybody wants to help the team and their teammates all the time.
Lamborghini: The guys are awesome. No drama. Everyone is there to have fun and everyone encourages each other. I haven’t seen any negativity towards another player since I’ve joined.
Ed Ball: Just the players overall. We are all helpful and supportive towards one another. We all want the same goal but aren't afraid to see others succeed at a quicker rate
Question #3: who do you think was the biggest difference maker in the Royals most recent draft?
Sylphreni: I think it has to be Rabidsponge aka Datsum Phastbawls. Last season the Royals did not have a K/P and it killed them... This season we have the best one in the class. He's had some incredible moments, including a 57 yard FG and a 70 yd punt. Really glad he's been on the team, and looking forward to seeing him make it big in the NSFL
DeadlyPlayer: I personally would say, our biggest difference maker was our kicker, user Rabidsponge. Last season there were multiple games where we'd be missing multiple 20-40 yd FGs that would total a significant amount of points. A key point in our draft was to take an active kicker that hopefully would stay active. And so far he's been an excellent addition.
Highhachdi: That's difficult to answer as we signed lots of great players in the draft last year. They were great addition on and off the field. But if I had to pick one, I'd say our kicker Datsum Phastbawls was the biggest difference maker. Last year we had some close games and lost them, because our kicker often missed easy field goals. With Phastbawls we now have a kicker that won us already some games this year.
Lamborghini: Probably Eric Richards. Killing it on the field. Super active in the LR, really seems to enjoy it all.
Ed Ball: I see some potential in Joseph Joestar honestly. I think he can be a good starter once his time comes
Question #4: what will be your biggest takeaway from this season?
Sylphreni: Hmmm. Probably the friends we've made along the way? It's super cliché, but I've met a bunch of awesome people this season. Excited to see how they continue to develop in the league and with the teams they get drafted to!
DeadlyPlayer: My biggest takeaway from this season is probably perseverance. You have to just keep chugging along. I had a co-GM step down about half way through the season due to some circumstances, and right there we could've just gave up and said "maybe next season" but we were able to find a great replacement in Highhaschdi and we kept trying everything in our power to win for the team.
Highhachdi: That we are already looking really great as an expansion team and that we definitely can compete with the best teams in the DSFL. I think the Royals will have a bright future ahead of them.
Lamborghini: Don’t sleep on the Royals. We were at the bottom of pre-rankings. Some might say it was luck or a fluke that got us into the playoffs, but now we’re in the Ultimini and that’s all that matters.
Ed ball: My biggest takeaway will be that the more I grind for TPE, the better I will be for my player and for my chances to stand out as a player in the DSFL
Question #5: and finally what's your biggest hope for the future?
Sylphreni: An Ultimini win? Followed by multiple Ultimus wins.... I'm a man of small goals
DeadlyPlayer: My biggest hope for the future of the Royals is that they continue to move forward and draft awesome people. I will be stepping down at the end of the season to allow newer users to get GMing experience, and I hope that the Royals can really be a place in the league that people want to come to and be apart of a family.
Highhachdi: My biggest hope is that the London Royals will continue to play such good football, help to develop such great players and produce future hall of famers for the NSFL.
Lamborghini: Right now, win the god d**m Ultimini
Hope the Royals continue succeeding
Hope that the Liberty, who drafted me, have seen enough to make me a big part of their team
Ed Ball: My biggest hope is to be called up to the NSFL and finally prove I can make it in the big leagues but I know my time will come eventually so until then, I will continue to improve myself
Whew! That was quite a long series of answers. I hope this was entertaining for you all, and I hope to raise the trophy tonight!