*Any Questions for Juan?

[Wiggli]

The media room is almost entirely empty. A pair of interns are investigating the last sandwiches (vegetarian) on the catering spread along the back wall. A low ranking front office representative is thrusting his cell phone into the face of a disinterested custodial worker showing them how well his fantasy football team is doing this year. The media day should be over, but suddenly a 6’5” 345 pound frame eclipses the door frame carrying his own folding chair to place behind the mic stand. Juan “Rascal” Carrasco unfolds the chair and takes a seat causing an audible creak. Then he taps a mic before heartily offering, “Howdy!”

OK so maybe this isn’t necessary, but I’ve been getting some questions from GMs about the draft and thought it would be a good idea to handle some of the boilerplate questions here to have something to point to (and earn some moolah in the process). If people still want to reach out over discord or via PM on the forums that’s totally fine, but hopefully this can save us both some time (and earn some moolah in the process).

One of the interns tosses a sandwich with a look of disgust back onto its catering tray and pulls out his pad of paper to begin taking notes. The front office official is scrolling through pictures on his phone, trying to figure out who it is that started this impromptu press conference. It is the janitor, just trying to finish cleaning the room and end his day, that asks the first question of the day: “What are you doing here?!”

So a common question is how I’ve enjoyed the league and what I’m looking to get out of my time here. And it’s a deceptively difficult question. I have enjoyed things, but am still figuring out exactly what I enjoy most. I’ve spent some time gazing into the abyss of what makes the sim tick and I could see myself continuing that from time to time. But lest I end up in sort of Lovecraftian horror story I think I’ll need to keep that pastime in check.

I enjoy keeping up with the banter on discord and the forums, but am not the sort to frequently add to the noise. However, put a PTE opportunity in front of me and I’ll take a swing. So I think I’ll end up finding some combination of media and or jobs to keep staying at or near max earning, but time will tell.

Every few moments the front office stooge looks up from this phone and squints in the direction of Juan. Then looks back down again tilting his head and phone before repeating the loop trying to figure out who it is he’s listening to. With another squint and tilt in rapid succession as if he has come to some great epiphany he excitedly blurts out, “You’re a … Nose Tackle right?”

Another common question is whether or not I’ll position change or archetype change. This came as a big surprise to me before the DSFL draft, but I understand it better now and the people I’ve spoken to so far have been good about discussing the concept with me. My take on it is I’m willing to switch if it still fits the concept I had for this player (defensive grinder), so archetype switch all day, radical position switch probably not.

The intern effortlessly transcribes the goings on to his notepad, occasionally glancing sidelong at the meatless sandwiches available to tame his grumbling stomach. When a brief silence comes to the room he naturally resumes the proceedings by asking: “What is it you are looking for in a team, and what do you bring in return?”

This one’s also tricky for me. I’m still learning about what sort of activity level I’ll settle into and what I would enjoy the most. I’m pretty confident saying I don’t need a super active locker room, but it would be nice to have some resources to help mentor me as I learn about the league and how to grow specifically as a defensive lineman.

With regard to salary and playing time. I am just still learning standard operating procedure, but am not looking for anything specifically. I don’t think I’ll need any extra salary to keep up on TPE, but I might need a little extra time. I joined relatively late in the cycle so I think I will be close to the cap, but think it would be beneficial to spend an extra season or two in the DSFL to give myself a more solid footing.

And what do you get in return? Well I like to think I’m flexible and willing to put in the work to succeed. If that means being more of a role player for a contender I’m fine with that, or trying to position myself as a game wrecker (in the future at least) for a rebuilding team I’m fine with that. I don’t know exactly the mix of activities I’ll be doing to get to that level of earning, but am pretty sure I’ll figure it out.

The janitor has nearly finished his sweeping. Only one spot, below the behemoth slowly destroying a flimsy folding chair he’s sitting on, remains unswept. With increasing aggression he brandishes his broom toward Rascal as if he was shooing the pest away. Slightly flinching Juan folds up his chair and starts toward the exit, his last words are fainter as he moves away from the mic stand, “Any further questions?”

I was just hoping to handle the boilerplate stuff with this post (yadda yadda yadda moolah) I still would love to hear from any teams doing their draft prep and add any additional detail you’re interested in.

No one looks up as Juan leaves the room. The janitor places his broom and dustpan away after finally being able to finish his job. The front office fella is pecking at his phone with his finger, finalizing a waiver wire pickup for his fantasy team. The intern who had been taking notes drops his pen and paper and plunges his hands into a bag of takeout the other intern has just brought back.

[lemonoppy]

1. Top cheeses that a Cornerback would serve on a board at a housewarming?
2. What position would Juan Carrasco play in soccer?
3. What kinds of things would make you test Free Agency?

[Tmoney6996]

1) Thoughts on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire?

2) Favorite NFL team and why?

3) Who has the best branding in the ISFL?

[Wiggli]

1. Top cheeses that a Cornerback would serve on a board at a housewarming?
2. What position would Juan Carrasco play in soccer?
3. What kinds of things would make you test Free Agency?

1. Manchego. There's a joke to be had relating a "lockdown corner" and cheese's capacity to cause constipation, but I can't quite put the pieces together.
2. Center Forward. Juan is willing to put in the thankless work in the trenches, but will accept all the glory if its how he best helps his team win. Looking at his physical toolkit, his complete inability to catch the ball cleanly would leave too many rebounds as a goalkeeper. In the open field he'd be a liability. But put him in a confined space with a few men to beat? He'd be a killer finisher. And heaven help you try to deter him from being on the end of a cross or corner.
3. Interests become misaligned. At this point unlikely since I don't have any specific individual or team goals. But maybe a few seasons down the road I do decide its important to win a trophy or I find that I do need a higher salary to support by spending habits. 

1) Thoughts on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire?

2) Favorite NFL team and why?

3) Who has the best branding in the ISFL?

1) It puts me to sleep. Literally, I find history documentaries a great soundtrack to fall asleep to. Roman history is a classic sub-genre.
2) I'd say Colts. Really I don't have a strong rooting interest for a single team and can enjoy a game between any two good teams. But the Harbaugh led colts gave me some great playoff memories in my formative years. And I was a big fan of Bob Sanders (when he was healthy).
3) For the DSFL I like the Royals color scheme and logo, and I like the luchadores concept. For the ISFL, I like the hawks imagery and butchers concept, best of both worlds the outlaws.

[RussDrivesTheBus]

1. If you could have dinner with any 3 athletes, past or present, who would you choose and what would you serve? 
2. What is/was your go-to fast food restaurant and order?
3. Can you tell that I'm hungry and need ideas for dinner tonight?

[Wiggli]

1. If you could have dinner with any 3 athletes, past or present, who would you choose and what would you serve? 
2. What is/was your go-to fast food restaurant and order?
3. Can you tell that I'm hungry and need ideas for dinner tonight?

1. When I was too young to know any better one of my idols was Jose Canseco, so very early I was disabused of the notion it would be a good idea to meet my heroes. I would see this less as an exercise in assembling a sort of Mt. Rushmore and more about getting a few characters together to share stories. Off the cuff I’d say, Rickey Henderson, Lawrence Taylor, John Daly. And the meal would be mostly an excuse to imbibe.

2. I’m not a big fast food person at the moment. There was a period of time I would have said Five Guys, there was also a time when I had access to a ‘Paid’ stamp for wawa hoagies that I shouldn’t discuss in any more detail. But across the most time the nod probably goes to Chipotle. The optimizer in me was a big fan of the ‘half and half’ meat strategy while that worked. Regardless of what I ordered I was mainly interested in the guacamole.

3. This response was probably too late and not specific enough to help you through your time of need, but hopefully everything worked out.