I'm not sure that I really had a "welcome to the league" moment when I first hit the NSFL. I recall having a very underwhelming rookie season though. I had spent my first two seasons in the DSFL where Mason enjoyed his share of successes. He broke some records and was generally one of the top players in the DSFL at the time. Applying a season and a half of saved up TPE was a feeling of pure joy and I felt like I was going to come in and immediately make an impact on defense. NOLA as a team was looking to be one of the best in the league. They had made the conference championship the season before, losing to the eventual 3rd straight championship for Orange County. The stupid sexy Otters, along with the Copperheads were the perennial contenders in the ASFC. I was very much a back end contributor one what would eventually become a top defense in the league. I never got burnt deep, but I also didn't stand out at all. On a team with names like Slothface, Bode, Ironside, Faux, Rector, Andrews, Taylor and Arianlacher, there was not much room to stand out. We played great team defense, but I felt a bit of a shock compared to how my 2 DSFL seasons went. It was great motivation though (along with losing a conference championship) to keep pushing and get better. I look at where Blaylock is now and I don't know if he would be as good as he is if that first season just came super easy.
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