I first joined the NSFL during its inaugural season, which was just over 3 1/2 years ago as I created my account on May 24, 2017. I had never head of sim leagues before until I saw the recruitment post in /r/ravens during the NSFL's original recruiting drive. I thought the concept sounded pretty cool, so I decided to give it a try and created my first ever sim league player: running back Boss Tweed. Entering the Season 1 draft was exciting, though it became less exciting as round after round went by and I wasn't picked. Finally, I was selected in the 17th round with the #99 overall pick by the Colorado Yeti. I knew not much was expected of me after the draft, but I was excited to have a sim league home and I knew if I stayed active and kept earning I could grow into a good player and make a positive contribution to my team. We had a successful first season as we won our conference and made it to the Ultimus game, but ultimately fell short. In Season 2 we had a better team on paper, but caught some unlucky breaks and fell short of the playoffs. Season 3 began a rebuild and I would not make it back to the playoffs with the Yeti as the first rebuild was not successful and the Yeti had to start a new rebuild after Season 6 and with Tweed getting older it was unlikely he would still be around by the time the Yeti were ready to contend. When the general managers approached me and said that they thought the best move would be a trade and asked for my thoughts, I was sad about leaving my original team but knew it would ultimately be the right move both for the Yeti to get assets to help with the rebuild and for Tweed to have a shot at a championship. The GMs kept me in the loop throughout the trade process and were ultimately able to find a mutually beneficial deal that would give the Yeti some good assets and send Tweed to the Yellowknife Wraiths where he would be able to contend for a championship. Tweed would later be honored with a selection to the Colorado Yeti Hall of Fame after his retirement. Though I wish we could have had more success on the field and won a championship, I still enjoyed my time with the Yeti as they were my first ever sim league home and I had some great teammates during my time there.
The next chapter of my NSFL career brought me to the Yellowknife Wraiths. With Tweed switching teams, he also switched positions and became a linebacker. Tweed found more success at his new position as he would win two Linebacker of the Year awards and two Defensive Player of the Year awards during his four years as a linebacker. The team had instant success during Tweed's first season as the Wraiths dominated the regular season with a 13-1 record and Tweed made his first playoff appearance since Season 1. Then, in what is still the most crushing loss of my sim league career, the Wraiths lost at home in their first playoff game. However, we were able to rebound in the following season and finally win the Ultimus. Tweed did not make the playoffs again after that, but that one championship win was all I needed to consider Tweed's career a success. Though my time with the Wraiths was short, Tweed saw a lot of success in terms of individual awards in that span and I was able to win my first Ultimus there, so the team will always hold a special place in my heart. After his retirement, Tweed was ultimately named to the NSFL Hall of Fame, which was a big accomplishment for a player who began his career as a 17th round pick. I was torn when asked what team I wanted to be inducted with, but knew what choice to make when I heard that I could be inducted as a member of both teams. Tweed's time with both teams was special and I knew I couldn't summarize his story without including both of them.
After Boss Tweed, my next player was wide receiver Errol Maddox. Maddox ended up getting drafted much earlier as he would be picked by the Baltimore Hawks with the #2 overall pick. This was an exciting moment for me, both to be drafted highly and also to be drafted by the Hawks. As a Baltimore Ravens fan in real life, the Hawks had always appealed to me as they are the only Baltimore team I have seen in any of the sim leagues I have been in so I was excited to get the chance to play for them. Maddox would end up spending all 11 years of his career as a member of the Baltimore Hawks. It was a successful career as the Hawks were a perennial playoff team during Maddox's time there and we were able to win an Ultimus in Season 15. Individually, Maddox had many Pro Bowl selections and two Wide Receiver of the Year awards and also finished #3 all time on the career receiving touchdowns leaderboard. After the conclusion of his career, Maddox was honored with a selection to the Baltimore Hawks Wing of Honor. And I also hope to see Maddox join Tweed in the Hall of Fame when it is time for his vote. With Maddox it was fun to get to play on one team during his entire career, especially for it to be a team with some personal significance to me.
Now I am on to my third player: quarterback Mattathias Caliban. Creating a quarterback was something I wanted to do since the early seasons. After seeing the Yeti's quarterback struggles during my early years there, I had wanted to give quarterback a try myself. Errol Maddox was originally going to be a quarterback, but I backed out as I was unsure how many quarterback spots would be open and I liked wide receiver too. But I decided then that my next player would be a quarterback no matter what. And as destiny would have it, I ended up getting drafted back to the Colorado Yeti after all this time. I was unable to get a championship during my time there with Tweed, but now I have the chance to set things right with Caliban. I plan to remain a max earner throughout Caliban's career, but with my schedule getting tighter, he will probably be my final player here as I don't think I will have the time for another one afterward. I hope to go all out with Caliban to leave a good final chapter of my legacy here. Getting to return to the Yeti after all this time seems like a great way to bring my time in this league full circle, and I'm hoping my second stint here will be a good one.
Overall, sim leagues have been a big part of my life the last few years. In addition to my time in the NSFL, I also had a full career in the PBE and I also recently created my 3rd player in the SBA and will be creating my 3rd generation of players in the EFL soon as well. Just looking at this league, I've already written over 3x the required word count for this point task and I still feel like I didn't go in to as much detail as I would have liked to. It's been a fun ride and none of it would have been possible if I hadn't read that NSFL recruitment post on /r/ravens 3 1/2 years ago.
The next chapter of my NSFL career brought me to the Yellowknife Wraiths. With Tweed switching teams, he also switched positions and became a linebacker. Tweed found more success at his new position as he would win two Linebacker of the Year awards and two Defensive Player of the Year awards during his four years as a linebacker. The team had instant success during Tweed's first season as the Wraiths dominated the regular season with a 13-1 record and Tweed made his first playoff appearance since Season 1. Then, in what is still the most crushing loss of my sim league career, the Wraiths lost at home in their first playoff game. However, we were able to rebound in the following season and finally win the Ultimus. Tweed did not make the playoffs again after that, but that one championship win was all I needed to consider Tweed's career a success. Though my time with the Wraiths was short, Tweed saw a lot of success in terms of individual awards in that span and I was able to win my first Ultimus there, so the team will always hold a special place in my heart. After his retirement, Tweed was ultimately named to the NSFL Hall of Fame, which was a big accomplishment for a player who began his career as a 17th round pick. I was torn when asked what team I wanted to be inducted with, but knew what choice to make when I heard that I could be inducted as a member of both teams. Tweed's time with both teams was special and I knew I couldn't summarize his story without including both of them.
After Boss Tweed, my next player was wide receiver Errol Maddox. Maddox ended up getting drafted much earlier as he would be picked by the Baltimore Hawks with the #2 overall pick. This was an exciting moment for me, both to be drafted highly and also to be drafted by the Hawks. As a Baltimore Ravens fan in real life, the Hawks had always appealed to me as they are the only Baltimore team I have seen in any of the sim leagues I have been in so I was excited to get the chance to play for them. Maddox would end up spending all 11 years of his career as a member of the Baltimore Hawks. It was a successful career as the Hawks were a perennial playoff team during Maddox's time there and we were able to win an Ultimus in Season 15. Individually, Maddox had many Pro Bowl selections and two Wide Receiver of the Year awards and also finished #3 all time on the career receiving touchdowns leaderboard. After the conclusion of his career, Maddox was honored with a selection to the Baltimore Hawks Wing of Honor. And I also hope to see Maddox join Tweed in the Hall of Fame when it is time for his vote. With Maddox it was fun to get to play on one team during his entire career, especially for it to be a team with some personal significance to me.
Now I am on to my third player: quarterback Mattathias Caliban. Creating a quarterback was something I wanted to do since the early seasons. After seeing the Yeti's quarterback struggles during my early years there, I had wanted to give quarterback a try myself. Errol Maddox was originally going to be a quarterback, but I backed out as I was unsure how many quarterback spots would be open and I liked wide receiver too. But I decided then that my next player would be a quarterback no matter what. And as destiny would have it, I ended up getting drafted back to the Colorado Yeti after all this time. I was unable to get a championship during my time there with Tweed, but now I have the chance to set things right with Caliban. I plan to remain a max earner throughout Caliban's career, but with my schedule getting tighter, he will probably be my final player here as I don't think I will have the time for another one afterward. I hope to go all out with Caliban to leave a good final chapter of my legacy here. Getting to return to the Yeti after all this time seems like a great way to bring my time in this league full circle, and I'm hoping my second stint here will be a good one.
Overall, sim leagues have been a big part of my life the last few years. In addition to my time in the NSFL, I also had a full career in the PBE and I also recently created my 3rd player in the SBA and will be creating my 3rd generation of players in the EFL soon as well. Just looking at this league, I've already written over 3x the required word count for this point task and I still feel like I didn't go in to as much detail as I would have liked to. It's been a fun ride and none of it would have been possible if I hadn't read that NSFL recruitment post on /r/ravens 3 1/2 years ago.
![[Image: 24-win-MVP.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/h48H8mVk/24-win-MVP.png)
