12) It seems likely the league will undergo expansion again one day soon. What would you like to see in a new expansion team? What should it be called, where should it be located, and who do you think would be in the best position to GM? Explain why.
Allow me to present the next ISFL expansion club, and one that I hope will bring new international fans to the league: The Kyoto Koi!
What is a koi, you may be wondering. A japanese koi is a fish in the carp family. The pokemon Magikarp was designed with the fish in mind, to be sure. Koi make wonderful pets, but the exciting thing about them is they’ll continue to grow to the size of their pond or tank, seemingly with no upper limit!
But why Kyoto? For starters, the INTERNATIONAL Simulated Football League seems to be lacking when it comes to Asian representation. There are no teams that are based in any part of Asia, let alone Japan despite it being a cultural and economic hub with a large population of sports fans. Gridiron football is a niche and has yet to take off in popularity, presenting a golden opportunity to bring in some fresh new fans.
So what are the jerseys going to look like? I think the obvious choice would be white on red as an homage to the Japanese flag, but I’d like to hold space for the potential for additional expansion teams in Japan, such as the Tokyo Tigers or something. Therefore, I imagine the Kyoto Koi would have a sea-blue primary color and a bright golden-orange secondary color. This would honor both the sea which is a cultural symbol of Japan, and the orange would replicate a common koi color.
Let’s consider a few possible GMs. Well, up until now, Baltimore has been the seat of the majority of weebs in the league, with both Glims and Jiggly being fans of anime and what have you. Either one would be an excellent GM, but for this team, I have to choose the biggest understated weeb in the entire league to lead this fledgling group: Me!
While I am still fairly new to the league with only three DSFL seasons under my belt, I have an excellent support group of current and former GMs to lean on. Though it is soon to be irrelevant, I have spent countless hours in DDSPF16 sim testing and tweaking strats to create the best possible win rate that I could muster. I think I would be a great play caller (or strat caller, rather), and I also really love Japanese culture and cuisine. That might not make much of a difference in our teams performance, but I can at least point the players in the right direction to get some delicious ramen (any of the Marutai Tonkatsu ramen are great, as well as Nissin Raoh Shoyu flavor!).
That’s just one of the GMs, who will be the other? I would have said the second biggest weeb I know, but he went IA--beefstu AKA James Gath. Instead, I’ll go with my brother Damian Blackfyre AKA ThunderTitan. He’s a good friend who entered the league at the same time as me, and has been heavily involved in the league ever since. Together we will lead Kyoto to the championship where we will undoubtedly be vict-koi-rious!
(514 words)
9) What is it that keeps you interested in the league? Is it your love of dot football, the community, a specific job or role you play, or something else? What do you like most about it? What could be improved?
I think that my Minnesota GM TheCC said it best to the boys after a tough loss: “There’s more to this league than how well our sim player does.” Something like that.
When I first joined the league I anticipated that I wouldn’t spend much time doing anything extra-curricular. I was interested in making a player, watching them play, and that was about it. During scouting, when I was asked how active I anticipated myself being, I consistently said between a 6 and a 7 out of 10. That was true at the time, but since then, I would say my activity level is pretty high: Probably an 8 or a 9.
It all started when I realized that I wasn’t going to be a good player if I didn’t max earn. This isn’t to say that there are players that don’t max earn who arent productive or successful, but rather, I accidentally chose an archetype that I was interested in, but was confirmed to be less productive than the others: The Power Rusher. Because the meta of DDSPF16 is speed-centric, the power rusher whose speed is capped at 80 is not a great choice for having a storied career. Because I believe that all things are possible through spite, I decided not to change my archetype, but to rage against the established meta as hard as I could to try and prove that there is still fun to be had down the unbeaten path--however, that would require a lot more work.
So I’ve been max earning ever since. Honestly, it isn’t that hard. I actually like having little assignments to do. I’ve been out of college since 2013 and so having a bit of homework actually excites me.
It was really the community, or more specifically, the Minnesota Locker Room, that sustained me through the last few seasons. They are truly great people to have in the discord, and I was surprised and humbled to be chosen to be a team captain last season and this season. I was added to the war room, which let me see behind the curtain a bit more, and the whole thing just fascinated me. While I don’t always have the free time to participate in every discussion, I do enjoy the conversations I do have and I enjoy reading the ones I’m absent for. But then the next responsibility hit me, and immediately I was hooked: Sim Testing.
I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent sim testing a double header with a beer in one hand, a smoke in the other, and a podcast playing in the background. It truly feels zen to me, and it is a responsibility that I think I’ll miss next season and in seasons to come.
When it comes to improvements, I’m at a loss. In previous seasons I would have said a new sim would be an improvement, but now that we’re getting one, It’s a moot point. I guess I’ll say that even though I like a bit of chirping and trash talk, I think that sometimes people take things like rivalries very seriously, or even just a bad conversation in discord, and say some things that are not very cash-money. The league does a pretty good job with punishments, but I think there should also be some emphasis on highlighting the users that make the league a fun and inclusive community. Instead of just a “Most Dedicated Member” award, there should be a Congeniality--or “Nice User”--award to highlight people that might not apply for league jobs, but are active and improve the community with their geniality and presence.
(607 words)
Allow me to present the next ISFL expansion club, and one that I hope will bring new international fans to the league: The Kyoto Koi!
What is a koi, you may be wondering. A japanese koi is a fish in the carp family. The pokemon Magikarp was designed with the fish in mind, to be sure. Koi make wonderful pets, but the exciting thing about them is they’ll continue to grow to the size of their pond or tank, seemingly with no upper limit!
But why Kyoto? For starters, the INTERNATIONAL Simulated Football League seems to be lacking when it comes to Asian representation. There are no teams that are based in any part of Asia, let alone Japan despite it being a cultural and economic hub with a large population of sports fans. Gridiron football is a niche and has yet to take off in popularity, presenting a golden opportunity to bring in some fresh new fans.
So what are the jerseys going to look like? I think the obvious choice would be white on red as an homage to the Japanese flag, but I’d like to hold space for the potential for additional expansion teams in Japan, such as the Tokyo Tigers or something. Therefore, I imagine the Kyoto Koi would have a sea-blue primary color and a bright golden-orange secondary color. This would honor both the sea which is a cultural symbol of Japan, and the orange would replicate a common koi color.
Let’s consider a few possible GMs. Well, up until now, Baltimore has been the seat of the majority of weebs in the league, with both Glims and Jiggly being fans of anime and what have you. Either one would be an excellent GM, but for this team, I have to choose the biggest understated weeb in the entire league to lead this fledgling group: Me!
While I am still fairly new to the league with only three DSFL seasons under my belt, I have an excellent support group of current and former GMs to lean on. Though it is soon to be irrelevant, I have spent countless hours in DDSPF16 sim testing and tweaking strats to create the best possible win rate that I could muster. I think I would be a great play caller (or strat caller, rather), and I also really love Japanese culture and cuisine. That might not make much of a difference in our teams performance, but I can at least point the players in the right direction to get some delicious ramen (any of the Marutai Tonkatsu ramen are great, as well as Nissin Raoh Shoyu flavor!).
That’s just one of the GMs, who will be the other? I would have said the second biggest weeb I know, but he went IA--beefstu AKA James Gath. Instead, I’ll go with my brother Damian Blackfyre AKA ThunderTitan. He’s a good friend who entered the league at the same time as me, and has been heavily involved in the league ever since. Together we will lead Kyoto to the championship where we will undoubtedly be vict-koi-rious!
(514 words)
9) What is it that keeps you interested in the league? Is it your love of dot football, the community, a specific job or role you play, or something else? What do you like most about it? What could be improved?
I think that my Minnesota GM TheCC said it best to the boys after a tough loss: “There’s more to this league than how well our sim player does.” Something like that.
When I first joined the league I anticipated that I wouldn’t spend much time doing anything extra-curricular. I was interested in making a player, watching them play, and that was about it. During scouting, when I was asked how active I anticipated myself being, I consistently said between a 6 and a 7 out of 10. That was true at the time, but since then, I would say my activity level is pretty high: Probably an 8 or a 9.
It all started when I realized that I wasn’t going to be a good player if I didn’t max earn. This isn’t to say that there are players that don’t max earn who arent productive or successful, but rather, I accidentally chose an archetype that I was interested in, but was confirmed to be less productive than the others: The Power Rusher. Because the meta of DDSPF16 is speed-centric, the power rusher whose speed is capped at 80 is not a great choice for having a storied career. Because I believe that all things are possible through spite, I decided not to change my archetype, but to rage against the established meta as hard as I could to try and prove that there is still fun to be had down the unbeaten path--however, that would require a lot more work.
So I’ve been max earning ever since. Honestly, it isn’t that hard. I actually like having little assignments to do. I’ve been out of college since 2013 and so having a bit of homework actually excites me.
It was really the community, or more specifically, the Minnesota Locker Room, that sustained me through the last few seasons. They are truly great people to have in the discord, and I was surprised and humbled to be chosen to be a team captain last season and this season. I was added to the war room, which let me see behind the curtain a bit more, and the whole thing just fascinated me. While I don’t always have the free time to participate in every discussion, I do enjoy the conversations I do have and I enjoy reading the ones I’m absent for. But then the next responsibility hit me, and immediately I was hooked: Sim Testing.
I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent sim testing a double header with a beer in one hand, a smoke in the other, and a podcast playing in the background. It truly feels zen to me, and it is a responsibility that I think I’ll miss next season and in seasons to come.
When it comes to improvements, I’m at a loss. In previous seasons I would have said a new sim would be an improvement, but now that we’re getting one, It’s a moot point. I guess I’ll say that even though I like a bit of chirping and trash talk, I think that sometimes people take things like rivalries very seriously, or even just a bad conversation in discord, and say some things that are not very cash-money. The league does a pretty good job with punishments, but I think there should also be some emphasis on highlighting the users that make the league a fun and inclusive community. Instead of just a “Most Dedicated Member” award, there should be a Congeniality--or “Nice User”--award to highlight people that might not apply for league jobs, but are active and improve the community with their geniality and presence.
(607 words)