The S22 ISFL Draft night was one of the happiest days of my sim league career, perhaps only second to winning the Ultimini as Tijuana’s general manager. In my time as a player in Tijuana, I had made friends with several players on the New Orleans Second Line, most notably Jay Doctor. Jay was my first sim league friend. We bonded over our shared Lord of the Rings fandom, and he was the GM who drafted me to play for Tijuana. I dreamed of joining him and others as the newest member of the excellent New Orleans secondary. New Orleans had a magical playoff run in S21, winning the Ultimini and securing the 12th and final draft spot in the draft. They traded a haul of picks to Honolulu to get the second overall pick, drafting Magnus Rikiya, defensive tackle. Everyone expected their second pick (and twelfth overall) to be quarterback Ben Slothlisberger, Stan Francisco’s heir apparent, and my teammate in Tijuana. Instead, the Second Line shocked the entire league, me included, by selecting me with the last pick in the first round. Leading up to the draft, most people had me mocked as a third or fourth rounder, but as the draft neared, rumors of me going higher started to surface. There was not a single mock draft PT submission, however, that pegged me as a first rounder. I was thrilled that New Orleans drafted me, as a first rounder no less. I heard on a podcast later that Honolulu had plans to draft me at thirteenth overall, so NOLA made the right move drafting me at 12 if they wanted me. I am so grateful to TomHanks and the rest of the Second Line war room for making my draft dreams come true as an ISFL first round selection.
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