Task 6: Aight, we need to have a serious talk about how the league is. Like, why the hell haven't we had expansion yet? Like...how? Now, I could have chosen task 13, but I decided not to so I could talk about it as a whole.
So, expansion. For those unfamiliar with the term in regards to sports, it is essentially creating new teams and/or new divisions in the league to help balance out player flux and change things up. A big example of this is the 1997 MLB expansion which saw the creation of the Arizona Diamondbacks (a utterly garbage team) and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, now shortened to Rays (a lot better team than the D-backs, fite me. But hey, at least it's not the Rangers). The PBE and the SCSFL, both leagues that I'm a part of in addition to the ISFL, have expanded considerably. The PBE had a few expansion teams, including the Detroit Demons, the New Orleans Rougarous, and the Brew City Bears. I've been on two of the expansion teams, one of which I was very close to being a part of the World Series team. We got beat out in Game 7 of the Championship series due to a bullpen implosion. I am a inaugural member of the Barcelona Nightmares in the SCSFL, and even threw the very first franchise touchdown, which was a huge deal for me and the team itself due to its significance to our team's history.
Why expansion in regards to the ISFL? There are a number of reasons, including increased teams, increased player influx (ie bringing new players in, thereby increasing the league's popularity, therefore making the ISFL more mainstream.) It would also allow for more GMs, which in turn would give more members to management and head office, which in turn would, again, help the league considerably. Another reason would be to create more league jobs, which would have players make more sim money, which would again, help the league. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.
So in other words, all this is to help the league. But you may be asking, why? Why is it important to help the league by expanding? Simply put, by helping the league, we help its players, its GMs, its Head Office, everything, top to bottom, we help them. More help equals more league jobs which equals more job openings which equals more money for training and TPE. In other words, we'd be creating more opportunities for league investment and to make things a lot more fun around the league as a whole.
Now, for the semantics. How would we go about doing this? Simply put, do it like we do in the PBE. Have job openings for expansion teams. In the PBE, we do it every few seasons, barring something preventing us from doing so (for example, right now we've run into huge cap issues, otherwise I'd be in the process of creating the Boston Rebels). The process is simple. We post a job opening on our forums and people apply. We ask some basic questions (won't go into them here, pretty sure I'm not supposed to), and then, just like any other league job (or job irl), we hire good candidates.
Take my Boston Rebels example. I could just wing the application and interview process and hope for the best. But if I could come prepared with information already in hand that I would need anyways, it would definitely help my case. The Rebels would then have an expansion draft, and then draft rookies in the next draft. And it can be for DSFL OR ISFL. For example, in the PBE, we have expansion teams in both the Minors and the Majors.
I know I've gone on for a while now, but allow me to say just a few more things. First off, I do understand that getting things ready for expansion take time. However, a vast majority of the community has been asking for it for quite some time now. As I've stated before, having team expansions would greatly increase player retention and influx. Again, it would also create more league jobs for those who desire them. I'm not typing this up just for the free 10 TPE. I'm writing this up because user retention for me is a pretty big deal, and I personally would expand when time permits so that the userbase can feel like they have a say. We already have voting on summits, and there is a clear line of communication, which is amazing. But if we can create more league jobs, more money opportunities, and allow more people to become involved in the league? That's what separates a decent league from an amazing league, and it's something I want the ISFL to be. Right now, it can be so much more. Obviously, I'm just guy. I'm not a GM, or a member of HO. Nor do I even have a league job. But I truly would like to see more job opportunities and room for advancement in the league.
So, expansion. For those unfamiliar with the term in regards to sports, it is essentially creating new teams and/or new divisions in the league to help balance out player flux and change things up. A big example of this is the 1997 MLB expansion which saw the creation of the Arizona Diamondbacks (a utterly garbage team) and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, now shortened to Rays (a lot better team than the D-backs, fite me. But hey, at least it's not the Rangers). The PBE and the SCSFL, both leagues that I'm a part of in addition to the ISFL, have expanded considerably. The PBE had a few expansion teams, including the Detroit Demons, the New Orleans Rougarous, and the Brew City Bears. I've been on two of the expansion teams, one of which I was very close to being a part of the World Series team. We got beat out in Game 7 of the Championship series due to a bullpen implosion. I am a inaugural member of the Barcelona Nightmares in the SCSFL, and even threw the very first franchise touchdown, which was a huge deal for me and the team itself due to its significance to our team's history.
Why expansion in regards to the ISFL? There are a number of reasons, including increased teams, increased player influx (ie bringing new players in, thereby increasing the league's popularity, therefore making the ISFL more mainstream.) It would also allow for more GMs, which in turn would give more members to management and head office, which in turn would, again, help the league considerably. Another reason would be to create more league jobs, which would have players make more sim money, which would again, help the league. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.
So in other words, all this is to help the league. But you may be asking, why? Why is it important to help the league by expanding? Simply put, by helping the league, we help its players, its GMs, its Head Office, everything, top to bottom, we help them. More help equals more league jobs which equals more job openings which equals more money for training and TPE. In other words, we'd be creating more opportunities for league investment and to make things a lot more fun around the league as a whole.
Now, for the semantics. How would we go about doing this? Simply put, do it like we do in the PBE. Have job openings for expansion teams. In the PBE, we do it every few seasons, barring something preventing us from doing so (for example, right now we've run into huge cap issues, otherwise I'd be in the process of creating the Boston Rebels). The process is simple. We post a job opening on our forums and people apply. We ask some basic questions (won't go into them here, pretty sure I'm not supposed to), and then, just like any other league job (or job irl), we hire good candidates.
Take my Boston Rebels example. I could just wing the application and interview process and hope for the best. But if I could come prepared with information already in hand that I would need anyways, it would definitely help my case. The Rebels would then have an expansion draft, and then draft rookies in the next draft. And it can be for DSFL OR ISFL. For example, in the PBE, we have expansion teams in both the Minors and the Majors.
I know I've gone on for a while now, but allow me to say just a few more things. First off, I do understand that getting things ready for expansion take time. However, a vast majority of the community has been asking for it for quite some time now. As I've stated before, having team expansions would greatly increase player retention and influx. Again, it would also create more league jobs for those who desire them. I'm not typing this up just for the free 10 TPE. I'm writing this up because user retention for me is a pretty big deal, and I personally would expand when time permits so that the userbase can feel like they have a say. We already have voting on summits, and there is a clear line of communication, which is amazing. But if we can create more league jobs, more money opportunities, and allow more people to become involved in the league? That's what separates a decent league from an amazing league, and it's something I want the ISFL to be. Right now, it can be so much more. Obviously, I'm just guy. I'm not a GM, or a member of HO. Nor do I even have a league job. But I truly would like to see more job opportunities and room for advancement in the league.
Code:
850 words. That took too long to write.