"5. The league has a rich and fascinating history, and our perspectives on it differ from person to person. In 600 words or more, describe any significant moment in ISFL or DSFL history, whether you were around for it or not. Describe the context, the significant members, and the events. What exactly made this event so famous (or infamous) and why does it deserve to be remembered? Events might include championship wins, the inducting of players to the hall of fame, or even a league scandal."
The history of the ISFL is one that I’m proud to say I play a considerable part in. I joined the NSFL on May 22, 2017. I was in this league on the ground floor and I want to be here when it’s all over. I know I haven’t been active throughout the entire life-span of the league, but my players have made an impact. Before going into my history of the NSFL/ISFL, it might make sense to give a bit of context about my own sim league history. I joined my first sim league around March 2003. The World Baseball League used Out of the Park Baseball 5 as a sim engine, and I was lucky enough to be on the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball message boards when I saw an ad for the league. It talked about taking your own player and turning him into an all-time great. To me, this sounded like the best thing ever. Now that it’s 2022, it still sounds like a pretty cool idea to me. I can’t believe that almost 20 years later, there’s still a community so passionate about what we do.
The most significant storyline that I was part of in the NSFL was, without question, the Orange County Otters QB room after the inaugural draft. The first draft in a league’s history is something that’s hard to describe to someone who’s never been there. There’s this sense of optimism that takes everyone under its spell. Every pick, every situation is seen with rose-colored glasses. Almost every interaction is covered with a varnish of kindness and good nature. Every team thinks that every pick they made was the right call and was the proper piece needed to be a champion. The reality of this sets in not too far in the future, but savoring that optimism on draft day is important. For me, personally, the optimism on draft day was short lived and filled with mixed signals.
The Season 1 Draft saw a total of 12 QBs selected to 6 teams. The first QB off the board went to the Orange County Otters, #24 overall Ethan Hunt from Idaho State. Shortly thereafter, at pick #29 Baltimore selected Scrub Kyubee who starred at Michigan State. The next QB wasn’t taken for quite some time, and it would be #43 overall to the Arizona Outlaws, Vincent Draxel from South Carolina. At #48, Orange County took their second QB of the draft. That would be me – Mike Boss, QB from Boston College. I was the 7th future Hall of Famer selected in the Draft. Orange County went on to select QB Romeo Devitt from Washington at #85, QB Josh Bercovici from Arizona State at #96, and finally QB Cliff Hamilton at #109. The Otters in total had selected 5 QBs in the draft. I now had a 1/5 shot of being a starting QB.
After the Draft had concluded, there was rampant media speculation as to who the starting QB was going to be in Orange County. It seemed like every sports radio station in Southern California attached themselves to one of us and just ran with it. The national media, to me, was even worse. I didn’t have the national appeal that some of the other guys had. Early word was that Bercovici was the favorite amongst team leadership to take the starting job. Every day I was peppered with questions about who the starter was going to be. I didn’t commit to an actual lease at an apartment in Orange County for months until I had my footing underneath me. There was a considerable period of time there where I thought that I wasn’t going to get the chance. I almost ran out of hope that the job would be mine, but I just kept showing up to team meetings and having the right attitude. While other guys would slip up here and there, I made it a point to be a perfectionist. If someone missed something in practice or on film, I made a point to do it better than them. Eventually, the good players separate themselves from the average players, or the pretenders. I’m proud to say that I came out of that QB room with the honor and prestige of being the top QB on the team. Training camp and the media was a nightmare, but I won the job.
Looking back, while I wouldn’t change the experience I had winning the job over so many other QBs, it’s interesting to wonder what if. What if I went to Baltimore or Arizona? Those two teams took QBs before I was off the board. I very well could’ve ended up in a much different circumstance had either of those teams taken a chance on me. I can’t imagine having better WRs than I did in Orange County. Bradley Westfield and Robert Phelps were superstars, generational talents that I was lucky enough to come into the league with. On the management side of things, Angus Winchester played a crucial role in protecting me on and off the field. His guidance and friendship during my years in Orange County helped mold me into the player that I was. I didn’t accomplish all of these things myself. I had an incredible cast around me. I think my story is one of the best stories that the NSFL/ISFL has ever told. I can’t wait to be part of more stories this league creates in the future.
The history of the ISFL is one that I’m proud to say I play a considerable part in. I joined the NSFL on May 22, 2017. I was in this league on the ground floor and I want to be here when it’s all over. I know I haven’t been active throughout the entire life-span of the league, but my players have made an impact. Before going into my history of the NSFL/ISFL, it might make sense to give a bit of context about my own sim league history. I joined my first sim league around March 2003. The World Baseball League used Out of the Park Baseball 5 as a sim engine, and I was lucky enough to be on the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball message boards when I saw an ad for the league. It talked about taking your own player and turning him into an all-time great. To me, this sounded like the best thing ever. Now that it’s 2022, it still sounds like a pretty cool idea to me. I can’t believe that almost 20 years later, there’s still a community so passionate about what we do.
The most significant storyline that I was part of in the NSFL was, without question, the Orange County Otters QB room after the inaugural draft. The first draft in a league’s history is something that’s hard to describe to someone who’s never been there. There’s this sense of optimism that takes everyone under its spell. Every pick, every situation is seen with rose-colored glasses. Almost every interaction is covered with a varnish of kindness and good nature. Every team thinks that every pick they made was the right call and was the proper piece needed to be a champion. The reality of this sets in not too far in the future, but savoring that optimism on draft day is important. For me, personally, the optimism on draft day was short lived and filled with mixed signals.
The Season 1 Draft saw a total of 12 QBs selected to 6 teams. The first QB off the board went to the Orange County Otters, #24 overall Ethan Hunt from Idaho State. Shortly thereafter, at pick #29 Baltimore selected Scrub Kyubee who starred at Michigan State. The next QB wasn’t taken for quite some time, and it would be #43 overall to the Arizona Outlaws, Vincent Draxel from South Carolina. At #48, Orange County took their second QB of the draft. That would be me – Mike Boss, QB from Boston College. I was the 7th future Hall of Famer selected in the Draft. Orange County went on to select QB Romeo Devitt from Washington at #85, QB Josh Bercovici from Arizona State at #96, and finally QB Cliff Hamilton at #109. The Otters in total had selected 5 QBs in the draft. I now had a 1/5 shot of being a starting QB.
After the Draft had concluded, there was rampant media speculation as to who the starting QB was going to be in Orange County. It seemed like every sports radio station in Southern California attached themselves to one of us and just ran with it. The national media, to me, was even worse. I didn’t have the national appeal that some of the other guys had. Early word was that Bercovici was the favorite amongst team leadership to take the starting job. Every day I was peppered with questions about who the starter was going to be. I didn’t commit to an actual lease at an apartment in Orange County for months until I had my footing underneath me. There was a considerable period of time there where I thought that I wasn’t going to get the chance. I almost ran out of hope that the job would be mine, but I just kept showing up to team meetings and having the right attitude. While other guys would slip up here and there, I made it a point to be a perfectionist. If someone missed something in practice or on film, I made a point to do it better than them. Eventually, the good players separate themselves from the average players, or the pretenders. I’m proud to say that I came out of that QB room with the honor and prestige of being the top QB on the team. Training camp and the media was a nightmare, but I won the job.
Looking back, while I wouldn’t change the experience I had winning the job over so many other QBs, it’s interesting to wonder what if. What if I went to Baltimore or Arizona? Those two teams took QBs before I was off the board. I very well could’ve ended up in a much different circumstance had either of those teams taken a chance on me. I can’t imagine having better WRs than I did in Orange County. Bradley Westfield and Robert Phelps were superstars, generational talents that I was lucky enough to come into the league with. On the management side of things, Angus Winchester played a crucial role in protecting me on and off the field. His guidance and friendship during my years in Orange County helped mold me into the player that I was. I didn’t accomplish all of these things myself. I had an incredible cast around me. I think my story is one of the best stories that the NSFL/ISFL has ever told. I can’t wait to be part of more stories this league creates in the future.
WR- JAMAL SLICK JR.
"THE NEW ERA"
MR 8X ULTIMUS CHAMPION
QB Mike Boss - HOF
TE Johnny Blaze - HOF
QB Mike Boss Jr
WR Johnny Blaze Jr
QB Mike Boss - HOF
TE Johnny Blaze - HOF
QB Mike Boss Jr
WR Johnny Blaze Jr