Prompt 1 (300+ words):
Write a short biography or story about your player. This could include background about how they came to the ISFL and how they’ve done so far, a story about their role in an exciting game, or anything else related to their experience in the league.
Travis Novak is a wide receiver prospect in the S50 DSFL Draft. His football journey starts surprisingly not too long before today; going into high school, Novak's two main sports were soccer and basketball. In fact, this DSFL-prospect-to-be didn't even consider playing football until one fateful day, where his school's football coach showed up to the soccer team practice and took notice of Novak's speed and agility. Following the practice, he described some routes to Novak and asked him to run them up and down the soccer pitch -- Novak excelled. From then on, Novak's story was that of a football player. He played all four years for his high school team, leading the squad to become the Minnesota State Champions in his fourth and final year. Recruiting calls started coming in, voluntary workouts were held, and when all the dust settled, Novak committed to play for the Huskies football team of Northern Illinois University.
Having reached college, Travis got to work. His first (and, spoiler, only) season with this squad was difficult, but productive. He had to contend with no longer being the best player on the team, with not even being the wide receiver on his team. Novak had to learn to check his ego at the door, and that hard work was the only way he'd come out ahead. He put his head down, put in his shift and produced respectable but not jaw-dropping numbers for his team. Once the season was over, Travis felt there was more to his journey, and knew he'd have to take a leap of faith if he was ever going to go pro. Reluctantly, Travis Novak entered the transfer portal. While his numbers weren't stellar, they were good enough to earn him some attention from his downstate neighbors: the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. Travis readied himself to play in the Big Ten.
Upon his arrival at Illinois, things really started to click. Having learned from past experiences, Travis got along better with his teammates. He took pointers from the older players, internalized guidance from his coaches, and made real strides to be an integral part of the team. The efforts reflected on the field, as he quickly topped his previous season's performance and made a real impact on the team's success. As this season wound down, Novak knew what the next stop on his journey would be, and he declared for the DSFL draft.
Is this a particularly exciting backstory? Not really. But it's an important one. While he knows it's wise to remember where you came from, Travis is more concerned with where he's going.
Prompt 2 (150+ words):
You’re in charge of entertainment for the Ultimus or Ultimini half-time show. What would you do?
When I read this question, I thought about some of the things that make watching a baseball broadcast a little more bearable (beyond outright gambling on the game). In between drives, I think it'd be nice to do a round of trivia questions involving either the players in the teams (questions drawn from media/wiki posts) or perhaps even on league history. An example of this might be "Which season was the last time a DSFL prospect averaged over X yards and Y touchdowns in the prospect bowl?" with there being four different seasons as multiple choice options.
Additionally, I think it could be interesting to have some graphics in between quarters or at the half that shows interesting performances, or even like a win-probability graph based on the game so far. This idea might need some scripting that can generate the graph on the fly, plus some coordination with stream staff, but it could be a pretty cool thing to help liven up the stream.
Lastly, but certainly not least, who doesn't love a race? If you haven't seen the Braves' "Beat the Freeze" crowd events (look it up, you won't be disappointed), they're always a crowd favorite. Even if it's pre-scripted or pre-rendered, it'd be fun to have a little race in between quarters or even between games to get the viewership engaged.
Prompt 3 (150+ words):
What team do you think has the best branding in the league? Why?
Personally, I can only really comment on the DSFL teams we have since I'm currently just a prospect and have only really interacted with those teams. That being said, my answer to this question would definitely be the Minnesota Grey Ducks. I say this for a handful of reasons -- first, their logo somehow straddles the line between being slick and menacing, but also a little goofy (as ducks often tend to be). Just look at this thing --> . It reminds me of the Seattle Seahawks logo, and the icy grey and blue color scheme fits perfectly with the frozen Great White North in Minnesota.
Secondly, immediately upon joining their Discord, you're encouraged to join their "Honk Competition", which consists of a tourney where Discord members take turns rolling a bot to honk at one another; the person who honks the most advances in the tourney. It's all good fun, and definitely a great way to lean into the Grey Duck branding.
Write a short biography or story about your player. This could include background about how they came to the ISFL and how they’ve done so far, a story about their role in an exciting game, or anything else related to their experience in the league.
Travis Novak is a wide receiver prospect in the S50 DSFL Draft. His football journey starts surprisingly not too long before today; going into high school, Novak's two main sports were soccer and basketball. In fact, this DSFL-prospect-to-be didn't even consider playing football until one fateful day, where his school's football coach showed up to the soccer team practice and took notice of Novak's speed and agility. Following the practice, he described some routes to Novak and asked him to run them up and down the soccer pitch -- Novak excelled. From then on, Novak's story was that of a football player. He played all four years for his high school team, leading the squad to become the Minnesota State Champions in his fourth and final year. Recruiting calls started coming in, voluntary workouts were held, and when all the dust settled, Novak committed to play for the Huskies football team of Northern Illinois University.
Having reached college, Travis got to work. His first (and, spoiler, only) season with this squad was difficult, but productive. He had to contend with no longer being the best player on the team, with not even being the wide receiver on his team. Novak had to learn to check his ego at the door, and that hard work was the only way he'd come out ahead. He put his head down, put in his shift and produced respectable but not jaw-dropping numbers for his team. Once the season was over, Travis felt there was more to his journey, and knew he'd have to take a leap of faith if he was ever going to go pro. Reluctantly, Travis Novak entered the transfer portal. While his numbers weren't stellar, they were good enough to earn him some attention from his downstate neighbors: the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. Travis readied himself to play in the Big Ten.
Upon his arrival at Illinois, things really started to click. Having learned from past experiences, Travis got along better with his teammates. He took pointers from the older players, internalized guidance from his coaches, and made real strides to be an integral part of the team. The efforts reflected on the field, as he quickly topped his previous season's performance and made a real impact on the team's success. As this season wound down, Novak knew what the next stop on his journey would be, and he declared for the DSFL draft.
Is this a particularly exciting backstory? Not really. But it's an important one. While he knows it's wise to remember where you came from, Travis is more concerned with where he's going.
Prompt 2 (150+ words):
You’re in charge of entertainment for the Ultimus or Ultimini half-time show. What would you do?
When I read this question, I thought about some of the things that make watching a baseball broadcast a little more bearable (beyond outright gambling on the game). In between drives, I think it'd be nice to do a round of trivia questions involving either the players in the teams (questions drawn from media/wiki posts) or perhaps even on league history. An example of this might be "Which season was the last time a DSFL prospect averaged over X yards and Y touchdowns in the prospect bowl?" with there being four different seasons as multiple choice options.
Additionally, I think it could be interesting to have some graphics in between quarters or at the half that shows interesting performances, or even like a win-probability graph based on the game so far. This idea might need some scripting that can generate the graph on the fly, plus some coordination with stream staff, but it could be a pretty cool thing to help liven up the stream.
Lastly, but certainly not least, who doesn't love a race? If you haven't seen the Braves' "Beat the Freeze" crowd events (look it up, you won't be disappointed), they're always a crowd favorite. Even if it's pre-scripted or pre-rendered, it'd be fun to have a little race in between quarters or even between games to get the viewership engaged.
Prompt 3 (150+ words):
What team do you think has the best branding in the league? Why?
Personally, I can only really comment on the DSFL teams we have since I'm currently just a prospect and have only really interacted with those teams. That being said, my answer to this question would definitely be the Minnesota Grey Ducks. I say this for a handful of reasons -- first, their logo somehow straddles the line between being slick and menacing, but also a little goofy (as ducks often tend to be). Just look at this thing --> . It reminds me of the Seattle Seahawks logo, and the icy grey and blue color scheme fits perfectly with the frozen Great White North in Minnesota.
Secondly, immediately upon joining their Discord, you're encouraged to join their "Honk Competition", which consists of a tourney where Discord members take turns rolling a bot to honk at one another; the person who honks the most advances in the tourney. It's all good fun, and definitely a great way to lean into the Grey Duck branding.