I really wanted to refrain from making a post like this, but I’m feeling so incredibly hurt and taken advantage of at this point, that I feel it’s necessary I explain why I left Baltimore after being one of the biggest homers for the team possible, and how even when trying to leave, I was still being treated like I meant nothing more than trade bait to them.
First of all, I want to start this off by saying, yes, I applied to be the Hawks GM. Hell, Butters had submitted me to be Co-GM to replace Star until the investigation halted that. So in come the temp GMs, CLG and Tomas. This part hurts a ton, because the last thing I want to do is shit on them even slightly. They did a fantastic job as temp GMs with the locker room and GM responsibilities while doing a job they absolutely didn't want. But their handling of the GM selection ended up causing 5 players to request a trade, along with at least one or two others being on the fence with leaving.
The Hawks all wanted someone we knew would be a good fit. We wanted a voice in our selection, and it was I and Frazzle who people agreed upon to apply, at least in the war room side of things. Though I imagine Baltimore in general would have been fine with this, as Frazzle and I maintained good relationships with everyone in there. Tomas and CLG were trying desperately to get more input into the selection to help be the voice of the team as much as possible, as they said, and we all thought things were going well. We kept getting told how great we were doing in the process with the application and interviews, but then I was personally getting asked on the side “hey would you be cool working with one of the other applicants?” I assumed maybe they were just hoping we could do whatever it took to get a Baltimore rep as a GM in case of the worst, but what comes next pretty much spits all over that. We now skip to the day of the new GMs. I am specifically told it’ll be Eph and Swanky after a failed attempt to get one of them to allow me to GM with them, from what CLG said. Ok, completely fine with that. They’re good at what they do, no problem. I and Frazzle are 100% fine with losing to people who had a better plan than us. Eph was even a KCC player that I drafted, so heck yeah, a reunion sounded awesome. I told CLG even that I liked the selection. But then here comes the complete fuckening that caused The Great Baltimore Escape.
The war room gets pinged later in the day. With no explanation as to why plans changed, Frick and Hall are announced GMs. And the explanation was “we think Baltimore needs a fresh set of faces.” So, after convincing the war room they were vouching for Baltimore to stay running Baltimore constantly leading up to this, it turns out that’s not the case at all. Hell, Tomas admitted that Frazzle and me were last on his list despite being one of the people to encourage us to apply, because he wanted someone outside of Baltimore to take over. I felt fucking devastated. Had it just ended at “they were really good and there was nothing we could do”, there would have been no problem. But this? This was just snake shit. A complete waste of everyone's time in Baltimore and a complete betrayal of the discussions we had.
Tomas, CLG, and I talked about it, but at that point the damage was already done. We all appreciated apologies about it, but for a team I and many others cared about to be handed off to people who had less affiliation and tenure with the team, and then for them to fight against what the people of Baltimore wanted, is insane to me and goes completely against the spirit of this whole thing. Especially when you're telling an entire war room that yes, you're doing what you can to represent them, only for that to be COMPLETELY untrue. Had they just not played a bunch of games with us and been straight forward about what they wanted for Baltimore, at least we'd have a chance to talk with them about it. Respect them a little more, even if their decision wasn't what we wanted. Heck, the least they could have done was tell us who the other groups were so we could at least give our opinion on them. We weren't told shit about who was running against Frazzle and I besides a few sneaky behind the scenes DMs telling us that Laser and an unknown CO-GM were running. They chose the route that would piss people in Baltimore off the most, and that's exactly what they got.
So now, we move on to Frick and Hall. I liked the two of them a ton. I’ve been on PBE teams with them, and have really enjoyed their presence. Hall was even the one who put together my Landshark prospect team logo, so I liked him since week 1 of my time here. But the way they decided to handle me while I was already hurting from all of this is insane. Someone was telling them that I wanted out of Baltimore, because of how upset I was. I told them that I was on the fence, but that I wanted to stay with the team for the whole season at least and see how things went. They actually ended up making a group chat so we could even discuss ways to keep me on the team. It made me feel actually really hopeful to see how they were making an effort to keep me. It was late at night though, so we were going to do it yesterday morning. But, instead I woke up to Frazzle being in the group now, and being told they’ve got an offer from Philly for the both of us. This right here, was my final straw. In no way, should they have been fielding any offers for me, especially without even attempting to talk to me at all. Even Frazzle was confused, as he assumed they must have just deleted the conversation since I had told him about the group chat idea prior to him being in the group.
We ended up getting the chance to say who we wanted out of the teams offering and such at least though, which I thank them immensely for, and it ended up being between Berlin and Austin. Frazzle and I really wanted to go to Berlin, it was our top choice. We told them it was our top choice. Austin we were down to go to as well though, since they’re an absolutely incredible bunch of people and we felt completely assured that if Berlin didn't come through, we'd have an incredible home there too.
After a few hours, we’re finally informed about a deal. Apparently Austin offered two first round picks, and an OL bot for us. But in regards to what Berlin offered, they said, and I want to post the image so no one thinks I'm making this up:
No mention of what Berlin offered, just that Austin’s was way better. Unfortunately, Frazzle and I made a mistake here, because we didn’t ask specifically what Berlin offered. We assumed Austin’s trade must have completely blown Berlin’s out of the water, so it wasn’t even worth mentioning. I mean, it was just a good offer, after all. It couldn't have been anywhere close to Austin's, right?
Well, let's take a loot at what Berlin offered why don't we! After the trade was finalized, we get told that not only did Berlin also offer two first round picks, they offered a third round as well. What Frick and Hall didn't like though, was that one of those round 1 picks was an S30 pick, instead of a more immediate pick. But see, that wasn't Berlin's only offer. Berlin offered to match Austin’s deal EXACTLY, so that Frazzle and I would be able to choose. Before it was even finalized they had suggested this. So what did Frick and Hall do? Lie. Lie lie lie because they wanted Austin’s 2OA more than anything. They told Berlin that “oh whoops even with the match they still want to go to Austin, sorry.” This AFTER they told Berlin that they told Frazzle and I that they matched. But looking through the DM group, wow, what do you know, they didn't say shit about it. In fact, when we were told what Berlin offered, we went straight to Hall and Frick and asked them what Berlin offered. Here's what they had to say and a bit more!:
Frazzle and I were never told Berlin wanted to match, or even that they offered two first rounders as well until this point, where it was already too late. We were trying to be cool and take the best offer, but instead we got one last royal fucking to really show how much Baltimore cared about us.
All in all, I’m heart broken something fierce. I fucking love Baltimore. That was the team I wanted to be on since I started watching ISFL sims. Even before Butters was on there. I wanted nothing else than to help fix that team and be a part of its legacy for as long as I could, and instead it’s come to this. I’m no longer with the team, and all I can do is think about the team with complete bitter feelings. And this situation isn’t fair to Berlin or Austin either, as it’s created something incredibly awkward and wrong, and they should feel like complete assholes for doing what they did. You don't fix a team by alienating people, and you certainly don't fix it by pissing other teams off. Before even finishing a whole two days of being GMs, you guys have successfully continued the very legacy everyone's come to hate Baltimore for.
But, I do want to end this by at least saying that I have no problems remaining on Austin. Regardless of everything, it's where I ended up, and it's my home now. I very much do like the people I’m with on this team and my stay here so far has been incredibly enjoyable as I expected to it be. I can't even begin to explain how much I look forward to putting all the energy I would have given Baltimore, into Austin.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I’m sorry for the inevitable shit storm this probably causes. Just can't sit by after everything that occurred though.
First of all, I want to start this off by saying, yes, I applied to be the Hawks GM. Hell, Butters had submitted me to be Co-GM to replace Star until the investigation halted that. So in come the temp GMs, CLG and Tomas. This part hurts a ton, because the last thing I want to do is shit on them even slightly. They did a fantastic job as temp GMs with the locker room and GM responsibilities while doing a job they absolutely didn't want. But their handling of the GM selection ended up causing 5 players to request a trade, along with at least one or two others being on the fence with leaving.
The Hawks all wanted someone we knew would be a good fit. We wanted a voice in our selection, and it was I and Frazzle who people agreed upon to apply, at least in the war room side of things. Though I imagine Baltimore in general would have been fine with this, as Frazzle and I maintained good relationships with everyone in there. Tomas and CLG were trying desperately to get more input into the selection to help be the voice of the team as much as possible, as they said, and we all thought things were going well. We kept getting told how great we were doing in the process with the application and interviews, but then I was personally getting asked on the side “hey would you be cool working with one of the other applicants?” I assumed maybe they were just hoping we could do whatever it took to get a Baltimore rep as a GM in case of the worst, but what comes next pretty much spits all over that. We now skip to the day of the new GMs. I am specifically told it’ll be Eph and Swanky after a failed attempt to get one of them to allow me to GM with them, from what CLG said. Ok, completely fine with that. They’re good at what they do, no problem. I and Frazzle are 100% fine with losing to people who had a better plan than us. Eph was even a KCC player that I drafted, so heck yeah, a reunion sounded awesome. I told CLG even that I liked the selection. But then here comes the complete fuckening that caused The Great Baltimore Escape.
The war room gets pinged later in the day. With no explanation as to why plans changed, Frick and Hall are announced GMs. And the explanation was “we think Baltimore needs a fresh set of faces.” So, after convincing the war room they were vouching for Baltimore to stay running Baltimore constantly leading up to this, it turns out that’s not the case at all. Hell, Tomas admitted that Frazzle and me were last on his list despite being one of the people to encourage us to apply, because he wanted someone outside of Baltimore to take over. I felt fucking devastated. Had it just ended at “they were really good and there was nothing we could do”, there would have been no problem. But this? This was just snake shit. A complete waste of everyone's time in Baltimore and a complete betrayal of the discussions we had.
Tomas, CLG, and I talked about it, but at that point the damage was already done. We all appreciated apologies about it, but for a team I and many others cared about to be handed off to people who had less affiliation and tenure with the team, and then for them to fight against what the people of Baltimore wanted, is insane to me and goes completely against the spirit of this whole thing. Especially when you're telling an entire war room that yes, you're doing what you can to represent them, only for that to be COMPLETELY untrue. Had they just not played a bunch of games with us and been straight forward about what they wanted for Baltimore, at least we'd have a chance to talk with them about it. Respect them a little more, even if their decision wasn't what we wanted. Heck, the least they could have done was tell us who the other groups were so we could at least give our opinion on them. We weren't told shit about who was running against Frazzle and I besides a few sneaky behind the scenes DMs telling us that Laser and an unknown CO-GM were running. They chose the route that would piss people in Baltimore off the most, and that's exactly what they got.
So now, we move on to Frick and Hall. I liked the two of them a ton. I’ve been on PBE teams with them, and have really enjoyed their presence. Hall was even the one who put together my Landshark prospect team logo, so I liked him since week 1 of my time here. But the way they decided to handle me while I was already hurting from all of this is insane. Someone was telling them that I wanted out of Baltimore, because of how upset I was. I told them that I was on the fence, but that I wanted to stay with the team for the whole season at least and see how things went. They actually ended up making a group chat so we could even discuss ways to keep me on the team. It made me feel actually really hopeful to see how they were making an effort to keep me. It was late at night though, so we were going to do it yesterday morning. But, instead I woke up to Frazzle being in the group now, and being told they’ve got an offer from Philly for the both of us. This right here, was my final straw. In no way, should they have been fielding any offers for me, especially without even attempting to talk to me at all. Even Frazzle was confused, as he assumed they must have just deleted the conversation since I had told him about the group chat idea prior to him being in the group.
We ended up getting the chance to say who we wanted out of the teams offering and such at least though, which I thank them immensely for, and it ended up being between Berlin and Austin. Frazzle and I really wanted to go to Berlin, it was our top choice. We told them it was our top choice. Austin we were down to go to as well though, since they’re an absolutely incredible bunch of people and we felt completely assured that if Berlin didn't come through, we'd have an incredible home there too.
After a few hours, we’re finally informed about a deal. Apparently Austin offered two first round picks, and an OL bot for us. But in regards to what Berlin offered, they said, and I want to post the image so no one thinks I'm making this up:
No mention of what Berlin offered, just that Austin’s was way better. Unfortunately, Frazzle and I made a mistake here, because we didn’t ask specifically what Berlin offered. We assumed Austin’s trade must have completely blown Berlin’s out of the water, so it wasn’t even worth mentioning. I mean, it was just a good offer, after all. It couldn't have been anywhere close to Austin's, right?
Well, let's take a loot at what Berlin offered why don't we! After the trade was finalized, we get told that not only did Berlin also offer two first round picks, they offered a third round as well. What Frick and Hall didn't like though, was that one of those round 1 picks was an S30 pick, instead of a more immediate pick. But see, that wasn't Berlin's only offer. Berlin offered to match Austin’s deal EXACTLY, so that Frazzle and I would be able to choose. Before it was even finalized they had suggested this. So what did Frick and Hall do? Lie. Lie lie lie because they wanted Austin’s 2OA more than anything. They told Berlin that “oh whoops even with the match they still want to go to Austin, sorry.” This AFTER they told Berlin that they told Frazzle and I that they matched. But looking through the DM group, wow, what do you know, they didn't say shit about it. In fact, when we were told what Berlin offered, we went straight to Hall and Frick and asked them what Berlin offered. Here's what they had to say and a bit more!:
Frazzle and I were never told Berlin wanted to match, or even that they offered two first rounders as well until this point, where it was already too late. We were trying to be cool and take the best offer, but instead we got one last royal fucking to really show how much Baltimore cared about us.
All in all, I’m heart broken something fierce. I fucking love Baltimore. That was the team I wanted to be on since I started watching ISFL sims. Even before Butters was on there. I wanted nothing else than to help fix that team and be a part of its legacy for as long as I could, and instead it’s come to this. I’m no longer with the team, and all I can do is think about the team with complete bitter feelings. And this situation isn’t fair to Berlin or Austin either, as it’s created something incredibly awkward and wrong, and they should feel like complete assholes for doing what they did. You don't fix a team by alienating people, and you certainly don't fix it by pissing other teams off. Before even finishing a whole two days of being GMs, you guys have successfully continued the very legacy everyone's come to hate Baltimore for.
But, I do want to end this by at least saying that I have no problems remaining on Austin. Regardless of everything, it's where I ended up, and it's my home now. I very much do like the people I’m with on this team and my stay here so far has been incredibly enjoyable as I expected to it be. I can't even begin to explain how much I look forward to putting all the energy I would have given Baltimore, into Austin.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I’m sorry for the inevitable shit storm this probably causes. Just can't sit by after everything that occurred though.