(S28) PT1 - Draft Day

[J0EB]

In the S22 ISFL Draft, I had the honor of being selected 3rd overall by the Philadelphia Liberty. This was an absolute dream come true because Philly was easily my top destination. Of all the teams I talked with prior to the draft, Philly seriously made me feel like my presence on the team and in the locker room was wanted. I had multiple scouts reach out to me, and I had amazing conversations with each and every one of them. Our convos were all pretty deep to, moving past the surface level questions and digging deeper into team goals, future outcomes and plans for the team. Hell at one point I was even asked if there was anyone exceptional out there who I'd really want to play with out on the field. They made it clear to me every step of the way that Philly wanted me to be there, and to be happy there. When the draft night came around, I was pretty confident I was gonna be 3rd overall, but even still, when the pick came in I was blown away. And it really means so much to me because of all the incredible players and personalities that were a part of my class too. I mean look at the league's top players right now and a lot of them come from the S22 class. From QB's to DB's to TE's, the league right now out on the field is founded by a strong class of S22 players. And I was 3OA! I seriously can't thank Philly enough for that consideration and for bringing me into the Philly Family. To Hall, Tim, Slm, Juni, and everyone drafted alongside me to Philly in S22. I know a lot has changed since then, but thank you for making Philly my home for those first few years, and such a fun place to be. #RingTheBell!

[Seymour]

[bjkman]

I love talking about my draft experiences because it allows me to call myself a draft steal and laugh at the mistakes many teams made not taking me earlier. This is now my 8th season in the DSFL/ISFL and I have loved having the opportunity to defeat every team that decided to skip over me on those fateful draft nights. My first draft experience was the Season 21 DSFL draft, that night I waited for 15 Rounds and saw 4 kickers passed over me, the first one drafted in the 8th round almost half a draft earlier. Pseudo QB was drafted in Round 10, the only other ISFL kicker drafted that late in the DSFL Draft. Luckily, I did not need to wait that long during my ISFL Draft when I went to the Sailfish in Round 10. Only 3 kickers went before me, one of them exactly like last time, half a draft earlier in round 5. Once again Pseudo was right there in the back of the line with me going in Round 12. Well buddy we proved them wrong and were able to face off in this year's Ultimus. Never giving up after a bad draft night just goes to show you what underdog kickers can accomplish when you give them a shot!

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[zeagle1]

Man, I remember being selected by Arizona like it was yesterday. Not only did I think I would not get picked by Arizona, I also thought I'd fall to the third round of the draft, if not later. My scouting conversation with Uni was exactly how everyone's scouting conversations went with uni lol. I was begging Saba, Joe, and Zamir (before he went full troll) to have Arizona pick me and I did not think it would happen because Uni always seemed grumpy when he talked to me, so I assume he did not like me and I would end up elsewhere within the league. In real life, I was driving about four hours and was supposed to get to my destination at 8:30, plenty of time to listen to the first bit of the draft in the car and then get picked after I got there.... except I got picked as I was attempting to park my car on a busy city street! I nearly crashed my car I was so excited haha. I think it would take a championship win with Arizona or Portland for that day to not be my favorite league memory. As soon as the pick was in, all the Portland/Arizona people were blowing up my DMs and I knew I'd be super happy!

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[Fronk]

[Hord300]

The weeks leading up to the draft were long, and Elliot Hord anxiously waited for the day to finally arrive. After graduating from the University of Washington, and bringing home the National Championship home to Seattle in his Senior year, Elliot was poised to have his name called on draft day. It was raining like usual on the Oregon coast as Elliot sat with his parents, in the house he grew up in, watching his parents TV awaiting the draft to begin. As the commentators were casually talking about where each prospect would go, Elliot kept the TV on mute. Why? Well, to Elliot it didn’t matter what some “Fancy Suit” said about him or the other prospects. In Elliot’s mind, the only thing he cared about was hearing his name, and it would be his lifelong mission to make every team that passed on him, regret their decision. Secretly, he did hope for one specific team to call his name, but he knew anything could happen in this draft. Elliot is a realist, he knew that his name was unlikely to be called in the first round. There was too much talent, and more well-known names to allow for him to be called too early. So when the draft began, he was not surprised when the first name was called and it wasn’t his. He patiently sat there awaiting the results, the TV remained on mute and the silence was deafening. The first round came and went, with a few surprises that the commentators went on short tangents about, showing shock on their face as they moved their mouths, but no words being heard. The second round began and Elliot’s heart dropped when the one team he was secretly hoping would call him, took another player. His parents were the only ones who could figure out how disappointed he was about them not calling him, they knew he would be the happiest if he ended up there, even though Elliot never said anything. “Its okay, there is plenty of time left” they told him as they patted his back. Elliot just stared at the ground and quietly said “I’m going to make every single one of these teams skipping me, pay the ultimate price on the field when I face them”. Round two continued and it was at pick 22 that his phone broke the silence, startling Elliot and his parents. Elliot sat in shock, it was “HIS” team, the team he had been wishing would call him for two rounds. The team he had posters of, hanging on his childhood room walls. The team he imagined over and over again as a child, scoring the final TD of the Championship game for, and holding the trophy in their jersey. Elliot has always, is now, and forever will bleed GREEN. The Portland Pythons called him, welcoming him “HOME”. Elliot would be playing for his hometown team! Elliot told them “Thank you. You made the right decision. I’m a Python through and through. Teams are going to tremble in fear when they face us!”. Elliot hung up the phone, grabbed his bags, hugged and said goodbye to his parents and told them “Its time to get to work” as he walked out the door and immediately drove to the Pythons facility, eager to join his teammates on the journey to greatness.

[LiathTheSquirrel]

I was Drafted in the Season twenty one draft and I ended up going to the Baltimore Hawks Sadly that wasn't where i wanted to go. This happened due to some miscommunication when draft scouting was happening. Luckily the Hawks and the team I wanted to go to the Austin Copperheads could figure out a trade quickly to send me over to the Copperheads. Now what impact did I have on my team? Now that is a good question. I hope the impact I had was a good one. I would end up being one of the team's safeties from season twenty two though to the end of  season twenty seven but i wouldn’t call myself one of their best players be that on the team or in the safety position. For me the draft and the contract I signed impacted me in a good way. I learned that I should work a few extra things into any contract I sign. The things I would add in are a Trade Clause that would make it so I would have final say on any trade that I would be a part of and contract options to opt out at the end of any season.

[Trashae]

So I don't have one of these "last draft experience" things y'all mentioned seeing as Teddy Murphy is my first player in the ISFL and I created after the draft that I assume was this past weekend.  I was picked up on waivers within an hour of creating my player by the Portland Pythons, I didn't even have an opportunity to create my update page.  Taking a quick peek at the team roster I'm the 5th linebacker on the roster so I should end up pretty buried down the depth chart.  I'm also the 7th rookie on the team which potentially bodes well long-term as long as all of us can stay active and help Portland compete.  The backdrop to all of this is that I still have no idea how the ISFL works so I may very well be talking out my ass here.  I haven't yet had a conversation with Portland about if/how I fit into their plan with the team.  I also don't know how the DSFL and ISFL work together or how many season(s) people typically spend in the DSFL before switching over.  All questions that I'm sure will get answered in time, but for now leave me grasping at straws to answer the question for this PT without going through a draft yet.

[yonggarius]

SHL PT

[KezKincaid]

As a TDL create from last season, Gronku Muerto had a long wait until the S28 DSFL Draft. He was a waiver-wire pickup for Portland Pythons, and even though he did not get a chance to appear in any games, he had a chance to see what the DSFL was all about, and the level of competition, as well as some of the culture of the league around and towards rookies. It was all a very positive experience, and, as the Draft got closer, more teams reached out. One of the more unique and fun aspects of the Draft experience was that several teams opened up their LRs to allow rookies a chance to experience things from the inside. In total 6 of the 8 teams had contacted Muerto prior to the Draft, and a few of those conversations had gone quite well. As the Draft neared, the expectation was that he would probably be a second or third round selection. There were several high quality recreates in the draft, as well, Tight End is not always the sexiest position so it wouldn't be a shock to not go in the top 10-15 selections.

When the Draft finally happened, Muerto was not able to watch the Draft live, as he was fulfilling his obligations to a youth team he volunteered to help out in practice. When he had a chance to check his phone, there was a message from the GM of the Tijuana Luchadores welcoming him to the team. He expected to see that he had been picked at 13th OV - which would have been Tijuana's 2nd round pick. But when he realized that he had actually gone 5th OV, it was a gigantic shock! Even now, some time later, Muerto still wonders if that wasn't a typo as he has joined the other Draftees at the Luchadores practice facility, seeing the talent that they were able to acquire through the Draft. It was a huge honor and Muerto was super happy, not just because going 5th OV in an impressive draft class is a thrill, but also because of all the teams that had contacted him, Tijuana was secretly the team he had placed above the others as his favored destination. There was just something that made him believe he would really enjoy his time there. Probably the tequila and tacos, but also just the relaxed attitude. Since he has arrived with the team, it has become clear that it really was a dream come true and he hopes his DSFL career with Tijuana is one of many great times!