13. Expansion Expansion Expansion! The league seems to love talking about it, but it has still not happened. Tell us why it should happen / should not happen soon?
A: The topic of expansion has a lot of people buzzing, and for good reason. the prospect of building a team from the ground up and creating a championship caliber organization is something that I am very interested in, and I would place a lot of money on the bet that many others in the league would love that chance as well. But seeing that through is hard work, and requires a lot of dedication on a lot of peoples parts. That time commitment applies to all parts of the league, from the future gm, users who would create a team culture, the simmers adding an extra little bit of time to sim and stream the games, even HO. My take on expansion really boils down to a few key points. As of today, I don't think the league should expand. Over the last 29 seasons, the ISFL has cultivated a large and dedicated user base, and while there are more out there to find, a lot of our best users have been here since at least season 16. So as a league, I believe we are in this limbo where the next generation of league faces are either being cultivated or not in the league yet. And that's not to say that if we did expand that the personnel would be lackluster. I can think of like 10 people who deserve it and would be great leaders of new teams. But rather than expanding and hoping the next generation will pop up, the more realistic plan (and the plan I believe the league has bought into) is to have a solid group of those "next up" and have them be ready for when expansion time comes. I think the most important aspect of expansion is what we would do with the DSFL, and I don't believe that HO has figured that out yet. the concept of a development league is amazing, and the execution of the DSFL up to this point has been fantastic. But the number of active players in the DSFL has been declining, and I think that's because it is the development league. I was so lucky to play for Tijuana, where the culture is about winning and community, so the people who want to be involved are. I don't know too much about other locker rooms, but I know that the amount of actives on other teams have been dwindling. How we approach expansion of the ISFL would have to start with how we want to utilize the DSFL moving forward. I think we are too loud about how much we would want expansion that it will happen eventually, and I hope to get a chance to be one of those GM's. But today, as I'm writing this sitting in a Starbucks parking lot, I don't think it would be a smart move.
18. Written option - which teammate of yours is the ultimate team player and why? How does this person exhibit selflessness and put the team first? Are they a great locker room presence who encourages others? Do they play an important but unappreciated role on the team which doesn't receive much recognition for awards? Graphic Option: Create a graphic of your player with your teammate who exhibits a team-friendly attitude.
A. I am so lucky to be in Colorado, where we have a very large number of extremely nice and selfless people. It's pretty telling about our team culture that most of the rookie mentors are Yeti. You can't talk about selfless users in the entire league without talking about Scwarznarr. Not only did they first welcome me into the league, but I have had tons of (very dumb) questions and I always get a kind answer. That attitude has helped me feel involved even when I take some time to deal with rl stuff. Always hyping the game time up, when we finally get our win at the Ultimus, it will be in large part to them. Of course, isastarcrossed is the exact same, and I wish them the happiest and longest time together. Going back to my time in Tijuana, I have to give a big shout out to Tonzy. Not only did he take a chance on me in the second, but he helped me navigate my first few weeks through the league, he listened to my crazy ideas, and was there for me when I went through a lot of rl stuff. In the Tijuana LR and during our playoff stint, he was there every game, every play letting every person know how much they meant to the team. The league is lucky to have these 3 people as faces.
25. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why?
A. When I created Drip Dad, I was hellbent on being a RB. Not only were there not very many in my draft class at the time, but I had wanted to play RB in every other sim league I got to be a part of, but I prioritized playing time over my firs choice of position. If that was not available, and knowing what I know now, I would absolutely pick Kicker. I love the league, and being active means being good. I am absolutely not the most active user, but I feel as though I am active enough to have a decent player for a few seasons. But banking cash and building a name in the league are two aspects that I didn't know about when I first joined, and creating a kicker is the easiest way to do that. Also, kickers aren't super prevalent, given that there are only a few spots available. Good ones will always have jobs and playing time. I would have changed the name as well, something related to feet. Honestly, I probably will make my second player a kicker, because of how much fun it seems to be. You don't have that much to update, and if you try hard enough you could probably be a maxed out kicker before you make it to the ISFL. From that point it's earning money and having a good time. Should've been a kicker!
A: The topic of expansion has a lot of people buzzing, and for good reason. the prospect of building a team from the ground up and creating a championship caliber organization is something that I am very interested in, and I would place a lot of money on the bet that many others in the league would love that chance as well. But seeing that through is hard work, and requires a lot of dedication on a lot of peoples parts. That time commitment applies to all parts of the league, from the future gm, users who would create a team culture, the simmers adding an extra little bit of time to sim and stream the games, even HO. My take on expansion really boils down to a few key points. As of today, I don't think the league should expand. Over the last 29 seasons, the ISFL has cultivated a large and dedicated user base, and while there are more out there to find, a lot of our best users have been here since at least season 16. So as a league, I believe we are in this limbo where the next generation of league faces are either being cultivated or not in the league yet. And that's not to say that if we did expand that the personnel would be lackluster. I can think of like 10 people who deserve it and would be great leaders of new teams. But rather than expanding and hoping the next generation will pop up, the more realistic plan (and the plan I believe the league has bought into) is to have a solid group of those "next up" and have them be ready for when expansion time comes. I think the most important aspect of expansion is what we would do with the DSFL, and I don't believe that HO has figured that out yet. the concept of a development league is amazing, and the execution of the DSFL up to this point has been fantastic. But the number of active players in the DSFL has been declining, and I think that's because it is the development league. I was so lucky to play for Tijuana, where the culture is about winning and community, so the people who want to be involved are. I don't know too much about other locker rooms, but I know that the amount of actives on other teams have been dwindling. How we approach expansion of the ISFL would have to start with how we want to utilize the DSFL moving forward. I think we are too loud about how much we would want expansion that it will happen eventually, and I hope to get a chance to be one of those GM's. But today, as I'm writing this sitting in a Starbucks parking lot, I don't think it would be a smart move.
18. Written option - which teammate of yours is the ultimate team player and why? How does this person exhibit selflessness and put the team first? Are they a great locker room presence who encourages others? Do they play an important but unappreciated role on the team which doesn't receive much recognition for awards? Graphic Option: Create a graphic of your player with your teammate who exhibits a team-friendly attitude.
A. I am so lucky to be in Colorado, where we have a very large number of extremely nice and selfless people. It's pretty telling about our team culture that most of the rookie mentors are Yeti. You can't talk about selfless users in the entire league without talking about Scwarznarr. Not only did they first welcome me into the league, but I have had tons of (very dumb) questions and I always get a kind answer. That attitude has helped me feel involved even when I take some time to deal with rl stuff. Always hyping the game time up, when we finally get our win at the Ultimus, it will be in large part to them. Of course, isastarcrossed is the exact same, and I wish them the happiest and longest time together. Going back to my time in Tijuana, I have to give a big shout out to Tonzy. Not only did he take a chance on me in the second, but he helped me navigate my first few weeks through the league, he listened to my crazy ideas, and was there for me when I went through a lot of rl stuff. In the Tijuana LR and during our playoff stint, he was there every game, every play letting every person know how much they meant to the team. The league is lucky to have these 3 people as faces.
25. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why?
A. When I created Drip Dad, I was hellbent on being a RB. Not only were there not very many in my draft class at the time, but I had wanted to play RB in every other sim league I got to be a part of, but I prioritized playing time over my firs choice of position. If that was not available, and knowing what I know now, I would absolutely pick Kicker. I love the league, and being active means being good. I am absolutely not the most active user, but I feel as though I am active enough to have a decent player for a few seasons. But banking cash and building a name in the league are two aspects that I didn't know about when I first joined, and creating a kicker is the easiest way to do that. Also, kickers aren't super prevalent, given that there are only a few spots available. Good ones will always have jobs and playing time. I would have changed the name as well, something related to feet. Honestly, I probably will make my second player a kicker, because of how much fun it seems to be. You don't have that much to update, and if you try hard enough you could probably be a maxed out kicker before you make it to the ISFL. From that point it's earning money and having a good time. Should've been a kicker!