(S35) PT 4 - Celebrating 5 Years

[Amidships]

This league was my gateway into an entirely new online community where I would wind up meeting many amazing people. People that I talk to every single day at this point. It has gone so far as meeting up with people I have met through the league. It has been two years now, and it feels like no time at all; the people in this league have been nothing short of awesome and I am extremely happy to have found it. I do not think there was a better time to stumble on something like this, going into lockdown due to the first waves of COVID, I found something competitive and creative to occupy some of the extra free time with. I never expected to meet so many people that I would call some of my closest friends, but I am certainly happy that I did. I am looking forward to meeting even more new people the second go around.

[StadiumGambler]

A moment in league history that I experienced was having my player Saleem Spence be part of the very first game of the new sim engine, which was an early prospect showcase for the Season 28 class sponsored by Campbell's Soup between the Stars and the Chickens. Saleem Spence of course was placed on the Stars, and showed some of the skill that made him a future starting-calibre ISFL receiver by catching 4 passes for 81 yards. Spence's biggest play came late in the game, snagging a tough catch on a hitch route and dragging his defender with him for a gritty 21 yard gain that put the Stars into field goal range to win it; the kicker did his job and the Stars won 15-14. It was a historic game for the site, but it was also a launchpad for Spence's career, and showcased he had what it took to merit a DSFL draft selection by the Portland Pythons, and the rest is history........

[WhatAmUs]

I have to say, from a personal standpoint, my hallmark moment of league history has to be when I was general manager for the DSFL's very own Kansas City Coyotes.  Frazzle and I were in our second season of being general managers, and things were a bit of a roller coaster.  Kansas City had not won an Ultimini since I was drafted, so we are talking before season twenty-five.  We grinded like madmen in our second season, and things were looking up.  A hard fought regular season gave way to a playoff berth that had everyone in the locker room more hyped than a child that just blasted fun dip and Mountain Dew.  We miraculously make it to the big game, and all eyes are on Frazzle and myself.  Being relatively new to the GM game, and the league in general, it would be incredibly cool if we got the big win.  After a battle, we lose the Ultimini.  What we gained in defeat, however, was a huge sense of satisfaction and comradery, and by the grace of the league, GMOTY noms and wins.  That particular season will always hold a special place in my heart.

[Kyamprac]

Wow, five years.. I've been around for the last two and boy has it been a rollercoaster ride. My first memorable moment was probably the DSFL draft. I wanted Watts to go to the Birddogs so bad and it was so exciting when that wish was granted. Things just kind of took off from there and led to more memorable moments, like when I became Dallas GM. It wasn't a role I really intended to step into, but I gave it a go with some encouragement from the team and ended up having a lot of fun.. not just because we got to help a lot of new users out and somehow managed to lead the Birddogs to their first Ultimini, but because of the people I met that made the whole thing worthwhile. While my experience in the league hasn't always been always rainbows and sunshine, I will forever be thankful that it connected me to some of my closest friends and strengthened relationships with those that joined alongside us.

[qWest]

Bring a part of the 250+ strong S22 class was a very impactful moment for me at a crazy impactful time in the league. While the S22 class has unfortunately had quite a lot of turnover, with many great and fun people from the class sadly leaving the site over time, joining as a part of this cool and new (to me) sim sports thing with so many other people at such a difficult time IRL was a really awesome and meaningful experience. Shout-out goes to all the S22 friends that made it to the final auto-retirement season like I was able to with Nakamura. It was great to see, after having such a flood of active users join in S22 and again in S25, the league be able to expand and thrive and gain new excitement and life. I still look forward and hope we can have more big classes that hello us to keep growing this league.

[BenDover]

After joining the league myself about 3 years ago, there have been many events and people that have stood out from the rest in my time here in the ISFL. One of my favorite times was when I was GM of the Grey Ducks, and although I'll admit I wasn't the best at it, but I tried my best to run the team in an effective manner through my 3 seasons as GM. At this same thime, SJS was on their insane title run streak, which added even more fun at that time. But the moment that really stands out has to be the Choccy Milk incident, which everyone associates with the Grey Ducks, but it was Joefish and Saba who started it, but it quickly caught on as we went through every league and affiliate league server, I had never found a time where I felt less in control, but at least I can look back 2 years later at it with humor.

[lespoils]

SHL affiliate: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3222299

[OrbitingDeath]

SHL Affiliate: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3222309

[josda_]

I’ve known about the ISFL since 2018, but finally gave it a shot a couple of months ago. Looking back, this was a fantastic decision on my part. I haven’t experienced much so far, but I can tell that I’m going to be here a while.

By far the most fun I’ve had so far has been the pre-draft process leading up to the S35 DSFL draft, and the conversations I had with front office personnel. I know some users find these talks tedious, but I had a lot of fun doing them. It was great reading mock drafts and seeing where other users thought you’d go. There was even graphics of my player made before the draft! I thought that was extremely cool, and it showed me just how dedicated and in depth the ISFL community can be.

I was picked 11th in the DSFL draft and want to go even higher when the ISFL holds their S36 draft. Here’s to another 5 years!

(165 Words)

[Mooty99]

This is a difficult one for me to write about not because I can't think of anything but rather because I can think of far to many things. I have been in the league for over 3 years and I have had such a great time and made so many amazing friendships so it is hard to think about just one thing that happened. There is so much to unpack here. I could talk about my friend Tomas introducing me to the league in the 1st place, I could talk about being drafted to a brand new team the Austin Copperheads. In the Copperheads there is so much to talk about, our rise to win the Ultimus, my time as GM and the wonderful locket room I have been part of. Of course I could talk about my time in head office and how that was. But at the end of the day I have talked about everything, go me!