06-15-2022, 12:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-20-2022, 10:24 AM by allbetsonjames. Edited 1 time in total.)
Hello everyone! This is the first interview brought to you by the Public Broadcasting Service! Hopefully it will not be our last. We, at PBS, had a long discussion on what our interview should be about and then who would be a great individual to answer those questions. As we have a large influx of new players it seemed right to have an interview that could serve are informative for the new players! We choose to focus on War Rooms, being a General Manager, and the upcoming draft class. We landed on @Pat as our option, and he does a much better just introducing himself that I could!
PBS:
So, for starters I was wondering if you could provide the audience with a bit of background on yourself! What team you're on, how long you've been in the league, and any special roles you've taken on in the league? And anything else you'd like people to know about you.
Pat:
My name is Pat (duh), and my current player is the Defensive Tackle Christian Marciano, currently on the Liberty. I've been in the league for almost two calendar years now, joining back in July 2020 as part of the legendary Season 25 reddit class.
In my time in the league I've held two different roles: first off, I was the General Manager for the Liberty from seasons 26 through 34. The team had a vacancy that was filled by the Head Office, and I remember being offered the job while watching my Luchadores win the S25 Ultimini.
I've also been a member of the Sim Transfer Team (we migrated from DDSPF16 to DDSPF21 back in Season 27) and the Sim Balance Team (we released a balance patch to the league in Season 34).
Oh, and for about five seasons I want to say now I've been one of the Administrators for the All-Pro Team!
Lastly, I've been a Rookie Mentor for a couple of seasons now.
Lastly, I've been a Rookie Mentor for a couple of seasons now.
PBS:
Well it certainly sounds like you've made the most out of the two years! Becoming a General Manager in only your second season speaks highly to your character! You've been very involved and for that we at the Public Broadcasting Service thank you for what you've done and for taking the time to speak with us.
I wanted to speak to you about a few things in particular; the one we will start with is a look into War Rooms, for those who haven't had the experience yet but are interested in trying it. Now for those who don't know could you give a general explanation for what the War Room is?
Pat:
Haha I don't know if it says anything about my character or if I'm just good at tricking people!
A war room is essentially a group of users on a team who advise the General Managers and help out with some of the responsibilities of the team. They can be scouts, or sim testers, or even pitch to free agents. Having a good war room filled with users you trust is an invaluable asset for any GM.
PBS:
Well consider us tricked!
Okay so for people who are interested in scouting and some of the decision making aspects of the team they should aim for the war room. Good to know!
During your time as a GM what were some of the things you looked for when filling your war room? Also while talking about your time as a GM what things do you think people should know about becoming a GM?
Pat:
When I was a GM I think the first thing I looked for when filling out a war room was simply desire. If a user wanted to be in a war room I felt there was a much better likelihood that they had an interest in being a part of the decision making process when it came to the team. Beyond that I would look for general attitude and if I think the user can provide input but also understand that the decision is ultimately up to me and my co-GM. I think the most important thing that people need to know about becoming a General Manager is simply that it can be a lot of work, and that there most likely will not be anyone there to hold your hand. You have to know the rules of the league from a roster management and sim perspective. You have to handle stuff on the forums. You need to be there to discuss and vote on awards and rules. You need to be there to scout and draft players for your team. It's a lot more than simply running tests in a game and coming up with what you think is a good strategy.
Beyond the logistics and day-to-day responsibilities you also need to manage personalities, which I think is the hardest and most important part of running a team. I think a lot of times we forget that there is a person behind the user, and that we need to be cognizant of how our words and actions might impact them. If I can get on a soap box for a moment, I personally feel that General Managers in a lot of ways are representatives of the league and hold way more influence over the league's health in terms of recruitment and retention, and also over user happiness, than I think they realize. To me, your job isn't to go win games in the sim. It's to keep people engaged and active in the league.
PBS:
I think you have hit on a really good point right there. It can be easy to get caught up in the wins and losses column and neglect the community aspect of the league. Locker-room health might be one of the more under appreciated aspects of a team! You've also done a perfect job to communicate the responsibilities and hardships of being a GM. I think any current/future GM would do well to read your words there! It would certainly be unfortunate to want to become a GM without fully understanding the implications of that action. Despite the difficulties involved with being a GM would you say the experience was worthwhile for you?
Pat:
100%. It was a lot of work and responsibility, and ultimately did lead to some heartbreak; but, I truly enjoyed my time running a team. It was a great way to meet so many users across the league that I may not have had an opportunity to otherwise. I think anyone that is interested in the role should make it known to their current or future GMs, and see if they can get any sort of first hand experience doing parts of the job.
PBS:
I'm glad the GM experience was worthwhile for you. I'm certain that your tenure left an impact on quite a few people around the league!
Now to jump up to the present day I also wanted to talk to you about this upcoming draft class! I know it is a very large class that hopefully can produce a lot of talent for the league. I wanted to get your thoughts on the ISFL draft class as a scout. How does it feel compared to prior classes and is there anything unique about this upcoming group? Or any noteworthy experience you've had during this scouting process?
Pat:
This class has been nothing short of amazing. The sheer amount of not just new users, but extremely high quality new users that are in this draft class is just staggering. Now, every draft class has great users in it, but we haven't seen one with the volume of them as we have this season since the Season 25 ISFL draft. This is probably a little dramatic to say, but through all my scouting and interactions with this class I've come to believe that the next crop of league leaders - General Managers, Department Heads, Head Office Members - will be coming predominantly from Season 36.
One thing that has felt extremely unique and has been a general blast to witness is the comradery that these users have seemed to have already built. I met so many great people that I consider friends that were in my draft class, and it's so cool to think that a lot of you in this class are probably experiencing the same thing.
PBS:
I'm glad that it seems like the next generation of the simulation league is coming along strong! Hopefully the season 37 and up can continue to give us strong prospects and help the league grow!
It has been nice to see the LRs be very active lately and the community has been nothing but welcoming! For that we have those who came before us to thank!
Well Pat I'd sincerely like to thank you for your time! You gave some remarkable responses. Before we close is there anything else you'd like to say?
Pat:
Well, first off, thank you for the chat! You asked some really deep questions. I would like to end our time by just telling everyone reading this how important this league and all of the people that make it up are to me. I love this community, and I hope everyone can derive the same enjoyment being part of it that I do.To close out this interview I hope that this could be informative for people! I think Pat gave some really lovely responses and overall was a pleasure to talk to!
For the payout of this interview, I'd like the funds to be split 75% to me and 25% to Pat.