07-29-2022, 11:30 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-02-2022, 07:23 AM by Crunk. Edited 1 time in total.)
I joined this website very close to the beginning of the league and I could not have imagined my journey lasting this long and making this many amazing friends in the meantime. I certainly didn't think about it back then.
When I was drafted originally, I went to the Orange County Otters, a team that I really enjoyed from the start. It was a great atmosphere, some amazing people there like timeconsumer and others and I was fortunate enough to be named co-GM there fairly early in my tenure as well.
But that team ran like god in that time and won several titles in a row and I always saw myself as more of an underdog. It kind of killed my motivation a bit. We were winning whether I was earning TPE or not and with how the ratings worked back then, you really didn't need to be a max earner to do well. Being around less and less, it made sense for me to try to reinvigorate my love for this league and I asked for a trade. I couldn't have imagined at the time what kind of effect it would have, but it ended up being a very impactful thing.
At the time, the New Orleans Second Line had been a bad team. Resulting from the chaotic time of the Las Vegas Legion, the Second Line were last in the league in wins before I joined and so they were the perfect underdog story. They had never been good. A lot of what I remember from it now surprises me. Because that team had a LOT of activity when I joined and I guess at the time that didn't surprise me, but it was just cause I didn't know any better then yet. It was a long time ago. But really, that team was obviously destined for greatness with the sheer amount of activity in that locker room.
If anything, that locker room was the most activity I had ever seen in any locker room. And it may be true to this day. That locker room was absolutely nuts and constantly talking about everything. I don't think there was ever a quiet moment in that discord. And that stood out most to me when I joined this team. This camaraderie and friendliness in the locker room. And lots and lots of memes.
I finished my career with Julian O'Sullivan on that team, which included some amazing personal highlights like winning another title but this time with a team that came from nothing, as well as winning an MVP as a linebacker in my last regression year, which is just bizarre to think back on. That MVP also made way for me to become a Hall of Famer in this league.
When I recreated, I honestly didn't think too much about where I would go with my new player. I actually didn't want to be a max earner and chose a less important position. I figured I would be kind of casual here since it was my second league and I would just enjoy it for what it was. It turns out, that didn't last long.
During the draft scouting process, Bayley asked me if I wanted to become New Orleans Second Line GM or co-GM. At the time, it seemed preposterous, given what I had just said. I wasn't planning on being very serious, so I basically told him that. I would be happy to be co-GM and help out, but realistically I wasn't a great choice. Despite that, Bayley felt like I was the right person for the job and so I was drafted back to the New Orleans Second Line and became GM during the draft still, which is bizarre to think back on too.
Bayley and I actually had an interesting history in this league. In the original draft where I was taken, Bayley and I had talked about wrestling beforehand and I kind of hoped we would both end up with the San Jose Sabercats, but they ended up taking a kicker with their second pick instead of me and so I ended up with Orange County instead a pick later. Interesting how that could have had some pretty different results if that had gone differently back then.
Things had changed with other factors in the league and so the person that was destined to be the other half of the GM duo was no longer available so instead I became the main GM with no co-GM available to me. The war room at the time consisted of two people who were inactive and two people who were no longer on the team, it had basically been abandoned to a degree.
A lot of that first season was rough. I didn't know the sim very well, I didn't know certain rules very well. I basically just tried my best and with the help of those people still around from before. I was very lucky in the sense that Bayley had set me up for success with a big draft the season after I started, with multiple picks in the top three and several rounds worth of actives, as this was a big reddit draft.
Looking back at that draft fills me with so much joy and a heartwarming feeling, as it brought me close to so many people that I stayed friends with for a long time and also who became the heart and soul of the Second Line for a long time. We drafted terriblehippo and slothfacekilla in the first round, Tom Hanks in the second round. Deon Taylor in the third and Brave Ulysses in the fourth. A whole generation of Second Line legends. It changed the war room overnight and we went ahead and built the team up for a nice run which would result in my only championship as main GM in the ISFL with the team a few seasons later.
My own player during that time, Stan Francisco, changed to Quarterback and I must say on a personal level, I hated every second of it. Being a quarterback was miserable and I have talked about that in another article already. But the team was awesome and I loved every second of it. It was a great time. With that player, I played all of my games with New Orleans and then retired and stepped down as GM when expansion happened and it fit the team that way.
After Stan, I wanted to go back to defense and created Medicinal Toblerone, my first player that was properly a max earner. I made it clear in the draft that I would like to go back to NOLA and thankfully it worked out that way. Since then, I have once again played every game of my career for my team, the New Orleans Second Line. And it has been a pretty up and down time, with the team often more in rebuilding times and struggling, but for my player it was mostly decent. Sadly, the game change kind of screwed me over in my hunt for some all time records, but I am still very proud of this career and while big awards are lacking, the total stats are still very reasonable, with being in the top 20 of tackles for losses, top 30 for sacks, top 40 in forced fumbles and more.
But all the best things come to an end and with my goal of breaking/tying the all time games played record with this player next season, it has now basically been a decision I had to make. New Orleans doesn't necessarily have a spot for me anymore, with a new younger player being able to pass me in TPE as I regress. But with this goal in mind, I decided I would go to free agency for the first time basically ever in this league and see if I can find a team to take me on. And I have had some really good conversations with a couple of teams and so I think it is reasonable to assume that next season, Medicinal Toblerone will take the field in colors other than purple for the first time.
And with that comes a big step and a big change in my own feelings too. I had kind of already toyed with this idea for a couple seasons that maybe my next player would not be on NOLA anymore. That I would be open to playing for any team. To get a different experience for once in this league. But at the time, when I thought about this, I didn't quite realize what a huge step it was and how emotional I might become over what is just a silly sim league. But this team is my home, in a way that is hard to describe.
When I was originally traded to NOLA, I could have never guessed how long I would stay on this team. When you count the fact that my players only ever played for NOLA after that point, from the moment they were drafted to the moment they retired, I have been on this team a long long time. I actually looked for the original trade thread and found that the original trade happened on March 26th 2018. Over 4 years ago. 1586 days to be exact to today. Today, the day when my player will take the field as a member of the New Orleans Second Line for the last time this season and this career. Fittingly, I will play the Orange County Otters in the game tonight, the team that originally traded me here.
And then, who knows? Where will the wind take me? I actually don't know for sure yet, but I do know that I will likely play one season for another team with this player and then recreate. I actually don't know what position I will make yet. Every time I watch a sim I think a different position looks great and I think about it. Running Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End, Linebacker (like my original player), Cornerback, they all seem interesting in their own way to me. I hope I will somehow get an inspiration one day to decide what I will do. And when that player enters the draft, I will be happy to end up with whatever team wants me. It will be a different experience perhaps and I will be just as loyal then as I was now. I just have that ingrained in me.
I obviously have a fascination with long time awards and statistics and so that will always be my goal with my new player too. Somewhere where I can start immediately and play my entire career again. A position where I can maybe challenge some all time records and enjoy myself while I do it. And hopefully also help the team win some titles. I would enjoy winning some positional awards too. It has been kinda low on that front honestly and so that is definitely something I strive for. And ideally a position where I don't have to constantly ask for HO to fix it and make it better again.
There is also a part of me that thinks it would be fun to be a GM again one day. But I really don't think that will be a goal for a while. Maybe co-GM to help someone out or being in the war room. I think I do add quite a bit to a war room and have basically been in the war room for most of my time with NOLA too. So I think that could actually be fun and enjoyable.
I also will obviously continue my article series of the Legacy score here. I am on season 8 now and hope to slowly catch up with the real seasons. But I know it will be more and more work with every season that passes. But hopefully one day I can see where all of my players end up. And I also plan to write articles about whatever team I end up when all of this is said and done. I think learning about a new team's history will be exciting and different and new too.
It might sound silly, but I feel torn about watching tonight. I know I will cry. How silly is that? But it has been such a long time, such a big part of my life. More than an eighth of my entire life I have been with the New Orleans Second Line. That is a bizarre realization. It feels like leaving behind a family.
I want to take a moment to highlight some amazing people I have had the pleasure of sharing the locker room with here.
I already mentioned terriblehippo, slothfacekilla and Tom Hanks from that first draft. I also want to highlight drector, AdamS, mith, GuiterMaster, Bex, beaver, Bovo, ben and I am sure I am forgetting a ton of other people. You are all amazing people and I have loved sharing a locker room with all of you at various times. Some of you multiple times at this point and also in multiple leagues. For a long time, the NOLA war room really was the discord room that I talked in most and about all of the things in my life. It was like my home page in a way. And while a lot has changed over the years and different people have come and gone, you are all still very much close to my heart.
It's crazy too that in my other main league, the PBE, I have also been on mainly one team for the same amount. But.... there, my players have ended up on other teams when they were retired corpses so in some ways this streak of being one team is even more impressive to me. I also have to say hats off to the current GMs who always stuck with me, despite it maybe sometimes having been a possibility to trade me and get some value. I appreciate the loyalty and it goes both ways.
I looked back at my oldest messages in discord to see how that first day went. And I think the messages there are quite hilarious.
The first message I ever sent in the NOLA discord was:
"That's right bitches!"
A few messages later, I asked Bovo what he had to give up to trade for me. After being told what it was I just said:
"Well I'm a bargain then. "
I think all things considered, you could say that New Orleans did get a bargain with that trade, with how long I have been here.
I also want to take this moment to thank Bovo as well, who did believe in me back then and brought me to the team.
More than 36 thousand messages later, I can write that today will be my last game for the team. What a history that is. That is more than 22 messages every day for over 4 years. I may have a problem.
More than anything, I will remember the good times we had. The amazing conversations in the locker room that had nothing to do with the league or sports. With some amazing people.
Thank you New Orleans.
Doot doot.
<3
When I was drafted originally, I went to the Orange County Otters, a team that I really enjoyed from the start. It was a great atmosphere, some amazing people there like timeconsumer and others and I was fortunate enough to be named co-GM there fairly early in my tenure as well.
But that team ran like god in that time and won several titles in a row and I always saw myself as more of an underdog. It kind of killed my motivation a bit. We were winning whether I was earning TPE or not and with how the ratings worked back then, you really didn't need to be a max earner to do well. Being around less and less, it made sense for me to try to reinvigorate my love for this league and I asked for a trade. I couldn't have imagined at the time what kind of effect it would have, but it ended up being a very impactful thing.
At the time, the New Orleans Second Line had been a bad team. Resulting from the chaotic time of the Las Vegas Legion, the Second Line were last in the league in wins before I joined and so they were the perfect underdog story. They had never been good. A lot of what I remember from it now surprises me. Because that team had a LOT of activity when I joined and I guess at the time that didn't surprise me, but it was just cause I didn't know any better then yet. It was a long time ago. But really, that team was obviously destined for greatness with the sheer amount of activity in that locker room.
If anything, that locker room was the most activity I had ever seen in any locker room. And it may be true to this day. That locker room was absolutely nuts and constantly talking about everything. I don't think there was ever a quiet moment in that discord. And that stood out most to me when I joined this team. This camaraderie and friendliness in the locker room. And lots and lots of memes.
I finished my career with Julian O'Sullivan on that team, which included some amazing personal highlights like winning another title but this time with a team that came from nothing, as well as winning an MVP as a linebacker in my last regression year, which is just bizarre to think back on. That MVP also made way for me to become a Hall of Famer in this league.
When I recreated, I honestly didn't think too much about where I would go with my new player. I actually didn't want to be a max earner and chose a less important position. I figured I would be kind of casual here since it was my second league and I would just enjoy it for what it was. It turns out, that didn't last long.
During the draft scouting process, Bayley asked me if I wanted to become New Orleans Second Line GM or co-GM. At the time, it seemed preposterous, given what I had just said. I wasn't planning on being very serious, so I basically told him that. I would be happy to be co-GM and help out, but realistically I wasn't a great choice. Despite that, Bayley felt like I was the right person for the job and so I was drafted back to the New Orleans Second Line and became GM during the draft still, which is bizarre to think back on too.
Bayley and I actually had an interesting history in this league. In the original draft where I was taken, Bayley and I had talked about wrestling beforehand and I kind of hoped we would both end up with the San Jose Sabercats, but they ended up taking a kicker with their second pick instead of me and so I ended up with Orange County instead a pick later. Interesting how that could have had some pretty different results if that had gone differently back then.
Things had changed with other factors in the league and so the person that was destined to be the other half of the GM duo was no longer available so instead I became the main GM with no co-GM available to me. The war room at the time consisted of two people who were inactive and two people who were no longer on the team, it had basically been abandoned to a degree.
A lot of that first season was rough. I didn't know the sim very well, I didn't know certain rules very well. I basically just tried my best and with the help of those people still around from before. I was very lucky in the sense that Bayley had set me up for success with a big draft the season after I started, with multiple picks in the top three and several rounds worth of actives, as this was a big reddit draft.
Looking back at that draft fills me with so much joy and a heartwarming feeling, as it brought me close to so many people that I stayed friends with for a long time and also who became the heart and soul of the Second Line for a long time. We drafted terriblehippo and slothfacekilla in the first round, Tom Hanks in the second round. Deon Taylor in the third and Brave Ulysses in the fourth. A whole generation of Second Line legends. It changed the war room overnight and we went ahead and built the team up for a nice run which would result in my only championship as main GM in the ISFL with the team a few seasons later.
My own player during that time, Stan Francisco, changed to Quarterback and I must say on a personal level, I hated every second of it. Being a quarterback was miserable and I have talked about that in another article already. But the team was awesome and I loved every second of it. It was a great time. With that player, I played all of my games with New Orleans and then retired and stepped down as GM when expansion happened and it fit the team that way.
After Stan, I wanted to go back to defense and created Medicinal Toblerone, my first player that was properly a max earner. I made it clear in the draft that I would like to go back to NOLA and thankfully it worked out that way. Since then, I have once again played every game of my career for my team, the New Orleans Second Line. And it has been a pretty up and down time, with the team often more in rebuilding times and struggling, but for my player it was mostly decent. Sadly, the game change kind of screwed me over in my hunt for some all time records, but I am still very proud of this career and while big awards are lacking, the total stats are still very reasonable, with being in the top 20 of tackles for losses, top 30 for sacks, top 40 in forced fumbles and more.
But all the best things come to an end and with my goal of breaking/tying the all time games played record with this player next season, it has now basically been a decision I had to make. New Orleans doesn't necessarily have a spot for me anymore, with a new younger player being able to pass me in TPE as I regress. But with this goal in mind, I decided I would go to free agency for the first time basically ever in this league and see if I can find a team to take me on. And I have had some really good conversations with a couple of teams and so I think it is reasonable to assume that next season, Medicinal Toblerone will take the field in colors other than purple for the first time.
And with that comes a big step and a big change in my own feelings too. I had kind of already toyed with this idea for a couple seasons that maybe my next player would not be on NOLA anymore. That I would be open to playing for any team. To get a different experience for once in this league. But at the time, when I thought about this, I didn't quite realize what a huge step it was and how emotional I might become over what is just a silly sim league. But this team is my home, in a way that is hard to describe.
When I was originally traded to NOLA, I could have never guessed how long I would stay on this team. When you count the fact that my players only ever played for NOLA after that point, from the moment they were drafted to the moment they retired, I have been on this team a long long time. I actually looked for the original trade thread and found that the original trade happened on March 26th 2018. Over 4 years ago. 1586 days to be exact to today. Today, the day when my player will take the field as a member of the New Orleans Second Line for the last time this season and this career. Fittingly, I will play the Orange County Otters in the game tonight, the team that originally traded me here.
And then, who knows? Where will the wind take me? I actually don't know for sure yet, but I do know that I will likely play one season for another team with this player and then recreate. I actually don't know what position I will make yet. Every time I watch a sim I think a different position looks great and I think about it. Running Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End, Linebacker (like my original player), Cornerback, they all seem interesting in their own way to me. I hope I will somehow get an inspiration one day to decide what I will do. And when that player enters the draft, I will be happy to end up with whatever team wants me. It will be a different experience perhaps and I will be just as loyal then as I was now. I just have that ingrained in me.
I obviously have a fascination with long time awards and statistics and so that will always be my goal with my new player too. Somewhere where I can start immediately and play my entire career again. A position where I can maybe challenge some all time records and enjoy myself while I do it. And hopefully also help the team win some titles. I would enjoy winning some positional awards too. It has been kinda low on that front honestly and so that is definitely something I strive for. And ideally a position where I don't have to constantly ask for HO to fix it and make it better again.
There is also a part of me that thinks it would be fun to be a GM again one day. But I really don't think that will be a goal for a while. Maybe co-GM to help someone out or being in the war room. I think I do add quite a bit to a war room and have basically been in the war room for most of my time with NOLA too. So I think that could actually be fun and enjoyable.
I also will obviously continue my article series of the Legacy score here. I am on season 8 now and hope to slowly catch up with the real seasons. But I know it will be more and more work with every season that passes. But hopefully one day I can see where all of my players end up. And I also plan to write articles about whatever team I end up when all of this is said and done. I think learning about a new team's history will be exciting and different and new too.
It might sound silly, but I feel torn about watching tonight. I know I will cry. How silly is that? But it has been such a long time, such a big part of my life. More than an eighth of my entire life I have been with the New Orleans Second Line. That is a bizarre realization. It feels like leaving behind a family.
I want to take a moment to highlight some amazing people I have had the pleasure of sharing the locker room with here.
I already mentioned terriblehippo, slothfacekilla and Tom Hanks from that first draft. I also want to highlight drector, AdamS, mith, GuiterMaster, Bex, beaver, Bovo, ben and I am sure I am forgetting a ton of other people. You are all amazing people and I have loved sharing a locker room with all of you at various times. Some of you multiple times at this point and also in multiple leagues. For a long time, the NOLA war room really was the discord room that I talked in most and about all of the things in my life. It was like my home page in a way. And while a lot has changed over the years and different people have come and gone, you are all still very much close to my heart.
It's crazy too that in my other main league, the PBE, I have also been on mainly one team for the same amount. But.... there, my players have ended up on other teams when they were retired corpses so in some ways this streak of being one team is even more impressive to me. I also have to say hats off to the current GMs who always stuck with me, despite it maybe sometimes having been a possibility to trade me and get some value. I appreciate the loyalty and it goes both ways.
I looked back at my oldest messages in discord to see how that first day went. And I think the messages there are quite hilarious.
The first message I ever sent in the NOLA discord was:
"That's right bitches!"
A few messages later, I asked Bovo what he had to give up to trade for me. After being told what it was I just said:
"Well I'm a bargain then. "
I think all things considered, you could say that New Orleans did get a bargain with that trade, with how long I have been here.
I also want to take this moment to thank Bovo as well, who did believe in me back then and brought me to the team.
More than 36 thousand messages later, I can write that today will be my last game for the team. What a history that is. That is more than 22 messages every day for over 4 years. I may have a problem.
More than anything, I will remember the good times we had. The amazing conversations in the locker room that had nothing to do with the league or sports. With some amazing people.
Thank you New Orleans.
Doot doot.
<3