Tier 1, Task 3
An interesting side of the league that has always interested me and caught my eye enough to make me become a GM was the entire draft process. There is something about the randomness and patience involved with drafting players that has gotten me excited since I was a young rookie in S16 and still is a major part of the league that I find amazing. The entry point for most in the league is the DSFL draft which helps them find out what exactly the league is all about and what to expect when they get around and discover how much involvement there is to make the league function.
While I was a GM, the DSFL draft was usually the second point of contact with someone after scouting them but the first time you can be far more open with them. Watching some players get drafted and seeing what they become was an amazing trip to be a part of and I always loved that part of it. Trying to determine who would draft who and when you needed to pull out your sleeper pick that you had been waiting on for the past few rounds was one of my favorite parts about being a DSFL GM and helping make those draftees become better players. Sure, that goes into a different side of the DSFL, but you have to draft the players in order to get them to become better players under your watch. I always loved seeing the draft cards for all the new players and imagining what they will be like once we invite them into the locker room and get to experience some of the new people coming into the league that become a major part of it.
There are other parts of the draft that make it insanely fun to participate in as well becomes it involves a certain level of strategy to predict what other teams will do, what certain players’ interests are, and how to create the best locker room experience overall for everyone entering into the team once the draft is streamed. It all becomes like a multiple sided game of chess with plenty of big moves and powerful minds all trying to make their chess pieces stronger and by taking others at precisely the right moment. The draft ends up becoming another game that the GMs have to play and master at in order to have their teams become powerhouses or stick around mid-tier teams forever. The layer of competition to get the most probable active players in the DSFL was something I enjoyed about the entire experience and also hated since sometimes you would take a huge risk on someone you had faith in but something unpredictable happens and ruins that player’s chances at becoming a great player for the league. Then the preventable mistakes happen, and you end up missing out on someone due to disagreements or just small things that are out of your control but could have been prevented from another source.
On a happier note, there is the other draft that I have not had control over but still find just as interesting and that is the NSFL Draft. This draft gets everyone excited because everyone is involved from trade deadline players to people not getting drafted with the point tasks and media surrounding the event. While this draft is more about positional needs over trying to keep players engaged, it still is a lot of fun to see where everyone goes and how they end up playing for the new teams to see what they become. While being a DSFL GM, it was fun to watch where your former players would go and what teams they end up on because sometimes you end up with a top five player on your team that becomes a major part of something much bigger. Then as a player, you never fully know where you might go and waiting for each next pick to come and hoping to see your name and feel your phone buzz with invites is amazing. If I could, I would constantly make players just to experience the feeling of getting drafted and try to get higher and higher each time.
All of these experiences add up to my favorite part of the entire NSFL and even sports as a whole with the draft. There are so many sides to the process and decisions that come down to some small detail that can play into major changes in the entire league that make everything so much more fun. Experiencing the draft as a DSFL GM and as a player have added to just how much fun the draft can be with watching your player and your teammates move on with new teams and getting to see just what moves cause players to reach the Hall of Fame.
(809 words)
An interesting side of the league that has always interested me and caught my eye enough to make me become a GM was the entire draft process. There is something about the randomness and patience involved with drafting players that has gotten me excited since I was a young rookie in S16 and still is a major part of the league that I find amazing. The entry point for most in the league is the DSFL draft which helps them find out what exactly the league is all about and what to expect when they get around and discover how much involvement there is to make the league function.
While I was a GM, the DSFL draft was usually the second point of contact with someone after scouting them but the first time you can be far more open with them. Watching some players get drafted and seeing what they become was an amazing trip to be a part of and I always loved that part of it. Trying to determine who would draft who and when you needed to pull out your sleeper pick that you had been waiting on for the past few rounds was one of my favorite parts about being a DSFL GM and helping make those draftees become better players. Sure, that goes into a different side of the DSFL, but you have to draft the players in order to get them to become better players under your watch. I always loved seeing the draft cards for all the new players and imagining what they will be like once we invite them into the locker room and get to experience some of the new people coming into the league that become a major part of it.
There are other parts of the draft that make it insanely fun to participate in as well becomes it involves a certain level of strategy to predict what other teams will do, what certain players’ interests are, and how to create the best locker room experience overall for everyone entering into the team once the draft is streamed. It all becomes like a multiple sided game of chess with plenty of big moves and powerful minds all trying to make their chess pieces stronger and by taking others at precisely the right moment. The draft ends up becoming another game that the GMs have to play and master at in order to have their teams become powerhouses or stick around mid-tier teams forever. The layer of competition to get the most probable active players in the DSFL was something I enjoyed about the entire experience and also hated since sometimes you would take a huge risk on someone you had faith in but something unpredictable happens and ruins that player’s chances at becoming a great player for the league. Then the preventable mistakes happen, and you end up missing out on someone due to disagreements or just small things that are out of your control but could have been prevented from another source.
On a happier note, there is the other draft that I have not had control over but still find just as interesting and that is the NSFL Draft. This draft gets everyone excited because everyone is involved from trade deadline players to people not getting drafted with the point tasks and media surrounding the event. While this draft is more about positional needs over trying to keep players engaged, it still is a lot of fun to see where everyone goes and how they end up playing for the new teams to see what they become. While being a DSFL GM, it was fun to watch where your former players would go and what teams they end up on because sometimes you end up with a top five player on your team that becomes a major part of something much bigger. Then as a player, you never fully know where you might go and waiting for each next pick to come and hoping to see your name and feel your phone buzz with invites is amazing. If I could, I would constantly make players just to experience the feeling of getting drafted and try to get higher and higher each time.
All of these experiences add up to my favorite part of the entire NSFL and even sports as a whole with the draft. There are so many sides to the process and decisions that come down to some small detail that can play into major changes in the entire league that make everything so much more fun. Experiencing the draft as a DSFL GM and as a player have added to just how much fun the draft can be with watching your player and your teammates move on with new teams and getting to see just what moves cause players to reach the Hall of Fame.
(809 words)