Redeeming 2x Media Voucher
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about my player, Dex Kennedy, and his case to win Linebacker of the Year. It was actually somewhat emotional to write. I joined this league in mid-March of last year. At that point, I had 0 sim-league street cred and had only been a part of sim leagues for just over a month. It was the third one I joined, before that the PBE and the SBA. It was interesting finding out there were more sim leagues than just the PBE, which I had started with. One of my teammates and good friends on the Chicago Kingpins, by the name of Bex, told me she ran a sim league that had just put on a draft that included almost 300 players. I was astounded that so many people were interested in being a part of a certain league. It took me some time to come around, but I opted to join after I found a lot of free time due to some virus that was kinda spreading all over the place and forced everyone to stay home. When I played football in middle school, I was a linebacker. Was I a good linebacker? Well...no. But for that reason, I decided to create as a linebacker in the then-NSFL.
Since the season had already started, I was sent straight to waivers. I was fortunate enough to have the Minnesota Grey Ducks pick me up. I am a proud Minnesotan and was pumped to play for a team representing my home state. We weren’t great that season, but I was very excited to get things going the next. To my...bewilderment, I guess, I was a part of the S22 NSFL Draft. I expected it to probably be a smaller draft than the 300-player draft Bex had described to me. However, I didn’t realize she was describing the DSFL Draft...which is followed by the NSFL Draft the next season. So, little ol’ Dex Kennedy was saddled to a draft with 284 players in it. For that reason, I got very lost in the sauce. I think I heard from a total of 2 majors teams, if even. It was almost like I wasn’t even part of the draft. So after about an hour of sitting at my computer playing Animal Crossing, the 9th pick of the 6th round, and 69th overall, came up. I remember thinking “oh, who’s the legend that gets to be drafted from that position?”
It was me. Fun fact, the user who made my draft sig, MN_Moosey, would later become my co-GM in the PBE. He’s a gem and I will fight, and have fought, anyone that crosses him. But anyway, I was drafted without much of a thought. Duilio and I were teammates in the PBE so he might’ve done me a solid there. But regardless, I was excited. Getting drafted 69th out of 284 players meant I was in the, what, 76th percentile of draftees? And there were still plenty of actives taken after me so it was alright. And I was excited: I had an ISFL team to call home in a matter of seasons. But my time with the Minnesota Grey Ducks was far from over. And what would come in Season 22 would become, and still remains, my favorite season in ISFL history.
After losing 3 of our first 4 games, the Grey Ducks went on an absolute tear. Our defense was, near, unstoppable as we put on some great performances against the rest of the league. It wasn’t the perfect season as we only finished 8-6. But the real highlight of the whole season was being a part of the Grey Ducks locker room. It was a boatload of excellent personalities and guys who were extremely supportive of one another. You could almost guarantee that people would be talking in there at any time during the day. I had never been part of an LR like that, nor have I been since. Win or lose, we would go nuts because we loved playing with each other. I’m sure you’ve heard most of the stories from the S22 Grey Ducks. I admit to not being a major contributor. But what I did see was epic and it remains my favorite team that I’ve ever played for. The playoffs came and we had very high hopes with our #1-ranked defense. Unfortunately, the sim gods decided we partied too hard and gave us a 1st round loss to the London Royals. The highest ride I have ever taken in any sim league up to that point was over.
I had 12 sacks that season, most in the league. I also was among the top tacklers and TFL leaders among LBs. Despite that, I did not win an award for LBOTY. Interestingly enough, I was among the top 5 vote-getters for DPOTY and MVP. I won neither, but the person who did win LBOTY was not included in that list. But regardless, I got to see a bunch of my teammates win awards. Buck Thornton won DBOTY and DPOY. Sim SnowBow won MVP. Tychondrius Hood won, what felt like, every offensive award you could win. It was still nice to see guys from my team get recognition for the great seasons they had. Wish I could’ve been there with them but I knew I was soon going to pursue greater things. Despite being a waiver pickup and only playing one full season in the DSFL, I was called up to play for the Baltimore Hawks in S23.
I’m gonna be honest: my time with the Baltimore Hawks was a bit of a blur. It was mainly defined by horrendous-to-mediocre seasons, GM changes, and plenty of confusion. But I will highlight one season in particular. In S24, Dex Kennedy broke the All-Time, single-season record for tackles with 158. It was a record that had been established just the year prior and was definitely a result of the 16 game season that had been recently implemented. So there wasn’t much ballyhoo around such an event taking place. Dex lost out on LBOTY to his teammate, Derred de Ville, and never got close to the award for a while. I also didn’t think much of it, at the time, as it seemed like it was going to be broken every season. Four seasons later, the record still stands. People have come close, but Kennedy’s unheralded 158 still remains at the top of the leaderboard.
After four seasons with the Hawks, I decided to become a free agent. I know now there was drama going on with the team at the time. To be completely honest, I knew nothing about that. And it was tough opting out. The Hawks were the team that took a chance on me in a chungo draft. But I had given them four seasons, all of which pretty darn good, and they never made the playoffs. I wanted to make it at least once before I entered regression in two seasons. Therefore, I became a free agent. Free agency is...awful. Now if you’re a coldblooded person who doesn’t feel empathy or can’t relate to the emotions of other humans, you probably love free agency. That’s not me. Within 10 minutes of opting out, I received almost a dozen messages. A lot of those were from very good friends of mine in the PBE. One of the messages I received was from a fellow free agent, Tonzy, who wanted to create a package deal between the two of us and another FA. I dismissed it initially because there were two specific teams I had in mind, both of whom had very good friends of mine on them. But this was my pathway to being on a contender, I thought. So I decided, what the hell, I’ll sign with these guys. We ultimately decided on the Austin Copperheads.
I did get a lot of consideration in free agency: much more than I expected to receive. I wasn’t the most active LR presence. And my player, up to that point, was having great seasons, but was the receiver of 0 awards and 0 Pro Bowl appearances. I was earning well, though, and had some recognition from the PBE due to being a GM. A lot of the people who reached out to me were fellow GMs or people whom I had played with or had previously played for me. Unfortunately, all of my friends did not play for one single team. Therefore, I had to make a very tough decision. And turning on all of them is still kinda tough to think about to this day. While it’s water under the bridge at this point, I’ve always prided myself on being as friendly as I can. And saying “no” to a lot of my very good friends was, I felt, uncharacteristic of myself. But such is life and such is sim leagues. And I was still satisfied with the team I chose. Well...that was until the season happened.
I wouldn’t say we were favorites to win it all. But I did, at least, expect us to be in the conversation. We did have a rookie QB and the league had just switched to a new sim engine. But it was still fair to say I had high expectations for this team. My expectations were, unfortunately, curbed...severely curbed. After showing some promise early, the Copperheads started to lose game after game. It was painful to watch. It got to the point where I stopped watching because I knew exactly what would happen: it would be close early, we would go up and stay up for a bit, and then we’d lose it all on the final or second-to-last drive of the game. I wouldn’t say we were a bad team, exactly, because we were definitely in (almost) every game. But the losses piled up tremendously and we finished 3-13. I had my worst season, statistically, up to that point. 86 tackles was my lowest mark since my first season in the DSFL, where I only played 8 games. This came despite being one of the highest TPE linebackers in the league. And I had just signed a huge deal with a team who almost certainly expected my player to be...you know...good.
That was my breaking point in the ISFL, or at least very close to it. I decided I was done with Dex Kennedy after S28. I fully prepared to retire and recreate and go back to the DSFL, which I regretted ever leaving. I was able to talk myself down to sticking it out for one more season and hoping I could make the playoffs just once. I also told one of GMs that I wanted to be on a contender. And if Austin wasn’t one by midseason, I expected to be traded. I’ve had my fair-share of low points in sim leagues. I would not describe myself as a lucky person. And, unfortunately, people have had their seasons tarnished as a result. I do always joke that maybe I should go play for the most hated team in every sim league. Because then, they’ll have no chance at winning anything. That’s actually what I’ve been doing in the SBA. The 20-time champion Brooklyn Bullets, who have never gone more than 5 seasons without a championship before me, haven’t won in 6 seasons with me on the team. If anyone from the SBA is reading this, you’re welcome.
My player has received virtually no praise for their efforts. I’ve been up for awards and Pro Bowl nods, but had never received a single one of those accolades. I was still reeling from all the people I said no to during free agency. I just wanted to create a new player that would stay with their respective team forever and ever: regardless of team success. My previous season was the worst I had ever had. It could only go down from here, I thought. S28 would be the make-or-break season for Dex Kennedy. Something deep down inside of me was hoping things wouldn’t work out so I could go back to square one. Whatever happens, happens, I thought. I’ll be a Grey Duck again this time next season.
First game of the season was as close as close could be. Defense got destroyed time after time. It was up to the offense to make things happen. And they did, as the Copperheads took their first game of the season 41-38...against the Baltimore Hawks. Yeah, the lowest TPE team in the league. The team that hadn’t won a game in legit months. We just narrowly squeaked by them. It’s over. We’re gonna get destroyed the rest of the season. Why even bother?
But if the Baltimore game taught us anything, it was how to win. And we began winning. And we kept winning. We dropped some, but the wins were piling up much more. And they weren’t all tight games. We were dominating some teams, including some of the best in the league. It was almost too good to be true. And it was, actually, very close to not being true. After going 8-2 in our first 10, we were barely able to squeak away with a single win in our next 6. All the while, Honolulu was streaking and beating team after team. We both finished 9-7. Fortunately, we had the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating them twice during the regular season. Dex Kennedy was going to the playoffs for the first time since S22, and his first time in the ISFL. I, honestly, didn’t pay much attention to my stats. I remember I was doing well, but team success mattered far more to me. After the regular season was all said and done, I went to see how Dex Kennedy did compared to the rest of the league.
(rankings are among just LBs) It was, by far, the most diverse statline I had ever put up. It was, actually, my 2nd lowest mark for tackles during my time in the ISFL. But if S24 taught me anything, tackles are not the end-all be-all of winning awards. But it was my highest mark for TFLs, sacks, PDs, and most importantly, touchdowns. The touchdowns were, especially, why I hoped I had a major case to win. I’m not sure what the record is, but I’m pretty sure 4 defensive touchdowns is it or, at least, ties it. I had a lot of faith in this season. There were some other excellent statlines by other LBs that rivaled Dex’s. Jack Banks had 20 sacks, Derred de Ville and Haha Mango-Panda both had 7 forced fumbles: the competition was, certainly, strong. I used an old PBE tactic of writing an article about why Dex Kennedy deserved to win an award. It was really just why he should win Linebacker of the Year. I wasn’t focused on the other awards, to be completely honest. I would feel complete with just a single LBOTY under my belt.
In the first round of the playoffs, Austin took on the New York Silverbacks on the road. NY were 7-1 on their home field, only failing to go undefeated there after losing to the Outlaws, the best team in the league, during the last week of the season. They were the heavy favorites. But I had faith. I remember in playoff predictions, I put us over them. I didn’t expect us to go much further. I remember seeing the claim thread when it was all said and done with everyone’s score ranging from 0-2 (the playoffs were wild). I got a 1 on mine. That’s because I called Austin over New York. The huge win there gave us a lot of confidence heading into the conference round against Arizona. We had beaten them in Arizona earlier in the season, but it was only by one score. After going up early, Arizona began to mount an impressive comeback. I’ve seen this movie before. However, somehow, someway, the ending was different. Austin was able to pull away 16-13 and advance to Ultimus. Not only had I finally made the playoffs in the ISFL. Not only had I finally won a playoff game with Dex Kennedy. But I was going to the biggest game of the season for all of the marbles. This was not supposed to happen, I kept thinking. It is almost too good to be true.
Unfortunately, it was a bit too good to be true as we narrowly lost to the Yellowknife Wraiths 24-19 in the biggest game of Dex Kennedy’s career. But it was a major statement for so many people involved with the Copperheads. Many projected us to be as low as the 6th seed in their season predictions. If we were to make the playoffs, it would be by just a hair. But we pulled through. And we kept pulling through time after time. We nearly lost it, as we tend to do. But we got our groove back and rode it all the way to Ultimus. It sucked to lose, but we were all gratified to have been there. It would’ve been nice to have given Dex a ring before regression. But now, it was time to see just how much people took notice of Dex Kennedy’s season. It started with LBOTY. I campaigned so much just to win this one award. And if I don’t win this, I certainly don’t have a chance at winning any other award.
I try not to get emotional over things that happen in sim leagues. Especially considering I really don’t have much control over Dex beyond determining his attributes. But I was extremely gratified to finally get that LBOTY I’ve been chasing for so long. That could’ve been it for me, honestly. I was considering just turning the stream off and cashing out while I was on top. I didn’t want to get too amped for any other awards, feel bad because I didn’t win them, and completely diminish my joy of winning the award I always wanted to win. But I kept watching. Not sure what would come of it, though.
This one caused a bit of stir. People were arguing Dex had already been a good player for quite some time. They referenced the all-time tackles record and some other great seasons I had. So...people did notice I was doing well? They just never bothered to give me an award. I was coming off of my worst season statistically so I didn’t think winning this was that bad.
I did not see this one coming. I knew I had some good games. But I didn’t expect to win this in addition to the other two. In hindsight, though, 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 PDs, and interception, a safety, and a touchdown is pretty darn good for one game. It was in a loss, but it remains Kennedy’s best game by far. I think it was at that point in the season when I realized he had a legitimate shot at LBOTY. A lot of my teammates in the Austin LR were calling for a much bigger award. I always told them I’d just be happy with LBOTY. But that award came around. I made it this far. 3 awards, already: more than I’ve ever had. Although, that was accomplished by just winning one. Could it be enough?
Apparently, it was. There are few times when I truly feel joyous about things that happen in sim leagues. But this was an all-time high for me. Dex Kennedy, the player I was fully ready to quit on, is the Defensive Player of the Year. I had run out of reactions after the first 3 awards. First one, I was like “it’s about damn time.” Second one, I said “oh, wow, really?” Third one was “jeez, you gotta be kidding me?” This one...I had nothing. Dex was one of the runner-ups for MVP, as well. That would’ve been seriously too good to be true. But I was satisfied after just LBOTY. I guess all the other awards are compensation for what I’ve done in previous years.
That article I wrote was really a plea. I admit that I probably guilt-tripped some people into voting for me. But to be honest, I don’t regret it. Dex Kennedy might be my favorite player I’ve ever created. And he’s definitely the most storied. Going from a waiver pickup in DSFL, to 69th overall pick, to solid player that gets little recognition and 0 accolades, to complete failure in his 2nd to last season before regression, to Defensive Player of the Year. So thank you to everyone who has made Dex’s success possible. There’s way too many people to name and I’m sorry for not @ing people I’m mentioning in this article. But just know that I am gratified to have all of you. This will be my last season updating Dex as I plan to retire at season’s end. He’ll stick around for S30, but S29 will, probably, be the final season of Dex’s prime. At the end of my plea article, I asked, somewhat defiantly, “is this enough for you?” I guess after all that’s happened in the last few weeks, it finally was. Thank you for reading this and have a great day <3
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about my player, Dex Kennedy, and his case to win Linebacker of the Year. It was actually somewhat emotional to write. I joined this league in mid-March of last year. At that point, I had 0 sim-league street cred and had only been a part of sim leagues for just over a month. It was the third one I joined, before that the PBE and the SBA. It was interesting finding out there were more sim leagues than just the PBE, which I had started with. One of my teammates and good friends on the Chicago Kingpins, by the name of Bex, told me she ran a sim league that had just put on a draft that included almost 300 players. I was astounded that so many people were interested in being a part of a certain league. It took me some time to come around, but I opted to join after I found a lot of free time due to some virus that was kinda spreading all over the place and forced everyone to stay home. When I played football in middle school, I was a linebacker. Was I a good linebacker? Well...no. But for that reason, I decided to create as a linebacker in the then-NSFL.
Since the season had already started, I was sent straight to waivers. I was fortunate enough to have the Minnesota Grey Ducks pick me up. I am a proud Minnesotan and was pumped to play for a team representing my home state. We weren’t great that season, but I was very excited to get things going the next. To my...bewilderment, I guess, I was a part of the S22 NSFL Draft. I expected it to probably be a smaller draft than the 300-player draft Bex had described to me. However, I didn’t realize she was describing the DSFL Draft...which is followed by the NSFL Draft the next season. So, little ol’ Dex Kennedy was saddled to a draft with 284 players in it. For that reason, I got very lost in the sauce. I think I heard from a total of 2 majors teams, if even. It was almost like I wasn’t even part of the draft. So after about an hour of sitting at my computer playing Animal Crossing, the 9th pick of the 6th round, and 69th overall, came up. I remember thinking “oh, who’s the legend that gets to be drafted from that position?”
It was me. Fun fact, the user who made my draft sig, MN_Moosey, would later become my co-GM in the PBE. He’s a gem and I will fight, and have fought, anyone that crosses him. But anyway, I was drafted without much of a thought. Duilio and I were teammates in the PBE so he might’ve done me a solid there. But regardless, I was excited. Getting drafted 69th out of 284 players meant I was in the, what, 76th percentile of draftees? And there were still plenty of actives taken after me so it was alright. And I was excited: I had an ISFL team to call home in a matter of seasons. But my time with the Minnesota Grey Ducks was far from over. And what would come in Season 22 would become, and still remains, my favorite season in ISFL history.
After losing 3 of our first 4 games, the Grey Ducks went on an absolute tear. Our defense was, near, unstoppable as we put on some great performances against the rest of the league. It wasn’t the perfect season as we only finished 8-6. But the real highlight of the whole season was being a part of the Grey Ducks locker room. It was a boatload of excellent personalities and guys who were extremely supportive of one another. You could almost guarantee that people would be talking in there at any time during the day. I had never been part of an LR like that, nor have I been since. Win or lose, we would go nuts because we loved playing with each other. I’m sure you’ve heard most of the stories from the S22 Grey Ducks. I admit to not being a major contributor. But what I did see was epic and it remains my favorite team that I’ve ever played for. The playoffs came and we had very high hopes with our #1-ranked defense. Unfortunately, the sim gods decided we partied too hard and gave us a 1st round loss to the London Royals. The highest ride I have ever taken in any sim league up to that point was over.
I had 12 sacks that season, most in the league. I also was among the top tacklers and TFL leaders among LBs. Despite that, I did not win an award for LBOTY. Interestingly enough, I was among the top 5 vote-getters for DPOTY and MVP. I won neither, but the person who did win LBOTY was not included in that list. But regardless, I got to see a bunch of my teammates win awards. Buck Thornton won DBOTY and DPOY. Sim SnowBow won MVP. Tychondrius Hood won, what felt like, every offensive award you could win. It was still nice to see guys from my team get recognition for the great seasons they had. Wish I could’ve been there with them but I knew I was soon going to pursue greater things. Despite being a waiver pickup and only playing one full season in the DSFL, I was called up to play for the Baltimore Hawks in S23.
I’m gonna be honest: my time with the Baltimore Hawks was a bit of a blur. It was mainly defined by horrendous-to-mediocre seasons, GM changes, and plenty of confusion. But I will highlight one season in particular. In S24, Dex Kennedy broke the All-Time, single-season record for tackles with 158. It was a record that had been established just the year prior and was definitely a result of the 16 game season that had been recently implemented. So there wasn’t much ballyhoo around such an event taking place. Dex lost out on LBOTY to his teammate, Derred de Ville, and never got close to the award for a while. I also didn’t think much of it, at the time, as it seemed like it was going to be broken every season. Four seasons later, the record still stands. People have come close, but Kennedy’s unheralded 158 still remains at the top of the leaderboard.
After four seasons with the Hawks, I decided to become a free agent. I know now there was drama going on with the team at the time. To be completely honest, I knew nothing about that. And it was tough opting out. The Hawks were the team that took a chance on me in a chungo draft. But I had given them four seasons, all of which pretty darn good, and they never made the playoffs. I wanted to make it at least once before I entered regression in two seasons. Therefore, I became a free agent. Free agency is...awful. Now if you’re a coldblooded person who doesn’t feel empathy or can’t relate to the emotions of other humans, you probably love free agency. That’s not me. Within 10 minutes of opting out, I received almost a dozen messages. A lot of those were from very good friends of mine in the PBE. One of the messages I received was from a fellow free agent, Tonzy, who wanted to create a package deal between the two of us and another FA. I dismissed it initially because there were two specific teams I had in mind, both of whom had very good friends of mine on them. But this was my pathway to being on a contender, I thought. So I decided, what the hell, I’ll sign with these guys. We ultimately decided on the Austin Copperheads.
I did get a lot of consideration in free agency: much more than I expected to receive. I wasn’t the most active LR presence. And my player, up to that point, was having great seasons, but was the receiver of 0 awards and 0 Pro Bowl appearances. I was earning well, though, and had some recognition from the PBE due to being a GM. A lot of the people who reached out to me were fellow GMs or people whom I had played with or had previously played for me. Unfortunately, all of my friends did not play for one single team. Therefore, I had to make a very tough decision. And turning on all of them is still kinda tough to think about to this day. While it’s water under the bridge at this point, I’ve always prided myself on being as friendly as I can. And saying “no” to a lot of my very good friends was, I felt, uncharacteristic of myself. But such is life and such is sim leagues. And I was still satisfied with the team I chose. Well...that was until the season happened.
I wouldn’t say we were favorites to win it all. But I did, at least, expect us to be in the conversation. We did have a rookie QB and the league had just switched to a new sim engine. But it was still fair to say I had high expectations for this team. My expectations were, unfortunately, curbed...severely curbed. After showing some promise early, the Copperheads started to lose game after game. It was painful to watch. It got to the point where I stopped watching because I knew exactly what would happen: it would be close early, we would go up and stay up for a bit, and then we’d lose it all on the final or second-to-last drive of the game. I wouldn’t say we were a bad team, exactly, because we were definitely in (almost) every game. But the losses piled up tremendously and we finished 3-13. I had my worst season, statistically, up to that point. 86 tackles was my lowest mark since my first season in the DSFL, where I only played 8 games. This came despite being one of the highest TPE linebackers in the league. And I had just signed a huge deal with a team who almost certainly expected my player to be...you know...good.
That was my breaking point in the ISFL, or at least very close to it. I decided I was done with Dex Kennedy after S28. I fully prepared to retire and recreate and go back to the DSFL, which I regretted ever leaving. I was able to talk myself down to sticking it out for one more season and hoping I could make the playoffs just once. I also told one of GMs that I wanted to be on a contender. And if Austin wasn’t one by midseason, I expected to be traded. I’ve had my fair-share of low points in sim leagues. I would not describe myself as a lucky person. And, unfortunately, people have had their seasons tarnished as a result. I do always joke that maybe I should go play for the most hated team in every sim league. Because then, they’ll have no chance at winning anything. That’s actually what I’ve been doing in the SBA. The 20-time champion Brooklyn Bullets, who have never gone more than 5 seasons without a championship before me, haven’t won in 6 seasons with me on the team. If anyone from the SBA is reading this, you’re welcome.
My player has received virtually no praise for their efforts. I’ve been up for awards and Pro Bowl nods, but had never received a single one of those accolades. I was still reeling from all the people I said no to during free agency. I just wanted to create a new player that would stay with their respective team forever and ever: regardless of team success. My previous season was the worst I had ever had. It could only go down from here, I thought. S28 would be the make-or-break season for Dex Kennedy. Something deep down inside of me was hoping things wouldn’t work out so I could go back to square one. Whatever happens, happens, I thought. I’ll be a Grey Duck again this time next season.
First game of the season was as close as close could be. Defense got destroyed time after time. It was up to the offense to make things happen. And they did, as the Copperheads took their first game of the season 41-38...against the Baltimore Hawks. Yeah, the lowest TPE team in the league. The team that hadn’t won a game in legit months. We just narrowly squeaked by them. It’s over. We’re gonna get destroyed the rest of the season. Why even bother?
But if the Baltimore game taught us anything, it was how to win. And we began winning. And we kept winning. We dropped some, but the wins were piling up much more. And they weren’t all tight games. We were dominating some teams, including some of the best in the league. It was almost too good to be true. And it was, actually, very close to not being true. After going 8-2 in our first 10, we were barely able to squeak away with a single win in our next 6. All the while, Honolulu was streaking and beating team after team. We both finished 9-7. Fortunately, we had the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating them twice during the regular season. Dex Kennedy was going to the playoffs for the first time since S22, and his first time in the ISFL. I, honestly, didn’t pay much attention to my stats. I remember I was doing well, but team success mattered far more to me. After the regular season was all said and done, I went to see how Dex Kennedy did compared to the rest of the league.
(rankings are among just LBs) It was, by far, the most diverse statline I had ever put up. It was, actually, my 2nd lowest mark for tackles during my time in the ISFL. But if S24 taught me anything, tackles are not the end-all be-all of winning awards. But it was my highest mark for TFLs, sacks, PDs, and most importantly, touchdowns. The touchdowns were, especially, why I hoped I had a major case to win. I’m not sure what the record is, but I’m pretty sure 4 defensive touchdowns is it or, at least, ties it. I had a lot of faith in this season. There were some other excellent statlines by other LBs that rivaled Dex’s. Jack Banks had 20 sacks, Derred de Ville and Haha Mango-Panda both had 7 forced fumbles: the competition was, certainly, strong. I used an old PBE tactic of writing an article about why Dex Kennedy deserved to win an award. It was really just why he should win Linebacker of the Year. I wasn’t focused on the other awards, to be completely honest. I would feel complete with just a single LBOTY under my belt.
In the first round of the playoffs, Austin took on the New York Silverbacks on the road. NY were 7-1 on their home field, only failing to go undefeated there after losing to the Outlaws, the best team in the league, during the last week of the season. They were the heavy favorites. But I had faith. I remember in playoff predictions, I put us over them. I didn’t expect us to go much further. I remember seeing the claim thread when it was all said and done with everyone’s score ranging from 0-2 (the playoffs were wild). I got a 1 on mine. That’s because I called Austin over New York. The huge win there gave us a lot of confidence heading into the conference round against Arizona. We had beaten them in Arizona earlier in the season, but it was only by one score. After going up early, Arizona began to mount an impressive comeback. I’ve seen this movie before. However, somehow, someway, the ending was different. Austin was able to pull away 16-13 and advance to Ultimus. Not only had I finally made the playoffs in the ISFL. Not only had I finally won a playoff game with Dex Kennedy. But I was going to the biggest game of the season for all of the marbles. This was not supposed to happen, I kept thinking. It is almost too good to be true.
Unfortunately, it was a bit too good to be true as we narrowly lost to the Yellowknife Wraiths 24-19 in the biggest game of Dex Kennedy’s career. But it was a major statement for so many people involved with the Copperheads. Many projected us to be as low as the 6th seed in their season predictions. If we were to make the playoffs, it would be by just a hair. But we pulled through. And we kept pulling through time after time. We nearly lost it, as we tend to do. But we got our groove back and rode it all the way to Ultimus. It sucked to lose, but we were all gratified to have been there. It would’ve been nice to have given Dex a ring before regression. But now, it was time to see just how much people took notice of Dex Kennedy’s season. It started with LBOTY. I campaigned so much just to win this one award. And if I don’t win this, I certainly don’t have a chance at winning any other award.
I try not to get emotional over things that happen in sim leagues. Especially considering I really don’t have much control over Dex beyond determining his attributes. But I was extremely gratified to finally get that LBOTY I’ve been chasing for so long. That could’ve been it for me, honestly. I was considering just turning the stream off and cashing out while I was on top. I didn’t want to get too amped for any other awards, feel bad because I didn’t win them, and completely diminish my joy of winning the award I always wanted to win. But I kept watching. Not sure what would come of it, though.
This one caused a bit of stir. People were arguing Dex had already been a good player for quite some time. They referenced the all-time tackles record and some other great seasons I had. So...people did notice I was doing well? They just never bothered to give me an award. I was coming off of my worst season statistically so I didn’t think winning this was that bad.
I did not see this one coming. I knew I had some good games. But I didn’t expect to win this in addition to the other two. In hindsight, though, 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 PDs, and interception, a safety, and a touchdown is pretty darn good for one game. It was in a loss, but it remains Kennedy’s best game by far. I think it was at that point in the season when I realized he had a legitimate shot at LBOTY. A lot of my teammates in the Austin LR were calling for a much bigger award. I always told them I’d just be happy with LBOTY. But that award came around. I made it this far. 3 awards, already: more than I’ve ever had. Although, that was accomplished by just winning one. Could it be enough?
Apparently, it was. There are few times when I truly feel joyous about things that happen in sim leagues. But this was an all-time high for me. Dex Kennedy, the player I was fully ready to quit on, is the Defensive Player of the Year. I had run out of reactions after the first 3 awards. First one, I was like “it’s about damn time.” Second one, I said “oh, wow, really?” Third one was “jeez, you gotta be kidding me?” This one...I had nothing. Dex was one of the runner-ups for MVP, as well. That would’ve been seriously too good to be true. But I was satisfied after just LBOTY. I guess all the other awards are compensation for what I’ve done in previous years.
That article I wrote was really a plea. I admit that I probably guilt-tripped some people into voting for me. But to be honest, I don’t regret it. Dex Kennedy might be my favorite player I’ve ever created. And he’s definitely the most storied. Going from a waiver pickup in DSFL, to 69th overall pick, to solid player that gets little recognition and 0 accolades, to complete failure in his 2nd to last season before regression, to Defensive Player of the Year. So thank you to everyone who has made Dex’s success possible. There’s way too many people to name and I’m sorry for not @ing people I’m mentioning in this article. But just know that I am gratified to have all of you. This will be my last season updating Dex as I plan to retire at season’s end. He’ll stick around for S30, but S29 will, probably, be the final season of Dex’s prime. At the end of my plea article, I asked, somewhat defiantly, “is this enough for you?” I guess after all that’s happened in the last few weeks, it finally was. Thank you for reading this and have a great day <3
Code:
3574 Words