Task 7 - Write 600 words or more on something about anything in the league that interests you. It could be related to statistics, a league issue that you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 600 words about your team’s participation on a Werewolf server or something.
To me, one of the best things about sim leagues like this is the media potential. I am sure we can all agree that the storylines are one of the biggest reasons we all follow sports. The instant stories and all time classics it tells us are better than anything we can get from movies or books or games. I would like share with you all a personal example from this league. About my players first season with the Minnesota Grey Ducks:
It had been a rough road for Minnesota. The last 3 seasons had not resulted in trips to the postseason and more often than not straddling the .500 record line. For a franchise that once was the cream of the crop in the DSFL, winning back to back Ultimini titles, they desperately wanted to make it back to the grand stage.
They entered into the draft needing offensive help, looking for a true number one receiver. There were a lot of good options out there, Squidward Tentacles, Jason Waterfalls and Vincent Sharpei Jr (who the Grey Ducks ended up drafting in the second round). But as the combine went on, the Grey Ducks eyes quickly turned their attention to an… unlikely candidate.
Mason Malone, the Quarterback out of USC.
Now an inquiring mind might wonder why their attention would be in his direction. Malone was a great quarterback at USC for sure and he would go high in this draft but Minnesota would not be one of those teams. They already had Kazimir Oles Jr on the roster and he was likely their QB for the upcoming season so why look at Malone?
He had just posted a 4.53 second 40 yard dash.
That turned the heads of every single coach and GM in the room. That was the fastest time not just for a Quarterback but also was exceptionally even for the skill positions. Not to mention the fact that this was coming from a Quarterback that was not seen as a mobile threat or a scrambler, but a set foot on the ground field general passer. As the combine went on, Malone just continued to impress the Minnesota brass. He was quick from side to side, he was agile, he was strong and from what they heard from his coaches, he was a fine leader in the locker room. After Minnesota interviewed him, Russ Cayhill told the other Minnesota front office members:
“He’s the one”
***
As for Mason himself, he felt the combine had gone exceptionally well. He had earned the attention of several teams and there was a general sense in the combine that he would go high. His performances at USC, his general attitude and combine results had turned heads and his whole home town of McCall, Idaho was anxiously holding its breath, wondering where their favourite son would go. While everyone was sure he would go high, there was one question that everyone was wondering:
“Would Malone still play Quarterback?”
A lot of teams had asked him about his positional flexibility and if he had ever had experience in playing other positions. While Mason had never played any other position but QB, he had trained often with the skill positions players, running backs and wide receivers. The only thing was that Mason had never played those positions in an official game, either in high school or college. But his training with them, day after day in both McCall and at USC had increased his physical attributes exponentially so theoretically speaking, he could play one of the skill positions. That being said, doing so would be a massive gamble for any team to take on, a decision that may cause many teams to flinch away from drafting Malone at all. Then as draft day approached and the world watched on with interest, one team decided that Malone’s attributes and sky high potential was enough to take the risk. The Commissioner walked to the podium and announced the pick:
“With the 4th overall pick in the Season 29 DSFL Entry Draft, The Minnesota Grey Ducks Select… Mason Malone, Quarterback, USC.”
The entire town of McCall celebrated as if they had just won the Superbowl. Mason himself could only sit there as the tears started flowing. He had done it. He had made it to the DSFL. He was inching closer and closer to his dream of making it to the ISFL. After a weekend of partying with his hometown and his family, Mason packed up his bags and headed for Minneapolis for training camp. It was there where he would get the answer to his burning question.
Based on his combine results and raw attributes, they wanted to convert Mason to Wide Receiver. Mason had said if a team can redirect his training to the role he would more than likely accept the position change and throughout camp, the Grey Ducks brass would begin his retraining into his new skill role. This wouldn’t be easy and any slips up in this training camp could result in him getting cut and being only remembered as a draft bust. As he had done many times before, he put his nose to the grindstone and began working again. With the help of his new coaches, the raw athleticism of Malone began to shine and he started to develop a good rapport with his new QB, Kazimir Oles Jr, who had first thought of himself as a mentor to the young QB as he was heading off to the ISFL soon but now was working with the young athlete to turn him into a deadly wide receiver. Malone’s hard work and determination to succeed did not go unnoticed by the higher ups of Minnesota or the media as reports began to flood in of how impressive his camp had been and how he would make for a great 2nd wide receiver for the team and how with him on the team, Minnesota could potentially look to once again make the playoffs for the first time in 3 seasons. That’s when the announcement dropped.
The coaches of Minnesota had decided that not only would Mason be joining their receiver core but he would also be the number 1 receiver. A huge task for any player but this was near impossible task for a QB convert to wide receiver. The media was abuzz with questions and predictions that this was another sign of Minnesota tanking for another miracle talent in the next draft, that is until the head coach of the team, Gregory Ragg, stepped up and let his thoughts be known:
“We are putting Malone at WR1 because we believe in his talents and we believe in the skills he has shown us at this camp. You can laugh at us and mock us all you please, but this decision was not made in haste or made by mistake. We will rally around Mason Malone and we will play good football.”
This not only stunned the media in question but also Mason who was watching from afar. This team believed in him. For the first time in his life a team actually believed he could be the star player right off the bat. The Minnesota Grey Duck brass had no idea how much that meant to the young talent and once he heard it he made a silent vow, that he would do everything in his power to make sure that Minnesota never once regretted making that decision.
Stuff like this you can't find elsewhere and that's what makes this league and indeed sim leagues in general so much fun for me
To me, one of the best things about sim leagues like this is the media potential. I am sure we can all agree that the storylines are one of the biggest reasons we all follow sports. The instant stories and all time classics it tells us are better than anything we can get from movies or books or games. I would like share with you all a personal example from this league. About my players first season with the Minnesota Grey Ducks:
It had been a rough road for Minnesota. The last 3 seasons had not resulted in trips to the postseason and more often than not straddling the .500 record line. For a franchise that once was the cream of the crop in the DSFL, winning back to back Ultimini titles, they desperately wanted to make it back to the grand stage.
They entered into the draft needing offensive help, looking for a true number one receiver. There were a lot of good options out there, Squidward Tentacles, Jason Waterfalls and Vincent Sharpei Jr (who the Grey Ducks ended up drafting in the second round). But as the combine went on, the Grey Ducks eyes quickly turned their attention to an… unlikely candidate.
Mason Malone, the Quarterback out of USC.
Now an inquiring mind might wonder why their attention would be in his direction. Malone was a great quarterback at USC for sure and he would go high in this draft but Minnesota would not be one of those teams. They already had Kazimir Oles Jr on the roster and he was likely their QB for the upcoming season so why look at Malone?
He had just posted a 4.53 second 40 yard dash.
That turned the heads of every single coach and GM in the room. That was the fastest time not just for a Quarterback but also was exceptionally even for the skill positions. Not to mention the fact that this was coming from a Quarterback that was not seen as a mobile threat or a scrambler, but a set foot on the ground field general passer. As the combine went on, Malone just continued to impress the Minnesota brass. He was quick from side to side, he was agile, he was strong and from what they heard from his coaches, he was a fine leader in the locker room. After Minnesota interviewed him, Russ Cayhill told the other Minnesota front office members:
“He’s the one”
***
As for Mason himself, he felt the combine had gone exceptionally well. He had earned the attention of several teams and there was a general sense in the combine that he would go high. His performances at USC, his general attitude and combine results had turned heads and his whole home town of McCall, Idaho was anxiously holding its breath, wondering where their favourite son would go. While everyone was sure he would go high, there was one question that everyone was wondering:
“Would Malone still play Quarterback?”
A lot of teams had asked him about his positional flexibility and if he had ever had experience in playing other positions. While Mason had never played any other position but QB, he had trained often with the skill positions players, running backs and wide receivers. The only thing was that Mason had never played those positions in an official game, either in high school or college. But his training with them, day after day in both McCall and at USC had increased his physical attributes exponentially so theoretically speaking, he could play one of the skill positions. That being said, doing so would be a massive gamble for any team to take on, a decision that may cause many teams to flinch away from drafting Malone at all. Then as draft day approached and the world watched on with interest, one team decided that Malone’s attributes and sky high potential was enough to take the risk. The Commissioner walked to the podium and announced the pick:
“With the 4th overall pick in the Season 29 DSFL Entry Draft, The Minnesota Grey Ducks Select… Mason Malone, Quarterback, USC.”
The entire town of McCall celebrated as if they had just won the Superbowl. Mason himself could only sit there as the tears started flowing. He had done it. He had made it to the DSFL. He was inching closer and closer to his dream of making it to the ISFL. After a weekend of partying with his hometown and his family, Mason packed up his bags and headed for Minneapolis for training camp. It was there where he would get the answer to his burning question.
Based on his combine results and raw attributes, they wanted to convert Mason to Wide Receiver. Mason had said if a team can redirect his training to the role he would more than likely accept the position change and throughout camp, the Grey Ducks brass would begin his retraining into his new skill role. This wouldn’t be easy and any slips up in this training camp could result in him getting cut and being only remembered as a draft bust. As he had done many times before, he put his nose to the grindstone and began working again. With the help of his new coaches, the raw athleticism of Malone began to shine and he started to develop a good rapport with his new QB, Kazimir Oles Jr, who had first thought of himself as a mentor to the young QB as he was heading off to the ISFL soon but now was working with the young athlete to turn him into a deadly wide receiver. Malone’s hard work and determination to succeed did not go unnoticed by the higher ups of Minnesota or the media as reports began to flood in of how impressive his camp had been and how he would make for a great 2nd wide receiver for the team and how with him on the team, Minnesota could potentially look to once again make the playoffs for the first time in 3 seasons. That’s when the announcement dropped.
The coaches of Minnesota had decided that not only would Mason be joining their receiver core but he would also be the number 1 receiver. A huge task for any player but this was near impossible task for a QB convert to wide receiver. The media was abuzz with questions and predictions that this was another sign of Minnesota tanking for another miracle talent in the next draft, that is until the head coach of the team, Gregory Ragg, stepped up and let his thoughts be known:
“We are putting Malone at WR1 because we believe in his talents and we believe in the skills he has shown us at this camp. You can laugh at us and mock us all you please, but this decision was not made in haste or made by mistake. We will rally around Mason Malone and we will play good football.”
This not only stunned the media in question but also Mason who was watching from afar. This team believed in him. For the first time in his life a team actually believed he could be the star player right off the bat. The Minnesota Grey Duck brass had no idea how much that meant to the young talent and once he heard it he made a silent vow, that he would do everything in his power to make sure that Minnesota never once regretted making that decision.
Stuff like this you can't find elsewhere and that's what makes this league and indeed sim leagues in general so much fun for me