I’ve decided to help out a couple of the S40 ISFL draftees with some money problems, and what better way than to do a couple little interviews with them! First up, we have ItsFrenchie!
DM: Thanks for doing this with me Frenchie! The first question I have for you is, what brought you into sim leagues originally?
Frenchie: I played a forum based NHL GM game with some school friends way way back in the day, I think it may have been around 2010-2011. I had been looking for something similar for a while now, periodically looking through google if I could find something similar but without much success. Then, the SHL appeared to me out of nowhere as I was browsing the hockey subreddit and it instantly brought back the memories and turned out to be a similar vibe, although different in that the players were fictional compared to what I had experienced beforehand. Despite the core of the site being different, it had hockey and a fictional league at its center so I had to get involved, and well the rest is history!
DM: That’s awesome. So you’ve been around sim leagues for a long amount of time! My story was similar as well. I made a bunch of players for my school friends in Madden and then placed them on different teams and simulated the games. It was a fun time. What made you try the ISFL?
Frenchie: Well, I really took to the simulation genre during my short time in the SHL. There is obviously a lot of crossover between the SHL and ISFL, and as such I was tempted in joining by a couple friends, which I ended up doing along with a fellow SHL rookie classmate. What ended up making me want to join other than the sim aspect being fun was to figure out a bit more things about the sport. I'm well versed in hockey things, but very much less so when it comes to Football so I took the opportunity to join as a way for me to fill that knowledge gap all the while enjoying the community and its people.
DM: That’s awesome! It’s great to see other people cross over to create and hopefully love that league as well. Football definitely has a lot of different things you have to learn and nuances related to it. Even I’m still learning new things every day in regards to the sport. Has this league helped you in that regard so far?
Frenchie: I've been asked about a multitude of positions as a potential fit for me to change to, so I've had the opportunity to learn much more on that side of things. At the very least, I can say with some confidence that I understand how a team aligns itself much better than I could. The thing I have yet to touch on is strategy and plays, but i'm sure I will get to that eventually! With having some of this nailed down now, I can better appreciate the sport and understand how a team plays better due to that, so i'm quite happy!
DM: Yeah football is a great sport to learn different aspects from. It’s as much physical as it is mental. And you need every single person to do their part. All it takes is one person to slip up and it’d be a huge mistake made on their part. Who’s your favorite team in the NFL by the way, and what made them your favorite team?
Frenchie: I defaulted to liking the Steelers way back when. It's a funny story actually. When I was a young dude, we used to host the Pittsburgh Junior Penguin hockey team when they were in town for the big hockey tournament. As such, we grew close to one family which we visited a couple years back in my early days and thus I built a close bond with the city of Pittsburgh. It's been a while since I've gone there and seen them, but I always look back fondly on those moments. Having gone to Pittsburgh, I saw the landmarks such as the Melon Arena and the Heinz Field, the latter prompted me to look into the steelers and i've since then been a fan!
DM: Honestly that's such a cool and personable story! It's always neat to hear other people's stories of their favorite teams. Some of them are legit crazy! That's awesome tho! I noticed you recently got a budget team job! How's that going for you so far?
Frenchie: Budget has been pretty chill! It allowed me to learn about a new facet of sim leagues which I have yet to explore much of, so I'm happy about it! Mag is really helpful in providing constructive feedback and I'm really glad he gave me this opportunity!
DM: Yeah Mag is a good guy, and definitely one of the most helpful people I know in this league! Even though he hasn’t hired me for budget team smh! What jobs do you hold in SHL currently and how’ve you enjoyed them so far?
Frenchie: Oh boy where to start! I've been an intern for both juniors HO and SHO, currently full HO member for SHO, been WJC GM, am currently the Ireland Federation Head and am co-GM of the Carolina Kraken, a juniors team and finally I grade rookie tasks and am an updater. Woo, that's quite a bit isn't it! I really do enjoy it, because I get to have an impact in the league in multiple ways, from providing a safe and fun space to users to helping push change where it's needed in the league! I found a community there that I really want to contribute towards keeping it rolling and I'm really happy I get to do that!
DM: Dang that’s a lot of jobs! And that’s saying something with the amount of jobs I have here in this league! Lmao. A lot of our jobs are similar in what we do/did in our respective leagues. The sim league community is awesome and is the main reason I was able to stick with it and love everything about it. That’s really awesome of you! How’re you enjoying this league so far?
Frenchie: It's definitely different and alike at the same time! I'm having to adjust to the subject, football, which makes for a different experience when it comes to building my player, but the sim experience mechanics wise is the same and I'm finding it fun to extend my reach and find new people, new communities to enjoy myself in!
DM: Good man, I'm honestly glad to hear that! This league is super special in its own way and I hope you keep at it while continuing the journey of learning about this league and the sport of football itself!
Okay, I have one final question for you. Are you ready?
Frenchie: Let's do it!
DM: Alright! Rank these in order: Pancakes, Waffles, French Toast.
Frenchie: Easy. French toast, waffles, crepes, pancakes.
DM:Is that your final answer?
Frenchie: Yes, lock it in, coach.
DM: My god. I drafted the biggest steal on the planet! You absolute legend!
Frenchie: It wasn't even hard, like the gap is real.
DM: Absolutely for real! Yet people answer wrong all the time!
Frenchie: Red flags for days!
DM: Well I think that’s all the questions I had for you! I appreciate you taking the time to answer the questions. Definitely looking forward to seeing how your player does in the upcoming seasons!
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Next up is a user that’s not so much of a rookie in this league, and that’s none other than Gwdjohnson!
DM: So you’re not a true rookie as you’ve been around the league for a few years. How’ve you enjoyed this player compared to the other ones so far?
Gwdjohnson: Making the all pro team in DSFL as a rookie has been a great start for sure lol. In general I'm liking this player a lot, especially since I found DT was pretty boring on my last player. Playing TE for a long career in BAL is something I'm definitely excited about too!
DM: That’s awesome to hear that! I know there’s certain positions in the league that aren’t, how you say the funnest to play, so definitely have to find something you enjoy. What positions are a true “nope, never gonna happen” in this league for you?
Gwdjohnson: Uhhhhhh probably defense for the most part lmao. I haven't been watching football too much so I still have yet to see what the appeal is in having a player who makes defensive plays. I could totally see that change with time though. I was told LB is pretty fun to play so that one might be on the table still.
DM: Yeah in football, offense gets a lot of credit for flashy plays. But man, there is something about getting a defensive play highlighted. It’s a total morale destroyer for the opposing team’s offense especially when they have a chance to score. It’s like playing the spoiler lol. So I know you and Jeffie are close, how did that friendship come about?
Gwdjohnson: We've known each other for like over 3 years now? We first met when he joined shl through ISFL and we started talking and playing games together in the team Canada discord in SHL. Think through just the sheer amount of time we spent playing games and shooting the breeze in voice calls, we've found it increasingly easy to just talk with each other about whatever's on our minds. We have an extremely similar sense of humor too so that's a big part of it as well lmao.
Also that's very fair about defense lmao, can't even imagine how good getting something like a pick or strip sack must feel lmaooo.
DM: Oh man, that is super cool. It definitely makes it that much cooler having someone with you that has the same passion and humor as you. My brother and I have recently been doing podcasts and it’s been a lot of fun just basically joking around about the league. Glad you found someone like that on your end!
Yeah defense is definitely something that should be considered for everyone. Every team needs defense no matter what. I mean the last Ultimus winner had the best defense I believe we’ve ever had. So definitely something that should be considered more around the league. How’re you enjoying your time in Baltimore? Watch what you say next lmaooo
Gwdjohnson: I've had a pretty busy week so haven't been able to talk as much as I'd like but definitely seems like what I like in an ISFL LR so far, good amount of active and participatory LR people but not overwhelmingly active so that I can't catch up and backread convos that happen. And being there with Jeff makes it all the better too!
DM: Yeah truth be told the LR wasn’t very active when I first joined on. That was one of my main goals when I accepted the GM job as it felt that we needed to change a lot of various things in order to get the LR bumping essentially. I think at least some active discussion once a day is great for team building and morale. Obviously there’s LR like you said that are just so overwhelmingly active that there’s no point in trying to back-read those. Not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but there’s people that don’t care for that lol. But glad to know you’re enjoying it so far! How was the scouting experience for you? Did you know or had an idea who would pick you?
Gwdjohnson: Honestly, scouting was a lot of fun, way more than I expected. Had some great talks with a lot of teams and genuinely had no idea where I'd end up cuz there were like 6-7 teams I thought I had decent convos with. It was refreshing cuz 2 players ago I basically forced myself to OCO so didn't do scouting, and was too busy for it on my last player so just went back to OCO again lol. Actually getting to have legit talks with everyone who reached out made the experience a lot more enjoyable and made me 1000x more anxious about where I'd end up lmao.
DM: Oh man, I can only imagine how stressful that was. This draft felt especially long as a GM, so I can only imagine how it felt for you prospects! And yeah during that time OCO was dominating the league, so I can see why you were forcing your way through there, jk. Do you have any specific goals you’re looking to accomplish with this player?
Gwdjohnson: Nah the OCO thing was cuz I knew like so many people there including jeff at the time and didn't really know like anyone in the league, so I felt like that was the only place I'd actually enjoy lmao
For goals I just wanted to earn similarly, if not better, than I did on my second player where I had some really good seasons and made some pro bowls, I think this time on this player now that I'm a TE I could maybe look a bit higher than that since I'm in a position that isn't as crazy competitive. Winning some awards this go around would be sick if I can manage that.
DM: Those are some solid goals! Obviously with the sim it can literally just be random at times, but it’d be awesome if your player has some really good seasons especially since as you pointed out, TE isn’t as competitive compared to WR. One last question I have for you.
Gwdjohnson: :shock: The suspense builds!
DM: Rank these in order: Pancakes, Waffles, French Toast.
Gwdjohnson: Oh god, that's like the most controversial question you could ask me. Alright well, I think pancakes are last for sure because they just lack that absorbency of the other two in my opinion. I do like French toast, but I haven't eaten it nearly enough.I think I have to go with: Waffles, French Toast and then Pancakes. Although the gap between waffles and French toast would be very slim.
DM: Is this your final answer?
Gwdjohnson: I'll lock it in.
DM: I knew we drafted right.
Gwdjohnson: Let’s go! Is that also your ranking?
DM: My ranking is French Toast, waffles and pancakes. But French toast and waffles are super close.
Gwdjohnson: Agreed. I've eaten pancakes way more than the other two. But that's just because it's simpler really.
DM: Yeah and while pancakes have a decent floor, their ceiling isn’t really high. But man, when you have the best of the other 2, it’s *chef’s kiss*
Gwdjohnson: Waffles get those little pockets for syrup and fruit. And French toast gets nice and crispy when you cook it right!
DM: Oh for sure. You can’t go wrong with those 2 in my opinion.
Well I think that’s all the questions I had for you! I appreciate you taking the time to answer the questions. Definitely looking forward to seeing how your player does in the upcoming seasons!
*Please payout 52% to @Gwdjohnson and 48% to @ItsFrenchie
DM: Thanks for doing this with me Frenchie! The first question I have for you is, what brought you into sim leagues originally?
Frenchie: I played a forum based NHL GM game with some school friends way way back in the day, I think it may have been around 2010-2011. I had been looking for something similar for a while now, periodically looking through google if I could find something similar but without much success. Then, the SHL appeared to me out of nowhere as I was browsing the hockey subreddit and it instantly brought back the memories and turned out to be a similar vibe, although different in that the players were fictional compared to what I had experienced beforehand. Despite the core of the site being different, it had hockey and a fictional league at its center so I had to get involved, and well the rest is history!
DM: That’s awesome. So you’ve been around sim leagues for a long amount of time! My story was similar as well. I made a bunch of players for my school friends in Madden and then placed them on different teams and simulated the games. It was a fun time. What made you try the ISFL?
Frenchie: Well, I really took to the simulation genre during my short time in the SHL. There is obviously a lot of crossover between the SHL and ISFL, and as such I was tempted in joining by a couple friends, which I ended up doing along with a fellow SHL rookie classmate. What ended up making me want to join other than the sim aspect being fun was to figure out a bit more things about the sport. I'm well versed in hockey things, but very much less so when it comes to Football so I took the opportunity to join as a way for me to fill that knowledge gap all the while enjoying the community and its people.
DM: That’s awesome! It’s great to see other people cross over to create and hopefully love that league as well. Football definitely has a lot of different things you have to learn and nuances related to it. Even I’m still learning new things every day in regards to the sport. Has this league helped you in that regard so far?
Frenchie: I've been asked about a multitude of positions as a potential fit for me to change to, so I've had the opportunity to learn much more on that side of things. At the very least, I can say with some confidence that I understand how a team aligns itself much better than I could. The thing I have yet to touch on is strategy and plays, but i'm sure I will get to that eventually! With having some of this nailed down now, I can better appreciate the sport and understand how a team plays better due to that, so i'm quite happy!
DM: Yeah football is a great sport to learn different aspects from. It’s as much physical as it is mental. And you need every single person to do their part. All it takes is one person to slip up and it’d be a huge mistake made on their part. Who’s your favorite team in the NFL by the way, and what made them your favorite team?
Frenchie: I defaulted to liking the Steelers way back when. It's a funny story actually. When I was a young dude, we used to host the Pittsburgh Junior Penguin hockey team when they were in town for the big hockey tournament. As such, we grew close to one family which we visited a couple years back in my early days and thus I built a close bond with the city of Pittsburgh. It's been a while since I've gone there and seen them, but I always look back fondly on those moments. Having gone to Pittsburgh, I saw the landmarks such as the Melon Arena and the Heinz Field, the latter prompted me to look into the steelers and i've since then been a fan!
DM: Honestly that's such a cool and personable story! It's always neat to hear other people's stories of their favorite teams. Some of them are legit crazy! That's awesome tho! I noticed you recently got a budget team job! How's that going for you so far?
Frenchie: Budget has been pretty chill! It allowed me to learn about a new facet of sim leagues which I have yet to explore much of, so I'm happy about it! Mag is really helpful in providing constructive feedback and I'm really glad he gave me this opportunity!
DM: Yeah Mag is a good guy, and definitely one of the most helpful people I know in this league! Even though he hasn’t hired me for budget team smh! What jobs do you hold in SHL currently and how’ve you enjoyed them so far?
Frenchie: Oh boy where to start! I've been an intern for both juniors HO and SHO, currently full HO member for SHO, been WJC GM, am currently the Ireland Federation Head and am co-GM of the Carolina Kraken, a juniors team and finally I grade rookie tasks and am an updater. Woo, that's quite a bit isn't it! I really do enjoy it, because I get to have an impact in the league in multiple ways, from providing a safe and fun space to users to helping push change where it's needed in the league! I found a community there that I really want to contribute towards keeping it rolling and I'm really happy I get to do that!
DM: Dang that’s a lot of jobs! And that’s saying something with the amount of jobs I have here in this league! Lmao. A lot of our jobs are similar in what we do/did in our respective leagues. The sim league community is awesome and is the main reason I was able to stick with it and love everything about it. That’s really awesome of you! How’re you enjoying this league so far?
Frenchie: It's definitely different and alike at the same time! I'm having to adjust to the subject, football, which makes for a different experience when it comes to building my player, but the sim experience mechanics wise is the same and I'm finding it fun to extend my reach and find new people, new communities to enjoy myself in!
DM: Good man, I'm honestly glad to hear that! This league is super special in its own way and I hope you keep at it while continuing the journey of learning about this league and the sport of football itself!
Okay, I have one final question for you. Are you ready?
Frenchie: Let's do it!
DM: Alright! Rank these in order: Pancakes, Waffles, French Toast.
Frenchie: Easy. French toast, waffles, crepes, pancakes.
DM:Is that your final answer?
Frenchie: Yes, lock it in, coach.
DM: My god. I drafted the biggest steal on the planet! You absolute legend!
Frenchie: It wasn't even hard, like the gap is real.
DM: Absolutely for real! Yet people answer wrong all the time!
Frenchie: Red flags for days!
DM: Well I think that’s all the questions I had for you! I appreciate you taking the time to answer the questions. Definitely looking forward to seeing how your player does in the upcoming seasons!
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Next up is a user that’s not so much of a rookie in this league, and that’s none other than Gwdjohnson!
DM: So you’re not a true rookie as you’ve been around the league for a few years. How’ve you enjoyed this player compared to the other ones so far?
Gwdjohnson: Making the all pro team in DSFL as a rookie has been a great start for sure lol. In general I'm liking this player a lot, especially since I found DT was pretty boring on my last player. Playing TE for a long career in BAL is something I'm definitely excited about too!
DM: That’s awesome to hear that! I know there’s certain positions in the league that aren’t, how you say the funnest to play, so definitely have to find something you enjoy. What positions are a true “nope, never gonna happen” in this league for you?
Gwdjohnson: Uhhhhhh probably defense for the most part lmao. I haven't been watching football too much so I still have yet to see what the appeal is in having a player who makes defensive plays. I could totally see that change with time though. I was told LB is pretty fun to play so that one might be on the table still.
DM: Yeah in football, offense gets a lot of credit for flashy plays. But man, there is something about getting a defensive play highlighted. It’s a total morale destroyer for the opposing team’s offense especially when they have a chance to score. It’s like playing the spoiler lol. So I know you and Jeffie are close, how did that friendship come about?
Gwdjohnson: We've known each other for like over 3 years now? We first met when he joined shl through ISFL and we started talking and playing games together in the team Canada discord in SHL. Think through just the sheer amount of time we spent playing games and shooting the breeze in voice calls, we've found it increasingly easy to just talk with each other about whatever's on our minds. We have an extremely similar sense of humor too so that's a big part of it as well lmao.
Also that's very fair about defense lmao, can't even imagine how good getting something like a pick or strip sack must feel lmaooo.
DM: Oh man, that is super cool. It definitely makes it that much cooler having someone with you that has the same passion and humor as you. My brother and I have recently been doing podcasts and it’s been a lot of fun just basically joking around about the league. Glad you found someone like that on your end!
Yeah defense is definitely something that should be considered for everyone. Every team needs defense no matter what. I mean the last Ultimus winner had the best defense I believe we’ve ever had. So definitely something that should be considered more around the league. How’re you enjoying your time in Baltimore? Watch what you say next lmaooo
Gwdjohnson: I've had a pretty busy week so haven't been able to talk as much as I'd like but definitely seems like what I like in an ISFL LR so far, good amount of active and participatory LR people but not overwhelmingly active so that I can't catch up and backread convos that happen. And being there with Jeff makes it all the better too!
DM: Yeah truth be told the LR wasn’t very active when I first joined on. That was one of my main goals when I accepted the GM job as it felt that we needed to change a lot of various things in order to get the LR bumping essentially. I think at least some active discussion once a day is great for team building and morale. Obviously there’s LR like you said that are just so overwhelmingly active that there’s no point in trying to back-read those. Not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but there’s people that don’t care for that lol. But glad to know you’re enjoying it so far! How was the scouting experience for you? Did you know or had an idea who would pick you?
Gwdjohnson: Honestly, scouting was a lot of fun, way more than I expected. Had some great talks with a lot of teams and genuinely had no idea where I'd end up cuz there were like 6-7 teams I thought I had decent convos with. It was refreshing cuz 2 players ago I basically forced myself to OCO so didn't do scouting, and was too busy for it on my last player so just went back to OCO again lol. Actually getting to have legit talks with everyone who reached out made the experience a lot more enjoyable and made me 1000x more anxious about where I'd end up lmao.
DM: Oh man, I can only imagine how stressful that was. This draft felt especially long as a GM, so I can only imagine how it felt for you prospects! And yeah during that time OCO was dominating the league, so I can see why you were forcing your way through there, jk. Do you have any specific goals you’re looking to accomplish with this player?
Gwdjohnson: Nah the OCO thing was cuz I knew like so many people there including jeff at the time and didn't really know like anyone in the league, so I felt like that was the only place I'd actually enjoy lmao
For goals I just wanted to earn similarly, if not better, than I did on my second player where I had some really good seasons and made some pro bowls, I think this time on this player now that I'm a TE I could maybe look a bit higher than that since I'm in a position that isn't as crazy competitive. Winning some awards this go around would be sick if I can manage that.
DM: Those are some solid goals! Obviously with the sim it can literally just be random at times, but it’d be awesome if your player has some really good seasons especially since as you pointed out, TE isn’t as competitive compared to WR. One last question I have for you.
Gwdjohnson: :shock: The suspense builds!
DM: Rank these in order: Pancakes, Waffles, French Toast.
Gwdjohnson: Oh god, that's like the most controversial question you could ask me. Alright well, I think pancakes are last for sure because they just lack that absorbency of the other two in my opinion. I do like French toast, but I haven't eaten it nearly enough.I think I have to go with: Waffles, French Toast and then Pancakes. Although the gap between waffles and French toast would be very slim.
DM: Is this your final answer?
Gwdjohnson: I'll lock it in.
DM: I knew we drafted right.
Gwdjohnson: Let’s go! Is that also your ranking?
DM: My ranking is French Toast, waffles and pancakes. But French toast and waffles are super close.
Gwdjohnson: Agreed. I've eaten pancakes way more than the other two. But that's just because it's simpler really.
DM: Yeah and while pancakes have a decent floor, their ceiling isn’t really high. But man, when you have the best of the other 2, it’s *chef’s kiss*
Gwdjohnson: Waffles get those little pockets for syrup and fruit. And French toast gets nice and crispy when you cook it right!
DM: Oh for sure. You can’t go wrong with those 2 in my opinion.
Well I think that’s all the questions I had for you! I appreciate you taking the time to answer the questions. Definitely looking forward to seeing how your player does in the upcoming seasons!
*Please payout 52% to @Gwdjohnson and 48% to @ItsFrenchie