05-30-2023, 09:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-05-2023, 03:37 PM by Aneeqs. Edited 1 time in total.)
A long time ago, way back in DSFL S29, I was a GM for the Minnesota Grey Ducks. That season wasn’t my first as GM, but it will always be a special season because it was the first time a team I was with–either as a player or as a GM–made it to the championship. What’s more, the season culminated in what I consider to be the most dominant performance by any team in Ultimini history. Better than the stats, however, was the level of camaraderie we fostered in that squad that season. The details of everything are a bit fuzzy, as it has been awhile since I’ve had to think about these things, but I’ll do my best to recount the story of one of my favorite moments with the league.
Glossing over a strong season by the Grey Ducks, we finished the regular season 10-4 on the heels of a high octane passing attack led by Kazimir Oles Jr. While we were only 2nd in the league in terms of average PPG, we posted the highest total offense yards per game with 400.4. The mentality of our strat at the time was to spread the ball to our top two receivers, Mason Malone and Vincent Sharpei Jr, and if I recall correctly we employed a few strats that were VERT 70 on 1st down just to make sure we took deep shots early and often. Because we leaned so heavily on throwing the ball, the rushing totals took a bit of a dive with us being the 7th best statistically rushing team, led by Minny legend John Huntsman.
Even though our offense was the star of the show, our defense was no slouch either being the number one rated pass defense in the league and number two for points allowed. I choose to believe that the s29 and s30 seasons were much more a result of a long rebuild rather than anything that Russ (my co-GM at the time, and all around beautiful person) did in particular, because by the time we were starting the season we had a number of players who were near the TPE cap at vital skill positions and on defense. This obviously gave us a huge edge on some teams that had faced a larger number of call-ups than we did, but all is fair in love and football.
Our opponent for the s29 Ultimini was no slouch either, as we faced a surging Tijuana Luchadores who were just one game behind us at 9-4. They had finished the season tied with the Dallas Birddogs–who had bested the Grey Ducks during the regular seasons–only to defeat the Birddogs in the playoffs 26-13. The question became: Could the Luchadores suplex the Minnesota offense into submission, or in the end would the air-raid attack be too much to endure? The night of the Ultimini we got our answer.
I remember the sheer amount of people we had in our discord chat for the game. I think there was at least 12 current and former Grey Ducks, plus a couple of friendly outliers, and we all chatted nervously as the clock counted down to the kickoff. When the game began, it became a bit hard to hear who was talking, as it quickly devolved into what could only be described as pandemonium.
After a scoreless first quarter, things changed dramatically. The first quarter was all about the Minnesota defense as they swarmed Tijuana QB Livelaughlove for three sacks before the second quarter began. It had all the shapings of an ugly slugfest as both teams had committed mistakes: Minny QB lost a fumble, and the TIJ kicker Leroy missed an early field goal that would have given them an early lead.
The second quarter wasted no time putting points on the board, with the very first play being a 35 yard field goal by the inimitable Levy Tate. Minnesota took the lead by three. Tijuana failed to answer with points after a quick three and out sent the punting crew back onto the field. The next drive was a gunslinger’s fantasy, as Oles stood tall in the pocket despite being sacked twice by impressive LB Sheriff Woody. Oles was able to thread the needle to Sharpei Jr., bringing the Minny lead to 10.
The noise, the cacophony of people shouting and cheering over discord. It was hard to get people to stop talking over each other as the game continued to get more and more one-sided. After a gutsy 4th down failure, TIJ lost the ball on downs and gave Minny another chance to punch it in. This time, Huntsman got the call as he barrelled into the endzone for another 6. This time though, the cheering never had a chance to die down, as immediately upon getting the ball TIJ had a costly interception–that’s when I felt that the sim gods were on our side. That interception would only be the first of four picks that QB Livelaughlove threw in the championship, as momentum became too great of a factor to overcome. It was no longer a slugfest–it was a massacre.
When the smoke had cleared–and my voice was hoarse from cheering and my ears stung from my headphones blaring exuberance–the clock ran down on the S29 Ultimini and the Minnesota Grey Ducks had done it. They won 40-0 for the first shutout in Ultimini history. My headset was awash with the sound of beers being opened and friends laughing, and I was mostly just in disbelief. We celebrated long into the night, vowing to go “quack2quack” next season to really cement our legacy as one of the strongest squads in DSFL history–and, as fate would have it, we did go on another championship run, which culminated in another Ultimini in S30, and even a GMotY award for Russ and I. I was beyond ecstatic. It felt like being part of some kind of dynasty, even though it was just for two short seasons.
Still, I think the league is at its greatest when it fosters moments like this for people. I used to play sports in high school, but I was never very good; never a part of a championship team; never felt like anything more than just a warm body for practice. I imagine that being a part of a real team probably feels a lot like those two seasons in Minny. The fellowship of your teammates, the gibes and the teasing coupled with the moments of vulnerability and real-talk, the celebration of the highest heights and the shared burden of misfortune when that ill-begotten visitor comes around as they do. I don’t know how to explain it, but I believe GMing in Minny and experiencing those moments changed a part of who I am as a person outside the league. The league is at its best when it lifts up those who participate in it to feeling a sense of responsibility to your team, and a sense of belonging. In the time I’ve had away from the league in these past few months, I have noticed how much I miss it.
So if you are a rookie reading this, I hope I didn’t bore you with league history. If you take anything away from this silly article, it’s that you get from this league what you are willing to put into it. If you invest your time and effort into the team and people you are with, you are sure to be repaid with great memories and even greater friends. If you are looking for a casual football sim, that’s okay, too. This is a pretty cool place to lurk.
If you are a veteran, namely somebody who helps facilitate this experience for us users, I just wanted to say thank you for what you do. Your work does not go unnoticed, though at times I am sure it feels like it.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!
Glossing over a strong season by the Grey Ducks, we finished the regular season 10-4 on the heels of a high octane passing attack led by Kazimir Oles Jr. While we were only 2nd in the league in terms of average PPG, we posted the highest total offense yards per game with 400.4. The mentality of our strat at the time was to spread the ball to our top two receivers, Mason Malone and Vincent Sharpei Jr, and if I recall correctly we employed a few strats that were VERT 70 on 1st down just to make sure we took deep shots early and often. Because we leaned so heavily on throwing the ball, the rushing totals took a bit of a dive with us being the 7th best statistically rushing team, led by Minny legend John Huntsman.
Even though our offense was the star of the show, our defense was no slouch either being the number one rated pass defense in the league and number two for points allowed. I choose to believe that the s29 and s30 seasons were much more a result of a long rebuild rather than anything that Russ (my co-GM at the time, and all around beautiful person) did in particular, because by the time we were starting the season we had a number of players who were near the TPE cap at vital skill positions and on defense. This obviously gave us a huge edge on some teams that had faced a larger number of call-ups than we did, but all is fair in love and football.
Our opponent for the s29 Ultimini was no slouch either, as we faced a surging Tijuana Luchadores who were just one game behind us at 9-4. They had finished the season tied with the Dallas Birddogs–who had bested the Grey Ducks during the regular seasons–only to defeat the Birddogs in the playoffs 26-13. The question became: Could the Luchadores suplex the Minnesota offense into submission, or in the end would the air-raid attack be too much to endure? The night of the Ultimini we got our answer.
I remember the sheer amount of people we had in our discord chat for the game. I think there was at least 12 current and former Grey Ducks, plus a couple of friendly outliers, and we all chatted nervously as the clock counted down to the kickoff. When the game began, it became a bit hard to hear who was talking, as it quickly devolved into what could only be described as pandemonium.
After a scoreless first quarter, things changed dramatically. The first quarter was all about the Minnesota defense as they swarmed Tijuana QB Livelaughlove for three sacks before the second quarter began. It had all the shapings of an ugly slugfest as both teams had committed mistakes: Minny QB lost a fumble, and the TIJ kicker Leroy missed an early field goal that would have given them an early lead.
The second quarter wasted no time putting points on the board, with the very first play being a 35 yard field goal by the inimitable Levy Tate. Minnesota took the lead by three. Tijuana failed to answer with points after a quick three and out sent the punting crew back onto the field. The next drive was a gunslinger’s fantasy, as Oles stood tall in the pocket despite being sacked twice by impressive LB Sheriff Woody. Oles was able to thread the needle to Sharpei Jr., bringing the Minny lead to 10.
The noise, the cacophony of people shouting and cheering over discord. It was hard to get people to stop talking over each other as the game continued to get more and more one-sided. After a gutsy 4th down failure, TIJ lost the ball on downs and gave Minny another chance to punch it in. This time, Huntsman got the call as he barrelled into the endzone for another 6. This time though, the cheering never had a chance to die down, as immediately upon getting the ball TIJ had a costly interception–that’s when I felt that the sim gods were on our side. That interception would only be the first of four picks that QB Livelaughlove threw in the championship, as momentum became too great of a factor to overcome. It was no longer a slugfest–it was a massacre.
When the smoke had cleared–and my voice was hoarse from cheering and my ears stung from my headphones blaring exuberance–the clock ran down on the S29 Ultimini and the Minnesota Grey Ducks had done it. They won 40-0 for the first shutout in Ultimini history. My headset was awash with the sound of beers being opened and friends laughing, and I was mostly just in disbelief. We celebrated long into the night, vowing to go “quack2quack” next season to really cement our legacy as one of the strongest squads in DSFL history–and, as fate would have it, we did go on another championship run, which culminated in another Ultimini in S30, and even a GMotY award for Russ and I. I was beyond ecstatic. It felt like being part of some kind of dynasty, even though it was just for two short seasons.
Still, I think the league is at its greatest when it fosters moments like this for people. I used to play sports in high school, but I was never very good; never a part of a championship team; never felt like anything more than just a warm body for practice. I imagine that being a part of a real team probably feels a lot like those two seasons in Minny. The fellowship of your teammates, the gibes and the teasing coupled with the moments of vulnerability and real-talk, the celebration of the highest heights and the shared burden of misfortune when that ill-begotten visitor comes around as they do. I don’t know how to explain it, but I believe GMing in Minny and experiencing those moments changed a part of who I am as a person outside the league. The league is at its best when it lifts up those who participate in it to feeling a sense of responsibility to your team, and a sense of belonging. In the time I’ve had away from the league in these past few months, I have noticed how much I miss it.
So if you are a rookie reading this, I hope I didn’t bore you with league history. If you take anything away from this silly article, it’s that you get from this league what you are willing to put into it. If you invest your time and effort into the team and people you are with, you are sure to be repaid with great memories and even greater friends. If you are looking for a casual football sim, that’s okay, too. This is a pretty cool place to lurk.
If you are a veteran, namely somebody who helps facilitate this experience for us users, I just wanted to say thank you for what you do. Your work does not go unnoticed, though at times I am sure it feels like it.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!