Offseason Point Task - 25th Anniversary Special

[JuOSu]

Well this league has turned 25 and I have been here for a long time! Almost the whole time actually. I think I joined in Season 3, so that is almost the entire time. When I first joined, I created as a linebacker, Julian O'Sullivan and I was drafted to the Orange County Otters. I spent a few seasons there and then asked for a trade to a worse team and that lead me to the New Orleans Second Line, a place that I still call home since then. So more than half the history of the league, I have spent with one team. What an incredible thing to be able to say. I have met a lot of amazing people in this league and sim leagues in general. Some I would call pretty close friends at this point. Especially anyone in the New Orleans Second Line war room has become really close to me. For a while, that was the room on discord that I would talk most in. There were an insane amount of messages exchanged there and most were not about the league but just life in general. It was pretty fantastic. I want to thank people like Tom Hanks, terrible hippo, sloth, Bex, Tesla, drector and I am sure I am forgetting a few more as well. Earlier, I loved my time with old school NOLA guys like Beaver, Ben, and a few others. I love this league and how much it has grown. It's an amazing place and it offers so much more now than when I first joined. I want to thank a few of the HO members and such too who lead to this success. Slm is one of those guys for sure. I love all the new people that have joined and made this place an even better place. I love all the podcasts and media written here. It's just a really fun place to hang out. My second player, Stan Francisco may not have been as successful as my first, but I still enjoyed my time with him. I am enjoying my newest player, the third, Medicinal Toblerone a ton and can't imagine ever not being in this league. It's just fun! And I am very honored that one of my players, my first one, made the Hall of Fame and has also been named to the 25 season anniversary team. It's a massive honor. Thank you ISFL!

[Rufio_NZ]

The league has recently finished its 25th season. Please take the time to celebrate this anniversary by writing about what the league means to you. Whether you've been here for a day or for the last three years, we'd love to hear about your favorite parts and any special memories you'd like to share.

If you're new, or more interested in the future, let us know where you think the league will be like 25 seasons from now!

The International Simulation Football League (ISFL) and the Developmental Simulation Football League (DSFL) has been a great addition to my gaming options. It offers a welcoming community with a great group of people from all regions across the world as well as different walks of life. It has created some very memorable moments for me and has definitely been a great pass time during all these Corona virus / Covid-19 events. Being from New Zealand has given me an opportunity to interact with many different people globally and ask a billion different questions league related and non league related and was awesome to have this community to talk to during the American politics while that was going on. It also gave me an opportunity/gave an excuse to start doing some Photoshop things and it has really become something I really enjoy doing. Some of my favourite memories since joining the league would be the following:

• My first draft experience (primarily with Russ the Bus).
  

• My record seasons in the DSFL and the friends I made along the way.
  

• Being promoted to the ISFL and having an awesome rookie season with the Baltimore Hawks.
  

• My first 7/7 graphic grade.
  

• Learning a bunch of different ways to use photoshop.
  

• Being invited to the Tijuana Locker room war room and having a say in drafting the stud that is @deadlunatic
  
• Joining and being apart of the Dotts team
  

I am sure there are other events that happened that I didn't mention but those are the ones that stand out the most. 

The first draft experience that I remember fondly was when @RussDrivesTheBus direct messaged me and I responded in Espanol. I then received a direct message from @Dewalt27 and I responded in English, a great funny moment that I hope wasn't taken too seriously as I had my eyes on joining my friend @Ben in Tijuana from the get go.

My record seasons in the DSFL and the friends I made were also great memories. Being put in a scheme where I was put in a position to succeed definitely helped my retention and the locker room activity in Tijuana with the great memes and funny stories were awesome.

Recently having a record setting season with the help of @Buttersqauch101 & @"Jackets28" has been a great experience. Setting the rookie receiving record in all but average yards was something I didn't expect in my first season. Special shoutouts to @Dewalt27 & @Highhaschdi for leaving so I could be the WR1 laugh out loud.

My first graphic grade was for this sig I made for @speculadora and it was the first piece of graphics that I made that I was actually proud of and even shared with friends outside of the league. Awesome moment and great experience to make that graphic. Shoutout to @caltroit_red_flames & @RenoJacksonHS for the grade.



Learning a bunch of different ways to use Photoshop has also been a great learning experience related to my time in the league. Some great advice all round from majority of the grading team, special shout outs to @Nokazoa and @speculadora for tips and tricks on how to use photoshop.

Being invited into the war room for Tijuana was another great moment, having the ability to have input to the teams decisions even if minor was/still is a great achievement in the league. Shout outs to @mithrandir, @SwankyPants31, @FleshBagSoup & @Jay_Doctor for making that happen.

Finally, the other highlight was being apart of the creation of the Dotts team and having a role in that process. It's cool to be within a group of other super talented graphics people and get the ability to help the team in general complete cards.


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[zaynzk]

I came to this league as a kinda way to deal with the boredom of covid life, i saw a post on r/nfl and was kinda already in the "i cant wait for the season to start" kinda mindset so i decided to take a chance. At this time i was moving things into the place were i would be spending my senior year of college and felt a little isolated since my roommates and i had different work schedules, with me working during the day and them working the later shifts, meaning i was alone for most of the day. When i joyed i had no idea what to expect, i assumed it was some sort of roll playing comunitee or something like that which i probably would get bored with in a few weeks, but something kept bringing me back, maybe it was the sense of comunitee or the amount of effort people put in, or maybe it was how official everything felt. In the end I just really enjoyed everything, I brought me a group of people i could play video games with, since my laptop couldnt run warzone which all my friends were playing haha. I found a comunitee of friends on the Dallas Birddogs were i was able to make a huge impact off the field when i took over the team twitter, which i have enjoyed, even if i have hurt a few feeling, i know deep down i am only poking fun at some dots on a screen, not anyone personally. I ended up being a third rounder to the New York Silverback were i was able to continue to move up in the ISFL, with me getting added to the war room and also taking jobs in the ISFL as a GDX Grader, I am glad that i found the isfl in a time a bordom and hope that i can continue to make a impact on the league, I believe i have made a lot of friends who i hope will stick around a long time in this league, i would love to give a shout out to people like, Rev, R0tz, Kya, Amidship, Kyle, Steg, Gucci, Traunter, Roche, Westy, Woelkers, Moonlight, OrbitingDeath, Zoot and everyone else who i truly view as a good friend base on our time in the league, and i hope to make more friends durring this time

[Troen]

The league has recently finished its 25th season. Please take the time to celebrate this anniversary by writing about what the league means to you. Whether you've been here for a day or for the last three years, we'd love to hear about your favorite parts and any special memories you'd like to share.

I joined the ISFL (well, NSFL at the time) as part of the jumbo S22 from-reddit class. I saw the post about it right after watching the Eagle's season of All or Nothing and was really wanting some more football. Getting a glimpse into the whole universe of 20 seasons of history and its own records, economy, and rivalries was a really interesting thought. I'd also seen posts about the PBE in the year before on the OOTP forums and thought about joining, but it seemed like too much of a commitment. I figured in the post-superbowl period of time I'd have sundays free, though, so it could be at least worth checking out.
Little did I know that with the whole "well society is shut down now" that the ISFL would be pretty much the only sports in my life for the next 3 months. I spent my time creating early media doing a lot of analysis on the draft class and comparing it to the S21 class and its TPE earning/draft selections and collectively it was a huge set of activities that kept my spirirs up. So, from that perspective of giving me a great outlet when I couldn't go outside at all, I have to love what the ISFL did.
So, while I can't hope that the newer players in the league get a similar experience, I think that for me the ISFL will forever have this strong association with the lockdown and then the sea change in activity after that.
My activity has slowed down - it takes a lot of effort to write good analysis articles - but being part of a team was also a fun experience. I've participated in team sports before, but none that were as indirect or involved as much hoping for good outcomes with so little direct ability to interact. The sim leagues in general are interesting in that you as an individual can do everything optimally and right but yet still have your team lose games because of poor luck or the wrong strategy or the sim just hating you this week. Most competitive things I've done before joining the ISFL had some amount of personal ability or execution of strategy so that even if I'd made a wrong decision or built the wrong strategy I had a chance. ISFL games feel removed from my personal effort in a sense, since with the way that you build your player over time and how team performance requires a lot of high-earning players, your team seems to win or lose in a way that's not always because of your player, exactly. I think there's actually a bit of a life lesson there - you can make the right decisions and yet have poor outcomes. Obviously I'd prefer to make the right decisions and then have good outcomes, but it's still an interesting result of this group activity we're all participating in.
So, taken together, I'm quite happy that I joined the ISFL rather than closing the browser tab like I almost did back in February. And I'd like to thank you all for not actually reading this post helping make the league what it is. Remember - the best sim league framework is nothing without players participating.

[Retuperkele]

25 seasons? Thats a lot. I did join the league merely a few weeks or hours or minutes or seconds ago, but ive already started to sprout like an absolute madman in the league. I was very uncertain about my future here for a couple of times for different reasons, first being my lack of knowledge of this sport and the second one being the intimidating layout. I still dont know jack shit about american football, being a guy from Finland who plays ”traditional football” which to us means kicking the ball with your feet, not carrying it around and throwing it to another brother from another mother. Long story short looking for guidance and a wise wizard man to guide me in my journey in this league

Making my guy was a bit wacky because I knew nothing about this, so I decided to make my guy more defensive oriented rather than offensive oriented, given the fact that most people have offensive mentality over defensive mentality so I thought I could get more attention and help with that. Most attractive defensive role to me was the linebacker which sounded similar to traditional football’s wing defenders, leftback and rightback, which were my go-to positions to play when I was a junior football player, so the decision was easy for me to do purely based on just words, lol.

Joining the league was very easy for me since I am already representing 3 similar leagues, still trying to find the right spots and everything but eventually we will get there, you wont be the king of the castle when you first step in there. As a complete noob my first and foremost goal is to get gud by doing all the tasks and chores and everything extra in order to get my guy to be one of the greatest this league has ever seen. Drafts come in second, especially in a league where I dont know anything about it doesnt really matter where I go. In the DSFL all inquiries are welcome and mentors are more than welcome to slide in my DM’s

All in all I am very glad to be writing this in honor of this leagues 25th season anniversary and I sincerely hope that you will get another 25, and another 25 after that, and so on. To end my static statement I wish you all the best wishes and soon-to-be merry christmas in advance, go ISFL.

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[Highhaschdi]

I first heard about the league from a reddit post for recruiting S22 players. Before that I had never heard of such simulation leagues at all, but I found the concept very interesting and saved it under my bookmarks. After a few weeks I decided to try the league as a late starter and created a player after the draft was over and the season already started. Afterwards I was able to convince some RL friends to join the league, of which especially @tMuse is still very active and with whom there is daily discussion about the league and the fact that @Frostbite sucks.
In the beginning I was not sure if I would really like such a simulation league, but it soon turned out to be a lot of fun. My start in London with the GMs @Modern_Duke and @DeadlyPlayer, who gave me a great welcome in the team, certainly contributed to this. I quickly realized that I wanted to help the team more and so I became a member of the War Room in my second season and later also became the GM of London. I was also lucky to get an expansion team with Dewalt and the Berlin Fire Salamanders, which is a great job and a lot of fun. The league has definitely become an important and time-consuming hobby for me, but it is definitely worth the time.
I would like to thank all the people in the league who make the ISFL such a great place. Starting with HO, the other GMs and all the people who have a job in the league, but I also want to thank the people who focus only on their player and contribute with their activities to make the ISFL work like this and to make great acquaintances and have great conversations.
I also have a good feeling for the future of the league, because we have competent people at the top and the current situation should not reduce the interest in such simulation leagues. I very much hope that the ISFL will still exist in 25 seasons and will be bigger and better than ever before. In the short term future, I would be very happy to see the ISFL teams increase to 16, as this would bring a number of benefits, including probably an improved playoff system. Otherwise, the new sim will hopefully bring new momentum and improvements to the league. I can't wait to see some of the logic errors of the old sim eliminated.
In 25 seasons we will probably have 32 teams in the ISFL, have programmed our own sim with better logic and not just dots anymore and will be broadcasted on TV in prime time.

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[Alucas]

Well unfortunately for me this is my first season here in the ISFL so I haven't as many special memories as all of you have shared so far. I was recruited into the league by some friends over in the PBE and after some fun and success in that league I thought this could be a good time too, luckily it has been! My short time in the league has been enjoyable and I hope that in the next time we have an anniversary special I will be able to write about some special moments of myself in the league. So far the favourite part of the league I have is the draft, the DSFL draft to be exact (because at the time of writing this it is the morning of the ISFL draft and I haven't been drafted yet, I may end up with a horrific memory of being left in the green room for round after round, quietly sobbing to myself...but I digress). The DSFL draft is such a great first memory to hold for this league, the work that goes into the player cards and the presentation makes it something people want to tune into and watch. I was shocked to go 11th overall, I know I have some sim experience but didn't expect to be picked so early. Knowing that some people had faith in me to be a valued part of a locker room and to earn TPE and create a strong player was a great start to this league. Getting accepted into a locker room and team with the Kansas City Coyotes was good and I think that a good locker room is what makes people stick around and how this league has survived for 25 years. In 25 years, I think the league will have grown, yes that is an obvious guess but I would think given the growing base of players and the expansion recently in Berlin and New York that it is a good sign that we have enough people to fill 14 teams. I think given another five or so seasons there will be another expansion and possibly one more before the 50th anniversary, with 18 teams or so in the league. I agree that expansions are good but also having active teams with players is healthy for the league and as long as there are active new joining players like myself then the league shall continue to grow and I can't wait to be a part of it.

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[RussDrivesTheBus]

The first draft experience that I remember fondly was when @RussDrivesTheBus direct messaged me and I responded in Espanol. I then received a direct message from @Dewalt27 and I responded in English, a great funny moment that I hope wasn't taken too seriously as I had my eyes on joining my friend @Ben in Tijuana from the get go.

This haunts me everyday of my life.

[furiousPanda]

What does the league mean to me? Going into the league, I did not expect much. I, as of many season 22 users, joined because of the r/nfl post. Initially, when I saw the post I thought “Oh neat!” and I do love my football. I did not realize that it would bring me in a magical way and I would spend a ton of time with the league.

My fondest memories are the weeks before the DSFL draft,the weeks following being drafted and eventually being drafted with an ISFL team. Speaking to a lot of teams, I thought to myself “Dang, this is crazy”. The amount of direct messages I received, I enjoyed every conversation from every scout and almost every team. But what stood out was speaking to Gucci. His questions and demeanor were hilarious. He additionally helped me out when I had questions about how to do things. When draft day came around I was super excited but when I found out that the Dallas Birddogs drafted my player, I was fired up and instantly got hooked to the league. Everyday coming into the Dallas locker room was enjoyable. We had everyone great there from: Gucci, Bayley, Kyle, Steg, Edd, Lim & Jones. The days of the first Dallas draft class were amazing and what helped myself stay active in the league. Also, we added to the experience by catching pokemon in the pokecord channel. It brought a lot of people together and helped develop each other as awesome teammates even though it was ultra competitive at the time. The catches happened so fast after a pokemon spawned that it was unreal. This was a great time overall as being introduced to the league!

What else enriched my experience with the league, is the actual ISFL draft. The time leading up to the draft got myself excited just like the DSFL draft. It was a pleasant surprise that I was drafted by the Sarasota Sailfish. I did not expect it. Frost is a great GM and I learned a lot from him when it comes to general managing. My experience in the league grew and inspired me to become a general manager of the Portland Pythons.

Overall, I love the league. It is a fun distraction for myself in the crazy world we live in. It is a great time and I recommend it all the time to people I know.

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[Jonny2x]

I have enjoyed the league as a secondary to PBE.