10) Armchair GM
Written: What moves could your team make to improve for the next year, be it in free agency, keeping players, the draft, etc. (Please be careful to avoid tampering.)
Graphic: Show us a step by step plan for future improvement.
On this topic, I’m going to speak a bit broadly. I could use the Outlaws as an example, but admittedly, I haven’t followed closely enough this last season to properly critique any team, much less my current GM @Unicorn. (who I think is doing awesome, by the way); however, I can talk about the lessons I’ve learned as GM. First and foremost, hedge your bets when it comes to the draft. Diversify and try to focus on quantity of picks over quality. And I say that because quality is difficult to measure, perhaps even possible, in the long run. Moving up several picks can be worth sacrificing value, but don’t give up too much. Some of our best picks turned out to be 3rd or 4th rounders while top prospects have hit IRL obstacles that no one saw coming. Concerning free agency, from my experience talking to different GMs (and hitting quite a few walls in Free Agency myself), it seems that an engaged war room and, by extension, team will go a long way. Several FAs told me that having multiple members of a team meant more to them than any pitch from a single GM or GM team. Finally, in terms of retention, communicate with your players! Don’t take anyone for granted. Have regular conversations (either in the locker room or PMs) to make your guys feel valued. When you have a player putting in work that isn’t getting love from the sim, show them you appreciate them. Pay close attention to their interactions with other players and make sure that all players stay on good terms. The league can be stressful at times and having a bad performance (either as a team or player) can become a powder keg, but at the end of the day, we all want to work together and it’s on the GM to keep tensions in check. (315 Words)
12) Pay It Forward
Written: Write about someone in this league who you look up to or who you think of as a friend. Why do they deserve to be lauded?
One person in this league that I would like to highlight is @SabaDonutMan. I’ve gotten to know a lot of players over the course of my time here, including many outlaws that could easily be mentioned here. However, the reason I choose Saba is that he ended up in a bad spot a few seasons back and, if anyone deserves a second chance, it’s me. From the moment Saba joined our team, he was engaged in the locker room, consistent in his activity, and enthusiastic about the league as a whole. He became a member of our war room and immediately made me feel that it was the right decision as he quickly became one of our most active war room members. When I left the GM spot, I knew I was leaving it in the hands of a very capable war room and Saba was a big part of the reason for that confidence. I’m not sure if he is as appreciated outside of the locker room as he should be, but he is beloved by the team and I can’t imagine the Outlaws without him. On top of that, he remains a great example for wide receivers across the league to follow as he continues to display top tier activity. (212 Words)
19) Team Culture
Written: What is it about your team’s culture and/or locker room that makes you happy to be there? If there are any problems, what do you think should be done to improve them?
I’m a very loyal guy. I’ve always been a team player. I try to help out because I want to see my team succeed, but this is partially because both of the teams I’ve been with made it a great experience for me, so I rewarded that with loyalty. As a GM, though, it was a different story because I had to look at it from the other players’ perspectives and give them the experience that I had gotten as a player. What I really enjoyed was seeing the team rebuilt from the ground up, starting with the S14 draft and S15 drafts. I saw the locker room change over time and revolve around these players. And I enjoyed it because they made it their own. Since then, we’ve brought in more talent who continue to participate and leave their stamp on a locker room where we try to make every member feel valued and appreciated. And, when I did move on as GM, I felt every bit as loyal to my players as I had to my previous GMs when I was in their spot.
Of course, there are also things I felt should be improved during my time. As a GM, I put a lot of pressure on myself to keep the locker room fun and engaged. I would hear stories about other team LRs and worry that I wasn’t doing enough as a GM to keep things active. Even though it was an active LR, in the back of my mind, I blamed myself because it could always be MORE active. And the truth is I don’t know how to improve that, but maybe the two lessons to take away are (1) stop judging yourself by what you perceive everyone else to be and (2) have faith in your players to tell you what they need. If they tell you they’re happy, then they probably are. Second-guessing yourself when your team seems to adore you is not going to do much good. (335 Words)
20) Nostalgia
Written: What is your happiest memory in this league?
My happiest moment in the league was the S16 Ultimus win for the Outlaws. Not just because my team won, but because I saw this team of characters assemble over only a few seasons and come together to become greater than the sum of our parts. This was a team that saw ourselves as the underdog and was proud of it. Getting that win meant the world to us and it brought validation to our efforts as a group. It was our only Ultimus during my reign as GM and there would be heartbreak ahead, but that moment was absolutely perfect.
My next happiest moment, not surprisingly, was the Wraiths’ S8 Ultimus win. Unlike the S16 Outlaws, the S8 Wraiths were a team that had come close many times (S4, S5, S7) only to keep falling short for one reason or another. The team wanted the trophy so bad, but it kept eluding us. I had actually stepped down during the season due to IRL issues that I needed to focus on, but a lot of the work we had done in the offseason and over the previous season laid the foundation for that win. Bzerkap even honored me by keeping me in the co-GM role through the end of the season even though I wasn’t able to continue with my responsibilities for the last few weeks of the season. It’s a moment that will forever link me to the team and, while I’m proud to be an Outlaw now, I am grateful to the S2-S8 Wraiths for helping mold me into the player and user I am today. (269 Words)
Written: What moves could your team make to improve for the next year, be it in free agency, keeping players, the draft, etc. (Please be careful to avoid tampering.)
Graphic: Show us a step by step plan for future improvement.
On this topic, I’m going to speak a bit broadly. I could use the Outlaws as an example, but admittedly, I haven’t followed closely enough this last season to properly critique any team, much less my current GM @Unicorn. (who I think is doing awesome, by the way); however, I can talk about the lessons I’ve learned as GM. First and foremost, hedge your bets when it comes to the draft. Diversify and try to focus on quantity of picks over quality. And I say that because quality is difficult to measure, perhaps even possible, in the long run. Moving up several picks can be worth sacrificing value, but don’t give up too much. Some of our best picks turned out to be 3rd or 4th rounders while top prospects have hit IRL obstacles that no one saw coming. Concerning free agency, from my experience talking to different GMs (and hitting quite a few walls in Free Agency myself), it seems that an engaged war room and, by extension, team will go a long way. Several FAs told me that having multiple members of a team meant more to them than any pitch from a single GM or GM team. Finally, in terms of retention, communicate with your players! Don’t take anyone for granted. Have regular conversations (either in the locker room or PMs) to make your guys feel valued. When you have a player putting in work that isn’t getting love from the sim, show them you appreciate them. Pay close attention to their interactions with other players and make sure that all players stay on good terms. The league can be stressful at times and having a bad performance (either as a team or player) can become a powder keg, but at the end of the day, we all want to work together and it’s on the GM to keep tensions in check. (315 Words)
12) Pay It Forward
Written: Write about someone in this league who you look up to or who you think of as a friend. Why do they deserve to be lauded?
One person in this league that I would like to highlight is @SabaDonutMan. I’ve gotten to know a lot of players over the course of my time here, including many outlaws that could easily be mentioned here. However, the reason I choose Saba is that he ended up in a bad spot a few seasons back and, if anyone deserves a second chance, it’s me. From the moment Saba joined our team, he was engaged in the locker room, consistent in his activity, and enthusiastic about the league as a whole. He became a member of our war room and immediately made me feel that it was the right decision as he quickly became one of our most active war room members. When I left the GM spot, I knew I was leaving it in the hands of a very capable war room and Saba was a big part of the reason for that confidence. I’m not sure if he is as appreciated outside of the locker room as he should be, but he is beloved by the team and I can’t imagine the Outlaws without him. On top of that, he remains a great example for wide receivers across the league to follow as he continues to display top tier activity. (212 Words)
19) Team Culture
Written: What is it about your team’s culture and/or locker room that makes you happy to be there? If there are any problems, what do you think should be done to improve them?
I’m a very loyal guy. I’ve always been a team player. I try to help out because I want to see my team succeed, but this is partially because both of the teams I’ve been with made it a great experience for me, so I rewarded that with loyalty. As a GM, though, it was a different story because I had to look at it from the other players’ perspectives and give them the experience that I had gotten as a player. What I really enjoyed was seeing the team rebuilt from the ground up, starting with the S14 draft and S15 drafts. I saw the locker room change over time and revolve around these players. And I enjoyed it because they made it their own. Since then, we’ve brought in more talent who continue to participate and leave their stamp on a locker room where we try to make every member feel valued and appreciated. And, when I did move on as GM, I felt every bit as loyal to my players as I had to my previous GMs when I was in their spot.
Of course, there are also things I felt should be improved during my time. As a GM, I put a lot of pressure on myself to keep the locker room fun and engaged. I would hear stories about other team LRs and worry that I wasn’t doing enough as a GM to keep things active. Even though it was an active LR, in the back of my mind, I blamed myself because it could always be MORE active. And the truth is I don’t know how to improve that, but maybe the two lessons to take away are (1) stop judging yourself by what you perceive everyone else to be and (2) have faith in your players to tell you what they need. If they tell you they’re happy, then they probably are. Second-guessing yourself when your team seems to adore you is not going to do much good. (335 Words)
20) Nostalgia
Written: What is your happiest memory in this league?
My happiest moment in the league was the S16 Ultimus win for the Outlaws. Not just because my team won, but because I saw this team of characters assemble over only a few seasons and come together to become greater than the sum of our parts. This was a team that saw ourselves as the underdog and was proud of it. Getting that win meant the world to us and it brought validation to our efforts as a group. It was our only Ultimus during my reign as GM and there would be heartbreak ahead, but that moment was absolutely perfect.
My next happiest moment, not surprisingly, was the Wraiths’ S8 Ultimus win. Unlike the S16 Outlaws, the S8 Wraiths were a team that had come close many times (S4, S5, S7) only to keep falling short for one reason or another. The team wanted the trophy so bad, but it kept eluding us. I had actually stepped down during the season due to IRL issues that I needed to focus on, but a lot of the work we had done in the offseason and over the previous season laid the foundation for that win. Bzerkap even honored me by keeping me in the co-GM role through the end of the season even though I wasn’t able to continue with my responsibilities for the last few weeks of the season. It’s a moment that will forever link me to the team and, while I’m proud to be an Outlaw now, I am grateful to the S2-S8 Wraiths for helping mold me into the player and user I am today. (269 Words)
![[Image: welcomeBraxtonEast.png?ex=677e7b1f&is=67...y=lossless]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/357281973594619905/1319836335887880192/welcomeBraxtonEast.png?ex=677e7b1f&is=677d299f&hm=c03a86226787bfca2f2d024eb23c800c6f1ecd647532e0419a9d0218636d40e4&=&format=webp&quality=lossless)
![[Image: baby-yoda-by-jango-sm.png]](https://i.ibb.co/1rgfYXP/baby-yoda-by-jango-sm.png)
Thanks to Jangorhino for the sig.
