Offseason Point Task - 25th Anniversary Special

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Offseason Point Task - 25th Anniversary Special
Closes Nov 30 0745 PM EST

terriblehippo
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Legend

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Posts: 3,278
Threads: 58
Joined: Mar 2019

CLAIM #27

11-16-2020, 09:38 PM

Code:
~567 words

I joined the league at a very interesting time in my life. I had just gone back to college to (finally) finish my degree, and it was spring break. I was trying to balance schoolwork and a job and a volunteer position within my department, and I was just looking for some kind of escape. I wanted something that I could do to keep me occupied, to give me something to do on the computer other than schoolwork, but I didn't know what that was.

And then I stumbled across a post on the NFL subreddit, about something called the National Simulation Football League. I was immediately hooked by the premise: I could have all the fun of building a player and determining the course of his career, while getting to share that experience with real-life people doing the same thing. And the options for writing media and weekly point tasks were a perfect opportunity to practice my creative writing skills.

I spent the rest of that spring break figuring out the site, getting my Discord set up so that I could chat with other players, and dusting off my Twitch account so I could watch the Prospect Bowl games with my fellow prospects (Grizzly Gang!). I didn't really know what I was doing, but I was loving every second of it. I was fortunate enough to end up in San Antonio with a great group of people: Frick, Baron, shadyshoelace, duilio, and TC. The energy and atmosphere that I felt as part of the San Antonio Marshals and the Fab Five ensured that I would stick around for a long time.

The Season 15 draft gave me a new home in New Orleans, and I immediately knew that this player was going to be a Second Line lifer. Even though the team was not good at first, it was the locker room that kept me motivated: our GM Juosu, my fellow Grizzly TomHanks, fellow linebacker slothfacekilla, and so many others. Our team's fortunes and roster have changed so much in the past 10 seasons, but I consider my NOLA teammates to be great friends. When I got engaged, they were some of the first people I told. When my grandmother passed earlier this year, they immediately reached out with support and love. Hell, I've even met some of them in real life, and I grew up in an age where Rule #1 was "Don't meet strangers from the Internet."

So when I look back at the past year and a half(!) of my life, I can say that the league has brought me two things. The first is a hobby that I'd never imagine I'd have. I love hanging out and chatting in the locker room, thinking of (and maybe someday writing) media, and cheering for little dots running around on my computer screen. There's even a part of me that looks forward to doing updates each week, because I love being able to give back to the league and contribute in a meaningful way (how messed up is that?). But I also have a group of people that I truly care about, people I can rely on and who know they can rely on me in return. It's been such a great ride, and I honestly can't picture myself ever quitting the league. So I'm looking forward to doing this PT again after Season 50!