I will start out by saying that I am really sad to see the player wiki page update task removed. As a new player in the league, I found the player wiki pages a great way to learn more about the league’s history and they were helpful in completing many of the point tasks.
And when I first read this prompt, I was even less thrilled. I didn’t feel like I knew too much about the league and therefore it was hard to write about its history or to know how it might evolve into the future. But as I went through my first ISFL draft and heard my player’s name called third overall, it brought back so many positive memories of my first offseason in the league (close to two real-world months ago). The DSFL offseason is difficult. While there is excitement from getting invited to different locker rooms and just learning all of the different tasks that you have to do, the wait until the draft is long and sometimes the anticipation is crushing. But there is one very bright spot during the long, dark wait: and that is the Prospect Bowl!
I think the Prospect Bowl remains an undervalued experience in the DSFL/ISFL despite the fact that many remember it fondly. I feel like it is often thrown together last minute, kind of as an afterthought to keep the rookies occupied. And sandwiched between the ISFL and DSFL drafts, it is easy to overlook. But seeing the Prospect Bowl teams announced for this year, I am nostalgic for my time as a wide-eyed rookie on the S25 Mars Explorers. While I had already seen my player’s dot on the field (having played the end of S24 on waiver), many of my teammates were hitting the field for the first time. And their excitement was infectious. We knew everyone was given a level playing field since all players were defaulted to their 50 TPE build. While I was a little sad that meant my earnings thus far wouldn’t be seen on the field, I also realized that this meant any team could win it. It was just utter chaos and it was beautiful. Now, anyone who knows the Mars Explorers knows that our Prospect Bowl was one heart attack moment after another. We had three of our four games go to overtime and lost out on making the playoffs with a tiebreaker. But despite finishing with the worst record in the league, this was one of the first times that I felt like I was helping to create something bigger. It reminded me that this league is built completely on volunteer time, from HO down through all of the league jobbers to each individual player. The culture of the league and of each team is built on the kindness, quirkiness, and mutual nerdiness of the users in this league. And I hope that every year the Prospect Bowl continues to remind me of how wonderful this crazy online community of people who love watching dots on a screen really is.
My word count: 512
And when I first read this prompt, I was even less thrilled. I didn’t feel like I knew too much about the league and therefore it was hard to write about its history or to know how it might evolve into the future. But as I went through my first ISFL draft and heard my player’s name called third overall, it brought back so many positive memories of my first offseason in the league (close to two real-world months ago). The DSFL offseason is difficult. While there is excitement from getting invited to different locker rooms and just learning all of the different tasks that you have to do, the wait until the draft is long and sometimes the anticipation is crushing. But there is one very bright spot during the long, dark wait: and that is the Prospect Bowl!
I think the Prospect Bowl remains an undervalued experience in the DSFL/ISFL despite the fact that many remember it fondly. I feel like it is often thrown together last minute, kind of as an afterthought to keep the rookies occupied. And sandwiched between the ISFL and DSFL drafts, it is easy to overlook. But seeing the Prospect Bowl teams announced for this year, I am nostalgic for my time as a wide-eyed rookie on the S25 Mars Explorers. While I had already seen my player’s dot on the field (having played the end of S24 on waiver), many of my teammates were hitting the field for the first time. And their excitement was infectious. We knew everyone was given a level playing field since all players were defaulted to their 50 TPE build. While I was a little sad that meant my earnings thus far wouldn’t be seen on the field, I also realized that this meant any team could win it. It was just utter chaos and it was beautiful. Now, anyone who knows the Mars Explorers knows that our Prospect Bowl was one heart attack moment after another. We had three of our four games go to overtime and lost out on making the playoffs with a tiebreaker. But despite finishing with the worst record in the league, this was one of the first times that I felt like I was helping to create something bigger. It reminded me that this league is built completely on volunteer time, from HO down through all of the league jobbers to each individual player. The culture of the league and of each team is built on the kindness, quirkiness, and mutual nerdiness of the users in this league. And I hope that every year the Prospect Bowl continues to remind me of how wonderful this crazy online community of people who love watching dots on a screen really is.
My word count: 512
![[Image: 63595_s.gif]](https://signavatar.com/63595_s.gif)
