Offseason Point Task - 25th Anniversary Special

[tMuse]

Alright let's do this. 400 words are a lot more than 250 but eh 5 tpe is 5 tpe, gotta take whatever you can get.
I joined the league back in S22 after my IRL friend @Highhaschdi told me about it. We where both super excited who would pick us off from waivers.
High was taken by the London Royals and i was picked by the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (now Bondi Beach Buccaneers).

Prior to being picked i had a little twitter banter with @Thor who played as TE for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers at that time. All fun and games and we had a really great time in that locker room.
In the end i even won my first ultimini (rewards visible in forum when?) in my first season with Myrtle Beach. It was awesome.
Back in the days, @Frostbite was the GM of Myrtle Beach and he went on to create a new expansion team - the Sarasota Sailfish.

Sarasota picked me in the ISFL Draft and i was super excited to play with some friends from Myrtle Beach.
But then everything changed. Frolf started to bully me. He bullied me so bad that i even have a signature to show everyone how dangerous he is.

I am so glad that @enforcer aka Booby McBoobface aka Booger McFartface aka Boogyboy was always there to protect me.

Not so long ago @furiousPanda started the #fireFrolf movement. It's the best movement the league has ever seen. I don't know how HO can just look over that, a whole team crying "fireFrolf" and he is still GM. #whyFrolfStillNotFired

I also have two and a half league jobs now so that i don't end up broke like our boogyboy. He is one of the, if not the, brokest player in our locker room and he gets bullied for it. rightfully so.

Being an updater, even if it's just as a backup, helped me get some insight in how the league works under the hood. Being an auditor is also super nice, as I think our work is pretty important in making sure that everything is fair and square. Lastly working as a developer and adding new features to tools for the league is lots of fun. So thank you @Laser @flyeaglesfly29 and @Exilizer for those opportunities.

Last but not least, pt and uw passes are the shit.

I haven't seen many locker rooms but i am pretty comfortable in saying that sarasota is one of the best locker rooms you can have.

In the end the league helped me a lot getting through all these covid lockdowns, i made some friends along the way, had much fun being here and i genuinely enjoy my time here.

Code:

453 words

[ValorX77]

It’s hard to believe that we have gone through 25 full seasons of the international simulation football league, and it’s a good time to reflect on how the league has affected us. It’s around the time the scouting combine was on nfl network and dominating r/nfl in 2019, but then I saw an advertisement about this league where you could create your own player, and have a shot at winning championships. That gave birth to a scrub named Ryan Leaf Jr, a quarterback out of Washington state university, I didn’t know at the time creating as a quarterback would be a big mistake at the time, but that didn’t stop me from having an unusual start, an 87 yard touchdown run as a mobile archetype, which is unheard of in this modern era. The problem was at that time, was that I wasn’t able to get along with most of the league, as most people viewed me as “polarizing", which didn’t stop me from my journey to success. Leaf was selected 16th overall by Kansas City, only for me to suffering an falling out and resulting in a trade to Norfolk, and switching to a defensive tackle, and then getting drafted by Yellowknife 54th overall in a stacked S15 draft class. Leaf himself had quite a mediocre career, only putting up 3-4 tackles a game, an occasional sack, and not a lot of TFL’s. After suffering heartbreak in the Ultimus, Leaf got traded to Chicago in probably the biggest mistake done by both sides, was because of how bad my time as a gm was. Trading a 1st and 2nd for two inactives, what was I thinking then, the following season Leaf switched to RB and pretty much dominated most of the league, and guess what? Another fail in the playoffs. It was now time to recreate, and then Videl-San was born, the GM turned into a player, drafted 46th overall by Portland, who put up two quite decent seasons before getting selected 36th overall by the Austin Copperheads where I still am today. I feel a lot happier as Videl rather than Leaf, because Videl was designed to be better, I made her to be a Phoenix, destined for success, and no room for failure. In only year 2, she eclipsed a thousand yards receiving as a WR2, probably my proudest moment so far, and I personally can’t wait to see what the remainder of Videl’s career and the next 25 seasons bring to the league.
(417 words)

[jdourtled]

I joined after I stumbled upon a post on the NFL subreddit a few days before the S21 prospect bowl, and little did I know that it'd probably be one of the most fun things I've done over the past few years. I started out as an unknown who didn't really reach out to anyone or join any team related discord servers, only talking to teams that went out of their way to scout me, causing me to fall to the 135th pick of that years DSFL draft. Lucky for me I had two GMs who were very helpful, and even pushed me to do things I probably wouldn't have found out till way too late, like weekly predictions and everything to do with PTs, and though I was stubborn about staying at the position I was drafted in, they eventually helped me through the position switch process and how to actually claim stuff on my update thread. Again being an unknown who kept most of his league talking to within the Myrtle Beach's locker room, I once again was taking towards the back end of the draft by San Jose at pick 77, and honestly I've loved every minute of it. There are a ton of people in there who are passionate about the league and are always ready and willing to teach a thing or two about what's good and what's bad, and they don't really seem to take losses all that harshly, or go out and point fingers at who's to blame for them, (winning back to back championships doesn't hurt much either, but I'd love being in SJS even if we didn't win either of them.) The thing that means the most to me about the league is, funnily enough, stuff that's happened because of the league, but mainly sits outside of it, most specifically the Among Us server that's been home to some of the most fun nights in recent memory. I've met so many people there that I probably wouldn't have interacted with previously, and a lot of them I'd gladly call my friend who I'd defend at the drop of a hat and will hopefully be friends with even after the ISFL, whenever that happens. An honorable mention goes to the uno league, where I can destroy people at uno and not get constant complaints. All in all I have nothing but love for this league and hope I'm still a part of it in the future.

[ZootTX]

I joined the ISFL during the great S22 recruitment drive. I had never been a member of any kind of sim league. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of the concept. I remember creating my player and wondering what the heck I was doing and how does this whole sim thing work. I wasn’t very active my first season. I think the only team that scouted me was Dallas, but with such a large draft and the fact that no one knew who I was, that's not surprising. After Dallas drafted me, with pick 161, I wasn’t very active my first season. I hardly participated in the locker room at all, remember reading a media piece about my team that only mentioned that I didn’t talk very much. only scouted by a few more teams for the ISFL draft. Again, with such a large draft class, I’m sure it was really hard for the GMs to try and scout all of the players. I think I had a whole 91 TPE! I was kind of excited for the draft, but I thought there were only 7 rounds, and I turned the draft stream off after that, bummed that I didn’t get drafted. So, I was really surprised when Yellowknife pinged me on discord to tell me that I was drafted. At that point I decided I didn’t want anyone to have wasted a pick on me and started to work a lot harder on earning TPE and hanging out in the locker room. I realized that I had been missing out on a lot of fun and team camaraderie. I have made a lot of good online friends in both the Wraiths and Birddogs locker rooms, as well as others. I’m not a hugely social person outside of work and family, even before lockdowns and quarantine, but I’ve definitely had a blast here in the ISFL. I often feel like the old man around here at the age of 36, but it keeps me young lol. I’m still super active in the Birddogs locker room, and have made a lot of friends there even though we didn’t play together, and I have a lot great teammates on the Wraiths as well. If there is one thing I would change it would be some people take dot football a little too seriously and need to lighten up, but what can you do? I’m looking forward to making a comeback this season after kind of a down season. But even if I don’t I’ve loved being a part of this league and hope to play here and have a good time for a long time yet.

444 words

[SchwarzNarr]

My time in the league has been so incredibly enjoyable, and there are definitely people and things that I love most about this league. When I first thought of joining was actually back in season 18. Isa had found it via reddit and asked me if I wanted to join his fake football league. At the time I thought it was dumb, not gonna lie, and I told him no. After many months, and listening to him and Scorycory talk about the league often, it was something that I finally joined as the school year came to an end this past year. I felt like I had time during the summer to actually participate and do the league justice and so I joined.

It wasn’t fun the first week or so. I was overwhelmed, frustrated, miserable because of the fact that there was so much happening, my discord which was previously rarely used was blowing up (and therefore my phone and it was waking me up at night), and so I was about ready to be done. Until I joined Norfolk. Now I know that there is a lot of speculation and thought about how Norfolk is cultlike, but I have to tell you that Norfolk is a family. From the minute I joined, even though I wasn’t a draftee, I was in love with them. They took my love of moose and just made me feel so welcomed and comfortable there, and I was so excited to be a part of their family. Meeting the people in Norfolk 100% changed my life.

Joining this league has offered me friendships and people who I know will come to the eventual celebration of Isa and I. There are friends who’s weddings I have already virtually attended, gifts that were given, and more. I have made and paid to create a plushie for one of my now favorite members (it wasn’t that infinite wasn't a favorite before. I just didn’t know him well enough yet.) Woelkers is who I really have to thank for getting me to the Yeti because without him talking to me more, I don’t know that he would have fought to have the war room talk to me as much. And that was all I needed (and why I am a strong believer in prospect chats for drafts). Now, so many members and former members of the Yeti have impacted my life.

This league turned into something to pass the time into a place where there are people who have impacted my life for the positive. There are friendships here that I know won’t just end, and friendships that are going to be in my life for quite awhile. There are people who will come to Isa and mine’s wedding (hahaha suckers you think I’m actually having a wedding, sorry Isa I love you still tho). There are friends that I will go out of my way to road trip and chill with when the world becomes less crazy, and there are numerous friends now that will just be there, no matter what.

This league has done so much to impact me for the better, and I’m thankful to have joined it.

[Trautner]

Wow, it's been a while since I first joined the ISFL. I joined this league as a rookie in Season 10, and now we are all the way through Season 25, which means I've just completed my 16th season in the league as a player. Throughout my time in the ISFL, I've held a few positions, including Head Office and as an updater.

The ISFL hasn't always been the number one priority in comparison to other leagues, but that is perfectly fine to me. I very much enjoy the ISFL because of its less competitive, more casual nature for player building. Starting out with Danny Grithead, I built a special player, getting drafted by the Orange County Otters as they began to retool following their strong first three-peat. With Grithead, I joined a team once again on the rise and won two Ultimus championships with the Otters with their fearless leader speculadora at the helm, a person I respect and value greatly to this day. At Orange County, I met some fantastic people who I still talk to today, which is an incredible thing. timeconsumer, MrStennett, and moonlight are only a few of the great group of people from Orange County, and I consider myself fortunate to have been drafted to such a great team full of great people.

Going on with Grithead, I moved to the Yellowknife Wraiths in free agency in anticipation of expansion. What was supposed to be a one year stay with Yellowknife turned into the rest of my career, as I fell in love with the fighting culture and the mission to build a winner in Yellowknife. Daybe and BigRed passed the torch onto shadyshoelace and flyeaglesfly29, and I am so impressed with the team that still stands today, a living testament of all four of their work with this team. Winning an MVP as a defensive player was the highlight of my time here in the ISFL.

Now, today, I am the quarterback of the New York Silverbacks. I am eternally grateful to flyeaglesfly29 and the rest of the YKW management for helping me find a spot in the ISFL as a QB when they didn't have to. With New York, I find myself again in a fantastic spot, with a GM duo of woelkers and bwestfield that are dedicated and passionate, and a young team with limitless potential. I can't wait to play out the rest of my career in New York and continue to have a blast in the ISFL.

[terriblehippo]

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!

[Drizzy]

Not really a prompt I ever thought I'd be called on to write about but here we go. The ISFL doesn't really mean that much to me on that deep of a level if I'm being totally honest. It's my second sim league, and I seem to become way more active when I'm watching football in real life. I think deep down it's a league that I have a conflicted relationship with, having been here since S6 and really seeing it change from what it was back then to what it is now. There's a lot of stuff here that I love and think is great, including people in some of the LRs I've been in and the effort that some people put into stuff here. On the other hand, there's certainly stuff I don't like, the main one being the sim engine that we use. At times the ISFL has been a great source of internet frustration while I watch my player do precisely fuck all despite being one of the highest TPE players at his position and it's at times like that I feel frustrated. But on the whole I think the experience is a good one; seeing the way that the league has been able to grow since back when I joined certainly has been fulfilling, and watching guys who joined at the same time as me turn into some of the league's most notable members while I've just sort of been there has been a little bit sad. I do think the ISFL is so close to being great that I'll definitely hang on and see where it all goes. I like so much of what's on offer here that it's worth sticking with and I'm looking forward to spending some more time getting to talk to some of the friends I've made from here. It's not the sim league I'm most active in, but the last twelve months or so since I made my player have been a lot of fun and I hope that it continues for some time to come. When I finally follow through on my threats to recreate, I hope that the sim luck bug that has so far eluded me during my time here decides to strike and I can finally get some production in the game that matches up to what I hope for every season. With the sim change coming up soon, hopefully one of my biggest problems with the league becomes less of an issue and I can start to get a little more involved with things.

Code:

430 words

[Yeenoghu]

I feel quite fortunate to join the league when I did, for a few reasons. My player is S24, so I joined as part of a normal-sized class the season before a giant Reddit recruitment wave. This meant I got to have a wonderful rookie experience in London and then turn around and promote the same type of experience to a much larger group of users. When I am asked what my favorite part of the league is, I always say scouting and helping new users without hesitation. Even though I largely made my mark on the league due to research into the sim, I have had much more fun seeing rookie players succeed and generally interacting with other new users across the league. During my first season in the DSFL I was not as involved with sim testing as some of our other war room members, so I felt that I needed to pull my weight by owning the scouting process. I got to meet most of the users from the S25 class this way, and I still talk to many of them every day. When I look back at my time in the league so far, that offseason was the high point and I am very excited for the next time that the league is able to do another Reddit draft. From the Prospect Bowl to the arbitrary rivalries that get formed between users, there is something very fulfilling about seeing other people experience the same joy that I did when going through the drafts for my first time.

I am equal parts continually impressed by the innovations each new rookie class brings and happy that I do not have to compete with them all for draft position. We have new users every season that write programs for the sim, make Discord bots, or crank out enough media to vault themselves into the top 10 bank accounts, and they raise the threshold a little bit more each season for what it takes to be considered an 'elite' user. I think I would have no shot at being drafted first overall in the most recent classes after seeing what some of the prospects have been able to accomplish. Personally, I am most excited to see the new opportunities that await the upcoming rookie classes with DDSPF21. While the league veterans will be relying on existing logic and conventional wisdom, I'll be interested to see if some new sets of eyes will be able to pick up on some new tactics and strategies that do not currently exist in DDSPF16.

[nunccoepi]

So I'm sorry but this is probably going to be just a stream of consciousness, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

It's really crazy to look back and to think that I've been a part of this league for almost 3 years irl. I started back in February 2018, and I can remember really clearly what it was like. I was at work and had just come across an advertisement for the league posted by a member of Head Office at the time (he might have been the Commish), @AsylumParty, in a fantasy website that I use, fleaflicker. Honestly, the way that it was worded sounded a little gimmicky (it hasn't changed much), but I was in a particularly daring (or bored) mood and decided to click the link. I was so confused by the whole thing that I had no idea what was going on. Something though made me come back several times over the next few days so that I could try and make sense of it. When I finally realized what was going on, I thought it had potential to be one of the coolest side things I'd ever done. Honestly, even then, there is no way I could have possibly imagined what the next 3 years would bring for me in the league.

Since that time I've chatted with and got to know complete strangers. My first friend in the league was @iseedoug. We ended up teaming up together and did a pretty bang up job for the next 12 seasons or so. I like PTs like this, because it does get me reflective on this league and forces me to say what I normally am reticent or just too negligent to: that I've really grown to care for some of the people around here. I genuinely look forward every day to chatting with people and making the league a better place. It's an escape from reality which isn't always easy, but escapes from reality aren't always good for you. This league has its faults and flaws, that's for sure. And for some people it's been more taxing on their mental health than helpful. But, for me, I've been blessed to encounter some really great people that also help to keep me grounded in what's important in life (spoiler alert, not the stats), and generally uplift me as a person. And really, what better escape from the world is there? I'll take that over vegging out over video games any day.

My wife (who is not in the league and has 0 desire to learn about the this league) recently made a humorous side comment, saying that I would never leave the league. And truly, I think she's right. Unless I were to find out this was all a sham somehow, I doubt I'm going anywhere, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next 25 seasons are like.