09-13-2021, 08:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-24-2021, 04:16 PM by Tesla. Edited 1 time in total.)
Hey guys, it’s CC! I haven’t really done any media in quite a while, but some of you old folks may remember way back in the day when I used to do interviews with rookies and other young players in the league. I can’t even remember the last time I did one of these, but this time I had the pleasure of doing an interview with one of the Norfolk SeaWolves’ young stars - cornerback Hououin Kyouma. He is a member of the S29 ISFL class, and was drafted to the Chicago Butchers in the 4th round. He’s playing out his final season of eligibility in Norfolk this season before he tries to stake his claim on a roster spot in Chicago next season! Without further ado, let’s get into this interview with one of Chicago’s most intriguing prospects.
Question: Tell me a bit about yourself!
Answer: My name is Hououin Kyouma and I was born in Akihabara, Japan. I’ve always been a big fan of anything sciency and had I not gotten my start in football, it was my dream to pursue building a time machine. I made a couple inventions in the Future Gadget Laboratory before I got into football, including my own drone among other things.
Response: Oh wow, those are pretty high aspirations. Making it to the ISFL isn’t particularly easy, but I imagine that building a time machine would be even more difficult. Maybe you can get back to that dream of yours in your retirement days after you leave the ISFL behind. You don’t see many professional football players from Japan. That brings me to my next question.
Q: How did you become interested in football? When did you realize you had a talent for it?
A: I got to go on a trip to America when I was quite little to see some science museums, as that was my biggest passion back then. One of the stops on our trip was a college football game to take a break from all the science, though I’m sure we all wouldn’t have minded. I was entranced by the game, which we didn’t have too much publicity for back home in Japan. I spent most of the rest of the trip learning more about football than science, and when we returned to Japan I asked my parents if I could try it out. In my last couple years of schooling I put in a lot of effort to become better at the game, and although I really enjoyed playing wide receiver, the coaches thought I’d do better at cornerback, and it’s looking like they’re correct so far!
R: Yeah, I would guess that American football is almost more of a myth than a known commodity in Japan. I wonder how hard it was for your parents to find a league for you to join. I’m sure those college football players would feel good knowing that they helped inspire a future ISFL player from a country that doesn’t typically pump out football players! You do seem to be excelling at cornerback, so maybe the change was a good one. Speaking of playing cornerback...
Q: What do you enjoy most about being a cornerback?
A: Defensive positions as a whole seemed like more of a challenge to me, as you didn’t know what the offense would be doing and you had to predict the movements of the skill positions. It also adds to the love that I had for being a wide receiver in secondary school, and with that I’m able to really enjoy the switch to cornerback as well as still challenge my brain to read offenses before the snap. It really helps to get an idea for what the offense’s tendencies are and that makes my job to stop passes a lot easier.
R: I have to imagine that your experience playing on the offensive side of the ball has helped you do so well in your transition to defense. As a corner, you’re tasked with covering wide receivers, and you know a lot about that. I’m sure that you are able to predict exactly what those wide receivers are about to do, at least occasionally!
Q: You took a bit of a tumble on draft night. How did that affect you? Do you hold any resentment towards any of the teams that passed you?
A: I don’t know if I’d call it a tumble. I’m certainly far from one of the best players in the league and while I’m doing my best to improve, there are many people that I played with in my first season in the league that I knew were better than me. It’s given me an incentive to improve. I definitely don’t resent any of the teams that passed me, considering all of them did at some point, but I do believe that when the time comes I’ll show my ability as more than a fourth-round pick and prove that I have a lot more worth than I used to.
R: I’m glad that you don’t have any ill will towards anyone. You’ve been improving a lot over the last couple of seasons, so maybe you’ve been using it as a point of motivation. It seems to me like you may have landed exactly where you were meant to land - in both the ISFL draft and the DSFL draft. It seems like you’ve got a role carved out with both Chicago and Norfolk alike.
Q: Speaking of your teams, how do you like the SeaWolves and the Butchers so far?
A: The SeaWolves have to be the best group of people I’ve met thus far. We’ve been a revolving door of talent as of late, and while that hasn’t translated into a lot of wins with most of our good players being called up to the big leagues, everyone I’ve met has been an excellent player and teammate and it makes the locker room a fun place to be at all times. We’re looking forward to this next season, especially with our S31 class being one of the more talented ones I’ve seen as well as an incoming S32 class that I’m sure will live up to the standard their seniors set. As much of the SeaWolves are bound to tell you I say, maybe too much, that I’m the old man of the locker room, being the only 4-year player left on the team, but I’m ready to compete for an Ultimini in my last year with the best Seawolf squad I’ve ever seen put together.
I haven’t been able to talk too much with the Butchers yet, given I’m usually a couple states away in the Norfolk training centers but when I do get the chance to get out to Chicago for practice it’s been a fun experience. I know that when I do eventually get the chance to show Chicago they made a good pick that I’ll enjoy my time up there as much as I have in Norfolk so far.
R: I’m glad Norfolk has been treating you so well. Like I alluded to before, it looks like you ended up in a great situation. Hopefully you can have a career year and fight for some award recognition in your final DSFL season, and hopefully you can have the same great experience in Chicago that you’ve had so far in Norfolk!
Well Hououin, this has been a pleasure. I’m really glad that you’ve been enjoying your time with Norfolk and Chicago so far. I can’t wait to see how your career pans out. I’ll be paying close attention, and I’m sure I’m not the only person that’s interested in seeing how you progress throughout your career. Have a good one, Hououin (and also everybody that took the time to read this)!
Graders, please split this 75% to @HasumiKi, and 25% to me.
Question: Tell me a bit about yourself!
Answer: My name is Hououin Kyouma and I was born in Akihabara, Japan. I’ve always been a big fan of anything sciency and had I not gotten my start in football, it was my dream to pursue building a time machine. I made a couple inventions in the Future Gadget Laboratory before I got into football, including my own drone among other things.
Response: Oh wow, those are pretty high aspirations. Making it to the ISFL isn’t particularly easy, but I imagine that building a time machine would be even more difficult. Maybe you can get back to that dream of yours in your retirement days after you leave the ISFL behind. You don’t see many professional football players from Japan. That brings me to my next question.
Q: How did you become interested in football? When did you realize you had a talent for it?
A: I got to go on a trip to America when I was quite little to see some science museums, as that was my biggest passion back then. One of the stops on our trip was a college football game to take a break from all the science, though I’m sure we all wouldn’t have minded. I was entranced by the game, which we didn’t have too much publicity for back home in Japan. I spent most of the rest of the trip learning more about football than science, and when we returned to Japan I asked my parents if I could try it out. In my last couple years of schooling I put in a lot of effort to become better at the game, and although I really enjoyed playing wide receiver, the coaches thought I’d do better at cornerback, and it’s looking like they’re correct so far!
R: Yeah, I would guess that American football is almost more of a myth than a known commodity in Japan. I wonder how hard it was for your parents to find a league for you to join. I’m sure those college football players would feel good knowing that they helped inspire a future ISFL player from a country that doesn’t typically pump out football players! You do seem to be excelling at cornerback, so maybe the change was a good one. Speaking of playing cornerback...
Q: What do you enjoy most about being a cornerback?
A: Defensive positions as a whole seemed like more of a challenge to me, as you didn’t know what the offense would be doing and you had to predict the movements of the skill positions. It also adds to the love that I had for being a wide receiver in secondary school, and with that I’m able to really enjoy the switch to cornerback as well as still challenge my brain to read offenses before the snap. It really helps to get an idea for what the offense’s tendencies are and that makes my job to stop passes a lot easier.
R: I have to imagine that your experience playing on the offensive side of the ball has helped you do so well in your transition to defense. As a corner, you’re tasked with covering wide receivers, and you know a lot about that. I’m sure that you are able to predict exactly what those wide receivers are about to do, at least occasionally!
Q: You took a bit of a tumble on draft night. How did that affect you? Do you hold any resentment towards any of the teams that passed you?
A: I don’t know if I’d call it a tumble. I’m certainly far from one of the best players in the league and while I’m doing my best to improve, there are many people that I played with in my first season in the league that I knew were better than me. It’s given me an incentive to improve. I definitely don’t resent any of the teams that passed me, considering all of them did at some point, but I do believe that when the time comes I’ll show my ability as more than a fourth-round pick and prove that I have a lot more worth than I used to.
R: I’m glad that you don’t have any ill will towards anyone. You’ve been improving a lot over the last couple of seasons, so maybe you’ve been using it as a point of motivation. It seems to me like you may have landed exactly where you were meant to land - in both the ISFL draft and the DSFL draft. It seems like you’ve got a role carved out with both Chicago and Norfolk alike.
Q: Speaking of your teams, how do you like the SeaWolves and the Butchers so far?
A: The SeaWolves have to be the best group of people I’ve met thus far. We’ve been a revolving door of talent as of late, and while that hasn’t translated into a lot of wins with most of our good players being called up to the big leagues, everyone I’ve met has been an excellent player and teammate and it makes the locker room a fun place to be at all times. We’re looking forward to this next season, especially with our S31 class being one of the more talented ones I’ve seen as well as an incoming S32 class that I’m sure will live up to the standard their seniors set. As much of the SeaWolves are bound to tell you I say, maybe too much, that I’m the old man of the locker room, being the only 4-year player left on the team, but I’m ready to compete for an Ultimini in my last year with the best Seawolf squad I’ve ever seen put together.
I haven’t been able to talk too much with the Butchers yet, given I’m usually a couple states away in the Norfolk training centers but when I do get the chance to get out to Chicago for practice it’s been a fun experience. I know that when I do eventually get the chance to show Chicago they made a good pick that I’ll enjoy my time up there as much as I have in Norfolk so far.
R: I’m glad Norfolk has been treating you so well. Like I alluded to before, it looks like you ended up in a great situation. Hopefully you can have a career year and fight for some award recognition in your final DSFL season, and hopefully you can have the same great experience in Chicago that you’ve had so far in Norfolk!
Well Hououin, this has been a pleasure. I’m really glad that you’ve been enjoying your time with Norfolk and Chicago so far. I can’t wait to see how your career pans out. I’ll be paying close attention, and I’m sure I’m not the only person that’s interested in seeing how you progress throughout your career. Have a good one, Hououin (and also everybody that took the time to read this)!
Graders, please split this 75% to @HasumiKi, and 25% to me.
![[Image: wJurMHl.jpg]](https://imgur.com/wJurMHl.jpg)
![[Image: yaboiknuckles.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/yaboiknuckles.gif)
