dear diary (round 2)

[fishy 1,755]

Dear diary,

It’s late. I read a book today. It was nice. It really made me think about how tiny decisions can really snowball in your life to end up having a huge impact on the big picture of things. I think that applies to the Phoenix just like everything else.

 

Of course, last season could have gone very differently. Had each individual person not joined us, had we not run the lines that we did, had we lost touch with each other - it all could have come crashing down. But it didn’t.

 

Well, I guess it kind of did, but the best place to start when sharing a thought is the beginning.

 

Geoff probably didn’t think twice when he started the first count. He was giving us a game - a small exercise, like when you’re on a long drive as a child and look for signs with words beginning with each letter of the alphabet from the backseat. October 14 was the day that Geoff sent the first signal.

 

On October 14, our first counting streak began and ended. It should have been a sign that Hogan, our AGM of the time, would be bad luck in time to come when he ruined the first streak.

 

The game is simple. We send a number, the bot gives a tick, the next person counts. On October 14, it was season 74. We beat the Seattle Bears 4-1 that day.

There were only a few rules. First, don’t send two numbers back to back. That ruins the streak. Second, vote for the bot and collect saves. They come in handy even when you don’t think you’ll need them. Mistakes happen. Third, no typing while someone else is typing. Similarly, if there’s a speed count happening, don’t intervene. Fourth, and most importantly, don’t kill the count.

 

It took us a while to really refine our rules.

 

 

Eventually, after some of our teammates got tired of ruining the count on purpose, we started getting the hang of things. We ironed out our previously unwritten rules and decided to stop using math. It’s too difficult anyway.

 

Season 75 was a breakthrough season for us in #counting. It brought us closer together, something to do, something to be proud of. We used the momentum from speed counting and group think sessions to push us through the season. Chicago’s playoff run was a complete surprise - and I just know that it happened because of the #counting channel. The vibes were too good for Simon to overlook.

 

Then, on December 27, we played in the wildcard series against (you guessed it) the Seattle Bears. We swept them. It was glorious.

 

And then Hogan reminded us that he was, in fact, still in our locker room. We had somewhat forgotten he was there since he probably muted the server after he left the AGM position. We pondered about him now and again, and little did we know that he would return with a taste of spiteful revenge.

 

After we swept Seattle, Hogan arrived.

 

None of us were glad to see him.

-----

At the end of the day on January 20, the first day of Season 76, we had already surpassed our previous record.

 

 

It was a good feeling. The energy was different this season. We’d established our brand, the fire cat, and figured out a way to knit ourselves together as a team into one, flowing unit. We managed to come together, despite the player movement. Winter and Oferson joined us, their eyes on a cup. That’s not to say that the rest of us had our eyes anywhere else - it’s what we all wanted, to raise a cup in glory.

 

But we had to stay focused. We finished the regular season first in the North American conference, third overall. By that point, we had nearly doubled our counting streak.

 

And, well, we all know how the season ended. Chicago took home the cup after a brutal faceoff with Warsaw.

 

I attribute that win to the counting channel. There are no other teams in the VHL that can gather so tightly around one tiny, little thing. There are a lot of things that we share as a team - pet photos, silly stories, music recs, and sometimes a picture of a well-cooked meal. You never know; when you have a well-developed community of people, it’s hard to know what’s going to come next.

 

This happy little team doesn’t exist in an alternate reality. That reality doesn’t appeal to me.

 

In that reality, our counting streak is not as high as it is now. (I'd flex on all y'all but I can already hear gorlab telling me not to reveal my whole hand.) In that reality, Hogan never ruined our streak. He never ignited our fury to return to the ice with a vengeance focused entirely on proving ourselves, rebuilding. In that reality, our new teammates from season 76 don’t feel like they fit in. In that reality, we are disconnected. No matter what lines we run, it never works. In that reality, we aren’t a team.

 

I suppose that last part could mean a lot of different things. Maybe that all the people are there and just can’t connect on the ice. Or it could be that, because we never started counting, we never created a team brand, never rallied behind firecat, never established our visibility. Or maybe it’s that the Chicago Phoenix doesn’t even exist.

 

Either way, that reality doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun. In season 76, we didn’t just write franchise history, we left our mark on the team for what it looks like to be a part of something bigger than yourself. We proved the importance of having something behind which your team can rally. Most of all, we proved to ourselves that we were good enough - not just lucky enough, like we heard all through playoffs in season 75 - to show up and finish the deal.

 

Yeah, I think this reality is a pretty good one. Of all the realities I could be conscious of, I guess I’m glad it’s this one. There aren’t many realities where I could write over 1000 words about counting in a discord server.

 

- fishy

 

(a little over 1000 words, claiming weeks ending 4/18 & 4/25)

Edited April 19, 2021 by fishy

[fishy 1,755]

claim 2/2 lol

[fishy 1,755]

1 minute ago, Sonnet said:

god i fucking love chicago

[diamond_ace 3,106]

1 hour ago, fishy said:

There are no other teams in the VHL that can gather so tightly around one tiny, little thing.

Sheetz vs Wawa would like a word, please.

[Berocka 2,191]

1 hour ago, fishy said:

There are no other teams in the VHL that can gather so tightly around one tiny, little thing.

David...

[fishy 1,755]

7 hours ago, Berocka said:

David...

you wish you were anything like us

[mediocrepony 1,216]

big lidia with the nice shirt

[KC15 340]

Review:  I love this article.  It's easy to read as it is well-written with good grammar, punctuation, etc., but mostly I love the tone.  So fun to see the intertwining of the counting channel (something I've never grown to love) and success on the ice.  Made me chuckle.  9/10

[Hogan 1,331]

tankys first ever hit

 

[Ledge 1,131]

On 4/18/2021 at 11:51 PM, fishy said:

There are no other teams in the VHL that can gather so tightly around one tiny, little thing.

^ And it goes on for longer than that