A Love Letter / Thank You - Fredrik Elmebeck Memorial Trophy

[youloser1337 1,106]

I'm not putting this in a media spot since I don't want to claim this for TPE as it would feel wrong to do so. Before the VHL draft started, the VHL awards were given out. It honors the members for their accomplishments in the previous season. There is one trophy that is very special though. It's given out to a community member for their efforts during the season. That trophy is the Fredrik Elmebeck Memorial Trophy. It was named after a member who passed away but made a huge impact, Elmebeck. To receive this trophy members would nominate someone who they thought would be the best candidate for this trophy. A private vote decides who gets the trophy in the end.

 

To my shock, I was nominated for this trophy. At the time I didn't really think I would win nor did I think I would even be nominated. I got some DMs from people saying they voted for me but I didn't think it would be enough to be considered. I was told by @Alex_J32 that I could message @Victor about the nominations I got. Keep in mind I only had gotten a few DMs from people, so I only expected that many to come in. What I got made me very emotional.

 

"work mans put into fantasy"

 

"I am nominating Youloser cause he has shown really great work ethic and really tries to help anyone whenever he can!"

 

"Welcoming new members in during the season and his AGMing work in Minnesota"

 

"They worked really hard as an AGM. They have taken on more roles including vhlm predictions. Especially when the couser ad came out he was huge in helping players get acclimated and giving out tons of information about it."

 

"genuine (but not obnoxious or overbearing) interest in helping helping new members, https://vhlforum.com/topic/106463-finally-donating/"

 

"youloser has shown tremendous passion in his role as agm for the minnesota storm. he goes above and beyond for the new members of the league. he is also running the juniors showcase tournament for new members. on top of that he donated $600 evenly split between an animal shelter and the american cancer society. i think youloser is a phenomenal example for new members of the leauge to look up to."

 

"Not only has he taken over both the VHLM and VHL fantasy zone jobs, but he has also worked to change them for the better. He is also very involved in the Junior Showcase tournament, one of the greatest ideas for the VHL I have ever seen. He's a fantastic guy, super passionate towards the league, and is one of the quickest to respond to waiver players with a contract."

 

"He's done a lot this season in terms of being an AGM and overall in general as a member of the community."

 

I won't say who sent those in, mainly because Victor didn't tell me, so if you wish to remain anonymous I'm okay with that. When I received that barrage of messages from Victor, I had to step away for a bit.

 

So how did we get to this point? To go from the unknown to the Elmebeck Trophy winner. First off, yes my actual name is Justin. I don’t care if you call me loser or Justin. Both are just fine to me. It started in October 2020 when I first joined. That Thrasher ad really must have been gold as Season 75 was a big creation season. Justin Lose was born and I was picked up by Philly. That Philly discord locker room was very exciting to be in. Lots of activity and super awesome people too. I was a newb but was helped along the way by @DMaximus . I owe a lot of my early motivation success to him. Tangent time, I believe that I am who I am today thanks to DMaximus. Not only did he help me through the 50 questions that every new player goes through, but he was also super supportive of me. Looking through those DMs on discord is like looking in a mirror with @Moon_50. More on Moon later though.

 

Fast forward to the VHLM draft and getting drafted by the Mexico City Kings. Of course, I get a positive message from DMaximus congratulating me on getting drafted. My time in Mexico City was a blast. Having @hylands and @rory in the locker room was so much fun. Lots of MEXICOO in the morning and who could forget ElHeuvo.gif through our cup run? DMaximus might have been my first motivation boost, but the dynamic duo of Rory and Hylands made me super motivated to keep earning for that cup. I think that was the most fun I had in a discord locker room. I cherish that playoff run locker room environment. Losing the cup was a bummer but moving up to the VHL to Riga was on the horizon.

 

My time in Riga can easily be described as unique. The biggest highlight is @hedgehog337 complaining about Simon when things don’t go our way. A joke that never gets old! My motivation was dwindling at this point as I’ve been max earning for most of my career. I knew I had to find new motivation to have fun again. My motivation almost shifted from being a 12 TPE a week player into being a GM / AGM. In May 2021 I was given a GM role in the Victory ProAm offseason league. A fun tournament that gives people the experience of being a GM / AGM that can be used for the VHL. A huge thank you to @Ledge and Dairy, @Laine, @MexicanCow123, @Ricer13, and @Zetterberg for allowing me to be a GM and ledge for being my AGM / guide to using STHS. Not gonna lie I did horrible but I knew this was going to be something I loved to do. It became my mission to become a GM in the VHL.

 

At this time I think I wasn’t really talking in the VHL discord as much. Maybe the usual VHL sim ping jokes or asking dumb questions. A few AGM positions opened in the VHLM though. This was my first chance of achieving my goals. Rory was my first chance with Halifax. Although I didn’t get the position, Rory sent me a nice message giving me the confidence to keep going. Along came the AGM position in Minnesota. Laine messaged me an application and I answered it as usual. I get a ping on discord for a DM conversation with Laine. He said that I got the position. Funny enough after I got the AGM position in Minnesota I got another application for the Las Vegas Aces AGM position. This was my first taste of getting to help people in the VHLM. Something I wanted to do after DMaximus being my “mentor” in a way. I wanted to pay it forward.

 

Switching gears a bit, in my time with Riga, we were desperate to go to the playoffs in Season 78. @DoktorFunk was traded for during the season and brought up the offer that if we make playoffs they would donate money to charity. (Yup, it was all his idea originally. 100% of the credit goes to him for the idea.) I joined in on this to possibly give us some magic to make the playoffs, spoiler alert we didn’t. That stuck in my mind though. In season 79 I decided that I would actually donate money to charity. I used my bowling league scores as my benchmark for how much I would give. It was a good night as I believe I bowled somewhere in the 500 series range. A few weeks passed and I was setting up the charities. At the time I thought I would just split it 50/50 with ~$250 going to each charity. It was then decided that I would just give $300 each to keep it clean and even. I also chose two charities that were close to me. American Cancer Society and the North Shore Animal League. Both had huge impacts on my life that I covered in my reveal post, so I won’t go over it again here. I didn’t do it for likes or attention. I just wanted to, “put my money where my mouth is” and donate. Something that you will come to learn about me is that I love to give more than receive.

 

Going back to Minnesota, it was a blast to work with Laine. He wanted to give me all the tools to succeed in the league and allowed me to do more and more tasks as we moved through the season. He always said it was his goal to get me a higher position in the league. After a close run in the Season 78 playoffs, we turned to scouting for next season. After going all-in we didn’t have much in the draft, so we would have to rely on the waivers [FORSHADOWING]!! My role in the league was also shifting with the addition of VHLM Fantasy Zone being managed by myself.

 

A huge shoutout to @16z, @Domg5, @bigAL for allowing me to run the VHLM fantasy when 16z stepped down from that role. In season 79 I was approached to run the VHL fantasy as well with Domg getting the Yukon GM role as he wanted to focus all his energy on GMing. Going from a nobody to AGM to getting 2 paying jobs was a roller coaster for sure. Alongside getting to run both came a way to breathe new life into it. Working with AL to get more people involved was interesting. Changing the format was supposed to make it more fun and easier for everyone. Of course, nothing is perfect. Now I’m comfortable doing Fantasy and even got to do my own fantasy bracket challenge with A LOT of help from @Spartan (yes another ping for this!). This is only the start by the way. That bracket challenge is coming back 100% too.

 

In season 79 was the birth of the waiver warriors. Myself, @Alex_J32, and @JB123were always on top of new signings on the create a player page. It was a friendly competition and was very fun all season. A new Thrash ad came out and a new batch of players came in. What happened next really shaped me and why I love the VHLM. A new member by the name of @Moon_50 joined the forum. Luckily for me, I was able to snag him for Minnesota. Looking back at the DMs I sent DMaximus and what Moon sent me is scarily similar. Moon was my first “project” to get him set up in the league. Reminding him to claim stuff, doing tasks, career tasks. I was worried that I was going to burn him out with all the information I was dropping on him. He took it with stride though. Early on he expressed his interest in being a GM / AGM in the future which took me by surprise. He just joined the league and is already motivated to be a GM. All the energy I was putting into Moon was replicated for all the waivers I was getting for Minnesota. I was even accommodating the forum-only players by putting out a weekly newsletter almost of all the tasks for the week. A few people took notice of this.

 

The Adam Crouser ad finally hit. Oh boy, that scramble when it was posted and all the creations happened. The panic of realizing that playoffs was starting and we couldn’t pick up anyone on the team also hit me. I knew I wanted to help out the players and post on everyone who created. I didn’t want anyone who created to have 0 replies because playoffs started. I remember playing Borderlands 2 with my friend and having to stop every 2 minutes to post a welcome message on a player post. Domg was a hero and came up with the Junior Showcase tournament which was supposed to help retain the players who created. I was asked to be a GM alongside Z, JB, and Alex.

 

At the same time as the Junior Showcase tournament was starting, VHLE GM positions were posted which opened a lot of VHLM GM positions. With the encouragement of Laine, I posted for a VHLM GM job. Getting a discord message from @diamond_ace  dropping subtle hints that I was a “when” not “if” for a GM position was insane to me. It got me excited about being a VHLM GM. Myself and Moon were still chatting about stuff and that’s when it hit me to bring him in for my AGM. I couldn’t tell him 100% so I used the Junior Showcase tournament as his trial run. Not only did he absolutely kill it but it made me super confident in making him my AGM. I saw myself in him when he was drafting and helping out the new players that were coming into the league. Making him my AGM in Mexico City was a no-brainer and I think all the GMs knew I was going to choose him. 

 

To wrap this novel up, I just wanted to thank everyone who supported me to this point. I want you all to know how much you guys mean to my life. I was a bored guy looking for something to do when I found the VHL. It makes me super excited about the future too. To think I didn’t even see a future for myself. A few years ago I was at my worst with depression. 2 years after graduating from college and not getting a job I was bad. I felt worthless and thought I had no future. Honestly, I thought about suicide since I was a waste. Bless my sister who caught on to the warning signs and got me to therapy. Without her, I don’t think I’d be here writing this. Things are looking up and now I’m doing great. Being the Mexico City Kings GM is just the cherry on top.

 

To the past players who I managed, I hope you all have a great experience and I hope you will join the Kings in the future when you recreate.

 

To the current players, I hope I’m doing my job and making you feel comfortable in the league. I want to make sure you are welcomed and that I give you my all.

 

To the future players, you aren’t getting a GM who wants to win. You are going to be getting a friend who wants to see you succeed not only in the VHLM but in the VHLE or VHL. I want you to be comfortable and have the best time in the VHLM win or lose!

 

Getting the Elmebeck trophy was only validation that I’m in the right place. It might have seemed like a small nod to my activity for the season but to me it means everything. I already told Diamond_Ace that the VHLM was my home. I was even approached to be recommended for a VHL GM position but turned it down. 

 

As I cry writing this, thank you to each and every one of you.  

 

TL;DR:

 

I’m sorry that this is a novel but the VHL community is the best and I feel at home here. I cried a bit when I got nominated and when I won. I feel honored and I want to continue being a help to VHLM players forever. If I could thank everyone in the community who voted for me I would if I knew who did.

[Moon 593]

I am now "Project Moon"

[samx 1,173]

This is one of the best things I have ever read. I'm so glad you got the award because you truly and I mean truly deserve it. You put so much work into everything you do in this leauge and it shows. Youre love for the leauge and the want to help shows. You are incredible! I so happy to be able to go up against you as gms. You have brought so much to this leauge. your effort inspires me to work harder and do better with my own team and what I do in this leauge. Thank you for all you have done!!! Congratulations!

[hylands 845]

love u justin. thanks for the kind words, it means a lot to me! having you on the team in mexico is one of my favourite memories from the vhl. keep up the amazing work!!

[Laine 1,361]

Loved having you as an AGM, @youloser1337! Easily can say it was the best hire I could've made. Love you man 

[youloser1337 1,106]

44 minutes ago, Moon_50 said:

I am now "Project Moon"

 

Don't take this seriously. You were more hands on compared to other players. Came in with a lot of motivation and stuck with it.

 

43 minutes ago, Brewins15 said:

This is one of the best things I have ever read. I'm so glad you got the award because you truly and I mean truly deserve it. You put so much work into everything you do in this leauge and it shows. Youre love for the leauge and the want to help shows. You are incredible! I so happy to be able to go up against you as gms. You have brought so much to this leauge. your effort inspires me to work harder and do better with my own team and what I do in this leauge. Thank you for all you have done!!! Congratulations!

 

Thank you sam. Means a lot to me.

 

39 minutes ago, hylands said:

love u justin. thanks for the kind words, it means a lot to me! having you on the team in mexico is one of my favourite memories from the vhl. keep up the amazing work!!

 

 

20 minutes ago, Laine said:

Loved having you as an AGM, @youloser1337! Easily can say it was the best hire I could've made. Love you man 

 

 

Thank you for hiring me. Easily one of my favorite times in the VHL was working with you.

[DMaximus 1,046]

This entire story is just a testament to how amazing this community is. So many people positively influencing each other. It's just really beautiful. Thank you Justin for being you and for being such a great member of this league! 

[Ricer13 2,796]

I love this community! I am so happy that you are a part of it and that it’s a place you can feel at home. It’s because of members like yourself that make it such a wonderful place to be. It’s because of members like you that I have been around for 2 years now and only want to be more involved as time goes by. Thank you for sharing this with us

[STZ 5,360]

This is so wholesome

[Ledge 1,131]

Eh man, you are something truly special. Everything that's happened here you had coming. It's been a pleasure to be your teammate in Riga and frankly to be your friend.

[JB123 728]

You’re always very genuine in wanting to make a difference and helping people out. Not all people are, I respect that a lot. Congrats on the Elmebeck, you absolutely deserve it! 

[Victor 10,943]

It's the type of stuff we brought the Elmebeck in for, proud to see its impact and keep doing what you're doing.

[bigAL 2,176]

Hell yeah JLose. This place means something different to every person, but it wouldn’t mean much to anyone if it weren’t for the people here. The VHL is a much better place with you around, and it sounds like you’re in a better place with the VHL. Love it, thank you so much for everything you do. Someday we’ll get back into Minecraft haha