Off-Season Recruiting The Easy Way

[Thunder 903]

Even when I’m on vacation, I think about what’s happening in the VHL.  One might think that I can detach for a few days, especially since Oslo didn’t make the playoffs.  But, a recent trip out of the country proved to be wrong as I tried to keep track of the playoffs, scoured through the forum for something interesting, and unsuccessfully tried to get my IPad on wi-fi to listen to a podcast.  All of this while trying to be the good husband and enjoy the time away.  Maybe one of these days I wont be obsessed with the game and will be able to just let things go and catch up later.  When that day comes, I may never know.

 

Now to the topic of this article.  Recruitment.  It donned on me while I was sitting in the pool at Harrison Hot Springs, there were several potential recruitment targets hanging out enjoying the hot water and social relaxation.  I spotted my first target sitting on the submerged bench.  He was talking NHL.  At first I thought he was a Ranger fan, but quickly learned he wanted the Oilers.  Plus one!  As I eavesdropped on the conversation, it became apparent his diatribe of words was merely to impress the ladies who were listening to him without much fanfare.  Obviously there is no way for me to interrupt and say, “Hey, you should join the VHL.  It’s a virtual game on line and keeps your mind into hockey even through the off season.”  Well, actually, there was a way.  This was step one in the recruitment process.  In order for me to get in on the conversation, I had to get my wife involved.  Being the good sport, she agreed to set up the target.

 

As we slowly waded through the water, in a casual shuffle of the feet towards the steps, she picked the perfect time and asked me, “What time is the hockey game?” Loud enough for others to hear her.  The target’s head turned and he decided to intervene in our conversation.  The game he was thinking started at 4:30.  Not the game I was thinking though.  Beketov  starts the live twitch around 3:30.  That was the opportunity I was looking for and I quickly took advantage of it.  “Nah, this is better than the NHL.  This is VHL.”  I went on to explain all about the league and how entertaining it was.  At first I thought I had a subscriber, but it didn’t take long to realize the steam from the water wasn’t only fogging his glasses.  His brain was fogged too.  Strike one.

 

It didn’t take long for my wife to get annoyed with me as I searched for other potential gamers.  She didn’t mind me talking to people or including her in the conversations, but if I spent too much time ignoring her, I got the look. For those who have gotten “the look” before you feel my pain.  Because of not getting the attention she felt she deserved, we had to leave the adult pool and go inside to the “Quiet Area” where there are two pools, one at 104 degrees fahrenheit, (do the conversion for celsius), the other one being a lap pool.  I know my wife could only handle so much time in the hot pool so all I had to do was wait her out.  Ten minutes of boiling, she finally moved to the lap pool, and I had picked out a potential prospect.

 

I slid along the mosaic seating to move in for the kill because it is a “quiet area” and I didn’t want to speak too loudly to engage in a conversation.  At any rate, I decided to go right for the jugular.  “Hey are you into gaming?”  To my surprise the conversation went well until I learned he could care less in hockey.  Enough said, however, while we were talking there was an old lady listening to every word.  And she seemed interested.  When I say, old, I mean old, like long before the Commodore 64.

 

I soon learned that Penny, the old lady, was from Yugoslavia or Slovakia and spoke several languages.  She had a grandson who lived in Sweden who was into hockey and gaming.  A bell rang, and I thought of someone who has mentioned Sweden before in Discord, so I asked her if her grandson was Shindigs.  Unfortunately she didn’t know a Shindigs.  At any rate, she promised she would relay the VHL website to her grandson, who was in his 30’s just to give you an idea of how old this Penny was.  Our conversation ended just about the time my wife came back to the hot pool and quietly informed me that I was not to talk about VHL at the pools anymore.

 

This order from my wife did not stop me from trying to recruit.  Later that night at dinner I managed to strike up a conversation with the waiter right after he set down the plate with escargot and bread.  Guess what?  You got it, my wife was not happy, but she accepted the limitations of the rules she placed on me and told me in no uncertain words, “the last one.”

 

Now the pressure was on because this would be my last opportunity to bring someone into the league and get 1 TPE point!  My wife knew exactly what I was doing as I kept making excuses to have the waiter return to our table.  More water please when you get a chance, more bread please.  At one point she suggested I break out my phone and show the waiter what I mean by VHL portal, forum, and Discord.  I thought that would be a bit much though.

 

After a $175.00 meal (Canadian), I left somewhat satisfied that I successfully recruited a new player for the VHL.  Walking back to the hotel, I tried to explain to my wife the process of this player joining the league and I would get credit.  Just as we got to the hotel, she asked how I was going to get credit if I didn’t know who that person was.  I had a Durr moment and realized that the only way to ever get the credit is if someday this recruit reads this post and identifies himself.  Until then, I’m SOL.  But, now I have convinced my wife to talk to her co-workers about joining the VHL!

[Brandon 426]

This is the single greatest piece of VHL content I have ever read. 

[JardyB10 4,839]

“Oh your grandson is Swedish! Is he Shindigs by chance?”

[Daniel Janser 2,037]

tagging @Shindigs just to ensure he sees this article (and for him to confirm or deny he has a granny in NA)...

[Shindigs 1,771]

3 hours ago, Daniel Janser said:

tagging @Shindigs just to ensure he sees this article (and for him to confirm or deny he has a granny in NA)...

I do not, there were some expats on my mothers side way back in the days. But that's about it.

[ShawnGlade 1,008]

This made my day