What the Internet Said About the VHL in 2007

[CowboyinAmerica 2,911]

The VHL in 2007, As Told By Not the VHL

 

When the VHL was created in 2007, I didn’t join right away. However, I was in sim leagues at that time, because I’m old. I was in a football league called the MSFL (Madden Sim Football League), which had a couple of other members that are still around and also some of the people who would go on to found the VHL. (In fact, in the very first MSFL season, I won a close Tight End of the Year battle over founding VHL commissioner Knight.)

 

So when taking a trip down memory lane, I decided to look not only at the VHL’s history, but the MSFL’s history as well. Somewhat amazingly but also mortifyingly, the MSFL forums are still alive 15 years later, even though the league itself has been dead since 2008. It’s not difficult to find, but I’m also not linking it here, because I have thousands of posts there that I don’t feel like scrubbing to eliminate the stupid things I undoubtedly said as a high schooler.

 

But one of the benefits of the MSFL still being around is I can find contemporary posts about the VHL soon after its founding. For some reason, I think the MSFL’s Affiliate forum got nuked along the way, so I can’t actually find an explicit topic about the VHL. But here’s a few places where the league is discussed elsewhere.

 

 

I was immediately amused that the second oldest VHL mention, from October 2007, was @Doomsday being thankful that @JeffD drafted him in the VHL. At least I'm not the only old one here.

 

 

This was from a draft interest post from MSFL GM Alex Lewis. Jeff was going hard for the dual MSFL/VHL players back in the day apparently, I also genuinely had no idea Jeff was Helsinki's GM at one point until this very moment.

 

 

No idea who this member was/is, but apparently he liked the VHL a whole lot more than how the MSFL was being run in November 2007. As a commissioner I should probably take offense to this (and I literally posted in this thread two posts down actually), but I was also 17 years old and indeed a bit of a shithead. Funny enough, who he's replying to here, Irishbucsfan, would also later briefly be in the VHL.

 

 

I'll take "Posts the Internet Accepted in 2007 That Aren't Flying in 2022" for $400, Alex.

 

 

The most relevant topic in the MSFL that I can find came on December 29, 2007, when Golden asked if there were any good hockey leagues out there at the time. The first response shows that Alex Lewis still wasn't feeling the whole VHL vibe, apparently. However, that was shortly followed by:

 

 

@Cornholio coming in with the receipts!

 

 

And @JeffD still flying the VHL flag.

 

 

This was from a Grader Application thread, I genuinely had zero idea that Slobo had ever made his way over the MSFL. Judging by user permissions, and the fact the league would die a few months later, I'm going to guess he didn't get the job.

 

 

Oh damn, shade at the VHL's grading practices! Side note, I'm very happy grading isn't as strict as it used to be in pretty much every league, because I'm guessing a whole lot of people would be leaving the first time they received a 4/6 for a graphic not being professional-quality.

 

 

Alex Lewis came around by April 2008! And, was strangely prescient? At the time, the MSFL was in its death throes, but wouldn't actually die until a month or two later.

 

 

Wondering now if other meetings of this sort ever happened. I think I've only ever met one sim leaguer in real life - and that's when Quach and I randomly ended up in the same MBA program, and we definitely had that awkward talk of, "Do I recognize your name from... yes? OK then, that's out of the way."

 

 

The very last VHL-related post, on a topic asking if people still came around... in 2009. @Knight was prescient that weirdly, 13 years later, people still might be looking for a place to head. But truth be told, god help the soul of anybody stumbling across a sim league that has been dormant for 14+ years and trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

[frescoelmo 1,282]

Mmmmmm MSFL, how little I miss that league

[Quik 4,113]

37 minutes ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

This was from a Grader Application thread, I genuinely had zero idea that Slobo had ever made his way over the MSFL. Judging by user permissions, and the fact the league would die a few months later, I'm going to guess he didn't get the job.

 

Might need to amend that Zach Warren section of my MS, dude's a savage

[Beketov 9,103]

53 minutes ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

No idea who this member was/is, but apparently he liked the VHL a whole lot more than how the MSFL was being run in November 2007

Not sure how long he stuck around in the VHL as my memory is hazy but Adrian was one of the OG ESHL guys, great member back in the day.

[MubbleFubbles 1,292]

I think I remember Alex Lewis from another football league I was in at the time (ISL), if I'm remembering right he went under the name WhenDovesCry in ISL, was a big graphics guy and had like an Alew something AIM. 

 

1 hour ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

 

 

Oh damn, shade at the VHL's grading practices! Side note, I'm very happy grading isn't as strict as it used to be in pretty much every league, because I'm guessing a whole lot of people would be leaving the first time they received a 4/6 for a graphic not being professional-quality.

 

For sure! I remember one league I was in (It was called SupremeFSL and was ran by someone called CaptObvious) and in like the four weeks it lasted, only one graphic qualified for the max TPE out of like 80 submissions. We were snobbish pieces of shit back in the day 

[Victor 11,023]

3 hours ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

I was immediately amused that the second oldest VHL mention, from October 2007, was @Doomsday being thankful that @JeffD drafted him in the VHL. At least I'm not the only old one here.

Amazed that Doom tried the VHL a solid 5(?)ish years before actually joining properly. Although I assume/vaguely remember you did the same.

[CowboyinAmerica 2,911]

25 minutes ago, Victor said:

Amazed that Doom tried the VHL a solid 5(?)ish years before actually joining properly. Although I assume/vaguely remember you did the same.

 

A bit - had a guy in I believe the S28 Draft that just sat there, but joined in earnest not too long after for S33 Draft.