Dust...Wind...Dude

[Gustav 6,322]

Take the amount of time I've spent in the VHL, and spend that amount of time in the VHL. Then repeat that almost four times. That's right, you've got yourself the amount of time the league has been in existence. In my time in the VHL, I've been part of not just one but two of the most significant draft classes of all time, led a campaign against (and probably helped to lead to the death of) the old TPE lottery system, become a VHLM franchise's first-ever GM, become Davos' longest-tenured GM (though we don't talk about that tenure), built two players above 1500 TPE and taken one to the Hall of Fame, and helped to tackle numerous challenges ranging from expansion to the workings of the VHLE to the introduction of hybrid attributes in the BoG, all of which continue to define the VHL's modern era and have directly affected the course of its future. Further, I like to think I've been at the very least a decent public figure here during that time. I've made friends with members of all levels in this community, given you quite a bit to read in my articles, run the league's favorite forum game in Town of Salem, and I hope that the words I've put on your screen over the last three years have made a positive difference in your life. There's nothing I can do, though, to make up for the time I wasn't a part of the VHL, and I'd like to put the sheer amount of things that have happened over that time in perspective.

 

Think about where you were in July of 2007. I certainly couldn't have joined the league at that time, or at really any time for a while thereafter; I was a very sheltered kid who had just turned 7 years old a little over a week before the league was officially founded. In second grade, I was just starting to learn what multiplication was--and after the 15 years since then in the time that the VHL has existed, I now have a degree in engineering. That's a lot of math between then and now, and that's also a lot of change that has happened in our community. Some of you can even put that in perspective better than I can--you didn't even exist yet in July of 2007 (which really weirds me out, admittedly), and if you're able to wrap your head around the fact that the VHL has existed as long as you've been alive, I think you'll find that that's quite an amazing thought.

 

I've never been a commissioner of any league, never been a simmer, never been a mod (and I don't think I'd be hired even if I wanted to be), never even been an updater. I am not in the Hall of Fame as a builder (nor do I deserve it), and there's a great number of inductees who were before my time and who I've never met. I've truly only been here for 20% of the league's existence, and someone could have been here four times as long as me and had four times the influence without our paths ever crossing. Perhaps the most amazing thing to me is that every single one of those mysterious people on the portal has done more than I've ever done in their time in the league to get us where we are today. It's almost like being in a history class--have I ever met Benjamin Franklin? No. Will I ever? Maybe I'll hear a creaky floor on some ghost hunter show and gasp at the camera or something, but not really. Will I ever have his level of impact on the world? Imagine how unrealistic a "yes" would be to that question. With all the hours I've put into this league, I'm still just a blip on the radar.

 

So, to all of you who took us through that 80% of the league's life that I never got to experience, you are amazing and I'm sure you've done amazing things. I think those of us here now should also recognize that we have the opportunity to be those members for the newbies of the future, too--if you're a 20-percenter like me, imagine some kid in 2037 hearing stories about what you've done here today and poring over league history wanting to learn more about you. It's a great thought, and I think it's one to strive for--let's keep this place great!