My Top 10 VHLM Managers from the Semi-Modern Era, Matched and Complimented!

[jacobcarson877 2,541]

 

I have energy, I have no need to write anything for TPE, and I can’t be bothered to do any of the VHL-related things that I actually should write about, so here’s a brain teaser my brain gave my brain to figure out today.

 

 

 

If I were to outfit 10 VHLM teams with a GM and AGM from my sentient time on this site, who would I pick? This is thinking only about when these members were at their peak, it only includes people who were GMs or REALLY active AGMs. I also thought about picking from each specific franchise, but a few franchises have really lucked out on managers compared to others in my time, and I don’t want to leave too many people out.

 

 

 

Oh, and also I’m going to pair them. Sometimes it’ll be people who actually worked together, and sometimes it’ll be people from the same franchise, era, or simply people I think would have or could be great together.

 

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@Shindigs- @MubbleFubbles

 

This real duo was probably the closest thing we got to a VHL Moneyball, excluding the @fonziGG/@Nykonax MetaBall (huge oversimplification, but I’m trying to be brief!). These 2 saw STHS and the VHLM as a science, and pumped out a ridiculous amount of incredible, 2-way, sim-dominating players, most of which went on to play huge key depth roles for many perennial contenders. Mubbles moved out of the GM position just as I was gaining VHL consciousness, but having talked quite a bit with Mubbles since, and having spent some time in Vegas during that transition, I can say this was an immaculately run ship, and a duo that not many could compete with.

 

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@Lemorse7 - @Pifferfish

 

These two have been such a core part of the modern day Reapers, and traded the team back and forth for nearly 10 seasons. It was always a 2 pilot team, and matching lemorse’s raw charisma and sim league connections with Pifferfish’s eye for the sim, and unending friends list, these 2 always had a wave of waivers coming in to fill key positions for them, and found a way to counter just about any strategy another team could come up with. They were regular Cup contenders and almost always had an array of award winners.

 

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@DMaximus  - @diamond_ace

 

This is my Best people here but socially distanced duo, and some blasts to my past to say the least. DMaximus was one of my first GMs, right after a quick stop in Spartan’s Vegas. I don’t remember much of it, but it must have been pretty great, considering how far I’ve come since (even if it took a couple years!). He got me to become a Reapers HOF goaltender, and won us a Cup in the process. D_A on the other hand was the VHLM Commissioner that I remember interacting with the most when I first came to consciousness. There was a different air about the VHLM, and boy was it a fun time. Today’s VHLM is better, safer, and probably more effective at it’s goal of retaining players and teaching them to be good VHLers, but it was that era that inspired me to pick up GMing for myself and try my hand at outplaying the other GMs and getting myself and my players to outwork the other teams for victory. These 2 really formed who I am now as a member, and so, not to toot my own horn too much, they must have done a pretty good job.

 

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@AJW - @Triller

 

This duo taught me everything I know about the power of branding and rainbow flavoured unicorns. Houston was, and really still is, THE place to go. AJ is a ball of charisma, and an incredible mentor. There’s probably an army of people here who would metaphorically die for this man. And he learned the hardest lesson of them all, that winning games and graduating players are not always synonymous, and still came to every season ready to give his all. And the person who facilitated the branding, and well pretty much the entire VHL’s recruitment branding, was and still is, even if he’s semi-retired, Triller. Pairing the elite, professional grade graphics of Triller with the could-be cult leader of AJ made for an all-time duo.

 

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@LucyXpher - @samx

 

In some ways Lucy and Sam remind me of AJ and Triller. Sam always built a team of people who loved to be there, who were fun, and passionate, and just loved to chat. I could always rely on Sam in the draft to do what it took to bring her players back, and to be fair all of them wanted to go back. Lucy kind of appeared out of nowhere (my favourite kind of members!) and has turned the Halifax image around. They don’t play to be a middling team, and they will outwork you. They are professional, and they take pride in their work. Lucy could have copped out ages ago and poured out unformatted, unedited, rambling drivel like many of us (me too!) tend to do on a weekly basis. We don’t grade, and while that has a huge amount of advantages, it has led to a lower standard of content. But Lucy doesn’t care, and she puts in the work to do things right. Lucy, while a party in her own right I’m sure, is the business in the front, and Sam has always been, while business-savvy in HER own right, the party in the back. They’ve got it all folks!

 

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@Ricer13 - @ace_five_

 

Ricer as I’ve sure you’ve heard from me about a million times, has to be one of the greatest GMs to have done it. I have never known so much about my teammates before he managed my player. We talked constantly in Calgary, and that’s exactly the sort of energy that has won Ricer many diamonds in the rough during his latest, and I’d imagine, previous, VHLM GM stints. He knows when to be cutthroat, and knows when to curry favour. ace_five_ is a standout on this list, as a real young gun compared to some of the others. The placement here with Ricer has a lot to do with synergy, and I think the two of them would have, and perhaps could be an elite duo. Ricer always did his best work with a young gun protégé at his side. In fact he did such good work, that many of those protégés didn’t last the season, or where gone the next season, because they got scooped up for other jobs so fast. Ricer has always been able to get the real life out of his players, but ace_five_ is the master of weaving story out of the real life experience. He’s always making fun narratives to post for us on the forum, and uses a variety of media to get it done. This could be the most fun locker room one could be a part of.

 

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@Frank - @jacobcarson877

 

Woo shameless plug! Frank pulled me into VH consciousness in S82, and I really haven’t looked back. When he gave me the AGM gig, he never tied me down, or tried to pen me in any direction. He let me take on any project I wanted, and I took on a lot of them, and I loved it! We created huge elaborate draft strategies, which was the only way we survived other GMs like Cole and Shindigs, and Frank was the master of brute forcing every trade we needed. We put together some real superteams, learned so much together, and both went on to have some pretty incredible VHL GM careers. Frank is still in his element, building core after core of players who are ecstatic to play for him just like we did back in the day. Any time you can get 2 great GMs running the same team, each having pretty well the exact opposite set of skills, you’re in for a great one.

 

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@badcolethetitan - @JCarson

 

The first 2 names on this list were Shindigs and Cole. They were so crucial for me learning everything I did about GMing, were the perfect competition for me every season, and real benchmarks for me when it came to being a better member. Cole turned Mexico into some form of favourite/underdog anomaly, who was always ready to be the best team, or stop dead in their tracks at any second. And timed right, that’s a recipe for some heartbreaking. Cole also got ridiculous earning out of his players, and the team was always bursting at the seams for TPA by the end of the season. JCarson, a few seasons down the line, brings a lot of perspective and maturity to the VHLM. Much like many of the greats from my time and before, he is always pushing the limits, always drilling down to the root of why. Him and Cole both have that experimental nature, and both love to experiment and see what happens. And week in and week out, they’re both ready to make sure everything is in order, and everyone has been accounted for. They both love the mentoring side of VHLM GMing, and they both love winning games. They would be a force to reckon with for sure.  

 

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@Spartan  - @dlamb

 

This is the first of my almost-old-boys club entries, and 2 GMs that had a very similar VHL GMing style, and while I wasn’t  around much for the time when DLamb was my GM, and I don’t remember much of when Spartan was my VHLM GM, I can imagine what this duo would be like. They’re both fearless, and they both know exactly what their next step is, and what they need to do to win. The only times when these 2 have doubt, is when a bad stroke of luck, or like 7, gets in the way of a perfectly logical answer. Neither have ever been afraid to step just outside the norm, but both knew that letting someone else take the risk of experimenting first let you learn all their lessons without having to experience the growing pains yourself. They both value highly the power of the people behind the players, and know that a few perfect apples defines the bunch. There’s a reason these two pumped out HOF, and award winning players. And in the VHLM it’s not much different. Getting some leaders on your team, forging strong personal connections with them, and letting every iteration improve your circle of allies, means every new person walking through the door has more and more people to engage with, and less and less reasons to leave. By having the best of the best, the ones who exemplify everything it means to be a VHL member at your side, and showing everyone firsthand what they do to accomplish that, makes it so much easier to sit back, and focus on the day to day fiddling that makes up the most of the “GMing” in a traditional sports sense. This team would be an eternal contender, as the pile of picks just keeps replenishing itself.

 

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@Alex - @Masu Chan

 

And our final duo, and somehow also a contender for the best one, is Alex and Masu Chan. Alex and Masu are both very similar in energy, and they both approach their management through the lens of relationships. They know that trust given is trust given back, and neither have every been afraid to take a chance on a person, knowing full well that they’re going to get a great players back out of it. They’ve taken many a swing at promising first-gens, over the sometimes more likely recreate, and you know what, it doesn’t always pan out. But this would work, because Alex knows how to pivot unlike really any other GM out there ignoring Bana. When Alex flips the switch, there’s a new team in front of him. But usually he has a set of players that are versatile enough to switch tactics without issue, and that’s where Masu Chan comes in. He always kept up with whatever was happening, and was always ready to roll out whatever measure he needed to get the ship back on course. He got waivers up and running in a heartbeat, and they felt at home within hours. They often had a shiny new sig, sometimes coming out as a draft was going on, and never left any of his players out. With a revolving door of players, an ever-dynamic landscape and always a volatile group of new creates to be working with, these two could handle anything the VHLM would throw at them, and with the competition above, that could be a lot!

 

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Anyways, that’s a bit of a blast to the past, a reminiscing of great times, and a recognition of some of the great attributes that our best and brightest GMs have shown. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned from these great folks and many others, that well have often times been lost as the revolving door of COVID members depart, and the magnitude of active membership declines to a far more reasonable number. Every season is a new game in the VHLM, and it takes the best among us (sus?) to do the job. I hope our existing GMs and prospective GMs are up for the task, and may we find some more GM candidates lurking around our site soon!

 

 

 

Edited September 10 by jacobcarson877

[ace_five_ 421]

Thank you for the shout out! Less than a season in and getting this kind of recognition is an inspiration to keep it up and get better. While my time was short with @Ricer13, I learned so much and gained a lot of confidence in taking that role. I would definitely work with him again and think we would be force to be reckoned with together. 
 

Amazing article!

[Lemorse7 1,016]

poor @KaleebtheMighty the only reapers gm to not make the list 

[jacobcarson877 2,541]

8 minutes ago, Lemorse7 said:

poor @KaleebtheMighty the only reapers gm to not make the list 

and ironically, also one of my favourite GMs! That year in Istanbul was a highlight back in 83!

[Alex 3,204]

12 minutes ago, Lemorse7 said:

poor @KaleebtheMighty the only reapers gm to not make the list 

Not going to lie when I saw I was pinged I was expecting it to be in reference to when I was him AGM lol

[KaleebtheMighty 1,509]

That’s ok, the other GMs here for the Reapers absolutely deserve to be mentioned over me! They were great!

[Alex 3,204]

35 minutes ago, KaleebtheMighty said:

That’s ok, the other GMs here for the Reapers absolutely deserve to be mentioned over me! They were great!

whoa now, we led a couple really good teams to a first round exit lol

[LucyXpher 1,428]

I learned everything I know from @samx and @AJW... well maybe not everything, but the important things!

[Triller 1,665]

Yourself, AJW and Sam have all been very crucial in my love of the VHL.  You're drive to encourage and recognize new members is very admirable and stands out from most every other member that has been here even longer than yourself.  You want the VHL to thrive and it is very evident!  I love it! 

 

AJ is the same way.  The main focus remains on the team and the enjoyment of other members rather than trying to "create content" or just posting everywhere all the time.  Someone who really cares and it is very contagious!  It always kept me going!

 

And Sam is Sam!  I enjoy chatting with Sam about whatever and she manages to do that with everyone.  She keeps it fun and allows everyone else to participate in whatever tangents we all find ourselves in.

 

I have a short list of people I like to engage with and you're all on it.

[Frank 5,212]

@jacobcarson877 I think together we brought each other to peak activity and then we just sort of took that momentum in our own direction. Our time managing San Diego then seeing you bring them a cup is one of my fondest VHL memories. 

[samx 1,173]

Can you assholes stop being nice to me??

[AJW 2,157]

@Triller was the best AGM still to this day I can’t sugar coat it, was so much fun managing together in Houston

[AJW 2,157]

@jacobcarson877 thanks for the kind words you were a hell of a GM for the Marlins, was always a battle against San Diego with you in charge

[Masu Chan 456]

Good times

[Grape 680]

Can't believe the 2 day duo of Shawn and me got FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY

[Victor 10,947]

On 9/10/2024 at 8:27 PM, jacobcarson877 said:

This is my Best people here but socially distanced duo,

Love to see it

 

On 9/10/2024 at 8:27 PM, jacobcarson877 said:

This duo taught me everything I know about the power of branding and rainbow flavoured unicorns

Love this even more

 

1 hour ago, Grape said:

Can't believe the 2 day duo of Shawn and me got FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY

3 censors in the same thread

 

[jacobcarson877 2,541]

3 hours ago, Victor said:

Love to see it

 

Love this even more

 

3 censors in the same thread

 

I ironically I can't even remember the words that got replaced, and therefore I must have written them naturally!