Thanksgiving in May

[courtjestr19 112]

A few months ago, I had a kind of middling pitcher in the Professional Baseball Experience, or PBE sim league. Somehow some other leagues came up in discussion in the LR, and I asked my teammate @Ricer13 what he thought about the simulation hockey leagues.

 

Fast forward a few months after I created a hulking Finnish monstrosity that I named after the game I both most enjoyed and was abjectly completely overmatched in. StarCraft never came naturally to me—I couldn’t click the buttons fast enough, I never got the hang of building fast, and although I played Protoss regularly, the thing I most remember about the game is the frantic plea from the game to my developing middle school brain: “YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS.”

 

I probably constructed some additional pylons to little avail back then, but perhaps it was more prophetic than that. 

 

I have now constructed Additional Pylons. 

 

After a brief end-of-season hangout in S97 of Miami, Pylons went 5th overall to the Houston Bulls in a bold move by @SMYLS4 to move up. The move, like so many in the S98 season, went exactly according to plan. Pylons would become a 4th member of an utterly fearsome defense that included Feka Ohi Kau, Jack Jack, and Dog Jagr—all of whom had TPE counts above 300 to start the season and were essentially maxed by the end. This crew of blueliners led a historic Houston repo team that gave up fewer than 10 shots on goal several times during the regular season. The rest for the Bulls is, of course, history, as they stormed to the Cup on strength, balance, and immaculate goaltending by Bartholomew Lorequavius, who rightfully had his number retired by the Bulls in the offseason.

 

I knew that I’d be moving on to another team as the Bulls had to retool after going all in, but I’m grateful to my brother @SMYLS4 for sending me to Las Vegas. We haven’t even played any games yet, but the activity and people in the LV LR are second to none. It feels like I’ve been there in the best way possible— @sadie and @Big_Dyl are running a real tight ship and have built not only a roster, but a crew that is ready to DO IT FOR HIM. The vibes are indeed immaculate, and I think all of us are pumped to get this team on the ice.

 

Now, I’ve skipped one major event here. To preface this specifically, I’ve had a rough few weeks. From grading about 130 exams to finish out a semester to getting pretty terribly sick to the point where I was coughing myself awake nightly, I found a lot of solace in doing league tasks. In how many places are people rewarded while enjoying some amateur photoshopping of cool hockey graphics? We get TPE to e.g. dig into the lore of the league and find out what goalie had the most career PIM? That’s hilarious. In all of it is creativity in a way that fits what you like. Obviously, this is my first-gen create and I’m getting to know the league, but this is doing fun tasks with a rewards system. 

 

What I was not prepared for, however, was the VHL draft. The chaos of marbles and the realization that I had been drafted first overall after a really fantastic talk with @badcolethetitan was surreal. I was half-[eating dinner with my wife and two young kids] and half-[watching the draft] when the first pick was entered. Before the pick, I had mentioned to a couple folks that I was kind of worried that I didn’t hear from many teams and didn’t have high hopes for my player. When it came out—first in chat, iirc—and then on screen, I went from eating and being a dingus to actually just going red and freezing up. I had heard first-gens almost never go first, so I had no sights on the pick, but Chicago was extremely high on my list of teams.  

 

My 6yo daughter asked me, “Dad, what happened?” and I think all I managed to say was, “I just got picked… first. My player just got picked… first?!”

 

She lit up in a humongous smile and just yelled, “YEAHHHH DAD!!!” and my entire family all jumped up and down. 

 

I… didn’t think I’d ever have a reason to experience something quite like that. Probably forever I will be grateful, humbled, and will want to make good on that decision that gave, really, my whole family such immense joy on a miscellaneous May evening. 

 

So, to the stream team that covered the draft, thank you for creating a fun, hilarious atmosphere. The marbles interjections were outstanding. 

 

To the GMs, thank you for the work you put in to keep users having fun in team LRs. 

 

But to the league, thanks for being a new community that I have really loved interacting with. I’m happy to be here, and I can’t wait for the new season.

 

WC:833.
 

[sadie 1,185]

Chicago won't regret it! I am incredibly happy to have you as part of the team and am excited to compete for a cup together.

[SMYLS4 254]

Couldn't have asked for a better player. Im so happy to see one of my first gens go 1OA. heres to a bright future in Chiraq.