Szatkowski Reflects on Career Knows Time is Almost Up.

[Mike 708]

I was a super active first generational talent in the pre-cursor to the VHL, the ESHL.  When that league folded I bided my time until the Season 1 VHL trade deadline to see how things would turn out.  From the other leagues including the original SHL, OOTP Baseball, and NFL Madden GM leagues that I've been apart of my sim league career dates back to 2005-2006.  I've accomplished a lot along the way but ultimately the only league that matters to me is the VHL.  I was one of the first players ever to break 700 hard earned TPE pre-inflation.  I've held nearly every possible job along the way, had an award named after my first player, and even won/co-won the top exec award 3 times now.  I came back to the league full time in S27 at the trade deadline in April 2012.  While I did take a rather long break in between we'll ignore my Season 20 inactive 69 TPE D-man Paul Bunyan.  I've been in the league about 65% or so of its history and very active during that time.

 

My current run with the Riga Reign dates back to the start of a long rebuild in Season 28 and will likely end around Season 43 with the retirement of Szatkowski Jr.  That run of approximately fifteen seasons will be by far the most stable the Reign has ever seen and one of the longest in VHL history.  No matter what happens over the next many seasons I'm proud of the players the team has had over the years.  I'm also satisfied with the many ups and downs the franchise has had while I've been apart especially the S33 cup win only one of three and the last for Riga since S16.  So while today I'm not ready to step away from the league or step down as Riga's GM I can say with certainty that my days are numbered moving forward and they are far fewer ahead and way more in the past.

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

S43 seems like it's so far away.

[Mike 708]

It really does but before you know it we'll be in July and playoffs for this season and then the summer will be over and we'll be past S39 as well and into S40 the fall and into thanksgiving christmas and S41/42 the new year and winter S43 and there you go its already here and gone.