Valley of the Giants......

[nevdully's]

[quote:eea5764793]Yeah playing 45 teams is tough. [/quote:eea5764793]

WOW! I don't know how you play so many, I only have 42 active. :D and 2 in waiting.

[Frank Bailey]

I refuse to count -- because I'm in the neighborhood of Petrosian and Nevdully's. :lol:

[Munich_Man]

Thanks for the mention Bobby, it's an honor to be included with that group.

I remember the good old days of ATGI, when I would try to have one team in the playoffs, one team at mid season, one team starting and another team in preparation...

Now I'm sitting with 13 active teams, commitments to four other leagues (including your fantastic MOY tourney and of course the Barnstormers) and the urge to do another crazy experimental team. :roll:

The problem is, there are so many great theme ideas, wonderful people to play with, endless issues to debate, still new players to try, different parks... the list goes on. :)

With the willingness of so many great managers to share knowledge and help new people coming in, the level of competition has never been greater.

Since early 2002 when I started playing this game, it has been great to see the community grow with new faces come in and participate and add their perspective.

It has also been a great pleasure to have the opportunity to meet so many of the managers in person at the Vegas bash last spring and to discover that aside from being great strat players, they are great people as well. They say there's always at least one a-hole in the bunch. Since I didn't meet a single one in Vegas, I guess it must have been me! :wink:

I'm looking forward to meeting even more in November! If anyone reading this has the remotest chance to make it, I can guarantee a great time.

...from Bobby [quote:c8124babe2]and wonder to myself why I'm here[/quote:c8124babe2]

one final comment. Bobby, you're one of the main reasons playing here remains such a good time. You always provide the voice of reason whenever "discussions" start to get out of hand, and the kindness and generosity shown by the New Orleans league and Good Peoples Tourney, not to mention your incredible hostpitality in Las Vegas, remind us all that there are still good people in the world. :D

(_)ß

[MICHAELEVANS]

Bobby, you deserve to be #2 on the list regardless of your winning percentage, and as you know, when you're number 2, you try harder. There are so many of you managers who are great, not just in terms of your managing ability and knowledge of the game, but great in the way you share your information with others. Many of you play more teams at a time than I have played totally, but even so you have all made me feel so comfortable here and the cameraderie is incredible.

[Treyomo]

At least down here in the Valley, I can stand and wave at all the giants perched atop the mountaintop, and peck away at them with my 83 win juggernauts. :lol:

Bobby - without you, who would start up all the new frenzy leagues? :wink: Leagues just aren't the same without you - a gentleman who's not afraid to kick a little ass on the way. I'll miss the Vegas outing - maybe next year.

[B.o.b.b.y...]

Thanks for the nice words everyone..... I want to include Odyssey Tigger who also has 9 titles that I missed in my post.... I knew that would happen. Then I started to think about other managers who have at least 5 rings...one for each finger so I thought they should be mentioned too..... And last but not least are all the really tough managers with solid winning percentages that are not even on the list....WE REALLY HAVE SOME TOUGH AND GOOD MANAGERS...so when you win a ring I really believe it's no fluke in ATG II



boss_of_um -- 8 titles
abnerdoubleday--8 titles
aceventura55369--8 titles
The_Old_Bear --7 titles
T.Richardson --7 titles
TomP -- 7 titles
DaveHall--7 titles
PJ Axelsson-- 7 titles
MtheB 33 2878-- 7 titles
Stephen Lee-- 6 titles
Roosky -- 6 titles
tycobb-- 6 titles
Rube1 -- 6 titles
pacoboy-- 6 titles
Bbrool -- 6 titles
dneedle1 -- 6 titles
muttdoc -- 6 titles
Leo / loob -- 5 titles
mforfun -- 5 titles
JKolak -- 5 titles
raslavens -- 5 titles
EGVRICH -- 5 titles
cpugs22 -- 5 titles
gerryrice -- 5 titles
gamiam -- 5 tiltes
pope mollusk vi -- 5 titles
Cubs48 -- 5 titles
danielz -- 5 titles
Simon31 -- 5 titles
broken24 -- 5 titles
traderj -- 5 titles
scorehouse -- 5 titles
RiggoDrill -- 5 titles
biggerdoug -- 5 titles
cbarclay -- 5 titles
Dugger -- 5 titles

[Horntsnest1]

To echo Rob's words, "Just to be mentioned in that crew of allstar managers is huge honor"....
And if truth be told you deserve to be where you are, truly the gentleman of Strat...if there's a need for an extra manager, or if there's a need to start a frenzy, or if help can be offered or if there needs to be a voice of reason, you are ALWAYS there my friend. Not to mention that you do kick ass in the leagues too..: )
The only downside to this thread is now that you've highlighted how great everyone I'm playing against is, I'm wondering how the hell I ever won anything and it makes me worried when I look at the names of the opposing managers in the leagues I'm in :shock:

[MICHAELEVANS]

I know what you mean. The first time I made it to the playoffs, I ended up going against Petrosian. I didn't even realize what kind of record he had, and of course, he kicked my "south end of a north-bound mule". Now, in every league I'm in, I see these giants of ATGII and I wonder "what the hey am I doing here?" I agree though, that Bobby is THE GENTLEMAN of ATGII, and a giant in his own right.

[boss_of_um]

It truly is impossible to have a top list of managers. You can have the top 10, but 11-20 are just as strong as the Top 10 in most cases. Obviously number of teams played is weighted pretty heavily, but people who play a lot learn a lot and more importantly, SHARE a lot of knowledge.

Personally, I have been stuck on 8 rings FOREVER. I have had 5 teams lose in the Finals, with 3 of those losing Game 7's. Probably my most proud accomplishment was that my first 10 teams that made the playoffs, all 10 reached the Finals.

I have lost a lot of confidence in my abilities. I feel as though the community as a whole has increased their ability to put together a solid team. I have gotten overconfident twice, and I have since been beaten down. Right now I am feel as though I am in a downward spiral. I bought a 5 pack hoping to get things going in the right direction again.

Bobby, you deserve to be #2 when you take into account all that you bring to the community!

[GREGKOESTER]

Thanks for the mention Bobby. Sometimes I feel like an unwanted red headed stepchild. In a couple months when all the dust settles, I'll know what it's like to manage only a couple leagues at a time. I'm cutting back, right after these 27 wind up. I don't think I've ever had less than 15 going at a time. I think what is really great is when the guys I've been helping start getting into playoffs and winning rings. I've probably cut my own throat in more ways than one helping but isn't that what sports is all about? Isn't it better to help someone achieve there goals when you've already accomplished yours? I know there are credits involved but when it boils right down to it, don't we play for fun? I do. And what is more fun than playing in a league with Bobby? There are so many guys willing to help. Munich_Man, Rob55, Petrosian, penn, Treymo, gk, Coach, Boss, heck I can't name them all. Don't get mad if I left you off the list. The thing is everybody is willing to help you even if they are in your league and going to play you that night. Anyways, thanks Bobby. Good luck to all you guys.