Sun Jul 07, 2024 6:02 pm
Denorious
if you're speaking of thread creator "sweet swingers", I wholeheartedly agree
im a newbie to this format (started playing SOM in mid to late 70s, but admittedly didn't play from 1980-2010+.......I did start fantasy sports around 1999-2000 and have been a 20 year vet there
so my inexperience here isn't isolated all by itself
i've actually in about half my 5-6 completed leagues and 3 others on going with this GM swinger (or sweet, i was hesitant to select a nickname lol, perhaps "SS" would be less challenging LOL").....he always proven to be super worthy competitor, even if snakebit by that rapscallion "Harold", more than a few times, including playoffs
Im sure the bonding and "realness" of this game and format goes well beyond W-L, stats, championships
when I was 14 years old in HB, I probably (and definitely regarding sports) small group of friends ever.....we were about the same age, we weren't just "fans", from APBA and Stratomatic (and from my earliest forays with a few years playing Cadaco All Star Baseball (my mom had nightmares about the "spinners", she called that noise the "Chinese Water Torture", one not so bad, but millions in repitition like a bomb going off in your head every few seconds), where from there and voraciously reading non-fiction and fiction sports, i learned of so many greats of yesteryear (and in late 60s' / early 70's it wasn't THAT much before like it is not 100 years or so long past, give a decade(s) or so either way
and the best part of ALL of that was the cameraderie.....talking, boasting, being humbled, loving, competing, being friends, playing sports against and with each other.....those 2 years were my best as a child, never replicated
and where I was introduced to SOM at a local rec center by youth group leader "Jim".....i used to get so excited when my team (Favorite '65 Indians) would hit a HR (Colavito, Daddy Wags Leon Wagner, Max Alvis, and my namesake, 1B Fred Whitfield (who's i'd quip when getting ready to roll his dice, a la his walk up to the plate, "Big" Fred Whitfield
and if my team homered, i could not for the life of me contain my excitement....each and every time....to the point where the rec center leader, aforementioned "Jim" had to politely tell me that if I wanted/needed/must react that way, I would need to go outside, and not disturb the inner users of rec center (some were reading from library, etc, we were only in a large corner, with a few to several tables which had been reserved for our use)
so, it was now comical...im 14-15 years old, and my tabletop card game player hits a HR, and I can control myself for a few seconds as I stand up, proceed to nearby door, and then on the outside grass area, go apesh---t for several seconds to which I have to believe most of the rec center must have gotten a kick out of ;- /
I say all this not to too my horn, but to illustrate the beauty of competition with good competitors
as opposed to the "everyone gets a trophy" period (Seinfeld, "not that there's anything wrong with that") I was raised and played half a dozen or more youth baseball leagues (and Pop Warner/Jr. All American football, and AYSO soccer, and jr high school basketball team, i was raised with the "2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate ?" mindset and soul
thus, to make a short story long (pun intended), I wished to expand on Denorius (original poster) comment which lauded (as I concurred above) to SS's acumen and results
I wish to go a step further, in accordance with the more personal, beyond stats, aspect of this and other games/sports/contests/competitions
although not sure if he objects to making it public, SS (sweet swinger) in and above the call of duty, and beyond just being a league mate, or commenting/replying to my league posts (ahem, whining about bad luck and losing), he replied either publicly or privately pffering extremely generous and valuable advice, even as I WAS IN THE SAME CURRENT LEAGUE AS HIMSELF
so he's not only being a nice guy, he's helping a direct rival.....that' doesn't happen often in real life sports, nor real life
SS, thank you
you not only provided valuable info on a silver platter, but that platter was inscribed with "helping others is more valuable than winning for yourself", and more so, let me keep that platter....the world, business, professional, college, high school and below sports and competitions are all about winning...and rightly so, when the alternative is not winning
but if youth and real life sports teach us anything, it's that we can't or won't always win ("say it AIN'T SO !, JOE !"), and that how we act and react defines us.....perhaps in one word "sportsmanship"
so good luck to you S Swinger, Sweet S, et al, you DESERVE some good luck and results coming your way ;- )
and thank you not only for helping me, but MORE SO, showing me how to play this game, on and off the field
BFW