boncer34
Formerly "Dos23"
- Thread starter
- #26
This is courtesy of okeydoke7
HALL OF FAME - IMMORTALS
For the first time, the SFA has upgraded two immortals in its Hall of Fame. Two better candidates could not have been chosen. There are two names that are synonymous with fantasy football, and they are our immortals. I caught up with the SFA's first HoF upgrades, boncer34 and Mobbenfuhrer , to find out what being immortal means to them.
MOBBENFUHRER
- 244 games, 158 goals.
- 2x Frankston Rover Award
- League administrator (S1 & 2)
- 3x All-SFA
- Creator of QOOTY and creator of league.
The resume says it all. And it could say much, much more. Mobbenfuhrer was perhaps the most obvious choice for immortal status in the SFA. The league creator and the creator of our beloved QOOTY is highly respected within the league. He has been here from the start. And even throughout his absences, he has been ever-present.
None of us would be here enjoying this great game without Mobbenfuhrer. Hundreds of people owe their enjoyment of this league to this great man. But the man himself is humble. "I'm rapt that people enjoy it, and that a community has developed around it. That said, it's footy fans that make footy fun and interesting (and viable), so it's just a handy way of giving something back. Especially considering when I hit a personal crisis in 2008/09 - Bigfooty's community makes up about 97.5% of those who basically saved my family's arse. This doesn't even come close to repaying that."
Mobbenfuhrer still loves the game and believes it can grow: "The expansion from 8 teams back to 10 is awesome. It could be 12 or 14. Wonaeamirri33 could be two teams all on his own. The history that has been created over more than a dozen seasons, in an ever-developing environment, always makes me moist. The number of people involved is also a bit of a thrill." He enjoys the work of a lot of current posters, particularly those that stay on track. "There are those who do huge amounts of work for the league, especially that bastard boncer34 who is tireless, also Logger , Eth , Broken ... those sorts of guys. Entertainment-wise, I look forward to every post from beez , while Dagless is ridiculously under-rated. The new breed of folks such as MD Wise Guy Sam and so on are adding even more value. And then there is Fred who is like the perfect "poster" for mine, measured, succinct, and not at all spammy, yet never wastes a post."
Mobbenfuhrer has his own vision on where he would love this league to be. "Spam" is the major negative for Mobbenfuhrer. "Posting for posting's sake, racking up post counts, thread sizes or these days "Likes" promotes mediocrity. A league barren on activity is a malnourished one, but one bursting at the seams with irrelevant chatter can sometimes make it look like a Youtube discussion." Although there is a place for discussion, and although activity is brilliant, Mobbs is steadfast in his belief that the discussion should not become a benchmark that outweighs QOOTY performance. He also regrets the fact that many separate leagues have fallen through, and would love to see the game expand to other leagues. The minor bugs that have lead to humour within the league do frustrate Mobbs, "Having one bloke take a mark and then another guy taking the kick - there's only so many times we can pretend he was getting up too slowly from the effort. I have attempted to work these issues out of the code for 12 years! I've made some progress but there's still a sense of letdown for me that it isn't 100%." But for the rest of us, these code issues are endearing.
Mobbs was an inevitable selection for immortal status given he "made the thing." The title sits well with him, as long as it does not become devalued. It won't, he says, "as long as boncer doesn't get the same accolade, that's the main thing. The prick."
At the end of my time with Mobbenfuhrer, I asked him what he was most proud of. He posted nothing but a link. The link lead to the Fantasy Football League we know as the SFA. The same link I have saved in my favourites. The same league that so many people have visited and participated in over time. We can reflect on yesterday, we can hypothesise about tomorrow. But we can never forget that, today, we are all here enjoying ourselves because of Mobbenfuhrer and QOOTY.
BONCER34
- 214 games, 157 goals
- Mobbenfuhrer Medallist
- TFLUA-Tiger Award
- Administrator (S12 - Present)
- 7 time All SFA
- 2 time Premiership Player
Boncer34 is the biggest name in SFA football. Boncer has a strong persona and the ability to post on many different levels. Importantly, he added another element to his game. He is the league's longest serving administrator. "I only realised the other day I've been here in this role nearly as twice as long as anyone else." It is a massive effort by Boncer34. It is a role that gets little thanks. A lot of behind the scenes effort is required to be an admin in the SFA, and a lot of voluntary time must be sacrificed to fill the role. Doing it for so long, nearly twice as long as any others, and still maintaining a strong posting presence, has lead to Boncer's immortal status.
Boncer began his career with a streak off antagonism, yet managed to gain popularity. It was more than simply being right all the time, which is what he originally tried to convince me of. "Probably because when I started doing the antagonistic stuff it was still very new to the comp. Prior to people like myself, Harvs, Tarks et al coming in and slinging mud this league very much was a "Jolly good show chaps" type of attitude. So because it was different and unique, at the time, people enjoyed it because it was different to what they'd seen before." Boncer perhaps owes his career to dougthelegend who approached Boncer and asked him to join. It turned out this league was more his thing than the cricket league. A great decision, in the end.
Boncer has been involved in many feuds over his time in the league, but not many that have evolved outside of match threads. In the past, he reflects upon match thread rivalries with the likes of LJP86. "Probably the only sustained ones which went for longer then match threads were with yourself, tim_saints and Kerrby. And if I'm being honest those 3 were easily the most enjoyable because whilst we were flinging s**t on here we were still chatting elsewhere and being friendly. We all knew that what was said on here wasn't personal and that it wasn't what we really thought." The last point has been a message echoed by Boncer throughout his career and as an administrator. That people needn't take things so seriously. That full on arguments and antagonism could exist within the forum, but that outside of it, it didn't matter. That two people could go toe to toe within the forum but remember the whole way through that none of it was personal. And most of it wasn't even honest.
Currently, Boncer is happy with where the league is at. We still have some top notch posters that keep him enthused. "I enjoy Wise Guy Sam, Eth, Beez, Itsmyshow and the like. Pretty much anyone that construct an argument and be able to defend it, even if they've been proven to be horribly wrong. In the past Tarks, Harvs, Wally and probably Ant555 (until he went troppo) were my favourites."
The title of "immortal" seems to suit Boncer. Even if he wasn't voted in you get the sense that Boncer would mount an imposing case for the tag to still apply to him. "Did I expect it when I started? No, I never though that I would play this game for so long. Now? Of course... I'm the most decorated player in SFA history (Mobbs said so) so it makes sense for me to be one of the first 2 to be given this honour."
Boncer has overseen dramatic change over his period as admin. Our longest serving administrator is not an "immortal" simply because of that. He playing career has been decorated. His posting career has been imposing. His leadership has been strong. He has helped to shape the careers if many posters, some who don't even realise it at the time. He has committed so much time and effort to the running of the game that we all enjoy. And now, he is immortal.
Mobbenfuhrer and Boncer34. It was the way it had to be. The two names that are synonymous with the SFA. Immortal status is the highest possible honour, and they both deserve it
HALL OF FAME - IMMORTALS
For the first time, the SFA has upgraded two immortals in its Hall of Fame. Two better candidates could not have been chosen. There are two names that are synonymous with fantasy football, and they are our immortals. I caught up with the SFA's first HoF upgrades, boncer34 and Mobbenfuhrer , to find out what being immortal means to them.
MOBBENFUHRER
- 244 games, 158 goals.
- 2x Frankston Rover Award
- League administrator (S1 & 2)
- 3x All-SFA
- Creator of QOOTY and creator of league.
The resume says it all. And it could say much, much more. Mobbenfuhrer was perhaps the most obvious choice for immortal status in the SFA. The league creator and the creator of our beloved QOOTY is highly respected within the league. He has been here from the start. And even throughout his absences, he has been ever-present.
None of us would be here enjoying this great game without Mobbenfuhrer. Hundreds of people owe their enjoyment of this league to this great man. But the man himself is humble. "I'm rapt that people enjoy it, and that a community has developed around it. That said, it's footy fans that make footy fun and interesting (and viable), so it's just a handy way of giving something back. Especially considering when I hit a personal crisis in 2008/09 - Bigfooty's community makes up about 97.5% of those who basically saved my family's arse. This doesn't even come close to repaying that."
QOOTY - A History Lesson:Okey - What encouraged you to create QOOTY?Mobbs - Footy did it. Love supporting the game, watching the game. Qooty was a replacement for a Commodore 64 game I wrote called "Real Time Footy" in the late 1990s. Originally the intent was just to put in team sheets from the VFL/AFL, and play them against each other. There was no league option, no saving of stats, and the matches would be watched on screen by myself (and possibly mates if anyone was over for drinks or whatever).After starting a fake league from 1989 to 1996 of my own devising - with randomly created team names and randomly created player names (with first a ruler or coin and paper, and later some simpler programs) - Qooty was born and used from 1992ish. Friends selected a team to support. I followed the Nanburton Dingoes, we won our first flag in 1995 iirc. FitzroyRamone had a team, as did Slax . Though they cared more for a horse race punting game I had made at a similar time, then for the qooty. It was never originally meant for the internet, that only came when I joined Bigfooty in late 2000.In what ways have the league changed over your time in the game?In the first season the teams were filled with player names "dobbed in". We didn't seek approval from the actual forum membersIt started as a bunch of scratch matches and become a six-team league, with the eventual premiers Seventh Wonders (now the West Coast Wonders) sneaking in at the 11th hour.
At one stage matches were announced on a different thread to the "play-by-play" (commentary) threads. Stats were nonexistent, but I chased that up later with a crude website. A "Match thread" was commonly an opening post, two posted teams, the match, and about three other posts of "heh, cool". Commentary was much less varied, we've added to it heaps since, and IT WAS ALL IN UPPER CASE.One person would administrate it, meaning they'd be boncer34 , Logger , and the entire committee all wrapped into one. Recruiting rules, in fact rules as a whole, were essentially non-existent. There was one season per year for the first 5 or so years, it was a seasonal thing with a big off-season. Squads were much smaller (possibly only 20 players), and recruiting could only happen in the leadup to a season.2003 (Season 03) was a watershed year in which many supporter bases of AFL teams created clubs based on those real-life teams' supporters. Some of them would not pass the test of time, but others (the Gumbies, the Roys, the Bombers, the Furies etc) are still thriving in different states of attendance to their original target audience.The spread of the game to be used in other leagues was exciting, although of course it's tailed off now and there is really only one other competition (RFFL). sdraobsuA (I think the spelling is still a swear jar item), Take Forum, the PFFL, BomberTalk, Cann Cricket, the BRFFFFL in Bigfooty's Regional Boards, and the tragically aborted QFFL, there were quite a few comps around that time. Shame that it couldn't be sustained. Duplicating the same players over multiple leagues was overextending a bit, though.I missed a bit of the period where banter really took off. Real life had gotten to me and I was largely absent. When I returned, I hardly recognised the place. As most would know, a part of me has remained pre-postessional.
Mobbenfuhrer admits to daydreaming about the potential of the league, but not to the extent of what it has become. "It grew quickly and I was on the hop to add functionality to, for instance, save the commentary files as text so that it could be pasted into a messageboard. The game is almost unidentifiable compared to what it was back then, development has had to chase the requirements of the league. Banter in the threads was always hoped for, but not to the extent that each thread becomes like the best of The Two Ronnies."Mobbenfuhrer still loves the game and believes it can grow: "The expansion from 8 teams back to 10 is awesome. It could be 12 or 14. Wonaeamirri33 could be two teams all on his own. The history that has been created over more than a dozen seasons, in an ever-developing environment, always makes me moist. The number of people involved is also a bit of a thrill." He enjoys the work of a lot of current posters, particularly those that stay on track. "There are those who do huge amounts of work for the league, especially that bastard boncer34 who is tireless, also Logger , Eth , Broken ... those sorts of guys. Entertainment-wise, I look forward to every post from beez , while Dagless is ridiculously under-rated. The new breed of folks such as MD Wise Guy Sam and so on are adding even more value. And then there is Fred who is like the perfect "poster" for mine, measured, succinct, and not at all spammy, yet never wastes a post."
Mobbenfuhrer has his own vision on where he would love this league to be. "Spam" is the major negative for Mobbenfuhrer. "Posting for posting's sake, racking up post counts, thread sizes or these days "Likes" promotes mediocrity. A league barren on activity is a malnourished one, but one bursting at the seams with irrelevant chatter can sometimes make it look like a Youtube discussion." Although there is a place for discussion, and although activity is brilliant, Mobbs is steadfast in his belief that the discussion should not become a benchmark that outweighs QOOTY performance. He also regrets the fact that many separate leagues have fallen through, and would love to see the game expand to other leagues. The minor bugs that have lead to humour within the league do frustrate Mobbs, "Having one bloke take a mark and then another guy taking the kick - there's only so many times we can pretend he was getting up too slowly from the effort. I have attempted to work these issues out of the code for 12 years! I've made some progress but there's still a sense of letdown for me that it isn't 100%." But for the rest of us, these code issues are endearing.
Mobbs was an inevitable selection for immortal status given he "made the thing." The title sits well with him, as long as it does not become devalued. It won't, he says, "as long as boncer doesn't get the same accolade, that's the main thing. The prick."
At the end of my time with Mobbenfuhrer, I asked him what he was most proud of. He posted nothing but a link. The link lead to the Fantasy Football League we know as the SFA. The same link I have saved in my favourites. The same league that so many people have visited and participated in over time. We can reflect on yesterday, we can hypothesise about tomorrow. But we can never forget that, today, we are all here enjoying ourselves because of Mobbenfuhrer and QOOTY.
BONCER34
- 214 games, 157 goals
- Mobbenfuhrer Medallist
- TFLUA-Tiger Award
- Administrator (S12 - Present)
- 7 time All SFA
- 2 time Premiership Player
Boncer34 is the biggest name in SFA football. Boncer has a strong persona and the ability to post on many different levels. Importantly, he added another element to his game. He is the league's longest serving administrator. "I only realised the other day I've been here in this role nearly as twice as long as anyone else." It is a massive effort by Boncer34. It is a role that gets little thanks. A lot of behind the scenes effort is required to be an admin in the SFA, and a lot of voluntary time must be sacrificed to fill the role. Doing it for so long, nearly twice as long as any others, and still maintaining a strong posting presence, has lead to Boncer's immortal status.
Boncer began his career with a streak off antagonism, yet managed to gain popularity. It was more than simply being right all the time, which is what he originally tried to convince me of. "Probably because when I started doing the antagonistic stuff it was still very new to the comp. Prior to people like myself, Harvs, Tarks et al coming in and slinging mud this league very much was a "Jolly good show chaps" type of attitude. So because it was different and unique, at the time, people enjoyed it because it was different to what they'd seen before." Boncer perhaps owes his career to dougthelegend who approached Boncer and asked him to join. It turned out this league was more his thing than the cricket league. A great decision, in the end.
Boncer has been involved in many feuds over his time in the league, but not many that have evolved outside of match threads. In the past, he reflects upon match thread rivalries with the likes of LJP86. "Probably the only sustained ones which went for longer then match threads were with yourself, tim_saints and Kerrby. And if I'm being honest those 3 were easily the most enjoyable because whilst we were flinging s**t on here we were still chatting elsewhere and being friendly. We all knew that what was said on here wasn't personal and that it wasn't what we really thought." The last point has been a message echoed by Boncer throughout his career and as an administrator. That people needn't take things so seriously. That full on arguments and antagonism could exist within the forum, but that outside of it, it didn't matter. That two people could go toe to toe within the forum but remember the whole way through that none of it was personal. And most of it wasn't even honest.
Currently, Boncer is happy with where the league is at. We still have some top notch posters that keep him enthused. "I enjoy Wise Guy Sam, Eth, Beez, Itsmyshow and the like. Pretty much anyone that construct an argument and be able to defend it, even if they've been proven to be horribly wrong. In the past Tarks, Harvs, Wally and probably Ant555 (until he went troppo) were my favourites."
The title of "immortal" seems to suit Boncer. Even if he wasn't voted in you get the sense that Boncer would mount an imposing case for the tag to still apply to him. "Did I expect it when I started? No, I never though that I would play this game for so long. Now? Of course... I'm the most decorated player in SFA history (Mobbs said so) so it makes sense for me to be one of the first 2 to be given this honour."
Boncer has overseen dramatic change over his period as admin. Our longest serving administrator is not an "immortal" simply because of that. He playing career has been decorated. His posting career has been imposing. His leadership has been strong. He has helped to shape the careers if many posters, some who don't even realise it at the time. He has committed so much time and effort to the running of the game that we all enjoy. And now, he is immortal.
Mobbenfuhrer and Boncer34. It was the way it had to be. The two names that are synonymous with the SFA. Immortal status is the highest possible honour, and they both deserve it
