It's been about 45 days since I first stumbled upon GoalLineBlitz.com via the Bucknuts message boards. A quick summary so I don't lose anyone; Goal Line Blitz ("GLB") is an online "MMORPG"; Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. At the heart of this online RPG is football. For football fans and football fantasy addicts alike, this game is the shot you get to take that will prolong your drunken desire for football from the gruesomely boring months of February through August. Especially if you hate baseball, basketball and hockey.
I digress. Continuing on, the game allows you to participate at various levels.
1.) You can be an agent. You get create a player and position of your choice and build him to your liking from Day 1. You could replicate a guy like Peyton Manning, Troy Polamalu or Albert Haynesworth... or even a kicker. Regardless, the possibilities are endless. Competition is available at all levels which I would equate to a spectrum of play-ground ball (age 5) to NFL Pro Bowl status.
2.) You can be a owner/coach. If you prefer to throw your weight around as a team owner Jerry Jones-style. There's a steep learning curve in order to be a GOOD owner, but there is room for newbies in the game.
3.) Ever thought that you could do better than Jim Bollman? GLB allows you to prove your worth as an Offensive (or Defensive) Coordinator. You are the decision maker for how often a formation/play is run based on various scenarios that you must determine and define. The trick is making sure your game plan is cohesive with the players on your team. Again, huge learning curve, but not impossible.
4.) Lastly, you can be a scout and/or recruiter. Your job is to watch/script game film looking for holes in the defense or trends in the offense and report them back to the respective Coordinator. Most people, including myself, start here in order to work their way up to an OC/DC position. Good scouting equates to good reviews and request for your services. The recruiter ends up being a secondary role where you're out seeking services of Free Agents or players with contracts coming to maturity... Most contracts are one or two-season stints, so there are plenty of available players for the right price (or starting position).
Note - there is no monetary gain for playing the game. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
It's all about pride. You can make a stud athlete and be recruited by the top five teams in your league. You could be an owner known as one of the most successful owners in the game. You could become the top Coordinator with constant messages inquiring for your services... And you get little JPEG trophies for winning, being a top WR, etc...
The rest of the game is all computer-run/generated. Games are simulated and the players are all little colored dots (yellow & blue, respectively) with initials for each position. It's a fantasy game that allows you to control some of the outcome... with the goal being to WIN and if you're a player, be in enough plays so you get the maximum experience points for that game.
Anyway, you can read more about the game on GLBwiki.com or Goallineblitz.com.
Onto my current status in the game. I am known in the game as "snowmann". Don't ask how I came up with that. It's connotations vary and I'll leave it ambiguous/random. I currently own 14 players ranging from Level 2 to Level 21. I have players at every major position except QB, FB, and TE. They are an Evil Dynasty as each player's first name is "Evil" and the last name being a player of my choosing... i.e. Evil Urlacher (LB), Evil Polamalu (SS), Evil Ware (LB), Evil Peterson (RB), Evil Laurinaitis (LB), Evil Fitzgerald (WR), Evil Jenkins (CB) & Evil Asomugha (CB)... I am tempted to create a new set of players which may be named differently, but for the time being, Evil is the trend. I've learned how to effectively slow-build these players and will continue to do so until I achieve enough Skill Points to instantaneously boost them to a more formidable state.
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At any rate, in addition to being player-agent, I've undertaken the role of the Offensive Coordinator for the Kansas City Titans (a European BBB league team). It's a Level 21-capped team, which means we can't SIGN any players over Level 21, but we can sign a Level 21 and have him level-up to Level 24 & 25... potentially making him one of the most dominant players in that geographic BBB league. I've spent a lot of time re-ordering the depth chart, creating a base game-plan, and recruiting new players for Season 8. (*note, each Season lasts about 45 days, so in one full calendar year, about eight seasons could be completed)
It's been an interesting off-season and I've developed a good reputation with the players we've recruited and committed about being a professional and active OC. Hopefully I've picked the right players for my system... which I won't divulge on here...
The goal is to eventually own/co-own my own team and fill it with the players that I've created.... and hopefully be competitive. There are a fair number of GLB veterans that have been around long enough to know the game inside & out... Part of me wishes I would have be around when the ship originally sailed and went live. I could probably have a Level 99 player that was getting ready to retire. The best part is that once you achieve that level, you can retire and rebuild from scratch at either a different position or just be one of the most powerful owners/coaches in the game.
Okay, enough rambling for one day... Just glad to get that out of my system while I'm sitting here thinking about it...
