RZ - Where Are We Going?

by adelfish | 4 years ago | 0 Comments

Where Are We Going?

Another year, and another cycle comes to a close. Red Zone heads for it's 70th season on Madden 22, and we have a nice 3-4 month break coming that we can all enjoy.

Typically at cycle's end I give my thoughts on how things went, what we can improve on, and where we are headed as a league. Last year I hosted a voice chat where I voiced my displeasure at the time for where we were in a media standpoint, and called members to action to be better.

We are one year past that, and I want to take a different approach. I decided to make a more thoughtful and calculated review of our cycle, and where I think we are headed, completely unfiltered of course.

1) - The Good (On the Field)

I truly believe that Red Zone is the best sim league on consoles right now. I don't think our gameplay can be replicated, and that shows cycle to cycle. I do poke my head around other leagues from time to time, to take a look at what they are doing from a gameplay and rulebook standpoint, and I really believe we are the peak. That comes from a commitment of you all to bring the most sim experience possible. 

Despite the debate of d-line play, I truly believe that this was the best cycle in terms of gameplay and parity in our league. In my opinion, this was the most fun week to week gameplay I've had, and that was due to the various strategies, the way this Madden played, and our slider set.

Looking at the cycle as a whole, we had two brand new RZ Bowl champions, we had only one multi-winner in Kelly, and we had a few users who had never made the championship before, reach the pinnacle (Roc & KJ). 

Outside of the winners, we had a ton of users who stepped their game up. Andy, Spencer, Jim, Pat, White Greg, Rfox...that is a huge influx of improvement around our league. Parity is so important for the league in terms of folks keeping interest from start to finish, the days of one or two users duking it out for the title each year will kill interest fast.

As a cycle goes on, it's inevitable that users will get sick of some aspects of the current generation's game. User d-line the prime example this year, and Kelly already explained in great detail why some dislike it, so I won't dive in again. This is certainly an issue that will be addressed going into Madden 22.

I enjoyed almost all my games until the final two seasons, where I did notice some folks starting to play more 'Madden' instead of sim football. That is bound to happen in a competitive league, the meta is discovered and adopted by those who want to find success. It can be irritating, but it doesn't take away from my personal enjoyment.

Outside of complaints regarding the West Coast playbook, d-line, and a couple other small issues, this was the lowest amount of gameplay complaints we've had for a cycle. The group that we have together now is really strong in that regard. Our on-field success is argubaly our best feature right now outside of longevity.

Last thing about on the field, it does not get talked about enough how important JP's devotion to creating the sliders is. Our gameplay experience is in massive part to his testing and time he takes in the preseason to create the best slider set we can. 

2) - The Good (Off the Field)

I would say that our kickoff to the Madden 21 cycle, up to Season 64, was the best media we've had as a league since the OS days of team pages. We had team articles going consistently, twitter going consistently, great podcasts and streams, and much more. Members got creative and inventive, and devoted some serious time to making the league as immersive as possible.

Think about how great out podcast library has become - RamFam, Piecast, In the Zone, Eikim's draft shows, RZ Rewind, RZ Fillup, The Odd Couple, Spencer & Andy's pod, and of course the newest in Happy Hour. Seriously, that's a ridiculous lineup that puts out diverse content when they are active.

This cycle saw the creation of the RZ Fillup podcast, which brought the first ever 'Gameday' atmosphere to Red Zone. We had podcasts about certain games with coach interviews, then live broadcasts of the game itself. It was an incredible addition, but unforutunately disappeared after just two episodes. 

The RZ Sportsbook became a big attraction, as Moji and Pat devoted hours (and a ton of money) to allow users to bet on RZ games and props. A featured that was universally praised, will certainly be back for next cycle.

The great articles covering various league topics, power rankings, season previews, mock drafts...the content this year was among our best yet. You all held yourselves to a high standard early on.

3) - The Bad

This year saw a lot of turnover, probably the most we've ever had. I can't go back and check, but it is safe to say that the veterans we lost throughout this cycle was the most to date. We saw content start to taper off in the middle of the cycle, with the usual suspects starting to carry the content workload. Eventually at Season 68 and Season 69, we saw complete disinterest from some folks. 

We've had users such as Beech, Beat, Ernest, JP, Terry, Eikim, and others stop playing games, or scheduling them, altogether. 

We've had two long time users in Weed and Tauph leave the discord chat completely.

So, why are we here, and where are we going?

I feel like I have a pretty good pulse on league happenings. Most issues reach my private messages one way or another. I have a really good indication on any core issues members have with the process. The typical ones are advance mafia, lack of time to play, toxcitiy in chat, burnout. 

I will give my list of things that I believe are currently impacting us in a negative way, the dump my final thoughts on where we are going as a league.

-respecting the title as a member of Red Zone

-respecting the time and lives of other members

-helping to foster a positive chat and league experience for all

-burnout due to the length of a cycle

Like I said, these are in no particular order, but they are my current core four issues. 

I don't want my words to come across as preachy or pompous. I do have a firm belief that being a member of our leauge is a privilege. Our league offers no such experience elsewhere, and the proof is in the pudding. The long-time leagues around us have fallen apart, and have rebranded themselves. We have been here since 2012, and are still alive and kicking. 

What we saw these final two seasons was something that really shocked me. I had a conversation with a good friend in the league recently, and the way he worded it was perfect. 'It's not the league I used to know.'

The context behind that, is related to the overhaul in the faces that are owners in our league. Change is not a bad thing, but can be a scary thing. An old league vet like me, I've seen hundreds of guys come in through these league doors, but the core guys we have now, and the core guys we lost this year, are truly irreplaceable to us. Losing a Weedseed, a Tauph, a Blueprint, or a Lefty, is so hard to replace. Not only do they bring everything you want in a member, they have been with us for all of Red Zone's history.

To watch some of our old guard leave, to watch long time members on auto pilot for most of the last two seasons without much care, and to see that impact our new guys, that did worry me. 

I have told you all that JP and I aren't here to tell you how to treat each other in chat. I do think we need to address the fact that constantly complaining about the availability of others is draining mentally. Being in this league is a 48 hour commitment, not 24. We have lost good members due to the impatience of the league, and that is something we need to continue to work on. 

Where Are We Going?

The last big point I really wanted to hit on was helping to foster a positive league experience, and then I promise I'm done.

There have been two times in my Red Zone tenure where events transpired for me in such a negative fashion that the time almost wasn't worth it anymore. One of those two times was this year, due to negativity in chat. To those who say it isn't there, it does exist.

The experience of having certain folks go out of their way to make your time in this hobby negative, is a really strange one. As someone who is outspoken and outgoing, I tend to face all issues and confrontations head on. When you see negativity around your name from those who you know mean it, it really changes your outlook on your time in the league.

I actually took up meditation (and still do it) to deal with the negativity I was experiencing from chat and some members.

I say this, because I was never able to sympathize with people who came to me with those issues. I really didn't understand what it meant to deal with stuff like that. It was difficult to admit that shit gets to you, and it means a lot coming from people you spend a good deal of time with.

I think if Red Zone wants to continue it's illustrious history, we need to be better to each other. Simple as that.

This leauge means something to everyone. It has been an absolutely unreal experience to bring people from all over the country together into this community, and keep it together for 8+ years. That doesn't happen often. 

We have had multiple trips to football games and hockey games. We've experienced growing up together through college, through marriage, and sadly even death. We've seen long time friends come and go. 

I've gone through the biggest hardships of my life with this league, and I've grown up with this league. I was 19 when I joined this league, and now I am 27. 

The great thing is, we have so many guys just like that with us, and new guys who see what we are about. This offseason during our much needed break, ask yourself if Red Zone is still important to you. If it is, come back and let's make Madden 22 the best cycle yet. If not, there is nothing wrong with taking a break. We aren't just a Madden league, we're a brotherhood. 

I am very hopeful for the future, I am looking forward to the break, but can't wait to get back on the gridiron wtih my friends. 

-Adel