Brian actually tanked league playoff games in favor of the CUP. That shows you how much he valued his CUP titles and of course the monetary benefit gained by winning the CUP. However, It should be noted that at the time the B3 did not have a fixed enthusiasm (unlike now-a-days); so teams that went on long cup runs benefited greatly. Macro nations benefited more than anyone due to the fact that their national tournaments had more rounds and were thus longer so macro nation managers like Brian were smart to prioritize CUP success over wasting enthusiasm during the playoffs or league play. That’s one advantage macro nations had over micro nations.
Anyways, I said it once or twice, but I’ll say it again: congratulations, Yuck, on winning the season 51 NBBA title. But also, as is NBBA tradition — EFF YOU!
Chek: So, what can newer BB members do to set themselves up for longer term success like yourself?
A-Dub: Learn from experienced managers and ask questions. When I was new, I was constantly asking questions or I would read through the forums, or on the previously popular: “BB-USA offsite.” However, the offsite is not really used anymore. Now the best place to do all that is on the BB-USA discord which I highly recommend
https://discord.gg/cKpNkt2For those who don’t know, Discord allows you to ask question or reply in real time and there are hundreds of managers online throughout the day that can answer your questions which can help accelerate the learning process for new managers, but of course, veteran managers benefit as well.
Chek: You won your titles with essentially a six man roster. Do you still think this is a viable strategy with the new stamina changes?
A-Dub: Eh, I would have rather had an eight-man lineup, but the issue is that it’s hard to have depth when top players have such high salaries due to the average TSP of players getting higher and higher. I believe today’s bloated salaries are unfair and devalue TL market prices of high TSP players, which most managers cannot afford to pay under the limited salary cap.
With six players, I was already pushing above the D1 salary cap and my weekly revenue income had dipped into the negatives. I would say it is a viable strategy to play six men, because your opponents are stuck with the same dilemma, either that, or they’ll be forced to play 8 players that fit under the salary cap, but suffer quantity over quality and a team’s performance will suffer while their starters rest as a result. However, if a team has enough money to burn, they can go 8 solid players deep.
If the devs want to stop the 5-6 man teams a more logical approach would be to make it mandatory for teams to have to fill-in eight positions in order to not be disqualified from any particular game. When they messed with the stamina that affected all teams equally and didn't make the difference they were hoping it would; instead, that lowered the quality of performance for all teams. So, again, yes six man rosters are still viable options for now.
Chek: Even if you had to utilize a shorter roster, do you think the team you assembled was the best in USA BB history?
A-Dub: Yes, I do believe so . . . BUT . . . with the market being flooded with a new generation of record breaking high TSP players, it is only a matter of time before my ‘accomplishment’ is surpassed. We are in a different era and team’s are only going to get better, naturally. I know there are many current NBBA managers that have the cash to spend and right now is the best time to buy — in what is a buyer friendly market.
I assembled my team in a grossly inflated sellers market which really did a number on my teams finances and limited my success, but that just comes with the game. Sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes you’re not. The economy will always play its part in what type of team you can build and mangers should be mindful of this.
Last edited by Chekreyes at 09/15/2021 13:19:30