Seer Drops Bombshell on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Sept 17, 2015 2:42:01 GMT
Minnesota, Sarawak, and 2 more like this
Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2015 2:42:01 GMT
Wednesday night Dave Seer joined Stephen Colbert on the Late Show to share some shocking news.
Colbert:
Welcome Dave! How are things? You’ve had quite a week, and I hear you’ve arrived with even more news to share?
Seer:
Thanks Stephen! You’re right, it’s been an interesting couple of days but I’m actually here to amend the announcement I made yesterday.
Colbert:
Let’s hear it!
Seer:
I’ve decided to withdraw my candidacy for Ultimate ABCA Committee and throw my full support behind Corey V (New Orleans) and JMoney (Mikawa).
I firmly believe they are the best candidates to join the committee and campaigning for votes when I see two people more qualified to have those seats just didn’t feel right.
Colbert:
Wow... I didn’t see that coming! Quite the turnaround in less than 24 hours. Talk about that decision a little more.
Seer:
For sure. Corey is a no-brainer. He has contributed more to ABCA over past 10+ years than anyone else not currently on the committee. He has helped build out Participation Points programs, has been a key voice of reason when it comes to big picture league decisions and he has always taken a hands on approach when it came to transformative league moments (expansion, contraction, simming playoffs etc). I've watched him go toe to toe with anyone and everyone when it comes to defending his point of view, a point of view that always has the best interests of the league in mind. The fact that the majority of the league already thought he was on the committee speaks to respect and value he has among our GMs – he belongs on the committee.
JMoney is someone I’ve watched with envy and respect over his tenure in Legends. Within a few short seasons he mastered gameplans, trades and drafting, demonstrated patience and trusted his strategies and executed them flawlessly. His deep understanding of the game and the league was no more apparent than in his title successes. More than wins, he has shown to be an active, engaged, energetic member of the league and has become seemingly a fixture of the league despite only arriving in ABCA during our most recent league. He a prime example of a new GM entering ABCA and creating success and positivity for himself. Never has he needed to play the “clique” or “old boys” cards – he owns is success and participation and he is the blueprint for a new GM in the ABCA.
All that being said, I couldn’t look at the field of candidates, especially these two, and continue campaigning for votes when I’d prefer them to be our new committee representation.
Colbert:
Hey that makes sense, and it’s totally understandable and respectable. You mentioned something in there about people who play the “clique” card or similar strategies to draw sympathy or paint tenured GM’s in unflattering light. Can you speak more on that?
Seer:
It’s sad that I even need to address it but absolutely, it’s a lazy inaccurate narrative. Let’s start with one of the people I just threw my support behind – jmoney. He was a new addition to ABCA Legends, barely here longer than some “new GMs” , and is actually newer than GMs who oft complain of “cliques” and “old boys clubs”– never once did he play the victim or bring up this irrelevant subject. He was active, he reached out to GM’s, he spoke to all GM’s new and old, he learned the game and learned the league and he leveraged all of that into championships. What about Chicago (San Miguel)? Piraeus (Chicago)? New York? Cairo (GSW)? Four other GM’s new to ABCA via Legends who came in, were active, participated, learned the league and game and WON. Let’s look at the current committee – two of those 'new to ABCA' GM’s are already in there and contributing more than GM’s that have been here since day one, myself included. Look at what New York has done in his comparatively short tenure in ABCA. Anyone who claims there is a clique or an old boys club here has not looked very closely at all to the league. Anyone who claims there is a clique or an old boys club hasn’t noticed who the successful, active, engaged GM’s are in ABCA.
Should we work to better integrate newer GM’s? Of course. Do we have some GM’s who can be short or rude to GMs – new and old? Of course. Can we improve inclusiveness when some GMs who have known each other for a decade plus and others who are brand new? Of course. All that being said, again I repeat - anyone who claims there is a clique or an old boys club here just isn’t paying attention.
Colbert:
Well said sir! Anyone in particular you’re aiming those comments at?
Seer:
There are VERY few people left who believe that played out narrative – they know who they are, and everyone else knows who they are. If they believe it’s an effective strategy then they should continue with it - more power to you. They should be aware that GM’s who were once just as new to ABCA as they were have become active, successful contributors to the league while they lag behind playing victim.
Colbert:
So now that you’ve pulled out of the race – you might as well talk about some of the items that would have been on your agenda had you been elected. What was Seer 2015 going to change?
Seer:
Was I planning massive reform to a league than has run successfully for well over a decade? Surely not. Change and evolution is always needed but I was never going to be one to force it unnecessarily.
However, there were some things that struck me as areas of potential improvement.
- A better system for applicants. What is really the harm in letting someone take over a team if the worst case is their firing/resignation? We demand that they post about a league they aren’t part of. We encourage them to spam the OT board as proof of their commitment. Why not just ask a few questions (sample DC and gameplan, trade block example, next moves action plan etc). If what they say makes sense, let’s hire them. If they flame out so be it, we didn’t lose anything. I would still keep the probation period but remove the formal mentorship - I haven't seen proof of any benefit.
- Broadening the PP system. We do need to build out a lower tier of points to allow for shorter pieces to be posted on the media board. Meeting a word count number doesn’t prove effort or make something worthy of PP. We’ve seen people credited PP for mostly copy/pasting the transactions list where others get 0 points for writing a short piece about themselves or their teams. If the goal is to encourage activity – why would we refuse to acknowledge someone for any additional effort they put into the league even if it’s just 25 or 50 PP? The Media Board description itself straight up says it's for "articles and ANY OTHER kind of team promotion" - let's start encouraging that!
Colbert:
Two excellent ideas and you’re absolutely right – a league like ABCA just like a successful business needs to evolve and change, but not re-invent the wheel. Are there other candidates you wish to speak about? You’ve endorsed two, however as of this afternoon there were a record 11 candidates. Do you have anything to say about any of them?
Seer:
First let me say that having 10 or 11 candidates is a fantastic thing for the league. Having a third of the non-committee GM’s vying for these two spots shows how healthy and engaged the GM’s are here. All of the candidates have my respect for entering the race to join the committee. I’m not going to single out any of those candidates but several of them are exceedingly qualified and would make tremendous additions to the committee – since I can only vote for two, and since only two will be elected, I’m choosing to only comment on the two that I endorsed.
Colbert:
Very good sir! Well we’re certainly sorry to see you leave the race as you always bring some excitement and energy wherever you are. Anything else you want to say tonight?
Seer:
Thanks for having me here today Stephen. I’m looking forward to this newest version of ABCA, I’m excited about the expansion that came along with it and I’m glad to see the committee growing to continue running ABCA so successfully. I believe Corey and JMoney are fantastic additions to the committee, and I hope they win. That being said, as I mentioned I have a great deal of respect for all 10 candidates and several of them would be great choices should they be elected.
Colbert:
Welcome Dave! How are things? You’ve had quite a week, and I hear you’ve arrived with even more news to share?
Seer:
Thanks Stephen! You’re right, it’s been an interesting couple of days but I’m actually here to amend the announcement I made yesterday.
Colbert:
Let’s hear it!
Seer:
I’ve decided to withdraw my candidacy for Ultimate ABCA Committee and throw my full support behind Corey V (New Orleans) and JMoney (Mikawa).
I firmly believe they are the best candidates to join the committee and campaigning for votes when I see two people more qualified to have those seats just didn’t feel right.
Colbert:
Wow... I didn’t see that coming! Quite the turnaround in less than 24 hours. Talk about that decision a little more.
Seer:
For sure. Corey is a no-brainer. He has contributed more to ABCA over past 10+ years than anyone else not currently on the committee. He has helped build out Participation Points programs, has been a key voice of reason when it comes to big picture league decisions and he has always taken a hands on approach when it came to transformative league moments (expansion, contraction, simming playoffs etc). I've watched him go toe to toe with anyone and everyone when it comes to defending his point of view, a point of view that always has the best interests of the league in mind. The fact that the majority of the league already thought he was on the committee speaks to respect and value he has among our GMs – he belongs on the committee.
JMoney is someone I’ve watched with envy and respect over his tenure in Legends. Within a few short seasons he mastered gameplans, trades and drafting, demonstrated patience and trusted his strategies and executed them flawlessly. His deep understanding of the game and the league was no more apparent than in his title successes. More than wins, he has shown to be an active, engaged, energetic member of the league and has become seemingly a fixture of the league despite only arriving in ABCA during our most recent league. He a prime example of a new GM entering ABCA and creating success and positivity for himself. Never has he needed to play the “clique” or “old boys” cards – he owns is success and participation and he is the blueprint for a new GM in the ABCA.
All that being said, I couldn’t look at the field of candidates, especially these two, and continue campaigning for votes when I’d prefer them to be our new committee representation.
Colbert:
Hey that makes sense, and it’s totally understandable and respectable. You mentioned something in there about people who play the “clique” card or similar strategies to draw sympathy or paint tenured GM’s in unflattering light. Can you speak more on that?
Seer:
It’s sad that I even need to address it but absolutely, it’s a lazy inaccurate narrative. Let’s start with one of the people I just threw my support behind – jmoney. He was a new addition to ABCA Legends, barely here longer than some “new GMs” , and is actually newer than GMs who oft complain of “cliques” and “old boys clubs”– never once did he play the victim or bring up this irrelevant subject. He was active, he reached out to GM’s, he spoke to all GM’s new and old, he learned the game and learned the league and he leveraged all of that into championships. What about Chicago (San Miguel)? Piraeus (Chicago)? New York? Cairo (GSW)? Four other GM’s new to ABCA via Legends who came in, were active, participated, learned the league and game and WON. Let’s look at the current committee – two of those 'new to ABCA' GM’s are already in there and contributing more than GM’s that have been here since day one, myself included. Look at what New York has done in his comparatively short tenure in ABCA. Anyone who claims there is a clique or an old boys club here has not looked very closely at all to the league. Anyone who claims there is a clique or an old boys club hasn’t noticed who the successful, active, engaged GM’s are in ABCA.
Should we work to better integrate newer GM’s? Of course. Do we have some GM’s who can be short or rude to GMs – new and old? Of course. Can we improve inclusiveness when some GMs who have known each other for a decade plus and others who are brand new? Of course. All that being said, again I repeat - anyone who claims there is a clique or an old boys club here just isn’t paying attention.
Colbert:
Well said sir! Anyone in particular you’re aiming those comments at?
Seer:
There are VERY few people left who believe that played out narrative – they know who they are, and everyone else knows who they are. If they believe it’s an effective strategy then they should continue with it - more power to you. They should be aware that GM’s who were once just as new to ABCA as they were have become active, successful contributors to the league while they lag behind playing victim.
Colbert:
So now that you’ve pulled out of the race – you might as well talk about some of the items that would have been on your agenda had you been elected. What was Seer 2015 going to change?
Seer:
Was I planning massive reform to a league than has run successfully for well over a decade? Surely not. Change and evolution is always needed but I was never going to be one to force it unnecessarily.
However, there were some things that struck me as areas of potential improvement.
- A better system for applicants. What is really the harm in letting someone take over a team if the worst case is their firing/resignation? We demand that they post about a league they aren’t part of. We encourage them to spam the OT board as proof of their commitment. Why not just ask a few questions (sample DC and gameplan, trade block example, next moves action plan etc). If what they say makes sense, let’s hire them. If they flame out so be it, we didn’t lose anything. I would still keep the probation period but remove the formal mentorship - I haven't seen proof of any benefit.
- Broadening the PP system. We do need to build out a lower tier of points to allow for shorter pieces to be posted on the media board. Meeting a word count number doesn’t prove effort or make something worthy of PP. We’ve seen people credited PP for mostly copy/pasting the transactions list where others get 0 points for writing a short piece about themselves or their teams. If the goal is to encourage activity – why would we refuse to acknowledge someone for any additional effort they put into the league even if it’s just 25 or 50 PP? The Media Board description itself straight up says it's for "articles and ANY OTHER kind of team promotion" - let's start encouraging that!
Colbert:
Two excellent ideas and you’re absolutely right – a league like ABCA just like a successful business needs to evolve and change, but not re-invent the wheel. Are there other candidates you wish to speak about? You’ve endorsed two, however as of this afternoon there were a record 11 candidates. Do you have anything to say about any of them?
Seer:
First let me say that having 10 or 11 candidates is a fantastic thing for the league. Having a third of the non-committee GM’s vying for these two spots shows how healthy and engaged the GM’s are here. All of the candidates have my respect for entering the race to join the committee. I’m not going to single out any of those candidates but several of them are exceedingly qualified and would make tremendous additions to the committee – since I can only vote for two, and since only two will be elected, I’m choosing to only comment on the two that I endorsed.
Colbert:
Very good sir! Well we’re certainly sorry to see you leave the race as you always bring some excitement and energy wherever you are. Anything else you want to say tonight?
Seer:
Thanks for having me here today Stephen. I’m looking forward to this newest version of ABCA, I’m excited about the expansion that came along with it and I’m glad to see the committee growing to continue running ABCA so successfully. I believe Corey and JMoney are fantastic additions to the committee, and I hope they win. That being said, as I mentioned I have a great deal of respect for all 10 candidates and several of them would be great choices should they be elected.
