[jwterps]

Great interview!

I have been a member of the PEBA community for over two (almost three) real years now. I stress community, because that is what it has become.

I joined the Omaha Cyclones front office as General Manager in mid-2011, and have been with the team ever since. We have had our share of struggles, but over the last 4 seasons we have seen improvement each year and have finally made the postseason for the first time in franchise history this year in 2015.

To top it off, we recently knocked off the best team in the league (Aurora) in the first round of the playoffs 3 games to 1 in a series that "Shocked the World!" We have moved on to the second round, dubbed the Alliance Tournament, where we are all knotted up 1-1 against the Bakersfield Bears.

Why do I write all of this?? What a sense of accomplishment! I realize that this may sound silly to some of you. However, think about it... We run seasons slower than the average online league. We finish maybe a little more than 2 PEBA seasons each calendar year. So in essence, this success has taken over two real years of my life -- and it feels great!

The other benefit of a slightly slower paced league is that you truly get to immerse yourself in the storylines that all the GMs are creating. We don't just "burn & churn" through seasons to built a statistical history. We are a league with TONS of media - news articles, blog posts, and podcasts. The writing -- which John takes very seriously -- is phenomenal; the storytelling just adds to the league and makes the players, teams, and owners feel REAL.

I often catch myself confusing MLB players with guys in our league. Funny stuff.

If you are reading this you probably already agree that OOTP is the best, bar none, baseball simulation on the market. If you are new to the game I urge you to shell out the tiny amount of cash required to get you hooked.

I also encourage anyone out there who is interested in joining a community where we discuss baseball and many other topics in a civilized and professional manner to take John up on his offer and join our forums.

Maybe you might even be interested in joining the PEBA waiting list and becoming a PEBA or LRS GM someday! In the meantime, if you enjoy writing, I can not think of a better way to immerse yourself in our PEBAverse than trying your hand at some creative writing about our league.

How cool would that be? To be a league so widely followed that even those who want to express themselves in a creative way decide to write about our league! Don't be overwhelmed -- any activity and creative writing is welcomed!

Let me make one more remark about this community. I have made some friends over the last few years that I would actually consider close friends. I know that sounds insane -- like what kind of geek/nerd has "internet buddies" he never met and plays a game with? Well let me tell you first hand that OOTP/PEBA have cemented some real friendships. My wife thinks I am crazy and jokes with me all the time about but it's true. I embrace my geekdom! One example would be when a few GMs had lost jobs in their real life during the downturn in this economy. In addition to have a platform and place to vent outside their real life several have stepped in and discussed potential job opportunities. When someone is blessed to have a kid, pictures are shared. Some GMs have met to play other online games such as Civilization V (I was one that was a part of this twice-weekly group for a while). A sibling of a member was promoting a play/musical that she co-wrote and we all spread the word for him and opened doors that may or may not had been open otherwise. My computer was acting up one time and one of our members fixed it remotely. Those of us that have Facebook have become friends there as well (not to prove we have real lives LOL) so that we can learn more and more about what is going on in each other's real-life worlds. The list goes on, and on, and on.

A great group of guys I now call friends. They are as real as any out there.

So check us out! If anyone ever has any questions do not hesitate to reach out to me on the PEBA Forums.

Happy Holidays!

Jason Warnke
Omaha Cyclones GM
PEBA