9+ years of FOF forums

[Hurst2112]

I got my first 'real' computer in June of 99. Found the original Sideline a few weeks after that. At least, I think it was a few weeks after. Maybe closer to July when I purchased my first copy of Front Office Football.

Anyway, I realized that I have been a member for over 9 years. Dang we're old.

Who else has been around since then? I know there were a few people but I can't remember. This would have been pre FOF2, pre Styxx and Dave Dial (lol). I think Tony was the only mod at the time.

[Huckleberry]

I certainly haven't been around that long, but I do know the first time I came here and posted, I then lost my registration info. I had to re-register the next time I came (at least a year of separation, maybe more). Seeing as how I try to use the same username everywhere I go, I've always wondered if there was a user database loss at some point. Anyone know?

[molson]

I wish there was some kind of FOFC/Sideline timeline where I could review the history, a lot of it's a blur.

I was definitely around in '99, but didn't post, and don't remember a lot of the "big stuff" that happened back then.

My first post was at the release date for the last FOF game that was only available by physical CD (the third FOFC, I think). Jim lived just across the NH border from me and I got the game one day before anyone else on the board, so I felt compelled to post some early impressions (and like a dope, I didn't get the copy protection right, and told everyone that the game was all screwed up).

[Hurst2112]

I certainly haven't been around that long, but I do know the first time I came here and posted, I then lost my registration info. I had to re-register the next time I came (at least a year of separation, maybe more). Seeing as how I try to use the same username everywhere I go, I've always wondered if there was a user database loss at some point. Anyone know?

with all the forum switches, domain moves, etc, I think I have registered 2 or 3 times. There was a big move in 2000. Also, I thought there was another in 2002 or 2003 were the older dudes kept their 2000 creation date.

[Huckleberry]

with all the forum switches, domain moves, etc, I think I have registered 2 or 3 times. There was a big move in 2000. Also, I thought there was another in 2002 or 2003 were the older dudes kept their 2000 creation date.

That 2000 move may have been what happened. I just looked after my last post and saw my join date is December 2001. You're right, time flies. I didn't think it was that long ago when I was thinking 1999 was way before I joined.

[Hurst2112]

I wish there was some kind of FOFC/Sideline timeline where I could review the history, a lot of it's a blur.

I was definitely around in '99, but didn't post, and don't remember a lot of the "big stuff" that happened back then.

My first post was at the release date for the last FOF game that was only available by physical CD (the third FOFC, I think). Jim lived just across the NH border from me and I got the game one day before anyone else on the board, so I felt compelled to post some early impressions (and like a dope, I didn't get the copy protection right, and told everyone that the game was all screwed up).

I remember that a lot of the talk was about FPS and the Football Pro 99 debacle. I think Jim released his first CD in 98 so by the time I got the game, it had been out for almost a year maybe? That was the jewel case version. I wanted the game so bad back then that I bid on 2 copies and won both of them.

[sabotai]

Anyway, I realized that I have been a member for over 9 years. Dang we're old.

Aye.

Who else has been around since then? I know there were a few people but I can't remember

I was around in '99, but I don't think I posted much, if at all. I didn't really become a regular until after FOF2 came out.

[Antmeister]

I was actually around in 2000 as a lurker and had only a few posts over on the OG board.

[Zelig]

Has it been that long, man, this has been a ride longer than I would have thought I would be hanging around on.

[molson]

I also remember that I bought FOF 1 on ebay, found the message board (through the Baseball Mogul board, like a lot of people did), and FOF 2 had just been released or was about to be released.

I THINK FOF 2 had an electronic download option, which didn't work out so well, and then FOF 3 (whatever it was called) was CD-only. I could be wrong.

[Hurst2112]

I think with a wiki history of the board, there should be a list of vaporware games that we've talked about. Man, that would a sweet read.

I'm still waiting for Black Ice Hockey to be released. hah

[Karlifornia]

Yeah, I remember stumbling across FOF and the Sideline when I was like 14 or 15....I had never been a part of an online community before...so I was a bit intimidated at first, and stuck with lurking for a bit.

[Zelig]

I remember my first day on the sideline, Hell Atlantic and I got into it about the need to have historical rosters.

[molson]

I remember checking out the sideline on web.archive or something once, not sure if you can still do that. It was bizzare - all the threads were about FOF, with maybe 5% "off-topic" threads, which were typically about other sports. The evolution into a completely "off-topic" board has been pretty interesting.

I wonder - what exactly did we lose and when? How far back does the archive here go? Is everything behind that lost forever?

[Hurst2112]

I also remember that I bought FOF 1 on ebay, found the message board (through the Baseball Mogul board, like a lot of people did), and FOF 2 had just been released or was about to be released.

I THINK FOF 2 had an electronic download option, which didn't work out so well, and then FOF 3 (whatever it was called) was CD-only. I could be wrong.

It did. What a pioneering aspect (digital downloading a game). :D

That's when Digital River was handling the game. There were a couple saints working at that company(EDIT: Not at that company. I think they worked for the other company that took over the licensing after Digital River disolved???). Some dude with the last name Daugherty and a Mary? They supplied many extra elicense gifts for us.

[molson]

It did. What a pioneering aspect (digital downloading a game). :D

That's when Digital River was handling the game. There were a couple saints working at that company. Some dude with the last name Daugherty and a Mary? They supplied many extra elicense gifts for us.

I remember how pissed off people were when FOF went all-download.

[Hurst2112]

I remember how pissed off people were when FOF went all-download.

well heck yeah. Downloading a game at 46kbps sucked! :D

[molson]

So when's the 10-year anniversary? Where's the party? I'll bring the chips.

[Hurst2112]

So when's the 10-year anniversary? Where's the party? I'll bring the chips.

Jim's house. That's what I heard. ;)

[path12]

I had the original FOF and believe I lurked on the board around that time, then sort of forgot about the board for a couple years before lurking awhile more and finally registering.

[Passacaglia]

I remember ordering FOF2, I mean, EA Sports Front Office Football, at the end of the fall semester, December 1999. It was just before finals, and I thought I'd order it before, and hope it got there shortly after I was done with finals. I was surprised as hell that I was going to get the game right away, and I somehow managed to pass anyway (I think I won the Front Office Bowl in my 3rd season as the Lions on the easiest level, which was enough to satiate me for a while).

I found Front Office Football Central sometime later, probably like January 2000. I accidentally spelled my screen name wrong -- Pasacaglia.

[Anthony]

I remember my first day on the sideline, Hell Atlantic and I got into it about the need to have historical rosters.

what did the arguement consist of?


i just want to be able to read old Sideline threads. i've been in this community since the beginning (not like the 1st day it started, but this was back when Quiksand had < 1,000 posts and before the days of the uberposter JeeberD, so that should tell you something).

[Racer]

I think I discovered The Sideline sometime in 2000 when I was 15 or 16 years old.

[JeeberD]

I found The Sideline during the FOF2 era, but I don't really remember a date. I had found FOF2 doing a search for "football simulation" or something like that, dowloaded it overnight (it took HOURS for it to download), and then when I went to play realized I had no idea what I was doing. So I did a search (probably using Alta Vista at that time) for something like "Front Office Football strategy", and up came The Sideline. I didn't post a ton, but lurked a lot. I'm pretty sure I registered around the same time that MIJB first showed up, cause I remember having had a n00b kinship with him...

[TCY Junkie]

I heard about Dean Houston and then I found this site.

[DanGarion]

I think with a wiki history of the board, there should be a list of vaporware games that we've talked about. Man, that would a sweet read.

I'm still waiting for Black Ice Hockey to be released. hah

Did somebody say Wiki?

(points to signature).

[Racer]

Did somebody say Wiki?

(points to signature).

I never realized where "dola" came from before.

[Bad-example]

I remember my first day on the sideline, Hell Atlantic and I got into it about the need to have historical rosters.

I remember posting in a similar (or the same) thread back then and being surprised that HA agreed with me.

I bought the first FOF game after reading a magazine review and found the Sideline soon after. Lurked, mostly. Didn't realize that much time had passed.

[Logan]

I'm still waiting for Black Ice Hockey to be released. hah

Oh man. That would've been the greatest game ever.

[Cuckoo]

I was around in '99, but I don't think I posted much, if at all. I didn't really become a regular until after FOF2 came out.

Me as well. I recall lurking a bit when I first read about FOF1 (had been searching for things after playing Football Pro 98, I believe). I bought FOF2 and began posting more after that.

[Dutch]

I was involved right after FOF1's patch and draft file came around...I was 27 years old....now I'm 37. Good grief!

[GreenMonster]

Got in around 4 so I am a noob.

[Zelig]

what did the arguement consist of?


I wanted the ability to have historic rosters, because it was a long term fantasy, and you were telling me, correctly, that there were 1000 things that needed to come first. This was sometime in early 98 I think.

I also remember the first couple of dynasty's that were created really was cool to follow. I remember Darkiller had his 49er one up pretty early, and someone, I can't remember, had one for the Saints that was really fun to follow as well.

[Ben E Lou]

I don't recall exactly when I showed up at The Sideline, but it was in the early days. I have a printout of the original Bear Bryant Challenge from there (started 2/10/2000). It covers 102 printed pages, several hundred hundred posts, 40 seasons of FOF2, and runs from 2/10 to 3/25. Based on what's in that printout, I have several comments

Dynasties had been going for quite some time at that point.
People already knew my first name, so it had become a "community" even by then. (I used "SkyDog" as my user name when I signed up orginally for anonymity, but obviously I was past that by then.)
Cohesion was in the game back then. (I wouldn't have guessed that.)
The brief time that we used Chubby's alternate board was in mid-March of 2000. (I referenced it in the thread.)
Future ratings changed more than I remembered back then. I had a QB go from 38/100 to 69/94 to 96/100 to 93/93.
Other users who posted in that thread: OldSchool, OldGiants, Daedalus, tdmaster, Thor, Z Drive, MG, Darkiller, f_monster
For those who asked about history/dates, here's a bit of that. October 2000 is when we moved from The Sideline to FOFC. Blackadar handed the board over to me in late Spring of 2002. (Don't know the exact date.) The upgrade from ubb to vbulletin was in January 2003. Oct-Nov 2004 saw the month-long outage of Gamespy's hosted sites. (The board came back up on election night.) And of course the move to OS was in early June of 2008.

[Ben E Lou]

Oh, and for those looking for a web archive, the printout has the following link on it, if this is helpful:

http://216.15.145.145/sideline/board/Forum1/HTML/001957.html

[Antmeister]

Wow...now that I think more about it, there has been a lot going on from when I first joined that are board related or personal...

We moved 6 times since 2000.
The first part of that year, we were on a 56k modem.
I had two kids during that period.
I remember being frustrated with FOF when it was with EA because the scroll bars were freaking tiny and there were some other interface issues that I can't seem to remember.
Saw the rise and fall of .400 Studios
The original creators of Championship Manager broke off and started Football Manager which took years off my life that I had to stop playing that game altogether.
18 parodies were written.
The Joe Stallings/druez debacle.
Noop's fake girlfriend.
Maximum Football was first reported on this board in 2003, 2 years before the infamous thread (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=11039).
Saw the rise of Grey Dog Software and then eventually Wolverine Studios.
Remember when Franklinnoble started the Front Office Football alternative message board and when that was not getting enough traffic, he began Sportsdigs and when that was not getting enough traffic, the Sportsdigs domain name pointed to some personal religious site.
A lot of great jbmagic moments (one was made into a parody and Thunderingherd made a version on the side of jbmagic). "Why you hate me?" "Ok bye" "Ping: SkyDog" "asswhite" and many more used sayings.And I know there is a lot more I am forgetting.

[Mike1409]

I don't recall exactly when I showed up at The Sideline, but it was in the early days. I have a printout of the original Bear Bryant Challenge from there (started 2/10/2000). It covers 102 printed pages, several hundred hundred posts, 40 seasons of FOF2, and runs from 2/10 to 3/25. Based on what's in that printout, I have several comments


One of the greatest dynasties ever. I remember checking this every day for updates back then. I even tried to do my own but my creative writing skills sucked so bad I stopped.

I probably could be a reporter for OS if I kept up with it!!!:devil:

[cartman]

Yep, I came around starting about the '99 timeframe as well. I was one of the big supporters of FPS '99, even hosting the official "unofficial" patches on my website for a long time. Someone over at the Sierra forums posted about FOF and the community now known as FOFC, and I checked it out. Unfortunately for me, it was literally a couple of days after Jim had sold out of the first run of FOF1. I ended up tracking down a copy on eBay, and was hooked.

I lurked for a long time, until I recognized Z²+, who was literally a grade school student when we were in a FPS Baseball league together in '96/'97. Since my time at FOFC, to steal off of Antmeister, I've:

1. Started a dot com dream job
2. Experienced the dot com crash
3. Lost my dot com dream job
4. Broke off an engagement
5. Moved to Europe
6. Bought my first house
7. Moved back from Europe
8. Lost all four of my grandparents :(
9. Met, in person, a lot of great people from this board
10. Became an uncle
11. But, believe it or not, I have had the same two cars over the entire span of time.

[zums]

I believe I was 15-16 when the Sideline was around. I was an owner of the original FOF as I asked for it for my birthday and had my mom call and order so I'm sure she personally talked to either Jim or his wife.

I really have no recollection of how I found the Sideline and was never a poster (and obviously am still not much of one). I was pretty young and still new at the internet but I remember being blown away by the concept of a message board and have been here ever since. I think I have read close to any thread that has been posted on any of the boards, temporary included.

I remember ez and Amoroq among the other names that SkyDog posted from his dynasty thread. And I remember there was a huge deal about putting together a strategy guide (not sure if that was FOF or FOF2) as well as the infamous "Grassy Knoll" thread.....

How time flies, I'm now 25 and living on my own w/ a career, family, etc... and have successfully gotten my younger brother hooked on FOF at a young age that has continued (he is now 18). Good Stuff.

[sabotai]

My turn!

Since I joined FOFC, I've:

1. Graduated from college

...

uhh...



:(

[sabotai]

This is the earliest page on the archives I can find (searching for ga-sports). It's from Nov 30, 1999

http://web.archive.org/web/19991130103732/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=General+FOF+Discussion&number=1&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=

I tried several threads, but it doesn't look like they got saved.

[cartman]

This is the earliest page on the archives I can find (searching for ga-sports). It's from Nov 30, 1999

http://web.archive.org/web/19991130103732/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=General+FOF+Discussion&number=1&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=

I tried several threads, but it doesn't look like they got saved.

I don't think links in archive.org ever work. They usually serve you a page, then if you click on anything they send you to a pay-per-click landing page.

[Hurst2112]

This is the earliest page on the archives I can find (searching for ga-sports). It's from Nov 30, 1999

http://web.archive.org/web/19991130103732/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=General+FOF+Discussion&number=1&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=

I tried several threads, but it doesn't look like they got saved.

dude! that 'post new topic button' is a blast from the past! hah

[Ben E Lou]

Monkeying around, I found an older one....



http://web.archive.org/web/20000614065154/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=1&forum=General+FOF+Discussion&DaysPrune=1000&startpoint=2000

[Hurst2112]

Monkeying around, I found an older one....



http://web.archive.org/web/20000614065154/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=1&forum=General+FOF+Discussion&DaysPrune=1000&startpoint=2000

nice work!

that sort of helps in my timetable search. Now I remember the game came out in august. So, i think June would have been my first time here.

Dan-EAsports was cool but I do remember him turning to the darkside after the whole 'piracy' accusations...when fof2000 came out (or 2k1. can't remember).

[Ryan S]

Dan-EAsports was cool but I do remember him turning to the darkside after the whole 'piracy' accusations...when fof2000 came out (or 2k1. can't remember).


You're all cut off - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=2365)

[sabotai]

Hurst sighting!

http://web.archive.org/web/19991130110939/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Real+Football&number=5&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=

[PineTar]

I've been an "active" part of the community since the GA days.

[RendeR]

I came here in 2001 after finding FOF2001 on EA sports, I kinda miss that version, its what I came to know as FOF and then we reverted back to the drab, bad graphics style that we have today.

Love the game, just wish it was prettier.

[cartman]

Hurst sighting!

http://web.archive.org/web/19991130110939/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Real+Football&number=5&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=

I was so pissed off when that hack broke Ricky Williams' NCAA record... :banghead:

[sabotai]

A date which will live in infamy...

http://web.archive.org/web/20010429044624/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=General+FOF+Discussion&number=1&DaysPrune=1000&LastLogin=

[Izulde]

I actually registered here as Jestor back in 2001 (the signature of the username confirms it), but forgot my password, so I created Izulde as an account in 2004.

Doesn't look like I posted any as Jestor, though. Everything's been all Izulde. :D

[cartman]

http://web.archive.org/web/20001020144747/216.15.145.145/sideline/board/Forum1/HTML/001071.html

Nice to see moderator drama is nothing new.

Blackadar can be such a dictator... :D

[Marmel]

Those were the days...

[Alan T]

I don't remember what my original username here was, or when I even came. All I know is everyone can blame Celeval for both introducing me to FOF2 and FOFC.

[Buccaneer]

Monkeying around, I found an older one....



http://web.archive.org/web/20000614065154/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=1&forum=General+FOF+Discussion&DaysPrune=1000&startpoint=2000


I think if I could see page 1, that would have the first Bucc post (somewhere around mid-July 2000).

[Doug5984]

wow- the old sideline days, i was so young back then..

I joined there not long after FOF2 became an "EA Game" ...not sure of the exact date, but its amazing to think that I've visited the FOF board, and played FOF nearly every single day for those past 9+ years. Wow.

[Young Drachma]

I came around during the Sidelines days and wasn't posting a ton before the move to the new board and then starting posting dynasties mostly, before deciding to venture into the big and bad general discussion. The rest is history...

[Greyroofoo]

When I first found this forum, I was thinking of joining the Air Force, and currently I find find myself dumb enough to stay in the Air Force.

[Schmidty]

I was a lurker from the start, and then finally took the plunge and registered in 2001 after I bought FOF2001. I can't believe it's been this long.

[Hurst2112]

You're all cut off - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=2365)

ooh, that's money. man, what a historic time

[Hurst2112]

My reply... - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=2481)

Barry Dorf, right?

[3ric]

First Post!! (kinda) - The Sideline (http://web.archive.org/web/20000707221508/http://216.15.145.145/sideline/board/Forum1/HTML/000002.html)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000604232448/216.15.145.145/sideline/board/Forum1/HTML/000040.html

More threads here:
http://web.archive.org/web/*sr_221nr_10/http://216.15.145.145/*

[Chief Rum]

Wow, just the color brings back the memories. I joined in 1999. I had asked myself one time almost ten years ago.

"Are there any games like FPS around anymore, because Sierra just blew chunks over that game."

Did a search and found "Front Office Football 2". Huh? What's this? Did another search. "Sideline--forum for Front Office Football fan community."

I checked out the game and bought it. Had issues, and joined the community to get help.

Never looked back.

[Alan T]

Wow, just the color brings back the memories. I joined in 1999. I had asked myself one time almost ten years ago.

"Are there any games like FPS around anymore, because Sierra just blew chunks over that game."

Did a search and found "Front Office Football 2". Huh? What's this? Did another search. "Sideline--forum for Front Office Football fan community."

I checked out the game and bought it. Had issues, and joined the community to get help.

Never looked back.

Yeah, I looked and saw the only two posts I ever made on my old FOFC account were complaints because fof2k1 kept locking up on me and it pissed me off, so I came here trying to figure out how to get a refund or return the game :)

I guess it didn't end up bothering me too much since I still ended up buying tcy and fof4 later.

[RedKingGold]

Lurked since late 1999 (16 years old) after I bought FOF2 shortly before FOF 2001 came out. Didn't register til' 2002 early in my freshman year of college (right around when FOF4 came out).

Now, I'm about to start my third year in college, and still very impressed about the staying power of Jim's game (at least in my FOF MP world).

[wbonnell]

A date which will live in infamy...

http://web.archive.org/web/20010429044624/216.15.145.145/sideline/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=General+FOF+Discussion&number=1&DaysPrune=1000&LastLogin=

Hey, look at my thread (OT: baseball sims). Even back then I was talking anything but football. I wonder if that's the first time I discovered OOTP....

[Icy]

I came in 2003 i think, following a link somebody posted in SI's Football Manager forums about FOF. I remember emailing Jim asking if he could sell me the game on any way, as CD was then the only option and i'm in Spain.

I ended buying TCY as it had a downloadable version through elicense, but i new nothing about college football so i couldn't underestand most of it.

I just wand a pro football text sim, but while waiting for the pro game to be released, i started to learn about college football, the teams, the different rules, tradition, etc to end becoming a huge college football fan.

I remember this forum got me addicted for some time to hattrick and also introduced me to all the other USA sports sims like OOTP, EHM, etc, that lead me to also want to learn all about USA sports and to become the weird Spanish guy who follows more USA sports than our "futbol" (soccer).

[Buccaneer]

First Post!! (kinda) - The Sideline (http://web.archive.org/web/20000707221508/http://216.15.145.145/sideline/board/Forum1/HTML/000002.html)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000604232448/216.15.145.145/sideline/board/Forum1/HTML/000040.html

More threads here:
Internet Archive Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org/web/*sr_221nr_10/http://216.15.145.145/*)


That was good, still finding my fist bucc post. The name Amaroq was familiar to me - who de he become?

[molson]

Really amazing how long ago that was. Mckerney was all over the board then and his profile says he's only 23 now. It really was a bunch of teenagers posting back then and now it's all people posting about their kids and wives.

We're a bunch of geezers.

[Zelig]

http://web.archive.org/web/20001019213126/216.15.145.145/sideline/board/Forum1/HTML/000335.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20010710051043/216.15.145.145/sideline/board/Forum2/HTML/000153.html

[Buccaneer]

The reason I was curious was I recall my first people explaining how I had played Mogul and then stumbled upon FOF and that site. Someone welcomed me and hoped this site would fit me (given its quirks and personalities). Wanted to know who that was.

[Alan T]

Really amazing how long ago that was. Mckerney was all over the board then and his profile says he's only 23 now. It really was a bunch of teenagers posting back then and now it's all people posting about their kids and wives.

We're a bunch of geezers.


Hehe, I don't think that was entirely the case. I think I joined in winter time 2000, and I know there was a good deal of others my age (just out of college a few years roughly) back then. At least the people I first interacted with (mostly OOTP league folks as I learned about OOTP2 from this forum sometime around the same time in late 2000) were mostly early 20ish folks.

Now a days, 8 years later we're all entering our mid-30s.. ugh!

[daedalus]

i started around thanksgiving during the DR debacle. i read a blurb about the original game in a computer game magazine, tried the demo but could not get a feel for the game since the demo was so short that i decided against it. then, maybe about a year later, there was another blurb when the second came out and, since i was going to have free time during turkey break, decided to splurge (for me) and get the game. DR being DR, the activation borked. i searched (i think it had to have been either yahoo! or altavista at the time) and found this board because i remembered that it was mentioned in the article to try to find solution. besides posting to ask for help (i believe either PSUColonel and/or BillsFanUK was the person responding with a "sorry, good luck. we've seen the same problems." type of response), i mainly lurked until a thread about ricky williams where mckerney decided to be, well, mckerney and not just debate/argue my point(s) but tried to call me out just for being new. BillsFanUK, i believe, had my back (much props, even if i never see him anymore).

no slight to anyone in the least but i really, really wish ez, amaroq and oldschool were back. ez and our MP leagues would have been made for each other. i would say that between ez and QS, kasparov faced less pure computing power. i remember when we all looked at this web-based boxing game with really detailed options for various scenarios and we got into an awesome discussion how great that would be to have for FOF. OS was just a cool dude in general.

back to the game . . . of course, since it was turkey break, i had zero chance of getting any help and it was not until a week later that dan wassen was able to help me activate the game offline and was able to play the game. i was very sad when the "cut off" mess happened, given how much dan did for us as a community. i could have gotten past it, if he would have man up and just apologized with, "guys, i screwed up. i lost my head."I don't recall exactly when I showed up at The Sideline, but it was in the early days. I have a printout of the original Bear Bryant Challenge from there (started 2/10/2000). It covers 102 printed pages, several hundred hundred posts, 40 seasons of FOF2, and runs from 2/10 to 3/25. Based on what's in that printout, I have several comments
Dynasties had been going for quite some time at that point.
People already knew my first name, so it had become a "community" even by then. (I used "SkyDog" as my user name when I signed up orginally for anonymity, but obviously I was past that by then.)
Cohesion was in the game back then. (I wouldn't have guessed that.)
The brief time that we used Chubby's alternate board was in mid-March of 2000. (I referenced it in the thread.)
Future ratings changed more than I remembered back then. I had a QB go from 38/100 to 69/94 to 96/100 to 93/93.
Other users who posted in that thread: OldSchool, OldGiants, Daedalus, tdmaster, Thor, Z Drive, MG, Darkiller, f_monsterFor those who asked about history/dates, here's a bit of that. October 2000 is when we moved from The Sideline to FOFC. Blackadar handed the board over to me in late Spring of 2002. (Don't know the exact date.) The upgrade from ubb to vbulletin was in January 2003. Oct-Nov 2004 saw the month-long outage of Gamespy's hosted sites. (The board came back up on election night.) And of course the move to OS was in early June of 2008.that was a good, good dynasty. i followed that dynasty across the sideline to josh/chubby's board back to the return-of-the-sideline, all the while fighting with the imperial force and taking turns getting banned with some of the other rebels.

i had much more time then as was able to follow some really, really good dynasties. this bear bryant one, QS' bare cupboard and the original village challenge (which, if my memory serves me correctly, was dan/thomkal's brainchild). i believe there was one other that i followed real closely but cannot recall the specifics of. later on, my dynasty readings became izulde's various adventures, ef27's manchester united recap and frogger's luton-to-QPR travel.

[Raiders Army]

The thing I notice now is that OT has taken over the board due to:

1. No new football releases from Solecismic in the past two years (and the updates, while great and add new content, don't get the posts a new game gets).

2. People know each other better than back with FOF 1, 2, or 2k1.

3. FWIW, I believe SkyDog did a better job moderating for social purposes than the previous mods. That's not to say they did a bad job, but that SkyDog did it better.

Heh, I didn't even know who SkyDog or Ben E. Lou was back when I got on the boards. I can't remember when it was, but I got the original FOF from the old pc.games.rec.sports (or something like that). I then discovered the sideline from that.

[Apathetic Lurker]

bought the first one a few weeks after it was released then found the board....Still havent hit 500 posts

[judicial clerk]

I remember the old sideline days.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember ordering the first FOF by telephone and talking to a girl who I gave my credit card number to. It didn't sound like a profesional phone-bank type of opertion. Could that have been Mrs. Gindin?

[kingnebwsu]

Seems like it's been forever. I came around shortly after FOF 2 came out. And I bought FOF 2 after I bought Baseball Mogul 99 at Best Buy for $10. That's what got me hooked on text-based gaming.

Can't believe it's been like 10 years. Reeeeeeee-diculous.

[Barkeep49]

I lurked during the sideline days and then one day it disappeared and I knew nothing about it until they briefly reopened and I found this place. Registered then and was a lurker for a long long time. I would guess that out of my first 20 posts 15+ were in QS dynasties.

[Solecismic]

I remember the old sideline days.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember ordering the first FOF by telephone and talking to a girl who I gave my credit card number to. It didn't sound like a profesional phone-bank type of opertion. Could that have been Mrs. Gindin?

No, that was a service I hired to take orders. There were four women who worked for a company that handled the phones for about a dozen companies.

Back then, nobody trusted the internet for credit-card taking. It wasn't until Amazon really took off (just a little later) that banks started to set up those accounts.

It's getting close to ten years since the original game was released. Does anyone remember the exact release date?

[cartman]

It's getting close to ten years since the original game was released. Does anyone remember the exact release date?

I want to say Labor Day, 1998.

[Honolulu Blue]

January 2001. That's when it says I registered, so I'll go with that. I actually had an account on the Sideline, but it was under a different name, and I didn't do much with it, so it doesn't count.

I rarely talk about my personal life here, so to indulge myself I'll briefly discuss what's happened to me in the 7 1/2 years since 1/01 (not in any order):

* Got engaged
* Got dis-engaged
* Bought a house (my only move in the time period)
* Went through four cars
* Lost an aunt, but gained two nephews and a brother-in-law
* Got a promotion
* Won a few dozen sit-and-gos online (including one FOFC championship), cashed a few dozen more times, then got out while the getting was good
* Written God knows how many dynasties about who knows how many different subjects and different games
* Confused some members who think I am my evil twin and vice versa (hint: He has a "_" in his screen name, loves hockey, CM/FM, and U-M; I don't, don't, don't, and don't)
* Bought and played many different sports career text sims and other games

[MIJB#19]

I found The Sideline during the FOF2 era, but I don't really remember a date. I had found FOF2 doing a search for "football simulation" or something like that, dowloaded it overnight (it took HOURS for it to download), and then when I went to play realized I had no idea what I was doing. So I did a search (probably using Alta Vista at that time) for something like "Front Office Football strategy", and up came The Sideline. I didn't post a ton, but lurked a lot. I'm pretty sure I registered around the same time that MIJB first showed up, cause I remember having had a n00b kinship with him...Gr-reat, go blame me for the chunkload of posts you made! ;)

But honestly, since then, little changed. I still clash with HA (all in good fun, right? ;)), try to out-smart QS and still debate with SA what true democracy is. That and Bucc is still twice my age. :D

[Sun Tzu]

Awesome. Might as well give this one a bump, considering the other thread that's out there.

I registered between when the original FOF came out, and the EA sports version came out. I've always taken pride in being one of (or at least close to) the originals here. I think I was 16 or 17 when I originally registered. What a ride it's been.

[ColtCrazy]

I've been around for many years, mostly as a lurker though. I remember a lot of the early names and still have my original FOF disk. I still come here because there's some interesting discussions, some great links, and a lot of similarly minded guys/gals here.

[Groundhog]

I lurked for a good while before I signed up, so I've been coming here for a fair few years now. I still come because it's surprising how much news, sports/gaming or otherwise, I find out here before I do elsewhere, and there are some intelligent and funny threads that continue to happen, but I miss a lot of the "characters" that either got boxed or just never returned because they didn't feel welcome. This place has lost some flavour over the years.

[miked]

I think I still have my email from Tony.

[AZSpeechCoach]

I bought a Baseball Mogul/Football Mogul double pack from Stop and Save Software. After playing them for a little bit, I started to look for something different. I wound up at the sideline in late 99 and bought FOF2 around New Years 2000. I was registered at the sideline as AZSpeechCoach and also as Miss Cleo (joke account when some people were predicting the future). When the board moved, I followed, but it took a few years of lurking for me to reregister.

[Julio Riddols]

Oh man.. I finally found a post as my old nick Shanekorn.. I guess I posted enough back then to be a grizzled veteran, but then again, I think the amount of posts needed then was way low..

I think I've been around since there were about 300-400 people on the board, and I remember when we hit 1,000 it was a pretty big deal.

I remember Wignasty, Wignifty, HornsManiac, The EA fiasco, Dave Dial, all of it. I was 17 when I found FOF1 my Junior year of HS.. Damn.

[Chief Rum]

I was young when I joined The Sideline, and yes, I do believe it was just over 10 years ago. I can't remember when I joined, but my guess would be May, 1999. I know it was 1999 for sure, and I don't think it was late in the year.

Now I am old. :)

[Julio Riddols]

This post in particular was interesting to me.. From the Bruce Coslet stepping down thread, circa September 2000:

From "NFLFAN" - Coslet should have been gone 2 years ago when Carl pickens said why are we keeping him as coach. He was a terrible head coach for the new york jets and he was a terrible coach for the bengals. I just hope he never gets another head coaching job. He needs to stick with just being a offensive coordinator and to be honest with you hes not even good at that.

Some people just arent made to be head coaches, Bill bellichek (or whatever his last name is spelled), bruce coslet, and Ray rhodes in my opinion are just good coordinators and nothing more. They should not be head coach of a football team, some coaches have it and some coaches dont. They dont have it.

[larnott]

I've been here since the beginning. Read every day, but don't post much.

[Logan]

You're all cut off - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=2365)

Dan's Apology (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=2481) (in a locked thread)

with a guest appearance by wignasty :D

Sorry Dan, but you have failed to apologize to the people you called "pirates." They did nothing wrong. They saw that the game was available, wanted to buy it, and gave their CC#, expecting to be charged. YOUR guys screwed up, and should be blamed--not those 10 who bought the game.

The fact is, I would rather give $100 of my hard-earned money directly to Jim for the game, than pay $1 for it through you guys if it meant you got a piece of it.

Yet another reason I will never buy an EA product again, unless it has a Solecismic logo on it.

Whoops.

[OldGiants]

Ah, yes the George Allen challenge. Trade your number one draft choice every year.

What I miss most from those earlier versions was the expansion team options. Not just the Browns, but other teams would pop up to take the league to 32 as the years went on. Great way to extend your interest in a career.

[Arles]

This has been a great ride. Kudos to the community for staying strong for 10+ years!

[dawgfan]

Pretty wild to think it's been ~10 years now. I remember reading the Sideline board, not sure if I posted much (if at all), but I remember being very impressed at the info and work being done at this site to study the game and share strategies. I remember downloading the strategy guide and being very thankful for all the work that had gone into it.

Kudos to those who first started the community and the quality of posters that made it a great resource, and then blossoming into just an interesting place in general to visit.