The End of an Era
 

DJP73 ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
BY DJP73, operationsports.com



Maine - A reflective and teary-eyed djp73 announced minutes ago that one of the longest running chising careers was coming to an end. "It's time, this is a young man's game and I'm not getting any younger."

djp started "chising" in the early 1990s. "Back then the chising game was all about pencils and notebooks. We did it for ourselves back then. If anyone ever saw it it was only a couple of close friends. We weren't in it for comments and views. Things were simpler then." djp stated.

His first foray into online chise posting came in the early 2000's with sites like gamefaqs, ign and footballfreaks. The sites have come and gone but djp73 has been a staple in the game since it all started.

djp cited a lack of time as his biggest deciding factor. "Since I grabbed Madden 15 I've played about 40 games, all for chises. I'd estimate that without doing reports, editing videos and writing other articles I could have easily played over 100 games. Plus played around with other teams and modes. Not to mention all the other games I've had to neglect. There just isn't time for it anymore."

He says the game has also changed. "Today it's all about graphics. Nobody's reading 4 or 5 paragraphs. They want a snazzy layout, a picture and a score. It's the Instagram era. I never relied on any of that, for me it was about the articles."

"It's tough to walk away but I know it's the right choice. I can spend more of my limited gaming time just enjoying games. I won't feel guilty about playing COD 'cause my chise is behind."

djp says there is a long list of people to thank, and he could only include a few but stated: "Everyone who has ever read one of my chises, posted a comment, liked a post or contributed in any way has made this journey what it has been, nothing short of incredible."

"Without guys like BDawg, Ghstrdr57 and mudcat I would have hung up the keyboard long ago. They kept me going at times I thought I was past my prime. Like I said, this is a young man's game but those guys have proven that even north of 30 you can still bring a quality chise to the table. It was inspiring."

"All the guys who took their time and money to maintain a site where we could post chises, those guys are the real MVP."

When asked if he had any advice for the younger chisers DJP offered the following wisdom: "You have to like the chise you're doing. You have to be invested and interested in it. Whether it's a traditional chise, a video chise or anything else. You have to do it for you. If you're just doing it for followers, comment and likes you won't last long. Also, I suggest playing you chise for a while and saving it on your computer before you post it, that way if you decide to pull the plug you don't get the reputation of a "chise quitter", that can hurt you for sure."

"I'll still be around, there are some chises and chisers I want to keep up with some. I want to see where the chising scene goes over the next few years."

With that, DJP stood up, waved to the crowd and took a bow before riding off into the sunset.

Re: The End of an Era
 

NOOOOOOOO!!!! :y5:

Please pull a Brett Farve and come out of retirement!

Anyways, I understand your decision and I'm going to miss reading your dynasties.

Re: The End of an Era
 

Thanks man. I appreciate the kind words. Definitely been one of my biggest followers as of late. Good luck in your future chising adventures, I'll be lurking and reading.

Re: The End of an Era
 

Great way to end it. Loved the article.

Re: The End of an Era
 

DJP, bless your heart my man. Congrats on the long and successful career. Hopefully you can find it in you to come back again some day, I'd definitely support that. We all suffer from burnout from time to time. :y15:

But this quote stuck out to me a lot:

This could not be more true. I feel some folks can't even read some 2-3 paragraphs without a picture, and that hurts my style. I am all about journalism, writing some paragraphs with a couple pictures to accompany it. That's part of why my dynachise didn't work out, it just didn't feel natural.

I can't help but point out my opinionated observation that the average 'chise follower (especially since I started; the past 5-6 months) automatically shoots for the "Brand Name" chise, (i.e., reporters with lots of success in the past, best graphics as you mentioned, etc.) It's so hard to break into the business these days.

Anyway...I see I'm rambling and I'll quit while I'm behind. Best of luck with the retirement bud.

Re: The End of an Era
 

Appreciate it man, thanks.

Re: The End of an Era
 

Thanks for the input. I'd like to think that all types of chises have a place, maybe that's true. It looks to me like that's not true anymore. Best of luck down the road.

Re: The End of an Era
 

Kind of a weird way to go out or whatever, lol, but some solid advice in the OP nonetheless (and well written). Especially the chise quitting (which I can't stand) and chising ultimately to have fun for yourself rather than to impress and like-monger. I would've worked in advice about avoiding the shameless CAP chises too, where people know that simply asking for CAP sign-ups from OS members will get them likes/views etc without anything much of substance.