Posted by Trentonjoe on 5/9/2014 10:28:00 AM (view original):
"The unwritten rule of "you dont battle conference mates, it's bad for conference" needs to stop."
That rule is a lot less encompassing that it used to be. I have been playing this game for ~ 5 calender years. I have heard rumors of coaches doing all sorts of collusive stuff (like drafting players) before I started.
When I did start, this philosophy was prevalent. The GLV in Tark did it to some extent (and I am not trying to slander their good name) and CBG would often talk about it. Billy never spoke in absolutes, it was more like "I try not to" or "Unless there is a special circumstance" type of stuff. It's part ( a significant but not the only or even main) of what made them so dominant.
As time has passed, it's become less prevalent. I have always been a me first type of guy and have never "respected" my conference mates. I have noticed the tenor of the conversation on the boards swing back to the other side. Do some conferences do it? Sure! Do most? I don't think so. Certainly none of the ones I play in.
(I apologize in advance if I misrepresented the GLV or our local "demigod" by my statements.)
TJ - There may be something to that for GLV with CBG, at least in the older days.
I'm there relatively recently and can only say that - if there was such a thing during the years he and I overlapped - I should be angry with him because they never let me in on it! ;)
Truth be told, I find that I *have* to battle (or have at least convinced myself that I have to) other GLV teams because of the geography factor. GLV and Mid-America cover a lot of the same territory, so unless I'm willing to just cede the best recruits to other owners, there have to be some battles. Not GLV, but in Missouri with me, is aejones at SW Baptist. On a regular basis we end up battling over guys because we both want the top local (MO) talent.
I will say that - all things being equal - I'm more likely to look West than East, because East (KY and IL) has a huge concentration of GLV teams that I know are swimming in money and willing to defend the borders, much like I "defend" MO.