Career Record � 454 - 215
Career Winning PCT. - .590
National Championships - 0
Conference Championships - 7
Bowl Record and winning pct � 3 - 7 .300
Playoff Record and winning pct � 6-17 .261
Current Teams � Yale (Bryant)
Dubs: OK, Snake, thanks so much for sitting down for this interview, assuming you are sitting, what can you tell me about your life?
Snake_p: Hi, dubs, and thanks for the invite. "Snake Pliskin" is a role. The guy who types all this isn't me, and I'm not him. We�re not even very much alike. He takes GD as not only a football sim, but also as a role-playing game. I go by "Snake Pliskin." He goes by ... well, I know him as the typing guy. What would you like to know about Snake?
Dubs: Snake, what are your main interests outside of WIS?
Snake_p: Hmm. I don't think Snake exists outside of GD. Well, I tried HD for a couple of seasons but lost interest before a season was even over. When you talk to the typing guy, remember that question, though.
Dubs: Fair enough. So we will stick to WIS for you Snake and see what we can find out from typing guy at the end. Let's stick with what you just said, why do you think GD is more compelling than HD, Snake?
Snake_p: Football itself is more interesting than basketball. GD is way more complex and challenging than HD was. Recruiting 50 guys over four seasons rather than 12, if I recall ... twenty-four starters vs. five ... eight distinct positions plus one or two specialists vs. five somewhat interchangeable positions ... I like GD for the subtleties and the challenges I think it holds in greater abundance than HD.
Dubs: Obviously, you have a certain impact with the GD message boards, and I am going to want to touch on that before we finish, but I want to start with coaching. What general philosophies of how to run a team do you feel are the most important to you?
Snake_p: I run them for fun and for learning the game, and winning is ... well, not "incidental," but let's say �secondary.� Learning and winning do go hand in hand to a large extent. I figure I'm still learning. Also, I've used every degree of aggressive / conservative, and almost every offensive and defensive set at one time or another. I've also gone up and down between levels depending where my interests were.
Dubs: I have certainly gotten the impression that you take an almost clinical view of gameplay experimentation, from the classic "choose two recruits on the high end, two recruits a little below that and two recruits that you think you should get" to other pieces of advice. I know you are big on teaching people to figure these things out for themselves. Do you think that learning to create your own philosophy is the best piece of advice you can give a new player?
Snake_p: Hmm, maybe so. Each player is his own person, whether it's a kid just messing around with the game for a day or two and then off to other pursuits, someone taking it as a serious competitive challenge or someone in between those two. Whether it is someone who understands and participates in the community of GD or someone who doesn't have the slightest clue about community even in real life, we're all different. Why would we play the game the same?
Dubs: Do you think people can be successful by simply copying someone else's strategy? For example, if plague really told someone exactly how he did every little thing, would that person be able to have similar success, in your opinion?
Snake_p: No. If Jackie Stewart told you how to drive a Formula-1 racecar, would you have success similar to his? I don�t think so. Furthermore, Plague probably doesn't even realize how he does every little thing. Neither do I ... or you. That's one of the cool things, the subtleties that we probably all miss even in our own games, at least those of us that have been around for a while and do a lot of different things with the depth charts, advanced game settings, etc. We do things that we don't even realize, and think we do things that we probably don't. Try explaining all that to someone in minute detail, and you'll find it almost can't be done.
Dubs: All that said, if you were to throw out one nugget that you believe you have learned through all this experimentation, what would it be?
Snake_p: The experimentation itself. Don't be afraid to experiment. Never stop experimenting. Some guys want to win at all cost, so they play sims, cherrypick the best teams, etc. Do you think that gets them a record that has any substance? Hell no. It's gaudy and hollow. They don't experiment, they don't have the fun and the learning that there is in the experimentation itself. Of course, as I said, each of us is different and plays the game for different reasons.
Also, the guys who mock what JConte says about the game in the dev chats and the ticket responses are missing a lot.
Dubs: So, in essence, if your goal is to get to the top and be gaudy and hollow, then maybe cherry picking is a good thing to do, in your opinion?
Snake_p: (laughs) I guess those things go hand in hand pretty well.
Dubs: Since you brought up JConte, what changes, if any, do you think could be beneficial to GD?
Snake_p: Oh, man ... I never kept track or made a list, and there are quite a few. I'll probably miss some, but I'll start with the administration of the game. One player, one team in a world ... no exceptions. They don't lift a finger to assure that, and thereby assure that we will gradually lose, are gradually losing, GD as we knew it. I�d also like to see WIS take any kind of an active role in bringing good sportsmanship to the game, but I�m not holding my breath on that one.
As far as the structure of the game, I'd like to see real penalties for players playing out of position. Part of the challenge of the game is maximizing the utility of a limited roster, so having such miniscule penalties for players playing out of position loses some of the challenge. Five non-conference games, sim-chosen, would be beneficial. Considering the divisional levels of the colleges when recruits are distributed would be beneficial.
Some of the changes being advocated are just foolishness, though. Getting rid of recruiting dollar carryover from season to season is a good example.
Dubs: You have been on all four levels of the game, which is the hardest and easiest to coach at? Is it a simple DIII to DI progression of difficulty? Also, which do you prefer?
Snake_p: No, for me it wasn't a progression like you might think. D-III was the hardest. There never seemed to be any recruits worth the time of day. Game planning seemed like trying to maneuver on a sheet of ice in a VW beetle with racing slicks -- you couldn't get anything done forcefully, it was all a nudge here and a nudge there, a whisper here and a wisp of smoke there. Of course, when I was in D-III I understood the game the least, so it might not seem like that any more. D1AA and non-BCS D1A were the easiest recruiting. D1A and D1AA have the best coaches, and that kind of competition is fun. I think I prefer the higher levels, mainly because the sense of community is the greatest there.
Dubs: What is your view on lateraling to a good team on the same level? Clearly a part of the game, but your view personally?
Snake_p: I guess it would depend on a guy's reasons for the move. We see it mostly just for the wins, just to get to the top, and you can tell I don�t have much respect for that. A few of the guys with the hollowest records also crow the loudest, and there is no end to my disdain for that. However, say you are in the same level where your alma mater is, and it suddenly opens up. Or say you live in a town with a particular school, and it becomes available. That sort of lateral move I could live with, even if it is a lateral move.
Dubs: What if it is just because you think East Central has the coolest helmets in the game, a reason I might would lateral to them at some point in the future? lol
Snake_p: Helmets ... hmm, yeah, like I say, everybody plays the game for different reasons.
Dubs: I am really enjoying this, but I recognize if I don't switch gears this may be the first 12 hour interview, so let's touch on the message boards. What percentage of people do you think really understand what you are trying to say on the message boards?
Snake_p: I think more than you realize. A lot of people are comfortable with such straight talk, but a lot of GD players are so immature that they need to challenge an adult in a way they never could in real life. It is much the same as how some people can't help but challenge authority in real life. It is like a kid running up to a bull in the field, touching it, and then running like hell before they get stomped. It makes for a good story when they are with their friends. "I touched the bull" isn't far from "I challenged the snake." Think the bull really cares? Think I really care? I do enjoy my conversations with the other adult members of the community, but most of that is in site mail.
Dubs: Quick question I meant to ask in the coaching section. What coach is the best that you have played, or what coach seems to give you particular challenges? Also, what coaches would you consider influences?
Snake_p: I have played a number of coaches that are so good that I couldn't even begin to guess which is the best. Both the Pac-10 when I had the Air Force Academy and the Big 10 when I had Michigan had coaches that were in another league, and that was the reason I went to those schools. Anyone can look those conferences up, I would hate to start listing them and miss someone. As for influences, I guess I would say that I pick a lot of things up in the forums from a lot of guys. I have also exchanged ideas with a few coaches by site mail, but they might not want to be named because they think I am a lightning rod for the clowns of GD, and they don't want that kind of attention. They know who they are, and I say thanks to all of them.
Dubs: Back to the message boards. The two posters that get the most attention are you and swamphawk, and thus there seems to be a tacit association between you. From my perspective, you guys come from totally different vantage points to the game. Not asking you to insult swamp, obviously, but how to you view the two most infamous message board posters?
Snake_p: I think swamp loves the attention.
Dubs: When you go on the message boards, what is your goal?
Snake_p: Generally to roll around an idea about the intricacies of the game with the veterans or to help newbies with some of the basics. And, admittedly, once in a while I mock a numbskull. I'm cutting back on that.
Dubs: Last question before I see if we can rustle up the typing guy. How much damage do you think Pinnacle did to the game, and can you explain the flying ninja coaches of death or whatever the exact wording on that was?
Snake_p: I think the swampinnacle debacle was just another symptom of the terrible way the game is administered. Basically, anything goes, there are no real consequences for anything. When I said in the forums that I love the game but hate the way it is administered, that was the typing guy talking. When I said I think JConte must really be disappointed by what WIS is letting the trash do to his game, I meant it. Ninja coaching, or actually Ninja recruiting, was just my reference to what choochoo did. Ruining a recruiting class at a lower level school just because he took a dislike to the coach struck me as something akin to a toddler smashing a fragile object in a tantrum. I don't think I've seen such a small person anywhere else in GD.
Dubs: OK, speaking of typing guy, is he available to take a couple of quick questions?
Typing Guy: Sure, fire away.
Dubs: Where did you first hear about Whatifsports?
TG: I see that question in the other interviews, and to tell you the honest truth, I have no recollection at all of how I first became aware of WIS (sorry, WIS marketing people). I did start with the sample seasons, ten games or so freebie seasons, in their historic NHL game.
Dubs: What are your main interests outside of this site?
TG: I live in the Rocky Mountain Time Zone, at about 8,000 feet elevation, so I am outdoors a LOT, in every season. It's like heaven here. In the Dan Patrick interview I mentioned the deer and elk outside the window -- that's true. Also about every type of wildlife you can imagine in the Rockies. I do a lot of photography. We're out skiing or snowshoeing a lot this time of year, and in the summer I do a lot of hiking, climbing, backpacking, that sort of thing. We vacation in one or another of the National Parks and always spend most of our time in the backcountry.
Dubs: You keep saying we, so that leads to the inevitable, are you married, and if so, what does she think of GD?
TG: Yes. She ... ah ... doesn't have a high opinion of it.
Dubs: Funny, my wife shares her opinion. Are you willing to share your age?
TG: Sure, I'd be happy to share about half of it with you, thanks for asking. Where should I have it delivered?
Dubs: Assuming you had it sent to Gainesville, and I added that half to my age 32, how old would I be?
TG: Older than Methuselah.
Dubs: Somehow I am guessing that half your age isn't actually 937, which would get us to the 969 of Methuselah, on the other hand there is that theory that they were counting months instead of years, but I digress. What is your alma mater?
TG: Yale.
Dubs: And that is the only team that your friend Snake currently coaches?
Snake_p: Yes. That is the only team that I currently coach. I used to be in Leahy World, too, but I dropped it.
Dubs: What are the best TV shows on today?
TG: The Unit ... 24...
Dubs: I personally love Studio 60, it's so well written.
TG: See, we all play the game for different reasons.
Dubs: What type of music do you enjoy?
TG: Some country. Some classical. A little pop.
Dubs: When you say classical, do you prefer the Romantics like Mozart and Beethoven or the Baroque guys like Bach, Handel and Telemann, or does it all get grouped together?
TG: Some of the Russian composers, more the sensual and emotional music than the mathematical studies. Tchaikovsky, Barber, etc. And some opera. Not Bach.
Dubs: Do you feel that Tchaikovsky gets a big push in America because his style was more Western as compared to the Russian Five, per se?
TG: I don't get that analytical about it, and I can't say that I'm expert about it in an educated way. I just get into the moods of it.
Dubs: I really enjoy Rachmaninoff, on a side note. OK, I want to finsih up with a little thing I call Trios, where I give you a list of three things, people or places and you choose which one you prefer, a sort of rapid fire thing. You cool with that?
TG: I like Rachmaninoff, too. Okay, you say three things, I pick one?
Dubs: Yeah, with everyone's understanding that it may have been a close decision.
TG: If it's that close, I'll pick two. So sue me. Go ahead ...
TRIOS:
1) Stones, Beatles or The Who
TG: Beatles.
2) Alvin, Simon or Theodore
TG: All three. You need the variety in your stew. Mix in some vegetables �
3) Pac 10, Big Ten or SEC
TG: Big 10. I have a Midwestern background.
4) Survivor, American Idol or Amazing Race
TG: Yuck, yuck and yuck. Survivor.
5) Biggest rivalry. Army-Navy, Auburn-Alabama or Harvard-Yale
TG: The Game (Yale / Harvard).
Dubs: I guess I saw that one coming
6) Yankees, Red Sox or the Field
TG: I'm not a baseball fan since the '94 lockout. A pox on both their houses.
7) Place to visit, Hawaii, Ireland or Mainland Europe
TG: Oh, man, all of them. I'll take the Alps, so Mainland Europe. Sign me up.
Dubs: Thanks so my for your time Typing Guy, say thanks to snake_p as well, it was a pleasure doing this interview
TG: Hey, I enjoyed chatting with you. Be safe.
