BSH here and i'm here to provide some help to each and every one of you who are going through the 7 stages of Grief after a TC hit. As you all know, I'm a vet to the process and am posting this here for myself just as much as the rest of you. Throughout the years I've gone though the full range of players being annihilated in TC. The most recent is Van Grimaldi and Demarcus Cousins. Throughout this time, you'll be dealing with a very wide ranging of emotions. There will be key distinctions that will drive your journey through this process. I'll go through each range of emotions and i'll act as your spiritual guide through this journey, but first the flowchart:
Shock
1. So your player's gotten hit in TC
2. We're hitting out first decision tree. Are you the Grizzlies. If so, you're good because you don't give a Frye anyway. In fact you give so little of a Frye, you resign players you gave away who have been annihilated in TC just so you can experience it again and again. You move quickly through this and ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
3. This the player that got hit a key player? Take note guys, this will be on your test. I'm saying this bc I loved professors in college that did this. Like let's stop playing games and tell me what I need to know out of the 5,000 word book you wrote. We're not using this shit in life. EAD. Anyways, this will drive your next set of reactions and see how long it takes for you to recover.
Anger
1a.) Key Player -> No
I mean your mad it happened, but you'll be ok. Sure John Henson just got matched in RFA, but if you were counting on him to win you a ring, your brain got hit in TC. Your ego is bruised and the build isn't going perfect but life isn't THAT bad. You move on quickly and bitterly past depression (bc its not that bad) and directly into bargaining, or as I like to call it: quailing.
Oh boy, you're in a world of hurt right now. There are hotlines for you. 1-800-TCSUCKS is open 24/7 and will get you off the fence. You're ina fury. You may drop off of skype as people troll you. You may lash out at loved ones. If you're snarky, you'll say passive agressive comments towards past people who've been hit and say you're going to act like you're the only person this happens to. We know you're hurting bro, don't crab in the bucket us and drag us down too bro, we've been at the bottom of the bucket and we're all crabs in the TC game, except if youre a hawk. You don't know what's right anymore except this game sucks. TC is stupid. I'm going to write you move on eventually, but there is no telling how long this last. In the past, it's lasted as long as 3 seasons for me. sometimes it's a blind Bobcat rage and you're over it in a few days. This is all individually determined. But alas, you move to Depression.
Depression:
1. If your key player didn't get hit. congrats. you skip this miserable stage. If your key player got hit, well get comfortable on this knife laden seat, because youre going to be here a bit. The first thought is: I play this game for fun, this isn't fun. Why am I playing. The self loathing begins. Ice cream doesn't taste as good, pizza is just alright. That's how bad this stage is. The truth is, there's a chance this stage is something you may just drag with you to future stages. Some say you never really move on past this stage if the hit is bad enough. I can't really tell you what the real answer is. I just know you have to keep on moving along. If you're looking for a song that encapsulates this stage see below:
Bargaining:
1. I'm going to address the elephant in the room on this decision tree. It says: Did you find a viable trade? There is no Yes here. Your player got hit by TC. You're taking pennies on the dollar. No one ones your sloppy seconds except for Tani's mum. So you're going to hit everyone up. you're going to tell them how it's not that big of deal and they'll still be great (Which you will use later in the Denial stage to trick yourself). You're going to tell people this TC dumpster fire of a player is the key to their championship hopes. You're going to explain that one man's trash is another mean's treasure. No, trash is trash, and right now you're going to act like a trash GM because you're desperate and you haven't finished your stages. No one's mad because most of us have been through it, but you'll pick up a few people on your 'Do not trade list' because they'll be a smidge too curt to you during this hard time.
1. You've been through the roughest of the patches, and the good news is you've almost Shawshanked out this bitch, but you're not quite there yet. You're now testing yourself. This is the last ditch effort to regain what you had. You've seen the trade market sucks for your trash. The game sucks. You have gotten your attitude up probably because a loved one told you to cut the shit or quit the game. Unfortunately for them, you've already gotten past the quitting stage in Depression 2 Fryeing stages ago. So now youre saying.. If I train here.. if I train there and some potential it'll all be ok. DONT FALL FOR THIS TRAP. This player is a sunk cost. Quick definition for the unaware:
Sunk Costs: Assets with Little or No Market Value
Michael Sack Elmaleh, C.P.A., C.V.A.
The text book definition of "sunk costs" reads something like this:
"Sunk Costs: Costs that were incurred in the past that cannot be recovered and thus are irrelevant for decision making."
Don't be a TC victim and compound the problem guys.
2a. Did you insure? -> Yes Move to Denial
2b. did you insure? -> No
Oh boy. This is a tough one. Remember how I said sometimes these things can last 3 + seasons. Well, welcome to the loop. If your best or key player wasn't insured you're in for the long haul. You'll probably head back to depression and go through these stages 3-5 more times. The good news, is your flow still stays the same and you'll have a map on how to get out. Once you've finally understood that this is no longer a key player for you, you can move to denial; but there's no telling how long this last.
Denial:
All of these stages are needed, but this is the one that will push you through for a season or two. You know that you'll have to eat this shit sammich for another year or two and you're pretty much going to tell yourself that it taste like chicken. The mind is a powerful thing, as you can almost fool yourself into believing anything. There is a heavy danger though that can get you stuck in a stage loop. If you go too hard into denial you can not know what's real anymore. Think Inception, you never go 3 <expletive deleted> dream deep. Same here guys. If you go too far in denial and lie to yourselves about your player enough, you'll loop back into bargaining which may force you to cross streams back into depression and now your flow is all f'd in the a. There's no telling how you'll get out. Use your token and move forward to acceptance.
Acceptance:
You've made it out of Shawshank, Andy. congratulations. I wish I could say this is going to get easier, but TC is like a gator. Once they get the taste of you it wants more and more. I should know, my ass is a heavy favorite on the buffet. You've made it through and you've learned that TC is a cruel unwavering bastard. Enjoy your season, but remember: TC comes for all men.
