Meet the most hated man in the league

Hello, prepare for an introspective and descriptive conversation between me and myself. As the most hated man in the league (by rivalry status) I thought it was a good time to introduce everyone to me for those who don't know me or are less fond of me and provide some backstory.

Who are you and what are you up to now?

Well, I'm Justin, and I'm a consultant right now. I have a history in data science and economics and am currently working in the healthcare field doing a systems transformation project. I am essentially helping cut one data source out and replacing it with a slightly different one. I live in Queens (for now, my lease is up in under two months and we aren't sure where we are going) and am an avid Mets and Giants fan. You'll note I didn't pick a hockey team... more on that later. Oh, and I started a Jewish dating site during the pandemic named MeetJew and that is a fun side hustle. I did the web design and also designed and wrote the survey and algorithm to help match people for romantic partnerships. It's how I met my fiancee, Sarah.

How'd you get interested in hockey?

Well, it all started when I was super young. I was a Rangers fan and enjoyed playing the game "Sportscenter" where I would play hockey and then switch to baseball, and then soccer, and then football, then baseball again, etc. I didn't realize that Sportscenter wasn't a sport since it's just what my dad and I watched every morning. My Dad also has a VCR tape somewhere of me reciting the starting lineup to the early 2000s Rangers. Couldn't tell you why I was a Rangers fan but yeah. Then the 04 lockout happened. 5-year-old Justin didn't understand the intricacies of management/union contract negotiation, and hockey got put on the back burner until about 2012. It just so happens that my Dad teaches at a school with a perfectly average D1 Hockey program (Let's go Union!), but they had a really good stretch in the 2012-16 years with a frozen four and a natty champ. Hockey was back, baby. I loved the sport, and my dad and I went to every home game and traveled to Atlantic City, Lake Placid, and of course, Philly (2014 frozen four location) for different games. The star of that team was Flyers draft pick Shayne Gostisbehere; when he got signed, I started following the Flyers since he was such a great player at Union. I regret this decision now. When I was in college 2016-2020, I was the statistician for the team. I also had classes with the guys, and I follow all of their careers, mostly in Europe, the AHL, and the ECHL. My dad and I went to Europe right before the pandemic and saw games in Germany, Sweden, and Norway. If you're able to, I highly recommend it because the atmosphere is incredible (and so is the beer).  Ian (Vancouver in this league) and I would go on road trips to different rinks within the conference just for fun. Eventually, he got me to join an up-and-coming sim league when someone else dropped out, the controversial AASHL.

Your sim league persona, what's the deal?

I got assigned the Columbus Blue Jackets and immediately traded Artemi Panarin. I'm really into food and was following a story on the movement to change the name of Columbus to Flavortown because of a loose connection to Guy Fieri and Christopher Columbus being a dick (even if he might have been Jewish @edmonton ) Thus the Flavortown Blue Jackets were born with Guy Fieri of course as the GM i.e. me.

Yeah, but why are you a dick?

Ah, that detective is the right question... I get bored and distracted really easily, so this is a great time suck. I also love chatting, much to the chagrin of those who go to sporting events with me, where I turn and start talking to anyone who interests me. My dad made a point of being able to be a conversationalist where he could find something to talk to someone about for 10-15 minutes (most famously known for his 2013 Siena Basketball conversation, a story for another day). Essentially, be able to talk a little about a lot. I sort of just condensed that into "Talk a lot" and came out of my shell during my Junior year of college. It's a lot of fun riling people up and trying to get them to do different things. So because of that, I turned into what Robby would most likely describe as a "Heel" and started being annoying. But I promise I'm a relatively nice guy on the side. And I keep a pretty tight circle because I've gotten burned before. So I don't consider someone a friend unless I think they would be my second in a duel, even if they knew I was in the wrong. So the answer is boredom. It also makes me popular though and I keep getting invited to sim leagues, so that's a win.

The rivalry segment brought to you by Left and Right Twix

Now we get to the KPHL... Every Red Sock has a Yankee, and every Patriot has a 'anyone else in the NFL'. The Mets on the other hand have a series of rivalries against the Yankees, Braves, Nationals, Phillies, and of course the Mets. Justin has a rivalry against 11 different gm's of the KPHL right now and it seems to rise with each person who lists their rivals. I don't really get it but here we are... everyone wants a rival with the heel and I guess that makes sense. VideoJ and I go back and forth on most hated, but I submitted my rivalry list, so I'm ahead as of now. Just so there is a tally, as of 10/17/2022 (or 17/10/2022 for the weirdos) the order of "How many rivals do you have":

Wild (me): 11 (6 of which I was called out on)
VideoJ: 7 (all submitted by others, 1 by me)
RBKGoalie: 7 (6 were submitted by him)
Robby: 6 (all submitted by him)
Bombay: 4
Pacman: 4
Lord Stanley: 2
Pat: 2
Winterpeg Will: 2
Ian (Canucks): 2
jackmartinmullen: 1
rcorb: 1
Jeremy: 1
Mixture Bill: 1
Jesse: 1
BigPaus: 1