Course Correction: An interview with Dallas Flying Stallions Owner, Pizzo!

Spyder: Alright so it’s week 4, Dallas is 0-4 to start the season. Which is familiar territory for you guys. What was going through your mind at this point and what was the vibe like in the lockeroom?

Pizzo: First, yes, it unfortunately is familiar territory. I'm not proud of that. However, we've made the playoffs in the first two seasons, so I like to think we're pretty good at learning from our mistakes.

For this season, after going 0-2 and then 0-3, the same things were going through my mind at 0-4. 

- "Did I make a mistake in trading Knerr?"

- "Can I find someone else to coach?"

- "Who can help me with sims and figure out how to right the ship?"

Fortunately, the answer to the last question was "YES!" I knew I had experienced guys in my locker room who could lend advice, so, I reached out to BHarp (Jello), Sid (Abel), and Ray (Pookie) for help. I always ran Dallas as the Owner. I had no intention of ever becoming the GM or Head Coach and didn't have the experience to even qualify to do it. But, I found myself in the position where I would have to find a game plan that could finally work. Luckily, I never felt like I was alone in coming up with ideas as I ran sim after sim after sim and kept reaching out to my advisors for feedback. Again, I was fortunate that everyone stayed pretty positive, partially because we had been in the winless position before. I have to give credit to my advisors for helping me piece together a plan that we found to finally work for us.

Spyder: When you were coming up with all these ideas on how to get back on track, what caused everything to finally click into place? Did the week 4 loss against ABQ play a big role in your teams’ turnaround?

Pizzo: I wouldn't say that losing to ABQ particularly triggered anything. It just further proved that the latest scheme that we were trying to run wasn't working. So, it was back to the drawing board of running sims, learning, getting feedback, and running more sims, and trying something else. I would say that the final suggestion that caused everything to click was some advice that I got from BHarp. I was able to run a quick sim that included his feedback prior to submitting the plan for Week 5 and thought it worked fairly well. I had no idea that it would work as well as it did when we were the last team in the Power Rankings facing up against the defending champion Oakland Otters in Week 5.

Spyder: I gotta ask… was kidnapping Nighthawk ever an option on the table?

Pizzo: Isn’t it always? Hypothetically. Allegedly.

Spyder: Now at this point in the season, as we speak, you guys now on a 8-game winning streak and looking very good. Are all eyes on the postseason possibilities or do you just take it one game at a time?

Pizzo: Once the streak started, it was always about one game at a time and winning the Division. We had an early loss to rival San Antonio. Vice City and NOLA were pulling away. With NOLA taking the lead at the midway point, that's where our eyes were set. Taking them down in Week 11 to take the lead in the Division was a massive boost for us, as it gave us a tie in head-to-head but we have a massive lead in point differential. Now that we got one additional win out of the way by beating Kentucky we're looking to wrap up the Division and get revenge on San Antonio in the Battle for I-35. Once the Division is locked up, then I'll worry about the playoffs.

Spyder: I know you guys are locked in on the regular season but if I may, what teams are looking poised for a deep playoff run currently? In your eyes, of course. 

Pizzo: In my eyes, Kentucky should have earned everyone's respect. They changed owners and got a shot of adrenaline this season. That 10-game streak they went on is something to envy and I hope we can match it and go beyond. I have a lot of respect for Luke in Baltimore and figure he always has something up his sleeve. 

If I had to call out a couple of teams to watch that aren't Division leaders right now, though, it's Seattle and Atlantic City. Seattle is on a 6-game win streak right now and their defense is always scary. AC has multiple scorers and versatility that makes them a challenge to game plan against.

Spyder: I’m certain it’ll be a wild postseason for sure. I appreciate you taking this time with me so much but I got one more question. I know it might be a little early, but what would you personally like to see in Season 4, that you didn’t see too much of in Season 3?

Pizzo: I'd like to see larger audiences for the games. I know it'll take time for outsiders to find their way over and start following, but I really think we have something special here that others will enjoy participating in. I'm looking forward to growing the audience even more as we've finally seemed to right the ship and have the league running pretty well. There's always adjustments that can be made in any league. It's part of the evolution. I think the changes that we've made on how to utilize salary and how we can sign free agents will especially add additional excitement during the off-season and I can't wait to see what we have in store for Season 4.

Spyder: Love to see that optimism. Well man that’s all I got for ya! Thank you so so much for your time and I look forward to seeing what the Flying Stallions have in store for the rest of the season!

Pizzo: Thank you for the great questions my arachnid friend!