Welcome to our latest interview segment! Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with the multifaceted Blue Squid Ocho, a prominent figure in our Blitz community. BlueSquid, hailing from Detroit, has not only made a name for himself through his exceptional gameplay but also through his candid and friendliness approach to the game and its community. With a background that includes a journey of personal growth and a career that keeps him on the move, BlueSquid brings a unique perspective to our discussion.

In this interview, we’ll delve into BlueSquid’s experiences with Blitz, including his initial impressions, his evolution as a player, and his insights into both his performance and his former team’s drama. We’ll also explore his thoughts on the ROTY competition and his strategic decisions regarding team management. Join us as we gain valuable insights from someone who has skillfully balanced competitiveness with a thoughtful, engaging approach to our Blitz community.

Episode 14 – Navigating the Blitz with BlueSquid

Could you please introduce yourself and share one aspect of your background or personality that might surprise us?
Blue Squid Ocho here, grew up in Detroit, went to therapy as an adult to reclaim my childhood joy and forget my rage but some of u people push me to the edge. I travel very frequently for work

How did you initially discover Blitz, and what were your first impressions?
Money and Popgun and Forrecast were the first ones to teach me. It seemed like a pretty braindead game but amusing game and it was a good break from Phantom and Melee as I was grinding 1v1 ladder. Dan and Kurt ultimately adopted me and put me through the ringer. Playing basketball my whole life I was used to the toxicity as it was acceptable as long as we won. It was like a mom and dad bickering and yelling at me and defending me all at the same time. Who was the mom, who was the dad? That is up for the viewers to deduce. I am thankful that they taught me though. As I was able to shoot up the ladder to a jack daniels player.

After reviewing Sin’s guide to NFL Blitz, how accurate do you find his observations in relation to your own experiences? Are there any aspects you would agree or disagree with?

I don’t really remember my first J.Cutty interaction but he has been a big part of growing this community and I commend him for it. I actually did play with WCK and tested his catching maps quite a bit to learn the spawns. I didn’t actually learn blitzing from watching footage or Lem I just was thrown into the fire and relied on reflexes and educated guesses which later evolved into the lazy spying I do now. Then Wayne helped me defend against wall sneaks after Prism wrecked me in a tourney. Dan does for sure say plays very quickly and I touched on my experiences with him above. I think Tony’s description is spot on. The only time Prism has yelled at me that I can remember was when I was in a meeting while playing a pub game on his team. But I can confirm that he gets tilted if he feels justified in the tilt. But he will be patient the first couple of times and then comes the explosion. He has evolved into a sigh so I would consider all you newbies lucky. I actually like Kite after you understand that he is trying to play a caricature of TeeOh when he was a teen. I love Ocho I have a soft spot for all of TTT now.

As far as toxicity goes, I find these combinations more entertaining than anything.

Many players come and go in this game, but few aspire to take on roles such as quarterback or captain with a strong commitment to success like yourself. What drives you to continually improve, and how does it feel to be ranked among the top six tournament winners in the modern era?

That’s big fax, I am the only jack daniels player amongst the top 6 tournament winners, and I have the most tournament wins as captain of the team. That is testament more to my GM skills than it is my own personal skills. As a point guard my whole life I pride myself on putting together teams or putting my team in the best situation to win. As far as QB’ing goes I was just looking for something more challenging in the game. I’m just a competitive guy that enjoys winning.

“I am the only jack daniels player amongst the top 6 tournament winners”

You began the season as the captain of the Young Irish Squids (now named Phoenix D). With much of the early season drama now behind us, what is your perspective on the whole situation of your former team? Would you consider taking on a captaincy role again in the future?

I was going through some personal stuff at the time and very on edge, a combination of people pushed me over the edge like Prism. But ultimately everything smoothed out and I came to an understanding. And now I am cool with everyone once more. With our team being perceived as the weakest in the draft the only thing I could do is get the most blitz bucks and pray for a good free agent to open up. I’m glad that Jeff was able to use them and build his team, I believed in Jeff early on while no one else did so I felt like relinquishing my captain to someone who wanted it was the best thing to do because I didn’t know if I was going to play blitz again or starcraft at all. I would definitely be down to take captaincy role again in the future. I think that if Rar and me and young stuck together we could’ve been a decent team but who knows if Young would have had all this growth if he didn’t have the responsibility

“…I didn’t know if I was going to play blitz again”

Currently, you are a member of Phin’s World. How has this change in team dynamics influenced your performance, and what has your experience been like playing for Phin?

I’ve played 3 games collectively so far and the first was with Young being thrust into QB with no practice. Being on Phin and Wayne’s team is so easy, everyone knows optimal offensive and defensive assignments so I don’t really need to do much. I have been able to see first hand what makes Phin a great QB (even if he did early throw 2 open touchdowns to me in our last game).

You likely wouldn’t consider yourself as a rookie despite playing one league game prior to this season. How would you assess your performance this season so far, and what is your evaluation of your teammate, Intox? Do you believe he should be considered a leading candidate for the ROTY award?

I would be the Ben Simmons of the league if I considered myself a rookie, which I refute. I think Intox is doing great and he deserves to be the ROTY. There are some things he needs to learn as far as switching/lures/wall sneaks but I don’t think it’s anything that can’t be taught or compensated in the meantime by Phin/Wayne. I wouldn’t mind sitting out the rest of the season and playoffs if I was asked to, that’s how much I believe in Intox. He is an asset to the team and community.

Even though you are not currently a captain, you still have the opportunity to demonstrate your GM skills. Please indicate who you would start, bench, and cut from the following positions and groups (start=bold, bench=italicize, cut=strikethrough):
QB: Prism; RaRRaR; Irvine
WR: Wck; Duxor; CJ
Rookie: MA; Sin (Lem told me to), Crusty

If you were to challenge someone to a QB show match, who would it be and why?

I have never said publicly that I am better than anyone in the history of my blitz career. But I think a comparable QB of my level is Cutler, sadly he is having computer issues and hope he can recover soon from his misfortunes.

“…I think a comparable QB of my level is Cutler.”

IMO, you have been an exemplary community member, balancing competitiveness with sportsmanship and friendliness. As a final question, how would you describe our community and the Blitz league overall?

I need to make a niceness tier list with the serial lister. Will be sending to Prism soon. When I first joined the discord I took what everyone said very seriously because I was very used to real life. I have a habit of living in very violent cities so I just have to remember to be more attuned to internet culture. Here’s a sneak peek of the tiers and their leaders.

• Enlightened Ones (never mad always love, straight chillin): Prophet WCK
• Buddhism (voice never leaves regular tone range): Prophet Sin
• Catholic Jesus (loves me but I need to ask for forgiveness if I have sinned in his eyes): Prophet TeeOh and Apostle Dan
• Prophet Muhammed (loves me but need to meet certain qualifications): Prophet Prism
• Flying Spaghetti Monster (trolls occasionally, true nature undefined and as confused as you are): Prophet Kite