The Commissioner's Cup had a nice run. True, it didn't exist at the time of the first WSEM Championship Series in August 2011. Also true, it wasn't often seen. I think it may have actually only been handed out at the field as part of the Championship celebration twice: to the Aces in 2013 and El Diablos in 2014. The first champs, Git R' Done, got their hands on the Cup five months after they had earned it at the 2012 Winter Meeting. In truly bookend fashion, Nathan Gendron was the last person to ever hold the Commissioner's Cup; having received it eventually through back channels some months after the Aces won it in 2015, only to have it travel around in his trunk for much of the following year. The Cup made one final appearance at The Jack during the 2016 season before being permanently retired.
To be honest... I won't miss it. Crozier did a nice job with it, it had nice height to it, but it always felt a bit generic in presentation. Like it could belong to any wiffle league or tournament. It didn't scream, "THIS IS THE WSEM CHAMPION!"
That absolutely won't be the case with the WSEM Title: the simple, straightforward name of our new Championship hardware. The belt of leather and metal comes with no shortage of WSEM iconography: the timeless league logo large, front and center; the swing and miss riff on the MLB batterman logo that has seen ever-increasing use over the last year (SOL: Motor City?) flanking on either side; and the DWL ball logo on the outsides as a throwback to our humble beginnings. The belt was chosen over a couple competing concepts for one and a half specific reasons: 1) it is easy bring with you, and ½) it's something fun to bust out. A trophy in any shape lends itself to sitting on a shelf or the floor (or in your trunk). The See Yas have already promised that while in their possession the belt will be on hand and made a part of the show at every WSEM event: Winter Meeting, Draft, tournaments, gamedays, etc. And you can bet your ass it will be present at the final game of the Championship Series to be lifted by the 2017 kings. To kick all that off the #CHOMPions are planning a "glorious celebration" later this month to publicly display the new WSEM Title for the first time. All are invited with the promise that the celebration will be kept to one-quarter See Yas, three-quarters the league as a whole. A date and place for that ruckus affair will be announced in the coming days.
