I would say the community is the strongest reason I have stayed in Hattrick for so long. The game too of course. After having trained my players and played in the French Division 2 for a while, I started focusing on training international players to help the Moroccan team. Today 80% of the defense of the Atlas Lions was trained by me!
Why I stick around in Hattrick? I think it is love :) I mean, everything I can do to help Hattrick to stay as immersive as it is, is very important to me. I was a moderator, a translator, an editor - just because I felt that Hattrick, in a very peculiar way, was mine. Now I'm a National Coach because of the same reason. I think Hattrick is my game. I want to play forever and stay here with my friends.
I play Hattrick because I am a big football fan and I have always liked to play football manager games, like the German game "Anstoss" or "EA Football Manager". I play Hattrick since 2002, even though I had a break because of the birth of my daughter. So Hattrick has been with me for most of my life, you could almost call me "addicted” to Hattrick!
In HT, my biggest achievement is to be the assistant manager of the U20 national team of Suriname. And of course also, when my dream came true and I reached the third division with my own team!
One reason I play Hattrick is because I like the cyclical nature of the game. You start with an idea about what kind of team you want to build, then you train long-term (up to 3 years in real life!). While you build, you can test and try to comprehend the aspect of the match simulation that you want to master. I also like the tactical choices you have to make for each match. But the most important component is the community.
You need solid dedication, a touch of insanity and a whiff of luck to become successful in Hattrick. Oh, and a feeling for mathematics.