I got introduced to the game in 2006 by a long-time childhood friend who was already playing. I remember my 16-year old self being really excited about having a bunch of guys with their own names who could play virtual football for me. It was also a way for me to connect with people from all over the world, and that was very exciting.
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!
A favourite part of Hattrick is when you have an Eureka-moment, when you realize you understand some part of the game better than others. Or when you win something important, like a Cup, or gain promotion to the first division. My current goal is to reach the top-10 in Belgium again and to win a Cup with more of my own youth players.
What I like about Hattrick is that there are not 248 925 784 skills that you have to pay attention to. I like that there are several (but not too many) tactics and that they all have weak points that other strategies can beat. I like that this is a slow game, it fits my private life. And that is probably also why I still find it interesting after almost fifteen years.
What I like about the Hattrick community is that there are real people and you don't just compete against the computers. You play against each other, but you can also help each other in the forum and talk about everything.
My best Hattrick memory was when the city where I lived (L'Aquila, Italy) was hit by an earthquake. I received a lot of support, a lot of help, a lot of love. It was a very hard time and Hattrick was there, with its community, with me. I will never forget that.