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The odds are not good. In fact Eve Bet has us at 100-1 odds against right now, with pretty much everyone else. The only good odds are with the top tier undefeated teams. Which is more than fair. It isn't supposed to be easy.
I've been playing Eve for eight years now. Prior to creating Stay Frosty every Alliance I was in folded, disappeared, lost a war, or otherwise wasn't prepared to compete in the Alliance Tournament. So four years ago, after my first attempt at building an Alliance went ka-put, I decided two things: 1) I would create one of the best pirate corporations in New Eden, and 2) I would build an Alliance around it that could win the AT at some point. It was a long-term plan, a goal that continues today. Let's call it a five year plan. It might be hard for some readers to remember back to the beginning of this journey, but back then, no one believed me.
It didn't matter, because I believed me. And surprisingly, so did a few other people. And then, as we went along, more and more people started to believe. And lo and behold here we are almost four years later. Stay Frosty is unarguably one of the best pirate corporations in New Eden and A Band Apart is one of only 32 teams remaining in the Alliance Tournament. Whatever happens the rest of the way in this AT, and no one (not even me) knows how it will go - next year we will be even more prepared. Our pilots more experienced. With two AT appearances under our belt. And next year would be how many years? Oh right, that'd be five.
Things could have gone off the rails at any point along this journey. Goodness knows we've fought and scrapped our way thru a ton of problems, conflicts, issues and challenges. Friends have come and gone, and sometimes come back. And sometimes they've left us for good, both in game and out. We've fought wars, we've taken systems in Null, we helped remove certain blue doughnuts from certain people's hands, and we've taken on all challengers. That is the story of the journey that has brought us here today.
If you are reading this and you don't know who ABA is, let me introduce ourselves. The concept behind our Alliance is quite interesting. Each corporation has its own area of interest, from piracy, to wormholes, to industry, mission running, and much more. Often they share interests, or often ask for assistance from each other. A Band Apart operates like a big family, because we are family to each other. No one person is more important than another, no one corporation is more important than another. This is the way it has been since the beginning. And this is the way it will remain. When someone comes up with a hair-brained scheme, someone will be there to try it. And the rest of us will be there to help.
We do not tolerate cruelty. We rarely experience any drama, and when it does happen it comes from outside sources. If this sounds like the kind of environment you might be looking for in your own gaming time, then I encourage you to look into one of our member corporations. We even have a new player corporation, if you need to get your legs under you first.
After the AT we'll be competing in the EVE-NT Collides Tournament and then back to normal for awhile until it's time to do something else. And then next year, who knows, maybe you will be one of the pilots that helps us win the Alliance Tournament?
If you keep the courage anything is possible.