You might expect my reaction to this past weekend's two losses in the Anger Games to be... well, anger. Despite providing one of the best matches on Saturday we lost that one. And then we got a tad curb-stomped on Sunday by a magic Rook that landed every single jam it tried to land. So yeah, I would have reasons to be angry I suppose. But I'm not. Not even close.
Don't get me wrong. I always play to win. And winning would be better than not winning. But ever since the Alliance Tournament break a few years back, our team has been in transition. Before the break we had a nice run in a few of the AT Tournaments we participated in. 16th. 11th. And some truly amazing wins and a few truly amazing losses. We were on a roll for awhile there. But then the AT disappeared. And then a lot of our pilots stopped playing, or went on to other things. And since then our team has been on a bit of a journey to find ourselves again.
A huge part of that falls on my shoulders and I take full responsibility for it. So a big part of the Anger Games goals for us was to build a team, gain experience for our pilots, and let our FC lead the team and gain some valuable experience doing so. And for a first time FC he did a great job. Our team will only get better as time wears on and I'm hoping that most of them will return for the next Alliance Tournament.
So yeah. Not a great outcome for us this tournament. And that is always disappointing. I wish I had better news to share. But as anyone who plays Eve long enough knows, you take your lumps and pick yourself up to fight another day. I know I'm not giving up and I know our team isn't giving up either. We all know that Stay Frosty and ABA are the scrappy underdogs here, a small Alliance that often punches well above our weight-class. We do that day in and day out, and the tournaments are no different. The odds are never in our favor. We're used to it.
So why do I keep doing it? First of all it's a hell of a lot of fun. Practices are great. Working with the team is amazing. And watching pilots improve is extremely rewarding. So that is first and foremost a thing. Being on a tournament team is one of the most rewarding experiences in all of Eve Online. So I enjoy it. Second I know that if we can get the right pieces together we can make a solid run at winning this thing someday. I know it. We almost did it a few times, once winning four matches in a row and finishing 11th. There is no reason why we can't do that again and maybe step over that final match win into the finals.
And there is no feeling in the world like riding that lightning when it happens.
So I'll just keep trying until that magical day when all the pieces fall into place. Or, y'know, die trying.