Ah, finally, I was starting to get worried about the fact that I would always be a bridesmaid and never a bride.
But now that the best team in a season has finally won spl, can we just retroactively make the alpha ruiners the winners of the past 2 seasons as well? I mean it only seems right, we were the best team throughout the entirety of spl(s), and this season definitely proves that. And yup, that makes 3 straight finals appearances, I think that even if we lost this series that would be more impressive than any team winning it once. Any team can get lucky and win some coinflips and win any one season (as has happened the previous 2 seasons...), but the consistency it takes to make THREE straight finals is flat out unbelievable. So that might leave some of you thinking, "what is the secret to your success?"
Make no mistake about it, a single spl season takes a lot of EFFORT. More effort than any other tournament imo, single or team. It takes defined roles, consistent players, players that are willing to put in the work (no matter what their role is), and just a hint of intangibles. The alpha ruiners had all of these, and had them all much better than any other team...for the past 3 seasons. Week in and week out, it was the same amount of work being put in, players helping each other out with testing, info about their opponents, and so on and so on. It might be serious stuff, but we also keep it light and have fun doing it, and have fun winning. We don't need egomaniacs, slackers, people who overly complain about hax and people who disappear. Instead we values qualities like team players, commitment, and loyalty (don't get me started on loyalty). Yes, those bad qualities are unavoidable to some extent, but even then you just need to do your research pre-auction and stay away from some "team cancers" (wouldn't say any names...), whom I guarantee that no matter what team they are on will never win. There are not a lot of smogon members capable of running this format, so I am really glad that we had several players capable of this. A lot of times I look at the other teams' managers and hear the managing strategies of what others would do as a manager and just can't help but think that they are complete idiots. There are a lot of dimensions to managing. There is definitely more to putting a team together than big names and records. You have to be able to read in between lines and see ahead. You have to truly understand a player and what makes them tick, results are not everything. And then you have to pull together just the right members with the right chemistry. It truly takes a lot of skill to get as great a roster as we have year after year. Okay, that is the secret to team success, but what is the secret to my individual success?
As the world's premiere Pokemon Consultant (I'm #1 because it's a position I invented), I have been able to lead the ruiners to 3 straight final appearances (1 win) and my wcop team to 1 final (first as a captain) and be top contenders the other 2 years. Well, the way I win is by instilling my motto into all of my teammates, and by leading by example. I'm a strong believer in the fact that it isn't whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. If you play the game the correct way, and don't worry about winning it all, the wins will come to you. I'll admit that I was starting to get worried that this simply wasn't true, and that I'd end up as the Steve Nash of pokemon. So I'm quite glad everything worked out. So how is the game meant to be played? Well, to me the most important part of pokemon is being creative. Standard sets are there so that you can see what is common and what to prepare for...no team should ever just be 6 standard sets. Be inventive, be creative, use something unexpected. Anyone that has ever played me in a tournament can tell you that I will always bring at least one (and probably more) thing you have never seen before, something that will make you say "I wish I thought of that" or "That is really unexpected". So please don't ever be boring. Don't use stall or anything boring, I have never lost to stall in a tournament. Your best chance of beating me is to beat me at my own game. And why would anyone possibly ever want to play using stall? You're just forcing yourself to sit in front of your computer longer while draining all the fun out of the game. And that is the philosophy I try to tell all my teammates, be creative, use something fun, have fun and you will win.
Now that I have finally won, I can stop pondering about whether or not karma truly exists. I have never been a believer in karma. But with the way I've been so unlucky in tournaments, I couldn't help but ponder. I would hardly call myself a good person, but am I that bad of a person that I truly deserve nothing but shit? Is it what I do every day that is causing me this harm? Maybe it was something that I did in a previous life? I just don't believe in karma, because it is way too hard to define, so what if I flipped someone off on the road today? Maybe that was his karma paying him back because he's an asshole. Why would that reflect poorly on me in the grand scheme of things? If karma exists, wouldn't it be reserved for those who do truly bad things like murder? What about those people who commit crimes and get away with it? They can do that, but I can't rightfully call someone an idiot and not have my life turn into a world of shit? But of course, now that I've won, I've all but proven that karma does not exist, so now I can rest in peace knowing that there is no karmic balance to be had and that nothing I do, good or bad, has a direct outcome on anything else unrelated. In other words, I can rest assured that nothing ever really matters. Deserve has nothing to do with anything in life, lots of teams that deserve it don't win (throughout all of sports), so I'm glad to both deserve it and actually win (individually and as a team). It might not make me happy, as happiness in general is very elusive to me, but it will at least hopefully make me slightly less miserable.
Of course, this isn't an individual trophy, the difference being that with a team trophy, you're only as strong as the weakest trophy holder. So those that hold the trophy with you need to be strong....and I think they all were at one point or another during the season. Everyone stepped up at some point.
Anna-Hey Anna, you are everything that I have to live without. Throughout spl I constantly found myself thinking that you're perfect for me, and pondering why aren't you here tonight? You are beautiful, wonderful, and I hope you never change. You really are the kind of flawless that I wish I could be. Every time we talked I found that I didn't say half the things that I wanted to. Too bad you left me, so now I have to add you to the list of girls who left me, and now you're just another picture to burn instead of the reason for the teardrops on my guitar.
Bad Romance-Glad we were able to pick you up via trade early in the season, I find it funny that you started out red hot, hit a big cold streak before pulling it out in both playoff matches (including the finals clincher). This just goes to show that no matter how bad things get, you can just as easily turn them around. Also, there's nothing wrong with being a classless cunt, I've been known to be much worse.
Blightbringer-The only one worthy to be the successor to the best dpp player on the best spl team. Too bad you're weird, troll too much, and never listen. So you are my perfect successor in more ways than one...
Crystal_-The only worthy successor to the_chaser's amazing rby record. It's amazing when you can practically count on a win every week in a tier every other team considers a coinflip.
Earthworm-Honestly, anyone who thinks that worms wasn't worth 30k is crazy. 7-3-1, including both playoff wins, while helping everyone build, test teams, and prepare for their opponents. And he runs the team when the managers are away. The perfect team captain.
FlareBlitz-I still think he's the most amazing UU player I've ever seen, doesn't even matter what generation.
folgorio-The player on the team most like me. Extremely picky with teams, but when he gets it going, his teams are great and he plays great. I love his creative teams, he has a great record, is entertaining to have around, and isn't afraid to say anything. Just like me....
Gouki-Thanks for giving us name recognition at the start, then disappearing and not helping out, allowing Sk to get his trophy.
Jumpluff-#1 cheerleader, thanks for keeping everyone in the channel straight the last couple years and after Anna left.
kael-The only ruiner to be a player all 3 years. Also the heart and mascot of the team.
kokoloko-Top sub and team glue guy.
Loki-The only person on the team to give me good girl and life advice, thanks for stopping by.
McMeghan-Somehow managed to always come up big when we needed him to, one of the most imposing BW names...which was why we got him. Not our biggest player but maybe our most intimidating.
pi face-Team MVP. It's amazing when you can count on a guaranteed win week after week. Not just count on having a high percentage chance for a win, but flat out being able to count on a win. 9-1-1, with his only loss coming in a week after we already lost is amazing. Seriously, we can retain this guy for the next 5 years and he would still be worth the value.
Sapphire Birch-An excellent example of how, if you put in the work, even if you don't do well, it can turn around in a hummingbird heartbeat. Even though birch didn't have the best record, he quickly turned it around by being confident and prepared (bug buzz scizor aside) to face alaka in the deciding match of r1. Seriously, that 1 win is all we're going to remember about big birch from this season. Nothing else matters except that he won when we needed it the absolute most.
The_Chaser-Thanks for running the team. I remember when I wasn't sure I would come back to help out, but I'm glad I did. You probably could have done this without me, but I'm glad we don't have to find out what would have happened then.
Tera-The true love of my life...
Sk-Glad you have finally become desalinated. And thank you for sticking around the full 3 years, and helping out the team, you probably put in more work than I did.
Whistle-Thanks for coming back to help us out. And thanks for setting me up to say all my funny lines.
xtrashine-I still wish we didn't pick you, but you won when it mattered most, so I guess you're not that bad. And I do like your teams.
Everyone else that was on the team in previous years-Ciele, hanke, Uragg, royal flush, stellar etc you are all excellent, sorry you couldn't be here with us today.
Alpha Ruiner supporters-Bloo, Eo, hantsuki, iconic, snunch you are all excellent cheerleaders, if I let you into the channel it meant I trusted you, which can't be said about a lot of people.
To the bigs-I believe this proverb applies: "When a man with experience meets a man with money, the man with experience leaves with money and the man with money leaves with experience." There is no shame in losing to us, we've just been doing this a lot longer (literally YEARS) and a higher level than you guys. I'm sure the experience will be helpful to you in the future.
Dishonorable Dismentions
Aldaron-Still can't believe you left us lol. All things aside, I'd still rather have had you on the team than not, too bad we couldn't work things out. I've heard some people say the finals losing curse was your fault...I still don't believe that though. Maybe you can come back next season. If anything, I hope you learned the same thing TFC did: Judas's never prosper.
Well, now that I have those few temporary pixels under my username, I can finally retire in peace....
See you guys in WCOP where I will get my 2nd trophy :P
P.S.
And yeah, I started writing this at the start of the year when I saw how great our lineup was, that's how confident I was in you guys.
P.P.S.
Yup, I nearly tripled my word count from last year's post, as I promised a few people I would at least double my length.
P.P.P.S.
One more time for posterity's sake...
~ALPHA RUINED~