Jfox, I really like you, so I really want to say this as nicely as I can.
As TSA, we have done so much for the community to help it grow:
We've done our biweeklies for New Jersey. We've hosted Smashtality. We put in our time, money and effort to bring do many special things to the smash gamers in our region.
I'm a bit insulted by calling the group of individuals I've helped put together as simply imaginary. The crew meets each week to play and teach other, as well as discuss any future plans we have to help our community. I couldn't have done anything without the help of every single member, and I'm so grateful to have met any of them. I don't think we could have been any closer than we have been before, and I'm proud to be able to say I once led an amazing group like this.
I can't speak for other crews. but no matter what you think, TSA is a legitimate crew, and we plan to bring you guys even better things than we're giving now.
EDIT:
All right, so I just got home from Zenith. I totally typed that up during the stress of the brackets and entering some results, so here are some things I'd like to say now that I've cooled down a bit.
I know you were probably just being sarcastic about it, but to be so completely honest, it just hit such a nerve for me. TSA is probably one of the best things I've ever created, and I've built strong friendships with all the members that are in this crew. I've never put so much effort into making this crew such a success - we're not a just a group that came together and decided to call ourselves under a name, though it may have started out like that. But we've come such a long way, and mainly because I really do want to see something come out of it, and in doing so, I'd like to believe I've been successful thus far.
As for M2K being banned from crews:
There were many reasons, mainly because a lot of people who were in their respective crews requested it, and M2K at that time when I spoke to him said he didn't even care.
One of the main factors in a crew battle is for a team captain to decide who starts in a crew battle and who should go in next depending on who it is they're fighting and whatnot. As for myself, I know TSA's strengths and weaknesses: who the strongest players are, who the smartest players are, and the different styles that they all have. All of these I take into account when we go into our matches, sort of like counterpicking when it really comes to it. As far as I know, TSA has only been in one official crew battle where money was involved, and we'd really like to experience more of what an event like that would be like when taken seriously. Major tournaments like Cataclysm and FC are going to have these events, and I'd like the crew, or any other crews in the surrounding area, to be prepared to know what exactly to do when in that situation, strategizing what the next move will be.
How can we get this kind of practice if M2K is sitting there, probably taking out a chunk of the crew with no strategy whatsoever? The crew who has him probably won't gain any experience from it either since they're just sitting back letting him have his fun. He has all the time in the world to play friendlies with everyone while crews is going on, right?
This crew battle coming up will have rules and money on the line. If a crew seriously wants M2K in their crew so bad for the crew battles, then it just sucks to be them since I don't really think they'll learn anything from it. I'm banning him for the crew benefits, really.
Whew. I usually don't rant like that. I suppose I should have explained it in more detail though.