Search the Community

I was 20 years old, life was chaotic, the only online game I had ever dabbled in up to this point was MMArmy. I was completely new to the online gaming community. I joined 6-09-09, went on a 10 fight win streak, ended up sticking around because I needed something to occupy my time (I literally had nothing but a computer 'to play with' and was lucky to have internet access) & I was hooked. I couldn't tell you the exact date Convicted Inc was created but it was the 66th alliance ever made, so it wasn't very long after I joined & went VIP. So I make the alliance and the very first thing I do is ask the best manager in the game to join (forgot what kind of sales pitch I gave him) and he had an insane record of something crazy like 40-2; he was so good that people thought he was a hacker... and to my utter disbelief, having never had a conversation with him prior to this point, he said yes and accepted the invitation. As weird as it may sound and nobody will understand this, there's a small strange chance that this event went on to eventually save my life.. like some type of butterfly effect or ripple in destiny... Anyway haha, this post will reek with a bit of nostalgia, took a trip down tycoon memory lane to the early days of Convicted and our alliance chat. Just wanted to make a quick tribute to the original king of this game, the co-founder of Convicted Inc Avon Barksdale His name has the Great White Buffalo effect. He's a legend, you know it, they know it, everybody knows it. You hear it. You read it. Only handfuls of people actually remember the greatness. Most people only get to read about it and never actually know the impact he had on the game. The only person to come close to his aura of greatness is LT. Nobody else has ever or will ever experience what he did. What people also don't remember were all the glitches and BS we went through early in this game. 100% counter era, TD spamming era where the TD spammer was actually regaining energy instead of losing it, the glitch where a fighter might shoot for a takedown on the first move regardless of what your sliders were set to. There were no private gyms. Game guides. There was no "follow to ground or stay standing slider". There were no mentors, private jets, 160 supplements... it was pretty much a wild wild west version of tycoon. Like I said, a lot of people remember Avon, a lot of people know his body of work and what he's accomplished in this game. Very few people had the opportunity to talk to him as much as I did. As far as this game goes, couldn't of been more fortunate*. Not sure I ever got to thank you for joining Convicted and helping establish our legacy. I went inactive late October 2009 and didn't return until early January 2010 and Avon was still around. That's some loyalty right there because there was only three of us then lol. Without Avon, Convicted would of never been what it is now. If you ever read this, thanks dude, you're still the man. * p.s... most fortunate events after that was Tarmo Heiskanen joining May 6th 2010, Dace Killian joining shortly after that, and my DBA (Drunken Bum Alliance - MMArmy days) buddy for life, Lance Templeton on June 14th. http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/manager_avatars/avon.jpg Chapter 1: WINNING! Avon established himself as the best in the game very early. He was the #1 ranked manager forever and went on huge streaks to open his career going 34-2, followed by 33-4, and then capped off 2009 with another 29-3 streak. 96-9 record going into 2010. Unanimous 2009 Manager of the Year. Avon Barksdale was the first manager to ever get the #1 P4P Manager Trophy, and he held on to it til 3-21-2010. Avon Barksdale [Avon] [2010-03-21 01:27:18] Haha congrats on #1 Chris.. Not sure I deserved to go from #1 to #6, I mean Chico lost 2 fights also and only dropped 2 spots.. But I'm really glad you're the guy who finally dethroned me For the record, it didn't take him too long to get it back haha. But I was honored to be the second manager ever, to get that #1 trophy, because of how great Avon was and the pedestal that #1 spot had been placed upon back then, all because of his success. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/14/14b7.jpg Chapter 2: Legends & GOATS Fighters + P4P #: Fidel Puno #1, Tor Nansen #1, Hakuin Ekaku #2 (he was 24-0 at one point), Manu Okoro #2, Evangelisti #3, and he had other guys like Zakarova #7, Babbage #12, Valhall #17, Kaiser #22... and these were all fighters that he created and trained. He wasn't scooping the best free agents off the market who had beastly hiddens and would win most of their fights regardless of their asshat manager. He legitimately created and trained some of the best fighters this game has ever seen. These guys are the Fedor, Gomi, Gracie, Wanderlei of MMATycoon. Pioneers and legends. http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1268974864syn10006.jpg Chapter 3: Graphic Master & Design Guru Okay, I admit, I could of came up with a better chapter name. But it's 5:59 AM and I'm tired. So I'm wrapping this up. If you never got to see Avon's work, especially early in the game, than you wouldn't understand the extra levels of creativity it took, or how much more flavor it added back then. He made some of the best posters we've ever seen. AMAZING fighter videos for Syn, that were just awesome, iirc first video previews ever. His poster quality was second to none back then, and he was simultaneously the best manager the game had ever seen. His Fidel videos were hilarious. http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1268117900Poster%20Convicted%201.jpg Chapter 4: Leadership & Loyalty He lead by example. You can tell he was a pretty good dude. Just by dealing with him, he genuinely seemed like a great person. He was like Fedor. He was dominant. He was calm, quiet, humble. He didn't have an elitist personality, he was active in alliance chat and talked to everybody, helpful if needed, Avon was the man. Thank dear lord baby New York Jesus that LT came around haha, because coming out of the shadow that Avon left behind was no easy task. Throughout the years, he's always remained loyal to Convicted. Still holds an alliance gym. Signs on and says what's up every now and again. The loyalty is, and will always be appreciated. Avon helped build Convicted. He silently set the standards and expectations of the alliance. I may have been more vocal, but he lead by example, and he set the bar really fucking high. Once again man, thanks for everything. I owe you a lot of credit for Convicted Inc's success, and I think everybody should remember how monumental you were to the alliance's rise to the top. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you guys have any experience of Avon's history that you'd like to share, please do. Be it a fight, a thread, a video, poster, event, etc. Personally his KO win over Cee Digits prolly goes down as one of my all time favorite victories.