Today's poll puts you in control of a pro paintball team. No need to thank me. What do you mean you had no idea there were so many headaches involved? Quit whining. You'll get used to it. Pull up your big boy pants and be a man.
Here's the situation you are dealing with today. There are two leagues your team can play in. Your circumstances demand you choose one or the other.
One of the leagues is new to the national scene (though built on a previous brand) and struggling to attract teams in the am divisions. It plays a format that evolved from traditional competitive paintball but appears to be losing grassroots local support. The option to buy in exists. The buy in cost is similar to the sum of your entry fees in the other league. It would give your team an ownership stake in the league and a voice in determining your future as a team. (As an owner you may have liability issues so read the fine print.) This league controls the premier venue in competitive paintball. While roster sizes are similar and the number of events are identical the consensus seems to be it's less expensive to operate a team in this league as well. (Mostly a result of reduced paint usage but that's really a matter of how a team practices.)
The other league is clearly dominant right now. It plays a format that mitigates officiating errors and appears to be gaining local support all around the country--and even internationally. This league controls the most famous event in the world. This league offers prizes in the pro division (and the other one doesn't) but those prizes have been shrinking in recent years and the details of the format have also changed repeatedly. This league's pro competitors are regarded by a greater percentage of the competitive paintball world as "real" pros. However, their relationship with the league is no different than any other teams, they are paying customers only. (Leaving out that league ownership and pro team ownership overlap in a select few instances.)
There you have it, Mr. Pro Team Owner. The future is in your hands. What do you do? Who do you choose?
Monday Poll in Review
Last week's poll wanted to know why you play competitive paintball. The top answer according to the poll, the Competition, garnered only 26% of the total vote followed by the other double digit responses; Intensity (15%) Fun (11%) & Desire to be the Best (10%). All the rest--Camaraderie, Challenge, Adrenaline Rush, Love Shooting Peeps & Suck At Real Sports--were between 5 - 7%. Nothing really remarkable here but it is interesting to see what motivates people to play and compete. One commenter suggested the poll should have included "the scene" (which I can see) and in retrospect I probably should have also included something like 'Because I'm Good At It' although that's sort of what I was getting at with the 'Suck at Real Sports' option.
Monday, September 21, 2009
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5 comments:
Edited to remove some non-accurate statements.
Were I in control of a pro team, I would look at it as a business decision. Where can I send my guys to play that has been around the longest? Which event will get the most exposure for my players?
PSP. At the pro level, the competition is fairly consistent across the board, and logistics are pretty square for either league. The decision was mostly based on exposure via the webcast and longevity of the league.
Joe, are you saying competition is consistent across the two leagues or within each league?
Across the two leagues. A high percentage of the same players play both leagues (Infamous, Dynasty, many of the Ironmen play with Arsenal, Infamous, XSV (I'll include them as I see them jumping to pro next year), XFactor, etc etc.
Though the formats differ, and thusly strategies, a large cross-section of the Pro ranks include the same players/teams between both leagues. So playing the members of Dynasty in the PSP would be similar to playing the members of Dynasty in the NPPL/USPL.
Wow. Do people really think that the two pro divisions are equal in talent?
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