Monday Poll in Review

Last week's question followed up on the muddy PSP Chicago held at the Badlandz: How would you rate the event? (On a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being the NPPL Houston cancellation and 10 being the original HB or your favorite World Cup.) The votes that tended favorable ( 6 or higher) garnered 55% while 5 (5%) and below collected 43%. In general the majority of the votes struck me as reasonable except those at the extremes. A 9? Really? A handful of 8s? More ridiculous however was the fact 1 got 16% of the vote. How does any sensible person compare an event that actually happened with one that got cancelled--and never replaced? One answer might be that sense isn't involved, it's more a matter of expectations. First timers to a major league event are far more likely, it seems to me, to be either more disappointed or soured by a Badlandz-type event than a more experienced national competitor. And I would credit some of the unusually positive votes to, um, success at the event, nostalgia, temporary insanity or employment with the PSP perhaps. Personally I would have voted the event a 5 or maybe a 6. Isn't a major league tournament supposed to provide a quality competition? Am I supposed to ignore the compromises and inconveniences? I don't think so. But being realistic doesn't necessarily mean being negative.
In the end perhaps the best that can be said of the poll results is that it appears the PSP has (or had) a reserve of goodwill and understanding from its players that helped everyone get through the Badlandz event. Also, that for the most part PSP participants are there to compete and when the competition is satisfactory so is the event.