Time to pretend to put your money where your mouth is. It's one thing to read a poll question and pick an answer. You could do that with your eyes closed or after consulting the Magic 8 Ball. What VFTD is looking for this time is the answer that comes closest to what you actually intend to do this season. Not what you'd like to do. Not the most popular answer. Not the answer you think will make me happy Nothing makes me happy except 100% give-until-you-puke effort. No need to go that far this time, just an honest answer. What's your commitment to tourney ball this year?
When it comes to tournament play this year I ... (complete the sentence with one of the optional answers--which will constitute your one and only vote in this week's poll.)
Monday Poll in Review
This week VFTD reviews the results to last week's poll question: Paintball's Big Winner in 2011 Will Be? (If you were wondering the answer is yes, it was a trick question. Winners in 2011. Now that's funny!) The actual results are a mixed bag. Think gourmet nuts where you really get a tasty mix of quality nuts and not the usual assortment of mixed nuts where most of them are peanuts, cheap bastards. Yeah, I'm talking about you, Planters.
You know how many owners the NPPL 3.0 has? Check the votes for NPPL. Apparently there are 19. (Does Rage still have a share? No way. Really?) And the NPPL gets 15% of the vote while the PSP only gets 9%? Of course the PSP has struggled with some controversy lately, too. Beyond the major leagues--oh, yeah, almost forgot, the MS got a slamming 1%--the other significant vote getters were regional leagues (13%), bigtime scenario games (10%) & the obvious if somewhat cynical response, Nobody (19%). My favorites were the categories with actual votes cast that didn't amount to even 1%. Somebody threw PBIndustry a sympathy vote and, curiously, tourney players also received a solitary vote. If some votes went to local and regional tourneys along with the MLP votes aren't all those votes also, at least in some respects, votes for the tourney player, too? The rest of the votes were all over with a few percent for local fields, rec players, everybody & the paint manufacturers. How do the paint manufacturers end up winners when they've spent the last few years consolidating only to have new competitors jump into the game. And of course our friends at PALS got a pair of votes tossed their way and those votes have as much chance of being correct, perhaps more, than any of the others as the league is newer and still growing in a part of the world where paintball is still growing.
Monday, January 3, 2011
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9 comments:
One option you missed on the poll was, "don't plan on playing any tournaments".
True, but I'm nothing if not optimistic, and this particular poll was aimed at tourney players and they do have the option of "taking some time off."
I played tournaments for more than 12 years and ran a tournament series for 10. I got out when the PSP introduced ramping and coaching, as I felt they took away the parts of the game I enjoyed.
Lane has talked a lot about bringing back the players who stopped playing. From my viewpoint, the changes the PSP has proposed aren't enough to get me to attend a PSP event.
I also think the PSP's approach is fatally flawed. Rather than chasing down the old players, they need to come up with ways to draw new blood into the tournament side of paintball. They need to make tournament paintball less intimidating to the 'rec players. They also need to show the field owners how local tournaments can be a valuable, and profitable, part of their business.
Something I think we've overlooked is that the typical field owner is no longer an active tournament player. Those who were tournament players retired from playing tournaments. If they're not playing tournaments, then they're not as interested in hosting tournaments.
Truth be told, tournaments are a pain-in-the-ass. They're not very profitable and the tournament players are the most demanding segment of paintball.
I'm a field owner and I know many of the other local field owners very well. In our state, there's only one field owner who still actively plays in tournaments. That's quite a change from 7-10 years ago when nearly every field owner either played tournaments or had a child who did.
A big part of what made tournament paintball succeed was the field owners being passionate about it. Their excitement helped sell it to others. If Lane wants to go back to the days of old, he needs to look beyond the PSP events.
Salvation isn't in a bigger playing field. Salvation is at the local field.
I argree with you, Indy. Btw, the spelling is correct. I just made that word, argree, up as it means I agree but still want to argue about it. ;)
What the nationals need is a larger grassroots pool to draw from and part of the problem in recent has been to scrape the bottom of the local barrel for teams while representing tourney ball to them as way more demanding than the sort of simple fun they are looking for.
I think you're also correct about the typical field owner of a dozen years ago compared to today. Big difference.
Well sain Indy! I agree that coaching and ramping guns are crippling paintball. I too have played for over 20 years and remember the "old" days of pumps and mech guns. I feel that you loose control over your marker when it ramps. Also, I feel that the PSP was "invented" to sell paint. The only reason a paint manufacturer would "invent" a tournament series that allows 15 bps ramp is to ....... SELL PAINT! (yes, I know it's 12.5 now, but it's NOT semi!)
Also, another argument against PSP/ramp is the introduction of new players to our sport. It is hampered by the fact that you cannot go into a Walmart/Sports Authorty/etc and purchase a 12.5 bps ramping marker. All the spyders, tippmans, trilogys do not have ramp. So, a kid/parent that purchases such a marker is immediately "out gunned" and rarely has the desire or means to continue into tornament pb. Semi-auto IS the answer.
The new player with his new Walmart gun wouldn't feel outgunned if the lowest level of tournament play was tech or paint limited, as it should be. Why on earth we feed new players to sharks with uncontrolled bites is beyond me. It just goes against all levels of common sense.
Hey Anon #2
Far be it from me to antagonise a commenter but you have no idea what you're talking about. You're entitled to feel whatever you like but your feelings aren't even close to the facts. Tourney ball exploded in participation with the early days of the electronic gun, burst fire, ramping, etc. In the electro world there is no such thing as semi-auto. And none of the original principle owners of the PSP manufacture (or manufactured) paint. And from the earliest xball we no longer play that game as the format has been reduced year after year, Not a recipe for selling paint. And apparently you haven't seen a Tippmann lately.
You are always welcome to drop by and comment but next time don't bring the weak stuff. ;)
Must be some kind of siren call in that "Moonbats, Drillbits & Semiauto" article that draws them in, despite it's utter discrediting of their superstition.
TargetIndy,
What up from a former fellow AKA brother? Sure you're not mistaking those field owners who have out owned the more recent player/owners? Eventually everyone hangs them up, especially if you are a "successful" field owner.
Disclaimer: Successful in this instance is defined as "OMG! I'm still in freaking business!!!"
"as much as I can but probably not as much as I'd like."
Plan is to play 4-6 regional tournaments. Can't afford more :(
Eurolazyslacker
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