Mighty Mouse

Who knew the movie 'Idiocracy' would turn out to be a documentary? And so soon. When Skynet becomes sentient it isn't out of some malevolent urge to dominate but rather out of necessity. And humanity won't rise up and resist the machines--not as long as the machines provide cable TV sports, Twinkies and the illusion of normalcy. Oh no, peeps be popping those blue pills as fast as they can and washing them down with their Starbucks. As Western Civilization slowly crumbles it is being replaced not by another state but rather by a state of mind I call Numptopia. In Numptopia wishing will make it so and there is no answer that can't be found on Google so the ability to reason atrophies. It is only in Numptopia that Alex 'Mouse' Goldman is being paid $50K to play paintball.
It isn't true. It was never true. What is the matter with you people? But but but it was posted on the internet, it must be true!
Here's how it went down. The story of Mouse's official signing up to play for Damage in 2013 was given to Social Paintball. When asked for how much Social was told $50K. It was suggested sarcastically and meant to convey the fact the team had no intentions of giving a real number. It was taken at face value and reported as such--until a rep for the team saw it posted and called them back. Shortly after the original story was posted somebody posts about it on PBN putting the $50K claim in the thread title--and the rest is Numpty history.
Anytime you feel yourself slipping into Numptopia here's a dose of reality that can help pull you back. There are only a handful of pro teams capable of compensating their players based on ownerships resources and/or their level of sponsorship. And when I say handful it's a hand missing digits lost in an horrific chainsaw accident. At no time should you ever believe any number that appears in public even if--or especially if--it came out of a player's mouth. It might be true but odds are any number you ever see or read about or hear somebody insist so-and-so told his third cousin for sure is not true. NOT true. Other pro teams fall into the "free ride" category although that is often a misnomer as well as some costs, often minor, still fall on the players. Not bad, pretty darn good, but nothing like the silly stories one hears or reads. And lastly there are the pro teams dangling on a shoestring budget with players paying their share of expenses same as divisional kids even if some of their gear is sponsored.