Monday, February 25, 2013

Skyfall

Okay, not altogether apropos but how can you go wrong with a James Bond tribute post title? If you're a member of the surviving NPPL politburo today it's gotta seem like the sky is falling, doesn't it? Oh, by the way, how'd that Hawaiian Challenge event turn out? Killer, huh? Oh, not so much? Really. Who'da thunk it? (Yes, for the record, I am kicking a wounded league while it's down--and I'm just getting started. NPPL Facebook also stated there would be a 1-day event on the 23rd and a NPPL-sponsored practice on Sunday the 24th hosted by Chuck and Pev.)
So Bart's money is out (of the NPPL) and Impact is in the PSP for 2013. The NPPL Board put its foot down and said, "No!" and very quickly discovered they didn't control Bart's wallet after all--though after three seasons it's easy to see how they made that mistake. Not counting all the other pro teams to bail on the NPPL before Impact the first casualty is the (apparent) disbanding of Chicago Legend. While it's easy and natural to feel sympathy for the players and the loss of a competitive team VFTD will not be joining in the general eulogising of Legend owner, Dennis Olsen. To paraphrase Shakespeare, "I come not to praise Ceasar but to bury him." Happy to spend Bart's money he's the first to cut and run when the going gets seriously tough and is the same guy who two years ago arrogantly promised the NPPL would bury the PSP and who threatened Camille for having the temerity to go work for a league that actually paid her salary. I don't doubt the guy has friends in the game. He probably doesn't kick puppies. But, contra Hinman, the game won't miss him. The second casualty will be Chuck & Pev's travel schedule and the third casualty is already Gino's decision to align Valken in the NPPL camp and publicly spin the PSP as the villain in that little melodrama. (Oops.)
And we are left, for the time-being, with the question: Where will the money come from to continue to operate a money pit masquerading as a paintball league?

14 comments:

NewPro said...

Hawaii, Vancouver.....was there any thought at all put into scheduling...or logistics, or whether there were even enough teams to sanction an NPPL event (is it more or less that 10). If I was an "executive" of the NPPL, I would be embarrassed. Announce an event a month before its start date and then, HOPE, it goes according to plan.

The last thing the NPPL should worry about is the competition because its obviously its own worst enemy.

Resolution: Drop the PRO designated bracket,go back to an open/Amateur style and Stop claiming to be a National league. Focus on HB as THE event of the year and be happy if it sells out.

Anonymous said...

Will Gino become the new Bart in an attempt to save face?

The one thing Chuck has proven throuh the years is his ability to get money from those with lots of it...he always finds a new sucker when he needs it.

Anonymous said...

Does this mean curtains for Valken on a sponsorship level? Obviously he still has rec players, pro shops and fields to sell his paint to, so Valken as a company won't be going anywhere.... but if the one major USA league won't let him sell paint at events or let his paint be shot at their events, tHen what does this mean?

My guess is he quietly takes the offer the PSP gave him (the one he made into a big deal on FaceBook), and shuts up.

Reiner Schafer said...

Or...Valken can shift it's focus and to scenario and recreational players, leaving the tournament type players to the other companies. There is a natural animosity between recreational woodsball players and "speedballers", so endearing itself to the much bigger woodsball market might be a move (if they want to continue playing the "us against them" game).

Anonymous said...

Valken can continue to 'sponsor' newly formed woodsball teams. The woodsball team gets to feel 'legitimate' because they are 'sponsored' and Valken gets to sell them gear at wholesale prices with minimum buys. Win-win.

Anonymous said...

As long as they stick with their camo "v-tac" stuff and stop making their god-awful speedball softgoods, I'm OK with this.

Every time I see a Valken jersey that looks like Ed Hardy threw up on it, I die a little inside.

Baca Loco said...

Reiner
That wouldn't be a focus shift. When Valken got into the paintball game--after Gino's noncompete expired--that's where they made their first moves.

Anonymous said...

I'm almost ashamed to say I'm spending money to play HB this year, at least it's local for me.

Baca Loco said...

Anon
Hopefully they get their act together and put on a good event. HB as a venue is hard to beat--although if you're local you already know that. :) Players should just play and have fun.

Anonymous said...

Ban social. hahaha. good call nppl.

Anonymous said...

Baca - I plan on playing and having a great time. Heck I'll even have some family out there watching. But let's be real, a wiser man would have spent all there money playing 5 PSPs and not HB or Vegas if it meant skipping a PSP...then again we already knew that didn't we?

Anonymous said...

I see this as an opportunity for the NPPL to rebuild. Drop the Pro bracket, just call it open. Stop focusing on the needs of the pros and actually give the customers what they need.

If you think about it, wouldn't it be more ideal to run a tournament without having to provide for the pros? I mean, how many divisional players play the NPPL/PSP soley because the pros play in it?

So now the NPPL doesn't need to put on this image to go mainstream. They don't need to pay for a webcast, pro ref squad, bleachers, etc. Why don't they just put that money back into the tournament to increase the quality for the players that are footing the bill?

They can still offer an awesome product for a niche market, without all the BS.

Missy Q said...


ANON 1.53

A wise man knows he only has so many years to play, and that he should enjoy it as much as possible. Therefore if you chose to play in HB, I'd call that a wise move. Who knows, you could be playing the last one.
Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Crash and burn- it's gone, a broken car, machine. The NPPL ain't all bad, but it's going to have to minimize. Survival is in doubt.

WHO WANTS AN OFFICIAL NPPL PLAYER'S PATCH!?