The PSP's Top 12 have received official notification of what to expect by way of basic changes for the coming season. The bulk of the notice relates to entry fees and payment schedules. Do you recall that PSP Phoenix last year was a race to 7 in the NXL (changed thereafter to 9)? [Here's where I toss you a tiny piece of raw meat.] The formerly NXL, now PSP Pro (or whatever) will be racing once again to 7. I suspect the rest of this info will be out very soon so you won't have long to wait for the rest. And the majority of new info as it relates to divisional play will probably be released soon. (I know, I know, I keep saying that but it'll be true one of these times.) One curiosity is that Commish Tony M. was the principle source of league info and communication with the pro teams before but this came straight from Lane. Is it meaningful?
UPDATE: Tony will continue his role as Commish and chief whipping boy (a role he handles with dignity, a lot of jaw-clenching and this odd tic at the corner of his left eye)--for which I am personally grateful this holiday season as giving Tony grief is one of life's small pleasures.
Showing posts with label NXL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NXL. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Being Paintball Sports Promotions
One might try to lay the NPPL's faults at the doorstep of the PSP and I can see the temptation. (After all, what was the raison d'etre of the NXL and all those runs at TV if it wasn't about "selling" paintball?) But a couple of factors preclude coming to that conclusion; the NXL and joint ownership.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, the same disclaimer as the one in Being Pacific Paintball applies here as well. Mostly the point of the disclaimer is to make sure if anyone objects they hold only me responsible. You'd think that would be obvious--this is my blog--but we are talking paintball--so I try to go the extra mile.
Creating the NXL as a separate entity, despite the fact it ran at PSP events, actually protected the PSP in an odd way. As did the distinct ownership stakes (NXL franchises & PSP) even when individuals held both in common. But none of that alters the fact the NXL was set-up to reap the benefits of *selling* paintball or that the majority of PSP owners wanted to sell paintball as badly as the other guys--and more power to them--but they wanted something else as much or more. Control.
I'm not passing judgment. (You can if you'd like.) If I were slicing extra large portions off my personal block o' cheese in order to keep the party going I'd probably feel a bit proprietary myself (after a quick visit with my local mental health professional to make sure I hadn't lost my mind.)
With the separation of interests the PSP focused on providing an essentially no-frills (or few frills) tournament aimed at delivering the best competitions they could manage. Toss in the xball format and the slogan 'Advancing the Sport of Paintball' actually meant something that was easily defined whether you agreed with it or not. With Lane Wright at the helm of the PSP the distractions that hurt the NPPL weren't problems of the same order or magnitude. (It's worth noting in passing too that formats have made a difference as well in how the leagues are viewed. Each has some positives and negatives but in comparison 7-man suffers in the critical perception of the referees and their roles and impact. Which isn't a small thing.)
However--and it's a pretty substantial however--where one might equate the NPPL using their tourney series like a booster rocket to launch their mainstreaming & big money dream I see something more from the PSP and that brings me back to -- control. (None of this is, or ought to be, particularly shocking to anyone who has been paying attention and yes, it's a bit of amateur psychoanalysis after a fashion but hey, it is what it is.)
The original NPPL devolved from its original vision into a combine of promoters [for the sake of simplicity] and that eventually engendered the division that created the separate national leagues; the NPPL and the PSP. The NXL followed. It is, among other things, a history of a struggle for control. As a practical matter we are at a place where a small group are in control in part because they've sought it and in part because they've paid for it. And I don't begrudge them in the least--in fact I'm glad someone was willing to do it. But, and this is a big but, a sir-mix-a-lot sized booty--the potential extent of the control is outsized especially if we end up at some point with only one major league.
Paintball, you see, is still a nascent sport (it ain't done developing, it isn't settled in a lot of ways). In that circumstance, in our circumstance, the dominant league is very likely gonna control what the game becomes in the next few years. In essence they become conservators of the game and its future. That was the larger point of this post. And we will all be along for the ride whether it's a ride of our choosing or not. And it concerns me because in the way the NPPL has goals above and beyond putting on good events the ownership of the PSP has a lot of irons in a lot of fires and the likely result, at least at times, is/will be decisions made that serve a narrower purpose than the game.
[There is also plenty more about the PSP/NXL in the Dead Tree Archive to keep you entertained if you are so inclined.]
**I cheated on the date code. But I almost got this posted, er, yesterday.**
Oh yeah, almost forgot, the same disclaimer as the one in Being Pacific Paintball applies here as well. Mostly the point of the disclaimer is to make sure if anyone objects they hold only me responsible. You'd think that would be obvious--this is my blog--but we are talking paintball--so I try to go the extra mile.
Creating the NXL as a separate entity, despite the fact it ran at PSP events, actually protected the PSP in an odd way. As did the distinct ownership stakes (NXL franchises & PSP) even when individuals held both in common. But none of that alters the fact the NXL was set-up to reap the benefits of *selling* paintball or that the majority of PSP owners wanted to sell paintball as badly as the other guys--and more power to them--but they wanted something else as much or more. Control.
I'm not passing judgment. (You can if you'd like.) If I were slicing extra large portions off my personal block o' cheese in order to keep the party going I'd probably feel a bit proprietary myself (after a quick visit with my local mental health professional to make sure I hadn't lost my mind.)
With the separation of interests the PSP focused on providing an essentially no-frills (or few frills) tournament aimed at delivering the best competitions they could manage. Toss in the xball format and the slogan 'Advancing the Sport of Paintball' actually meant something that was easily defined whether you agreed with it or not. With Lane Wright at the helm of the PSP the distractions that hurt the NPPL weren't problems of the same order or magnitude. (It's worth noting in passing too that formats have made a difference as well in how the leagues are viewed. Each has some positives and negatives but in comparison 7-man suffers in the critical perception of the referees and their roles and impact. Which isn't a small thing.)
However--and it's a pretty substantial however--where one might equate the NPPL using their tourney series like a booster rocket to launch their mainstreaming & big money dream I see something more from the PSP and that brings me back to -- control. (None of this is, or ought to be, particularly shocking to anyone who has been paying attention and yes, it's a bit of amateur psychoanalysis after a fashion but hey, it is what it is.)
The original NPPL devolved from its original vision into a combine of promoters [for the sake of simplicity] and that eventually engendered the division that created the separate national leagues; the NPPL and the PSP. The NXL followed. It is, among other things, a history of a struggle for control. As a practical matter we are at a place where a small group are in control in part because they've sought it and in part because they've paid for it. And I don't begrudge them in the least--in fact I'm glad someone was willing to do it. But, and this is a big but, a sir-mix-a-lot sized booty--the potential extent of the control is outsized especially if we end up at some point with only one major league.
Paintball, you see, is still a nascent sport (it ain't done developing, it isn't settled in a lot of ways). In that circumstance, in our circumstance, the dominant league is very likely gonna control what the game becomes in the next few years. In essence they become conservators of the game and its future. That was the larger point of this post. And we will all be along for the ride whether it's a ride of our choosing or not. And it concerns me because in the way the NPPL has goals above and beyond putting on good events the ownership of the PSP has a lot of irons in a lot of fires and the likely result, at least at times, is/will be decisions made that serve a narrower purpose than the game.
[There is also plenty more about the PSP/NXL in the Dead Tree Archive to keep you entertained if you are so inclined.]
**I cheated on the date code. But I almost got this posted, er, yesterday.**
Friday, November 7, 2008
Paradigm Shift?
The paint situation looked bleak and bleaker where we left off in the last post, Paint It Blue, but here's a thought for all the big leagues – (and the paint guys?) to consider. In keeping with the Pro Circuit concept what would happen if the NXL (or the NPPL repping the pro division) worked out a deal for an official paint sponsor of the league to provide paint to all the competing pro teams during the event(s)? Or if that seems too daunting and costly what if the individual events were offered up to paint sponsors? Draxxus sponsors the Chicago Open, for example. The sponsor can't lose whoever wins and gets the value added of associating the brand with pro paintball, not just a single team. Within that framework there also exists some creative ways to structure the deals that might be beneficial during the difficult period coming. The potential advantages are both practical and competitive. With everyone shooting the same paint there's no advantage or disadvantage on the field; it would be a big plus for teams struggling in a reduced sponsorship environment while leaving teams free to pursue alternatives for practice; it would instantly justify the current entry fee structure (in the NXL) and it would be a step toward legitimizing the NXL brand as distinctive from the PSP (which may have real relevance in the future and was a goal in the original formation of the league.)
Would the result be a better, more stable model?
Would the result be a better, more stable model?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The NXL in '09
Where do the days go? Seems I forgot to renew my Prozac prescription and nothing good will come of that. An inclination toward pessimism now heightened by burgeoning chemical dependency issues has me despairing so naturally I began thinking of the future of, what else, competitive paintball. If you thought I was gonna say the economy--the Amazin' Kreskin you ain't--I said I was despairing, not suicidal.
I also thought I'd get ahead of the curve and offer up some predictions early--before the Cup crowd of Paintball Illuminati gather to chart our collective futures (think of this moment in time as the few days leading up to the activation of Skynet)--and save yourselves all the anxiety of waiting for the inevitable rumors and half-truths to start circulating.
The following is a prediction. It is not based on advance information I've been made privy to or disinformation either. It is an educated guess.
8 teams. The league might manage 10 but I'm having a hard time seeing how right now. Some very important decisions are going to made between Cup and, say, Christmas. There's a new variable in the mix I hadn't previously considered (which was stupid on my part because the precursors were there some time ago.) Anyway, I won't name teams as I can't be positive and speculation along those lines would be grossly unfair. 5 or 6 teams are virtually a lock and the shake-out will come from the others and the couple (or so) teams that currently are thinking they want in.
In a previous post I suggested in passing that I hoped the PSP managed '09 with no more than a 30% decline. I'm afraid that may have been too optimistic. Unfortunately there is also no way to implement the Pro Circuit between now and the start of next year--assuming the highly unlikely event of the PBIlluminati actually considering such a change. And without the Pro Circuit alternative methods of supporting the NXL would almost certainly conflict with the operation of the PSP. If the option to restructure the NXL isn't on the table then I hope the simpler course of cutting costs will be seriously considered--and which might add up to 10 teams but there is still a huge complication in the offing. (If you're a newcomer check out the Pro Circuit posts in the Archives to see what it's all about.)
More likely might be a reduced season schedule. Given that one way of looking at dropping one event would be a cost reduction of 20% for teams (and something less for the PSP) intending to compete for a series. And for everybody else a one or two event option would remain. The calculation for the PSP then becomes how many teams do we need over 4 events and when and where are the events held? The other question is how does a 4 event season impact league income from sponsors, etc?
One more prediction: the webshow will not have enough paying customers to make the PSP happy this time around--and if World Cup can't draw the numbers they want then what? Regardless, this is a project that ought to be pursued. Easy for me to say but even so. (I'll have more on the webshow and the Big Picture once I find out what all the PSP has in mind. )
I also thought I'd get ahead of the curve and offer up some predictions early--before the Cup crowd of Paintball Illuminati gather to chart our collective futures (think of this moment in time as the few days leading up to the activation of Skynet)--and save yourselves all the anxiety of waiting for the inevitable rumors and half-truths to start circulating.
The following is a prediction. It is not based on advance information I've been made privy to or disinformation either. It is an educated guess.
8 teams. The league might manage 10 but I'm having a hard time seeing how right now. Some very important decisions are going to made between Cup and, say, Christmas. There's a new variable in the mix I hadn't previously considered (which was stupid on my part because the precursors were there some time ago.) Anyway, I won't name teams as I can't be positive and speculation along those lines would be grossly unfair. 5 or 6 teams are virtually a lock and the shake-out will come from the others and the couple (or so) teams that currently are thinking they want in.
In a previous post I suggested in passing that I hoped the PSP managed '09 with no more than a 30% decline. I'm afraid that may have been too optimistic. Unfortunately there is also no way to implement the Pro Circuit between now and the start of next year--assuming the highly unlikely event of the PBIlluminati actually considering such a change. And without the Pro Circuit alternative methods of supporting the NXL would almost certainly conflict with the operation of the PSP. If the option to restructure the NXL isn't on the table then I hope the simpler course of cutting costs will be seriously considered--and which might add up to 10 teams but there is still a huge complication in the offing. (If you're a newcomer check out the Pro Circuit posts in the Archives to see what it's all about.)
More likely might be a reduced season schedule. Given that one way of looking at dropping one event would be a cost reduction of 20% for teams (and something less for the PSP) intending to compete for a series. And for everybody else a one or two event option would remain. The calculation for the PSP then becomes how many teams do we need over 4 events and when and where are the events held? The other question is how does a 4 event season impact league income from sponsors, etc?
One more prediction: the webshow will not have enough paying customers to make the PSP happy this time around--and if World Cup can't draw the numbers they want then what? Regardless, this is a project that ought to be pursued. Easy for me to say but even so. (I'll have more on the webshow and the Big Picture once I find out what all the PSP has in mind. )
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Aftermath NXL Kaput
This appears to be true. I'm presuming it means no World Cup which is gonna leave everybody scrambling and probably means a 5 team 4 prelim match round one which doesn't thrill me but is what it is. I guess Vic Mackey and the Strike Team hit Mike's money train. (Pop Culture reference you may not get but trust me, it's funny.)
Update: It's official. Hinman has released a public statement light on detail while being politically correct (in paintball terms). Ostensibly the issue was competing in two leagues became too heavy a commitment for a team of primarily young players with other real world commitments. And that may be completely true. Almost all of my guys have school and/or work issues too as, I'm sure, do members of nearly every team out there. Even so don't discount the cost of competing in this equation. I know I sound like Chicken Little here on the subject of failing pro teams but that only makes me annoying, not wrong.
Update: It's official. Hinman has released a public statement light on detail while being politically correct (in paintball terms). Ostensibly the issue was competing in two leagues became too heavy a commitment for a team of primarily young players with other real world commitments. And that may be completely true. Almost all of my guys have school and/or work issues too as, I'm sure, do members of nearly every team out there. Even so don't discount the cost of competing in this equation. I know I sound like Chicken Little here on the subject of failing pro teams but that only makes me annoying, not wrong.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
World Cup NXL fields
Been doing my due diligence to get ready for practice this weekend and I've got a lot of work to do. These layouts have some exploitable characteristics that should be a lot of fun for the players. Unfortunately, the round 2&3 layout will play slower than the round 1 field. This coming weekend is our only one before Cup not scrimmaging other teams and the kids are gonna have to get certain features down and then we're gonna have to either disguise some of the stuff we're doing or not implement it the same way we plan for the event or not use some of it at all. Almost everybody in the NXL these days pays attention and does their scouting. And that includes practice. Gonna be a long weekend so don't expect any posting Saturday or Sunday.
Just got a look at the finals & divisional field layout and my first impression is that the round 1 field should have been the finals and divisional field. The reason is the round 1 field is almost certainly the easiest field to play in the sense it has most of the traditional xball features and the least demanding bunker placement which I think make it a better divisional layout though perhaps not ideal for an NXL final. The other two fields are deconstruction / reconstructions of that layout--or so it appears to me. It may not really matter as divisional teams are likely to simply ignore some of the complexities and just play the damn field.
Just an observation--not taking a shot. Overall, a solid progressive design.
Just got a look at the finals & divisional field layout and my first impression is that the round 1 field should have been the finals and divisional field. The reason is the round 1 field is almost certainly the easiest field to play in the sense it has most of the traditional xball features and the least demanding bunker placement which I think make it a better divisional layout though perhaps not ideal for an NXL final. The other two fields are deconstruction / reconstructions of that layout--or so it appears to me. It may not really matter as divisional teams are likely to simply ignore some of the complexities and just play the damn field.
Just an observation--not taking a shot. Overall, a solid progressive design.
Live from Disney's Wide World of Sports
Or a patch of netted, battered grass beside the immense parking lot--It's ... PSP TV! On the web and in your heart. I'm rather surprised this hasn't gotten more attention but I'm sure somebody has released a shiny new something so I guess I'm not really surprised after all. And people wonder if hypnosis is real.
Course, most folks are probably imagining this is just the PSP covering territory already covered by the NPPL and why wouldn't they? PSP hasn't made it clear that it is in the process of attempting a grander vision that doesn't stop when the last bonusball (or ten) explodes on the back of some unlucky head. Then again it may be wise to not raise too many expectations when they haven't done this before. And, whatever you do, don't infer anything from what I'm saying here. I know a bit of this and bit of that but exactly how this will roll out and how quickly and effectively it all ramps up even I wouldn't hazard to guess.
Let me say this--be cautiously excited. It has the potential to be an important step forward.
Course, most folks are probably imagining this is just the PSP covering territory already covered by the NPPL and why wouldn't they? PSP hasn't made it clear that it is in the process of attempting a grander vision that doesn't stop when the last bonusball (or ten) explodes on the back of some unlucky head. Then again it may be wise to not raise too many expectations when they haven't done this before. And, whatever you do, don't infer anything from what I'm saying here. I know a bit of this and bit of that but exactly how this will roll out and how quickly and effectively it all ramps up even I wouldn't hazard to guess.
Let me say this--be cautiously excited. It has the potential to be an important step forward.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Saving Xball
The title may strike you as a bit over the top, a little hyperbolic and it probably is but I tend to prefer my reality toward the pessimism side of the spectrum. What isn't hyperbole however is the fact that xball still costs wheelbarrows full of our increasingly devalued dollars and the steps taken last off season to mitigate expenses (for the pros) wasn't sufficient.
So, I'm gonna start harping again on one of the suggestions I made last year around this time for helping to reduce cost to compete at the pro level. (I'm leaving out of this the whole Pro Circuit and the details in the follow up Pro Paradigm--which will post later today--as they aren't essential elements for this particular cost reducing suggestion.)
STOP RELEASING THE PRO FIELD LAYOUT IN ADVANCE OF THE TOURNAMENT. (No, I'm not yelling, just being forceful.)
How does that reduce costs, you ask? (Even if you didn't ask I'm gonna tell you.) Not only will it most likely reduce cost but it will also have added extra benefits by way of intended consequences. (As opposed to those pesky unintended consequences which usually don't turn out so well.)
The current preparation standard is to scrimmage another team or run points on the event layout both of which churn ungodly amounts of paint. (We usually burn 80-100 cases a weekend doing that.) No layout and everyone has to re-think how to prepare for an event. The focus becomes not learning every detail of a specific field but in developing players ability to understand and exploit all sorts of different possibilities. This can be done with considerably less commitment to blazin' paint. And in the process you create a player with the mental skill set of the Old Skoolers and the physical skill set of the xball generation.
The result is refocusing on skills and teaching how to bring those skills into play without the necessity of shooting millions of balls and coupled with the new flexibility in field design would mean that at events you would see teams playing to their particular strengths and matches would be not only a match of skills but of styles.
The argument offered last time around against this suggestion was that local fields have purchased xball fields and without the layouts there's no guarantee anybody plays them specifically--but think on that for a second--
If you are an xball team what kind of field are you going to train on? Does it really matter that you don't have the layout? I don't think it does but if the PSP is still concerned then the simple answer is to make the NXL field layout different from the divisional layout.
Okay, so maybe it won't save any pro teams but it might and it's still a good idea.
So, I'm gonna start harping again on one of the suggestions I made last year around this time for helping to reduce cost to compete at the pro level. (I'm leaving out of this the whole Pro Circuit and the details in the follow up Pro Paradigm--which will post later today--as they aren't essential elements for this particular cost reducing suggestion.)
STOP RELEASING THE PRO FIELD LAYOUT IN ADVANCE OF THE TOURNAMENT. (No, I'm not yelling, just being forceful.)
How does that reduce costs, you ask? (Even if you didn't ask I'm gonna tell you.) Not only will it most likely reduce cost but it will also have added extra benefits by way of intended consequences. (As opposed to those pesky unintended consequences which usually don't turn out so well.)
The current preparation standard is to scrimmage another team or run points on the event layout both of which churn ungodly amounts of paint. (We usually burn 80-100 cases a weekend doing that.) No layout and everyone has to re-think how to prepare for an event. The focus becomes not learning every detail of a specific field but in developing players ability to understand and exploit all sorts of different possibilities. This can be done with considerably less commitment to blazin' paint. And in the process you create a player with the mental skill set of the Old Skoolers and the physical skill set of the xball generation.
The result is refocusing on skills and teaching how to bring those skills into play without the necessity of shooting millions of balls and coupled with the new flexibility in field design would mean that at events you would see teams playing to their particular strengths and matches would be not only a match of skills but of styles.
The argument offered last time around against this suggestion was that local fields have purchased xball fields and without the layouts there's no guarantee anybody plays them specifically--but think on that for a second--
If you are an xball team what kind of field are you going to train on? Does it really matter that you don't have the layout? I don't think it does but if the PSP is still concerned then the simple answer is to make the NXL field layout different from the divisional layout.
Okay, so maybe it won't save any pro teams but it might and it's still a good idea.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Pro Dilemma
I've been here and done this before but the first time or two around this issue teams weren't already dead or dying. I'm hoping the rotting corpses of dead pro teams past might have made an impression on some folks in the meantime.
The status quo is not sustainable. NPPL has 17 teams today instead of 18 and the NXL has 11 instead of 12 and started the year with 12 instead of the previous year's 16. One might argue that the higher numbers were always impractical but that doesn't alter the body count.
The NPPL pro division is in better shape simply because it's cheaper to compete, to maintain a team, to practice, etc. than the NXL. However, the format and promotion that showcases NPPL pro paintball is in trouble. So it seems likely some formulation of the NPPL pro division will still be playing while the Super 7 tournament ship sinks but viable teams with no place to go are still out of luck.
The NXL problem is trickier. It's grossly expensive to run a pro xball team (compared to any other form of tourney paintball) and the competing teams are NOT operating on a level playing field. Franchise teams have a voice and a stake in what comes next and how it is organized (although that is really more a function of PSP ownership vs. non-ownership. Just ask Sergey.) Non-franchise teams are customers like everybody else. The PSP is in the black while the NXL struggles.
One league has a tournament series in danger of going belly up and one tournament series has a pro division in danger of shrinking into irrelevance. Let me be clear here for those willing to see the NXL shrink to 6 or 8 teams. STOP BEING MORONS! (Did I type that?) At some point the NXL stops being a pro division and devolves into a gigantic circle jerk and everybody stops paying attention because the league is suddenly no longer relevant.
And now for a short history break: the original NPPL was a response by the then pro teams to control their own destiny and they set-up a tourney structure that in essence used other teams to pay for the events and those teams showed up in order to have an opportunity to play the big name teams. We continue to use the same basic structure today. One incentive today is the opportunity to see the pro teams play. However, somewhere in there most of the pro teams turned into customers again. (Btw, I'm not suggesting that supporting the pro teams on the backs of the lower divisions was the ideal tournament model. In fact, something of the opposite.)
In the early period of sponsorship contraction the 'answer' was to tell pro teams to suck it up and go find some new sponsors. Which is, as far as it goes, a perfectly acceptable answer. Except when it doesn't work. Now it may be that Paintball can only afford so many pro teams which is also fair enough...
But then the question that needs to be asked: At what cost?
What if anything do the pro teams contribute to Paintball? If it's something important then maybe it isn't just the teams' problem, maybe it's the leagues' and paintball's problem, too.
One problem the teams have is that most of them are beholden to sponsors who have their own priorities which may or may not coincide with the team.
Meanwhile there are whispers and hints that peeps are talking about reducing the numbers of events in both leagues. Hmm, a 3 event "series". Is that really an answer? Let's see, this isn't working out so well so let's just do less of it. If that's such a good idea why don't we skip it altogether. Problem solved.
Realistically the pro teams can't unite in any meaningful way so the notion floated in Buffalo is a non-starter. And all the Buffalo Initiative would have meant anyway was that the teams choose to be the customers of one league instead of two (and a few of them have already made that choice.)
If the pro teams matter to either of the leagues or to paintball generally there needs to be another answer. Reunification might work but it isn't guaranteed to solve any of the core problems and the process could easily outlast any number of bubble teams. With reunification today's version of NXL Xball kills a few teams but any mixed format that doesn't offer the PSP and Xball a flagship league isn't gonna fly either. Or does reunification tie itself to a faltering format (or at least a faltering promotion)? All reunification would really do is cull the herd of pro teams all the sooner.
Seems pretty bleak, doesn't it?
Yeah, I know I promised to post up some alternatives, some possible answers and I haven't done it yet and I still haven't figured out how to archive dead tree material here either. Not to worry, it's coming, but between you and me what's the point?
The status quo is not sustainable. NPPL has 17 teams today instead of 18 and the NXL has 11 instead of 12 and started the year with 12 instead of the previous year's 16. One might argue that the higher numbers were always impractical but that doesn't alter the body count.
The NPPL pro division is in better shape simply because it's cheaper to compete, to maintain a team, to practice, etc. than the NXL. However, the format and promotion that showcases NPPL pro paintball is in trouble. So it seems likely some formulation of the NPPL pro division will still be playing while the Super 7 tournament ship sinks but viable teams with no place to go are still out of luck.
The NXL problem is trickier. It's grossly expensive to run a pro xball team (compared to any other form of tourney paintball) and the competing teams are NOT operating on a level playing field. Franchise teams have a voice and a stake in what comes next and how it is organized (although that is really more a function of PSP ownership vs. non-ownership. Just ask Sergey.) Non-franchise teams are customers like everybody else. The PSP is in the black while the NXL struggles.
One league has a tournament series in danger of going belly up and one tournament series has a pro division in danger of shrinking into irrelevance. Let me be clear here for those willing to see the NXL shrink to 6 or 8 teams. STOP BEING MORONS! (Did I type that?) At some point the NXL stops being a pro division and devolves into a gigantic circle jerk and everybody stops paying attention because the league is suddenly no longer relevant.
And now for a short history break: the original NPPL was a response by the then pro teams to control their own destiny and they set-up a tourney structure that in essence used other teams to pay for the events and those teams showed up in order to have an opportunity to play the big name teams. We continue to use the same basic structure today. One incentive today is the opportunity to see the pro teams play. However, somewhere in there most of the pro teams turned into customers again. (Btw, I'm not suggesting that supporting the pro teams on the backs of the lower divisions was the ideal tournament model. In fact, something of the opposite.)
In the early period of sponsorship contraction the 'answer' was to tell pro teams to suck it up and go find some new sponsors. Which is, as far as it goes, a perfectly acceptable answer. Except when it doesn't work. Now it may be that Paintball can only afford so many pro teams which is also fair enough...
But then the question that needs to be asked: At what cost?
What if anything do the pro teams contribute to Paintball? If it's something important then maybe it isn't just the teams' problem, maybe it's the leagues' and paintball's problem, too.
One problem the teams have is that most of them are beholden to sponsors who have their own priorities which may or may not coincide with the team.
Meanwhile there are whispers and hints that peeps are talking about reducing the numbers of events in both leagues. Hmm, a 3 event "series". Is that really an answer? Let's see, this isn't working out so well so let's just do less of it. If that's such a good idea why don't we skip it altogether. Problem solved.
Realistically the pro teams can't unite in any meaningful way so the notion floated in Buffalo is a non-starter. And all the Buffalo Initiative would have meant anyway was that the teams choose to be the customers of one league instead of two (and a few of them have already made that choice.)
If the pro teams matter to either of the leagues or to paintball generally there needs to be another answer. Reunification might work but it isn't guaranteed to solve any of the core problems and the process could easily outlast any number of bubble teams. With reunification today's version of NXL Xball kills a few teams but any mixed format that doesn't offer the PSP and Xball a flagship league isn't gonna fly either. Or does reunification tie itself to a faltering format (or at least a faltering promotion)? All reunification would really do is cull the herd of pro teams all the sooner.
Seems pretty bleak, doesn't it?
Yeah, I know I promised to post up some alternatives, some possible answers and I haven't done it yet and I still haven't figured out how to archive dead tree material here either. Not to worry, it's coming, but between you and me what's the point?
Monday, August 18, 2008
Not Their Finest Hour
The PSP's Northeast Open is in the books and as usual there are a million stories to tell. Unfortunately I do not feel at liberty to tell the best of them. And by best I mean those that would scar the innocent and shock the naive.
On the other hand I also feel the occasional pang when criticizing one thing or another because there are peeps involved I either like or respect and sometimes both. Even so I accept that pain for the pleasure it brings, if you know what I mean.
Some will disagree but all things considered it wasn't horrible which is a victory of sorts given that the site had no business hosting a national event. C'mon on down folks and watch the greatest players on the planet from a tiered pile of rocks and mud on a non-regulation layout while we deny those same players the opportunity to participate in their matches except when on the field. Hurrah! And then there's the image it presents. It's a poor idea to have a league owner host an event when that owner also has a particular stake in the outcome. There's apparently already been some internet chatter about Philly and Dynasty practicing on the NXL event field and everybody with any stake in the matter has made every possible excuse as to why in this instance it didn't matter. But if it didn't matter why all the excuses? And if it really didn't matter how bad does it end up looking when those same teams end up in the finals? It's a no-win situation and could have, should have been avoided. There was another turf field right next to the NXL field. Why didn't they practice on that one? That wasn't so hard, was it?
There's a reason the league long ago decided to stop allowing teams to practice the actual competition fields and there was absolutely no reason and no excuse for it being allowed this time.
Along similar lines I'm hoping someone will be able to explain how it is that the rules are the rules except when they aren't. The rulebook goes to fairly precise detail about how a field should be set up including the pits et al. Well, of course pre-existing structure required some modifications to those rules and some for this event only judgments (modifications based on the modifications of the rules) that were, IMHO, assinine at best. But beyond that when you scrape away all the particulars what's left behind is that the league will alter rules for the sake of convenience. Now you may say in this case it wasn't a big deal and I would agree with you but if you've been involved in paintball for any length of time you also ought to recognize that coherent, comprehensive rules are the only things that make a sport a sport and the history of paintball makes deviation from the rules a very short and very slippery slope. Consider yourselves warned.
One good story I can tell you involves your hero and mine, Chris LaSoya, of Aftermath. The reason I'm telling you this story is because of the one I've already posted about Pony in last month's archive. It seems Chris had a tiny little fit during an Aftermath match not unlike the one he had at Buffalo NPPL in the Spyder field deadbox. The button for conceding a point didn't work and Chris got upset at the loss of time, etc. and slapped the button and housing around a little and got into a shouting match with Dan who objected to his equipment being treated so poorly. It was ugly, abusive, angry and most excellent entertainment. But the point is the league, in the person of the commish, dealt with it directly and it resulted in a brief suspension for Chris. I've yet to hear anything about the Buffalo incident except for the swoosh of brooms working overtime. That in a nutshell is why I personally tend to favor and have some faith in the PSP over the NPPL and also why things like the bent (but not especially important rules) continue to put the nighborhood cats in jeopardy.
On the other hand I also feel the occasional pang when criticizing one thing or another because there are peeps involved I either like or respect and sometimes both. Even so I accept that pain for the pleasure it brings, if you know what I mean.
Some will disagree but all things considered it wasn't horrible which is a victory of sorts given that the site had no business hosting a national event. C'mon on down folks and watch the greatest players on the planet from a tiered pile of rocks and mud on a non-regulation layout while we deny those same players the opportunity to participate in their matches except when on the field. Hurrah! And then there's the image it presents. It's a poor idea to have a league owner host an event when that owner also has a particular stake in the outcome. There's apparently already been some internet chatter about Philly and Dynasty practicing on the NXL event field and everybody with any stake in the matter has made every possible excuse as to why in this instance it didn't matter. But if it didn't matter why all the excuses? And if it really didn't matter how bad does it end up looking when those same teams end up in the finals? It's a no-win situation and could have, should have been avoided. There was another turf field right next to the NXL field. Why didn't they practice on that one? That wasn't so hard, was it?
There's a reason the league long ago decided to stop allowing teams to practice the actual competition fields and there was absolutely no reason and no excuse for it being allowed this time.
Along similar lines I'm hoping someone will be able to explain how it is that the rules are the rules except when they aren't. The rulebook goes to fairly precise detail about how a field should be set up including the pits et al. Well, of course pre-existing structure required some modifications to those rules and some for this event only judgments (modifications based on the modifications of the rules) that were, IMHO, assinine at best. But beyond that when you scrape away all the particulars what's left behind is that the league will alter rules for the sake of convenience. Now you may say in this case it wasn't a big deal and I would agree with you but if you've been involved in paintball for any length of time you also ought to recognize that coherent, comprehensive rules are the only things that make a sport a sport and the history of paintball makes deviation from the rules a very short and very slippery slope. Consider yourselves warned.
One good story I can tell you involves your hero and mine, Chris LaSoya, of Aftermath. The reason I'm telling you this story is because of the one I've already posted about Pony in last month's archive. It seems Chris had a tiny little fit during an Aftermath match not unlike the one he had at Buffalo NPPL in the Spyder field deadbox. The button for conceding a point didn't work and Chris got upset at the loss of time, etc. and slapped the button and housing around a little and got into a shouting match with Dan who objected to his equipment being treated so poorly. It was ugly, abusive, angry and most excellent entertainment. But the point is the league, in the person of the commish, dealt with it directly and it resulted in a brief suspension for Chris. I've yet to hear anything about the Buffalo incident except for the swoosh of brooms working overtime. That in a nutshell is why I personally tend to favor and have some faith in the PSP over the NPPL and also why things like the bent (but not especially important rules) continue to put the nighborhood cats in jeopardy.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The NXL Game
A fun little guessing game. The winner will receive a cherished no prize and e-gold star. (They are too real.)
Here's the game:
Guess which team(s) will leave the NXL after the 2008 season. And who will replace them in 2009. Extra credit tie breaker: give reasons for departure and explain how the new team got the inside track on the spot.
The tie breaker is important since the odds of more than one correct guess is pretty high given there's only 12 teams. All eligible guesses become the property of 'View' and must pre-date any announcement of changes within the NXL. Duh.
And no, Mr. Cleverpants, I don't know anything (much) that you don't know but it hardly seems a stretch, does it? Besides, it'll be fun. C'mon.
Here's the game:
Guess which team(s) will leave the NXL after the 2008 season. And who will replace them in 2009. Extra credit tie breaker: give reasons for departure and explain how the new team got the inside track on the spot.
The tie breaker is important since the odds of more than one correct guess is pretty high given there's only 12 teams. All eligible guesses become the property of 'View' and must pre-date any announcement of changes within the NXL. Duh.
And no, Mr. Cleverpants, I don't know anything (much) that you don't know but it hardly seems a stretch, does it? Besides, it'll be fun. C'mon.
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