Last Friday, short on time and more than normally agitated I posted Keeping It Real in which I had begun intending to make one point but (sorta) made another one instead. The point I was intending to make is that all the qualities that sports fans admire are the very same qualities that drive more than a few pro paintballers to give up virtually everything but paintball. If you truly admire drive, desire, dedication and an indomitable spirit to succeed then which athlete is putting more on the line to win; the guy making millions or the guy eating baloney sandwiches so he can go to practice?
I'm not saying these guys deserve to be idolized or that I think it's the wisest option for the future but it's easy to idolize the super rich super famous sports star and I'm wondering if the object of that adulation isn't getting all mixed up in some peeps minds. Because you can't say Kobe Bryant is great because of the traits he displays on the court if you won't say the same for a player like Alex Fraige. Do you admire their character and the qualities that make them great performers or do you admire (and envy) the result? For every kid out there talkin' about the grind there's three others belittling their motivation and unwillingness to compromise. So which is it?
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19 comments:
Its easier to hate than hold respect and care. Thats pretty much the bottom line in all problems you have with youth.
Partly I would say its the "haters gonna hate" effect, but its also generated in paintballs case by the pros and industry marketing themselves. How? You ask. Simply by giving promises that where outrageous lies tends to make haters hate even more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J65FFZjeoQ4
That was just an single example of absolute shit pushed through by your idols, any kid who went and bought that stuff, became an instant hater for life.
As a young sport, so many pros so many teams, ended up taking the small money they could get in exchange for their integrity. Combine this with change in tournament format, nowdays lower divs never play against top pros to actually witness how much better they are. Back in the day, you often saw matches like "random local good team" vs. "top league pros" that showed the kids how good the good really are.
Now its so easy for haters to say, "fuck pro paintball, even semis play better". Why not play world cup in different format where pro teams actually have to tackle and run over couple d3 or above teams to go forward and if they happen to lose to best of lets say dX, then that dX-team would advance. Makes things more intresting and generates that, "pros are actually better than others" -image that is currently weak.
So all in all
a) Restore team integrity by promiting goods with true intentions and hearth, rather than running after every buck because sponsor X gives more and change kits yearly. Or promoting total shit to kids.
b) Return atleast some of the old glory where PROs had to sometimes tackle DX-level teams to advance, in events like WC, to explicitly show that best teams actually are, the pros. (and create some nice controversy and discussion when best DX team once in blue moon actually drops a pro team from advancing)
c) Grassroots matter.
yea it looks easy sitting in the stands or shit talkin on internet, about how u would have juked the pro that just blew 2 guys heads off on a killer run thru. a run thru that U a lower div playa would have tried and gets shredded 1 step out of ur bunker. I encourage d1,2,3 teams jump in there against a pro team, u will gain invaluable experience and have a whole new respect for the pro level of play. just sayin'
Keeping it real indeed.
Uh... someone posting an example of unreasonable hate, hates on a person who is pretty much a model paintball pro selling an electro spyder to newbs.
Just so we're clear the person in the wrong is the pro who's endorsing a product for beginners and in the process of doing so attracting newcomers to the sport. But the guy hating on him as a liar with no integrity is actual the one who knows whats good for us.
Hmmm... ya.
my Q why should a pro team that has earned an invite to pro div ever have to drop down to pla a lower div team. it doesn't make sense, no glory there except for the opportunity u give a lower div team who has not earned the right to pla against pro. It makes no sense especially since lower div teams continue to self destruct. no need to name names. watch phx no real blo out's except damage7 shock? even new comer vicious gave shock7-6 and infamous7-5 all they could handle.
Does any other sport have their pro teams competing agains lower divisions as part of their official competition?
Does any other sport have people shooting each other while wearing masks and shouting "huzzah huzzah" at the same time? (at least that's how I roll)
Should we assume that the anonymous post above has been sent in by a 'Pro'? The poor grammar and ridiculous use of 'youth-culture-speak' would seem to indicate so.
Do people understand the meaning of the word 'professional'?
Uh... someone posting an example of unreasonable hate, hates on a person who is pretty much a model paintball pro selling an electro spyder to newbs.
Well, read the youtube comments, there is plenty of hate to prove my point. Those spyders barely worked and created horrible first own marker experience to multiple people.
Same way when they sold Shockers to kids, like they would be tournament ready or same gun the pros used, when it was nowhere near.
You don't advertise crap like it would be awesome when you are a sponsored player.
Really? My understanding of sponsorships is that you pay someone, usually a well known entity in the industry or sport, to endorse your products. It adds "value" to them, at least perceived value. It's done in all sports, and numerous of our "heroes" sell their professionalism to make a few bucks (or get discounted or free schwag) regularly. Quite often it's pushing low end products to beginners. Sometimes it's higher end stuff to push the selling price up a little further.
Expect, stuff that actual sports sponsorships push are not garbage. Since that ruins the whole brand. In paintball, you push anything that gives you a nickle.
Or why do you think all the kids consider gun endorsements either sellsouts or such? Because integrity has been lost ages ago.
REPLY TO 18 may 2:44pm: "should we assume the anonymous post above was sent in by a PRO"?? NO we should not assume any such thing Mr smart ass. it was my post, i pla d2, so stop bangin' and hatin'on Pro's and thurrrr poor grammar and youth culture speak dude. My point was merely that pro's have earned the right to play at the pro level so why play down to a lower div?? just sayin' wanted to clarify that i am not a pro and do not in any way represent the pro's! as usual u r way off target mr snide remarks. u sir may want to apologize to the Pro's! U obviously DO NOT understand the word Professional. to all the pro's ignore the hate and keep on ballin'
would integrating semi-pro and pro together created a semi-pro division with more integrity, with teams, that's at least somewhat half-pro? it seems that there are too many good ballers out there who can't get into one of these extremely exclusive pro programs. it's all a little too much "who you know." to me.
maybe it could be worth it to field semi-pro pro-feeder teams again. but then again, maybe paintball just needs more money, so we can support those putting it all on the line. I would like to pull that off.
create.
Hey Anon, did you get lost on the way to PB Nation?
To the guy that said: "You don't advertise crap like it would be awesome when you are a sponsored player. "
This amazes me. It's so objective, and so 'the opposite' of what sponsorship actually is. 'Player Endorsements' are a major reason for sponsoring anyone in the first place. If I was Kingman, and paying a professional paintball team, I would expect them to endorse my product as that's what they are paid to do. That is what 'professional' athletes do. If this was not possible, the team should not sign my contract or take my money, and I would not sponsor the team in the first place. By his reckoning, only firms that made things HE considered to be 'not crap' should sponsor teams. How many companies is that? How many teams lose out because of that?
'selling Shockers to kids' - are you serious? Didn't Dynasty use shockers? Are they not therefore the same gun that the pro's use(d)? If I buy a Subaru, bacause it's won more off-road rallies than any other car, should I expect it to come race-prepared out of the showroom? No, of course not, because that would be ridiculous, right?
To the D2 guy with the great people skills - You're the worst kind of noob.
D2 guy ignore the hater above, thxs for the solid points on ur thoughts on pro's earned the right! Anon guy above u are the worst ever for makin' no point at all, and only hatin' typical smuck, why bang on a kid tryin' to support and make a point. callin' the kid a noob, hell he is prob next up and comer to pla pro. why not try and support instead of hatin'. just sayin',
yeah semi-pro top 2 need to integrate up w/pro & bottom 2 down to d1 it's time to step up/down and pla. no reason to keep a div with 4 teams.
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