[Yo, whaddup, big man.]
...Having to post this is a major loss of face for the NPPL...
Au contraire, I think the reverse is true. I don't think NPPL could buy better marketing. When a public organization stubbornly and proudly stonewalls in the face of obvious mistakes or deficiencies, resentment builds up with consequent loss of support. Owning up to clear mistakes like NPPL have done strikes a positive chord in most of us. We see a company that has excelled in maintaining a very professional and fun image admit that they are humans and can make mistakes.
...and I'm pretty sure that there will be some ass kicking going on behind the scenes...
As importantly, it shows us that they see things that need fixing. Such a statement further compels them to do something about this major area of deficiency. This "situation" may be one of the best things that happened to NPPL and pro paintball.
I think what happened is the most in-your-face example of the major faults with the standard single-goal format with the rules the way they are now. It's more surprising that this kind of fiasco hasn't happened more often. As has been repeated many times here, there's no way you're not going to create chaos and go for bust, not stop for sushi and do what it takes to win the game when it comes down to the wire. Often a team can play on like crazy, most likely not get caught, but if caught absorb the penalty and still win the game.
I wonder, what would happen in exactly the same situation, starting from when it became four-on-four, if the game had taken place on an NXL field? (This is an honest question, not rhetorical.)
Obviously something like the 90 second rule NXL have would make a big difference. Should NPPL have maybe a 60 or 45 second rule wherein any penalty that would result in at least a one-for-one automatically gives the hang to the other team? That would cause some major change in behavior, assuming we had a top-notch reffing crew.
Another thing that seriously needs addressing is the laxness regarding leaving the field when eliminated. This is about behavior modification that is totally possible and should be immediately phased in. Simply publicize that from now on players will be penalized every single time for not leaving the field immediately (like it already says in their rules). That means the ONLY behavior that would be tolerated henceforth would be immediately calling for a paintcheck or checking yourself and then immediately signalling elimination and leaving the field if hit. No waiting for a ref to pull an armband, no picking pods up, no bitching about "I didn't shoot my gun!" Do this and there will be one tournament of a certain amount of whining and pushing the refs to be totally consistent and then things would shape up.