Anomalies

[Robbo]

When that other thread drifted away from hatt's infantile attempt at winding me up to the state of UK paintball , it actually raised a few interesting points as to why we as English tend to downplay or downgrade any success our fellow teams or players may get.

I think it's pretty safe to say we saw this as a negative influence and instrumental maybes in explaining why we can't get up there with the top Yanks.

And yet, as I mentioned, for all the trials, tribulations and negativity we English place upon ourselves, we have still got 3 teams in the NPPL pro bracket.
And make no mistake about it, the NPPL Pro bracket is the hardest 7 man league in the world, it has earned its stripes and so has every team who plays in it.

So, if we suck sooo bad as a nation, how come we as English, outside of the Americans, have the greatest number of teams within that league?
An interesting question and one that isn't easily reconcilable with what we have been saying on the other thread.

Ideas anybody?

 

[Parksy]

Not to take anything away from the achievement of 3 UK teams being in the NPPL Pro bracket but the year of play which led to this closing of the Pro division was pretty sparsly presented by teams wasn't it?

There were teams concentrating on x-ball etc who could most likely have finished above some of the teams who qualified?

That being said though that isn't exclusive to knocking out just UK teams, just significant in that there would be teams in there that wouldn't have made the cutoff.

One thing I have noticed though is that for all we only have 3 Pro teams in the NPPL compared to the yanks (even before the cutoff was brought in) there are other Euro countrys with significantly less Pro teams representing there countrys??!! Other euros prefering to play div 1, again this was before the cutoff.

Even if you look at the Millenium scorecards teams playing the 'Champions League' are not teams who were representing there respective countrys at the NPPL at Pro level.

Maybe we have stepped up more than our Euro counterparts and just haven't realised!!

This is where you pick wholes in what I have just said Pete

 

[Mario]

cause were second best in the world?

i think its cause we got more passion for the game than anyone other than the americans. look how you and hatts got in the ring trying to make your points. two very different guys each who love paintball as much as the other.

there's so many kids out there who love the game and really wanna be the best in this country and i think its the hunger that these kids have who are coming up.

at present we dont have the mentality but it is coming through. the kids are the future and its many old guys who are holding them back not giving them the chance because they feel that they deserve whatever they get more than the younger kids.

therein lies the problem. many (not all) old guys thinking they can still cut it.

the guys on the three teams are all quite young and yet they've been given the chance to bounce. and they have done.

 

[Matski]

Californian Ironmen
Famous
Shockwave Canada
Bob Long's Assassins
Distortion
A Team
Shock
XS NRG
Dynasty Dynamics
Influence
Strange

These teams are fighting to get into the pro bracket, their aint any UK teams coming in, but there will be at least one going out.

It's a good point Pete but, in terms of longevity, I reckon you guys will be the only ones left standing. In a few years time there could potentially be 4 different US pro teams promoted to the top div, and they will have fought hard, and trained hard to get there. I think the test for any Euro and UK teams in the top div is yet to come. If not in a years time, in two years it will be cutthroat in the Pro bracket. But at least that gives time to do something about it.

 

[garycarrot]

I think it comes down to three things.

LOCATION. If the NPPL was held in europe, how many american teams would/could make the effort to play in it?

QUANTITY. The size of our great country and number of players has a direct effect on the number of teams we put in, Its not "fair" to compare us to the states, as the player base is wider and far greater in number than ours.
If you compare one state from america with the same population as the U.K. what would be the outcome?? Remembering to discount all players who do not live in that same state, but currently play for the state's team's.

MONEY. Its cheaper to play ball in the states.

Next.........

 

[H]

Originally posted by garycarrot

LOCATION. If the NPPL was held in europe, how many american teams would/could make the effort to play in it?

All pro teams will have to play at least 2 european NPPL events next year. 1 for Semi-pro teams

EDIT: Don't expect US teams to travel for more events than they have to.

 

[Robbo]

Parksy, I ain't gonna pick holes at all mate, I am seriously interested how people are gonna try and square the circle of English Paintball and explain this anomaly because at first glance, it's not that easy.

Matski is again right to bring to our attention as to what's waiting next year in terms of the semi pros and if he is right in that one English team gets relegated (and I genuinely hope he isn't) at the end of this season, that team will no way play semi pro in the US, there's just no point.
And even if Matski suggests, Nexus might be the only English team left standing, it may well be we cannot sustain our NPPL attendance with the money it costs us.
No other team in the NPPL has put more money in to playing that league than Nexus. We pay more for air flights than all the Yank teams and have attended more NPPL's than any other Euro team and it will be the economic aspect that will more than likely determine our NPPL fate because at the moment it is sucking us dry.
This situation cannot continue without something changing and it is exactly this situation that should have knocked some sense into the powers that be in the NPPL so as to ward off the European war that is just about to unfold.
Adding another couple of Euro NPPL tourneys to our calendar is not doing us any favours whatsoever, we need a separate Euro tourney circuit that is affiliated to the NPPL with annual World Cups where the best of Europe plays the best of the US.
Anything else is just bullsh!t, egos and politics.

 

[Parksy]

So are you saying a distanced event then where Euros don't play American events and they don't play euro events?

Would this not just widen the distance in skill sets? Or do you think the gap is closed between the euro teams and americans enough for Euros not to play them over the year and still have the ability to compete with them at say an end of season best of both sides event?

I can see the problem though... events costing quadrupal for euros than it does for the home nation once you factor in flights and stuff. The American teams are spending there sponsorship $$$s' on training while the euro teams are having to break into this funding (and I'm pretty sure there personal ££s') just to be able to turn up for events.

For all there is the MS in Europe the Americans don't see it as that big a deal. This can be seen by the number of American teams that turn up for it. Conserving there $ for other things they factor as more important.

In an ideal world then Pete what we need is the MS to turn into the Euro arm of the NPPL, lock both sides into there relevant tourneys then bash heads at the end of the year??!! Which I'm sure is the solution to cost issues etc... but as already stated probably never to happen due to egos/politics etc...

Or is there enough of a market over in euro land for the NPPL to just start the ball rolling themselves with a completly seperate Euro NPPL series?

 

[Robbo]

Parksy, I have outlined my ideas both in the magazine and on this site a month or so ago and in essence they are what you suggest in that all Euro teams concentrate on Europe and we develop independently until the end of the year where we would play an annual World Cup which would alternate in venue between the US and Europe.

I agree some people may think that by splitting away from the Yanks we will create a larger disparity in terms of skill-sets but I honestly think that the resources freed up by not playing the US for Nexus, Shock and Tigers would enable a better focus on training.
And what's important here is that the Russians have already shown us that in-house training (if done correctly) doesn't need American competition to get up to the top.

Once the 3 English teams, and the likes of Joy and Ton Tons begin this new era of development, then other pro teams like Ignition, Ducks and so on will begin to feed off of us and thereby we breed a better Euro team.
At the moment in the NPPL, we are still playing second fiddle to the Yanks; I honestly believe we can do no worse by setting up shop in Europe.

The economic pendulum is swinging more towards Europe lately when it comes to assessing potential markets and this may be key in providing a much needed boost to European team finances in terms of support and sponsorship.

The NPPL’s world wide expansion program is I’m afraid doomed if they feel that by holding a few tourneys over here is gonna lock in the European teams to the entire NPPL circuit, it can’t work under present financial conditions.

I will say one thing in conclusion, if the Millennium lifted the 15 bps cap and got rid of ramping, the closed door that faces them may begin to creak open a little, I don’t know for sure but it’s worth a go if we want to avert an all out war.

 

[Dskize]

Do we have the enough teams at a high enough skill level to feed a Euro NPPL league ?

: edited for previously answered questions