Ah, very astute points. Would SP want Dynasty to play in the NPPL, drawing attention away from the leagues where "the big boys play" that they have considerable vested interest in maintaining attention to the league and format where their other two teams are? It doesn't seem to fit their nature to do so. Taking Dynasty out of the NPPL harms the league in taking away a spotlight attraction. If crowds and TV attention are main goals of any event, which they should, then obviously removing talent, especially iconic talent and personalities which Dynasty are beyond doubt, would be seriously harmful. Why not go watch the events that have all the big names in one place? This works from a media and fan standpoint. No coverage, no attendance = no funding. No funding = no future events. I gather that at least in a few instances losses were allowed, almost invited for the sake of self promotion. Can any such endeavor stand at a loss for long? My thinking says not. It's a calculated risk of uncertain payoff which may have just taken a big hit.
It's a strategy from years back that big name college football coaches employed all the time to stay on top: recruit as many players (in this case whole teams) as they want just to keep them out of the other teams' hands so they can't be used against them.
The marketing strategy is what's not only being implemented for the leagues, but also as a direct charge against WDP. It's sad, and it really speaks dimly of the people atop the pyramid because it's simply working again the same worn out, low brow, pre-adolescent marketing appeal that predominates paintball sales: buy the team, put your marker in their hands, and people will read the ads and the posters and think "Oh wow, he's shooting ________! He's my favorite player, I've gotta have what he has!" It "works" because it's essentially the main visible strategy being tried, i.e. not enough significant effort is put forth through other means, and is effective for too large a segment of the targeted paintball demographic. Hardly an appeal to intelligence. The preoccupation with snatching attention away from someone else rather than going out in the public to get more people shooting X instead of Y that didn't have either to begin with is what should cease instead of proliferate. Yeah it's successful so far...but compared to what? Do you think Ford would be better off selling 2k4 Mustangs to people who are up for a new car because they NEED a new car, their current car being say a 98 or 99 model or perhaps older (or nothing at all if they just turned 16), or do they HAVE to go after someone with a 2k3 Camero? Obviously the intelligent marketing heads would try for the former, but someone in a paintball marketing company would say the latter as evidenced by the way they act. It's switch to this, switch to that, add to this, add to that... In short, I'm saying it's another example of their priorities being out of order, and proceeding in a way that if not in reality at least in their own mind is purposely aligned with negative effect intended with net zero outcome rather than simple gains and a net positive effect.
If we were talking toilet paper, razors, or toothbrushes, all this would be a simple trade war. Prices get dropped left and right, the promo offers get flung everywhere with free t-shirts, buy one get one frees, etc., and everybody wins. The paintball trade war, however, has mixed elements, good and bad. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the good and bad in the long term is not being properly evaluated. "We're making money now, aren't we?" is likely the response with no further thought. It's much like politician's syndrome: they'll likely be gone before any consequences are seen or even detected, certainly not around to be blamed and punished for it, so what do they care so long as they're happy now and it looks good?
Not that it was being handled to even a shred of its potential to begin with, but what do you think is going to happen with (debatably) the most marketable team in the history of paintball? More squandering of time and potentially lots of money that could have been had for them and the sport as a whole for the last...oh...3 years or more? Do you even want to think of the figures? Obviously not many people have.
