Just stumbled into this little thread...and I'm not quite sure what to make of it.
Speaking as a reporter of news rather than a maker thereof, I'm not quite sure what the hubub is all about. It seems to me that inertia is a major contributor in this sport. The PSP has a monsterous amount of inertia behind it, and I don't see it slowing down anytime soon. People are just used to attending Jerry's events, and trying to reprogram them to look at an alternative is extremely difficult to do. In my own experience, I see this quite often. My team captain is an old-school PSP player, and broaching the subject of competing in a Super 7 immediately runs into a brick wall. The concept of playing in anything other than a PSP is alien to him. Inertia as a concept can be applied elsewhere too, but I'll leave that can of worms to open some other time.
As for the NPPL, it's my opinion that their greatest contribution to the sport has been that they've forced everyone to raise the bar a bit. And in the end, that's a positive thing. The concept of treating players better than they have been in the past, media blitzes (within and without the sport) are things that are expected now, rather than the novelty that it was in the NPPL's first season.
The NXL being on TV is a good thing. I hope for their sake that it's a success, but it has served its' purpose if it further publicizes the sport.
And Lane, much respect to you...after years of critiquing and commenting on everyone else's events, a cabal of paintball hardcases including myself are putting up now and doing our own major event next year...just the vendor packet alone was a major undertaking! At least the things that lie ahead will be more action oriented rather than engaging my mind, which a dubious proposition at best.
Speaking as a reporter of news rather than a maker thereof, I'm not quite sure what the hubub is all about. It seems to me that inertia is a major contributor in this sport. The PSP has a monsterous amount of inertia behind it, and I don't see it slowing down anytime soon. People are just used to attending Jerry's events, and trying to reprogram them to look at an alternative is extremely difficult to do. In my own experience, I see this quite often. My team captain is an old-school PSP player, and broaching the subject of competing in a Super 7 immediately runs into a brick wall. The concept of playing in anything other than a PSP is alien to him. Inertia as a concept can be applied elsewhere too, but I'll leave that can of worms to open some other time.
As for the NPPL, it's my opinion that their greatest contribution to the sport has been that they've forced everyone to raise the bar a bit. And in the end, that's a positive thing. The concept of treating players better than they have been in the past, media blitzes (within and without the sport) are things that are expected now, rather than the novelty that it was in the NPPL's first season.
The NXL being on TV is a good thing. I hope for their sake that it's a success, but it has served its' purpose if it further publicizes the sport.
And Lane, much respect to you...after years of critiquing and commenting on everyone else's events, a cabal of paintball hardcases including myself are putting up now and doing our own major event next year...just the vendor packet alone was a major undertaking! At least the things that lie ahead will be more action oriented rather than engaging my mind, which a dubious proposition at best.
