I am of the opinion that all teams should compete equally, I see no reason why not. I know there have been idea's thrown around that favor Euro teams, but apologies, i don't agree they should get 'special' treatment. My argument is that I don't believe even the Euro teams would want this, as I think it diminishes thier acheivement. Am I right??
another thing. I don't know what it takes for people to believe that the pro division will be 18. But if any of you want to make a bet of any significance, I will gladly take your money.
One more thing. The natural thing to happen at the end of next year is for the 'Open Division' to be capped, likely at 24 or 36 teams. If Euro teams continue to dither and speculate, and do not decide to enter, they may miss qualifying for the Open league also, meaning next year they will be forced into an Amatuer league and have to qualify up into Open, and then qualify again if they want to go into the top 18. This is likely, although not decided. Guess what, the next year (end of '06) the Am bracket is likely to be capped....... Therefore, it is time for teams to make thier choices, especially teams like the Ducklings, Ignition, Hellwood, Russians, Strange, and any other teams who could easily compete in the Open division (all players are allowed to be Pro) and even in the top 18. In the Am bracket there would be a max of 2 pro's allowed. This is also the reason you will see many Pro's put 2nd teams into the Open class, as they fancy a 2nd team in the 18 next year.
After everything that has happened with the EXL this year, and the way the Euro teams have been treated in this, I am surprised you guys are being so loyal. Presumably this is because you believe in the format, rather than because you thought it was a great success. I think your NPPL choice is pretty clear. If you want in, get signed up. There will be 5 US events, there will be 2 events in Europe that count for points. There will be stand-alone Euro events. Your EXL choice is more difficult, you would first have to find out if there is going to be an EXL at all, which seems tricky to fathom, then you will need to know how many events there are, and where. None of this information is likely to be forthcoming until the answer to the first question is known.
I am, and always will be, a little biased, but I really can't see this as a difficult decision, no matter how hard I try.
By the way, the 2 new NXL teams are Dynasty (Miami Effect) and Russian Legion (Boston Red Army). You can have that one for free.
