Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick........
First up bud, this is a direct quote from you:
"and people may flame me for being inpolite and arrogant"
Don't leave much chance for mis-intupretation there mate - you asked, I gave.
Why should Pros play Novice and Am teams? Why else mate, I play for an Am team and I like playing the Pros. Simple as that. These are not mythical Titans we're talking about, they are simply team prepared to put themselves up on a pedastal and invite people to knock them off. And while there is no rule to stop Avalanche playing Am next season then I want the chance to play them without having to play Pro all the time; mainly beacause I want to get better by playing better oposition but at my own pace to allow my team time to develop. It so very simple really.
On the point of my team playing Pro, there is nothing stopping us. Like there was nothing forcing us to go Am when we did, we will choose to go Pro when the time is right. The problems is, in your new world order, we would find it very difficult to judge that time as we would never get to play a Pro side! In virtually every sport there is at least an event a year when John Nobody gets a chance to swing it with the big boys.
Onto the subject of paying, using your example of football. If I was playing Sunday league football down the park with my mates would I be expected to cough up a bit of cash for David Beckhams pay cheque? Its not that I'm watching the game, its that I am competing in the same league structure - just lower down the ladder - still doesn't mean I have to cough up for a prize to the winners of a league 20 steps up the ladder.
But you have hit on one major point amongst your rambling - Paintball is not a democracy. It is a very very industry led sport, more so than any other I can think of. Name me any 3 other sports that dont have a governing body; that have events run by manufacturers and not the governing body, that doesn't have a unified rulebook. The list goes on. This pastime we all love so much is so in need of not-for-profit mangement - a governing body that can be recognised by the authorities. This is what will make our sport into a Sport - not the fact that some better teams dont have to play not so better teams.
I just don't understand how we have dragged this sport so far without setting the frameworks all other sports have. If we want to go mainstream then we will have to follow the mainstream methodology - independant, not-for-profit, centralised governning body.
Sorry to have dragged this a little off topic at the end there but I need to get that off my chest!! Its all Pipers fault.
