Crazzzy, X-Ball stateside has fracture lines forming in two distinct areas, firstly, financial and secondly internal, that of the player’s dissatisfaction as you just hinted.
There is no way Stateside X-Ball can be sustained if TV does not come on board very quickly.
The host 10 man tournament series (PSP) is to an extent underwriting the expense exposure of running X-Ball, if the PSP 10 man series is being compromised in any way, then inevitably it will undermine X-Ball's survival chances.
Already, the PSP are in debt after splashing out $40k at Mardi Gras for emergency reparations after the flood, and losing a reported $40-50 k at LA.
This situation cannot and will not continue.
The fate of US X-Ball hangs uneasily on these financial threads.
Running alongside this fracture line is the situation regarding the players.
Now I know most of the guys who are playing US X-Ball and talk to many of them, it is obvious to me they are not pleased with the current state of affairs, they see Oli, Alex, Ryan and Co swanning round the globe, getting all the exposure, getting all the cash and having a heck of a time on the Euro scene as well as The Super 7's and all the time they have to ply their trade at the PSP events....the PSP events are not even in the same league as the super 7's or Millenniums.
Now as the season progresses, it is obvious that half of the teams in US X-Ball are playing for no other reason than to play. They can't win fack all coz this is a year long league and a significant number of those teams are not going to qualify for Oralndo.
And so, they have nothing to play for half the frikkin season, so what’s the point for them ?
Now I know this ain’t an absolute but it is a general observation.
And you have to remember in all this, the fate of Euro X-Ball is inextricably linked to that of the US's.
And what do we do at our first opportunity to run X-Ball ?
Well, we facked it right up...big time !
And that's why I ask the question, is Euro X-Ball going to survive ?