I may be missing something but...
... if we can't even get the x-games to think that it is worthwhile to include paintball then why should the IOC?
Don't get me wrong, I love the game - there is nothing I would rather do than see it gain a huge following, but we have to look at the bare facts.
1) Like buddha said it is toooooo hard for the average person to follow/enjoy the game. Sure for us it is exciting - we know what to look for, and we all are a little strange
- but it would not pass the grandmother test. What you may ask is the grandmother test? This is the test I have thought up that determines whether or not something can appeal to a wide range of people. Take a pball video and give it to you grandma and see if she likes it - up until now the only one that passes the test is the Campaign DVD. The majority of paintball footage is boring with a capital B - actually more boring than girls highschool basketball (the only thing that makes this better is 18 year old girls in shorts) - and yes I can say this because I have coached it and know what I am talking about.
2) Tournament paintball players in general are a bunch of spoiled rotten idiots who only think of themselves, not the game. Again I am speaking from experience - I am a tourney player (and a member of the Millennium Disciplinary Committee) and what I see going on at most major tournaments makes me wonder if we will ever make any progress. From flooded hotel rooms to paint being shot across football fields to excessive foul language to on field fighting and the list goes on and on and on. If I where a major network/sports council I wouldn't want to touch us with a ten foot pole - and I love the game.
3) Like it or not in the publics eye we us GUNS. Yes I know, most olympics sports originate from some sort of military activity - fencing, archery, equestrian sports, even the marathon for heavens sake. But when was the last time someone held up a 7-11 with a fencing foil or did a drive-by with a bow & arrow while riding a horse? Get my picture? We can argue this to doomsday but the current geo-political situation (did ya like that Buddha - kinda deep huh?) is one that frowns on any violent looking act right now - and for good reason. Then add to this school shootings and idiots doing paintball drive-bys and we are really screwed.
But enough on the negatives, do I think our much loved sport can make it big? I hope so - I feel it definatley has the potential. Every game usually has 1 or 2 sequences that make people say "Damn, did'ya see that", and the way that the Campaign DVD was cut together shows that it can be presented in a eye catching & interesting manner for the non-playing public. But things will have to change a bit.
1) There will have to be some kind of format/game change. The idea of running the flag back is antiquated, the point scoring is a little hard to follow (could be made easier) and there is too much "dead" time. What will happen - I don't know - I have some ideas, but no money to try them out, so they might just die with me.
2) Players have to grow up and lookat the big picture - a lot of "pros" and top amateurs think that it is great that they get free paint/markers/masks etc., but don't realize that everytime they act like an idiot it takes them & the sport one step further from the really big paydays. At this stage of our developement just imagine what an article in Sports Illustrated that truly depicted what goes on a tournament would do to big sponsor money? Can you say down the drain?
3) The manufacturers need to act responsibly when it comes to the marketing of their equipment. Get it out of Kmart & Walmart - it doesn't belong there. Help improve the image of paintball instead of just trying to sell more.
Last but not least - and to get this post back to the original track - there needs to be some kind of world governing body. Maybe not a set of worldly accepted rules -as others have pointed out - but at least an equivalent to FIFA, FIBA etc. that can enforce player conduct and sanction events.
*whew* I'm done
goose
... if we can't even get the x-games to think that it is worthwhile to include paintball then why should the IOC?
Don't get me wrong, I love the game - there is nothing I would rather do than see it gain a huge following, but we have to look at the bare facts.
1) Like buddha said it is toooooo hard for the average person to follow/enjoy the game. Sure for us it is exciting - we know what to look for, and we all are a little strange
- but it would not pass the grandmother test. What you may ask is the grandmother test? This is the test I have thought up that determines whether or not something can appeal to a wide range of people. Take a pball video and give it to you grandma and see if she likes it - up until now the only one that passes the test is the Campaign DVD. The majority of paintball footage is boring with a capital B - actually more boring than girls highschool basketball (the only thing that makes this better is 18 year old girls in shorts) - and yes I can say this because I have coached it and know what I am talking about.2) Tournament paintball players in general are a bunch of spoiled rotten idiots who only think of themselves, not the game. Again I am speaking from experience - I am a tourney player (and a member of the Millennium Disciplinary Committee) and what I see going on at most major tournaments makes me wonder if we will ever make any progress. From flooded hotel rooms to paint being shot across football fields to excessive foul language to on field fighting and the list goes on and on and on. If I where a major network/sports council I wouldn't want to touch us with a ten foot pole - and I love the game.
3) Like it or not in the publics eye we us GUNS. Yes I know, most olympics sports originate from some sort of military activity - fencing, archery, equestrian sports, even the marathon for heavens sake. But when was the last time someone held up a 7-11 with a fencing foil or did a drive-by with a bow & arrow while riding a horse? Get my picture? We can argue this to doomsday but the current geo-political situation (did ya like that Buddha - kinda deep huh?) is one that frowns on any violent looking act right now - and for good reason. Then add to this school shootings and idiots doing paintball drive-bys and we are really screwed.
But enough on the negatives, do I think our much loved sport can make it big? I hope so - I feel it definatley has the potential. Every game usually has 1 or 2 sequences that make people say "Damn, did'ya see that", and the way that the Campaign DVD was cut together shows that it can be presented in a eye catching & interesting manner for the non-playing public. But things will have to change a bit.
1) There will have to be some kind of format/game change. The idea of running the flag back is antiquated, the point scoring is a little hard to follow (could be made easier) and there is too much "dead" time. What will happen - I don't know - I have some ideas, but no money to try them out, so they might just die with me.
2) Players have to grow up and lookat the big picture - a lot of "pros" and top amateurs think that it is great that they get free paint/markers/masks etc., but don't realize that everytime they act like an idiot it takes them & the sport one step further from the really big paydays. At this stage of our developement just imagine what an article in Sports Illustrated that truly depicted what goes on a tournament would do to big sponsor money? Can you say down the drain?
3) The manufacturers need to act responsibly when it comes to the marketing of their equipment. Get it out of Kmart & Walmart - it doesn't belong there. Help improve the image of paintball instead of just trying to sell more.
Last but not least - and to get this post back to the original track - there needs to be some kind of world governing body. Maybe not a set of worldly accepted rules -as others have pointed out - but at least an equivalent to FIFA, FIBA etc. that can enforce player conduct and sanction events.
*whew* I'm done
goose
