I realize that the topic of this thread is not about reffing or rules, so what I've written is not moaning or making excuses about the Yanks winning all the time. I am a Yank (not really, I'm a Southerner).
My American NPPL friends agree that the judging/cheating issue has grown worse and is increasingly frustrating. I understand that a lot of player-refs don't enforce the rules and let a lot of things slide, especially playing on.
I agree with some of the last few posts, that American teams are just plain and simple better right now. You can see a lot of speculation about the reasons in another thread. I think it is the "speak your brains" forum under an appropriate subject title.
One thing I have seen is how much better and closer to the Americans the European teams are becoming. Look at Russian Legion at Campaign and other Millennium tourneys. Look at Shockwave, Rushers and Hardcore (among others). And I understand Joy Division gave the Americans a good run for their money at Nations' Cup (X-Ball). (The playing-on and too-much-respect-for-American-pros issue may have had an effect on the outcome there. I wasn't there.)
Therefore I believe that the Millennium series is doing wonders for bringing up the level of play in Europe. It already is a way more professional league than NPPL organization-wise.
Nevertheless, I believe we ought to institute something like the rules I proposed in my last post.
Steve
