X-Ball SchmeX-Ball

[RoryM]

My 2 cents....

The whole downfall of X' at the moment lies with the PSP holding the reins and not Richmond anymore.

I know how hard it is and how much time and preperation are needed to put on a world class tournament, and more importantly, money, and the final one, money, seems to be the be all and end all for 'some' promoters within the PSP.

When you look at the thing, each team's sponsor stumping up an alleged 100K for their teams, (So a total of $800k), where the hell does all that money go?

I realise there are some returns to the teams for participating and a cost of the fields equipment, etc. But that is still one hell of a chunk of money to be used to put on the best bloody paintball show yet,......but it wasn't. The weather did have a part in the proceedings, granted, and I was not there, but when looking at the photos, it seems hardly any effort was made to push this format to the fore. A sad advert for the future events really. Lets hope lessons have been learned and LA will be a 100% improvement.

It's sad, but certain elements of the PSP still seem only concerned with short term profits, and it will stay this way for the foreseeable future I am afraid to say.

We in Europe have got the Xball format in the form of the nations cup over the season, I know alot of people are complaining about the format, but, it is what we have, so lets just all get on with it and play the game, because ranting about it on a web forum is never going to change anything really is it?

As for those that seem to have ideas about how the game should be played/promoted, if it is so good, put your money on the line, and stage the event!

Hats off to Chuck and WDP on HB, it is a vision for the future and also a great advertisement for the whole of paintball, yes they took a hit for it , but the long term benefits should outway the initial pain.

nuff said

RoryM

 

[TJ Lambini]

>>>because ranting about it on a web forum is never going to change anything really is it?

Uh, yes it does - on quite a regular basis. Whether you get to know about it or not is another thing...

 

[Buddha 3]

It is indeed a very direct customer feedback system, with the added 'benefit' of anonymity, thereby allowing people to spill their guts out and say what they really think.

 

[kidzero]

ever seen this one? found it by accident:
http://xballonline.com/

 

[JtJ]

Brevity is not my forte.

On a fairly regular basis, I write to the 'powers that be' in PSP and give (unsolicited) feedback. They listen, as much as I expect they would if any other random person started to email them. They answer my questions when I present them directly. However, as a general operating principle, PSP seems confident in the awareness that this is a marathon, not a sprint. They have shown an organizational fortitude and ability to put on event after event after event year after year. Pure Promotions (PP) and Chuck did a fantastic job at Huntington Beach. The popular conception is that they set a standard that future tournaments (at least for the duration of the 2003 season), both PSP and PP, will be judged against.

However, this may not be entirely accurate. Do all tournaments have to have free water and gatorade? Do they all have to have a massage booth? No. If you think they do, you should take up a cleaner sport than paintball. The recipe for an excellent event would be, in my opinion, well designed fields playing on an appropriate surface (be that sand or grass, just not gravel), with competent and unbiased reffing, adequate prizes and a well informed player base (meaning that players have access to schedules & divisions prior to their arrival and to rule changes or event-specific idiosyncrasies at a time appropriate for the circumstances). And now, in the New World Order as it were, events must provide outside access to the sport: allowing outside people and organizations to see us, either on bandstands or on TV (PSP did this last year with OLN and Disney. PP continued it with Budweiser and Fuji Film) and also allowing us, as players, recognition and affirmation of the status of our sport in mainstream society and, speaking as a team captain here, access to non-paintball industry sponsorship dollars.

So, in answer to everyone who says, "LA better be as good as HB." No it does not. LA had better be a good event. In fact, it had better be a great event. But it does not have to be the greatest paintball show on earth.

And in answer to those who think that we should immediately hand the crown over to PP and genuflect at the feet of Chuck Hendsch, Camille and Ged Green, I say that I will always, willingly, without any second thought or hesitation, bow to Camille, the other two better be happy with a handshake. Seriously, I do think the tournament paintball community owes Chuck, Camile and Ged thanks for what they've done. We also owe them forgiveness if they should fall short in their second or third attempt. However, we also owe it to ourselves to remember that PSP has been putting on events for a long time. They have not always done a great job, but they always got the job done. Without Renick, Dave, the Gardners and Jerry, there would be no NPPL.

Now, as it specifically related to X-Ball; there is time. There is no need for a big bang to start it all off. They have what everyone wants to see: the top teams in the world committed to playing. Six of the top ten Pro teams from 2002 are playing NXL. Another is playing Nations Cup. The biggest names on Avalanche are playing NXL. The greatest Amateur team in the history of the NPPL is playing NXL. They could play in an empty swimming pool and, like it or not, we'd still line up around the sides to watch it.

In fact, one could say, starting small is better (Patience is a virtue). They have one year to work out the kinks. One year to tweak the rules. One year to train the refs. There will be tv coverage in 2003. But the plan is for it to grow. So for 2003, PSP and Richmond can work out all the bugs in the system, so when the world sees prime time television coverage of an NXL game (and that day may come), it will be in a thoroughly tested and proven format.

As for why the Hurricanes are playing X-Ball instead of 10-man, well this sort of speaks to another reason why there is time. My first time watching Xball, I didn't like it. I am almost 30 years old. I have a great love of big steaks and expensive meals. I chain smoke cigars. I drink more than I should. I can't play X-Ball! As the captain and owner of a team, I viewed X-Ball as a guarantee that I could never come out of retirement. But I am also not so stupid as to think that time will wait for me. I had to explore the possibility that this format would become the advance guard for paintball. So I held a few practices to get the Hurricanes and our second/sister team the Wild Geese familiar with the format, and then I ran a 'Ghetto X-Ball' match one weekend. The kids loved it. They loved it so much that they no longer had any interest in 10-man. There are two players on my team who turned down better offers from well known teams with more sponsorship (and higher ranked than Novice) just so they could play X-Ball. And for me, there is actualy some value-add. Instead of watching the team play from the sidelines, I can now become a coach, and take an active role in the success (or failure) of my team. It gives me a new lease on paintball life.

Xball will succeed. Because of PSP? In spite of PSP? Doesn't matter. It will succeed because once the kids see it (especially if they see Lasoya, Martinez, the Lundquists, Spesh, et al playing it) that's what they'll want to play. And once the kids play it, that's all they'll ever want to play again. And the kids are the future of this sport.

 

[rancid]

Brevity is not my forte.

Originally posted by JtJ

Xball will succeed. Because of PSP? In spite of PSP? Doesn't matter. It will succeed because once the kids see it (especially if they see Lasoya, Martinez, the Lundquists, Spesh, et al playing it) that's what they'll want to play. And once the kids play it, that's all they'll ever want to play again. And the kids are the future of this sport.

Can u hear those trumpets? What a fanfare. This is stirring stuff for sure... but then again rhetoric always did make me weep.

 

[Baca Loco]

Brevity is not my forte.

Originally posted by JtJ
1--So, in answer to everyone who says, "LA better be as good as HB." No it does not. LA had better be a good event. In fact, it had better be a great event. But it does not have to be the greatest paintball show on earth.

2--Xball will succeed. Because of PSP? In spite of PSP? Doesn't matter. It will succeed because once the kids see it (especially if they see Lasoya, Martinez, the Lundquists, Spesh, et al playing it) that's what they'll want to play. And once the kids play it, that's all they'll ever want to play again. And the kids are the future of this sport.

JtJ--can't tell if that post of yours is a disagreement or a filabuster. Either way don't think we're really at odds. I, the eternal pessimist , see the glass half empty and you see it half full, is all.
1--don't disagree with your conclusion at all. What it has to be is competitive as a tournament and event.
2--MGO's inauspicious beginning doesn't bode real well for ANYBODY seeing X-Ball being played. Which was my point.