Paintball's "Image" (or lack therin?)

[Tyger]

FooTemp's thread (http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144185) made me wonder, so I'll put it as it's own thread.

In YOUR OPINION :

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.)

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball?

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results?

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball?

Just testing the waters again...

-Tyger

[_tMAN]

I'm not realy sure if this is what you are looking for but I think the image of paintball should be loked at as an ever moving sport. With the newest trends and technologies we have these days the sport of paintball is moving so rapidly it's hard to catch up.

I would also like to see some non paintball companies in paintball like a maybe Coke or Pepsi. I wonder why coke gave up on sponsoring teams. I'm pretty sure they sponsored appalacian (sp? :confused: ) Assult way back in the day.

[MayAMonkeyBeYourPinata]

Paintball is still seen as a Wargame

it is as simple as that.

Any sort of big media exposure could only help paintballs image.

[dynastyfan]

[QUOTE=Tyger]FooTemp's thread (http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144185) made me wonder, so I'll put it as it's own thread.

In YOUR OPINION :

1) What is the "image" of paintball? well my family thinks its just another extreme sprot and my grand father really likes how the guns work
2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball? the same image its been for a lobg time

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? i think it would help just so long as it wouldnt try to change the overall image of the sport
4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball? any company that would help the sport

[Skoad]

1) a sport
2) a sport
3) help - depends on company
4) sports drinks: gatorade, powerade, etc. With these companys it would be fairly easy, and can do nothing but help the sport.

[WARPED1]

I believe it's "lack thereof..." not therin" ;)

[Tyger]

I believe it's "lack thereof..." not therin" ;)

Technicalities. :) So what do you think of the main question tho?

-Tyger

[Chicago Pb 7]

FooTemp's thread (http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144185) made me wonder, so I'll put it as it's own thread.

In YOUR OPINION :

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.)

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball?

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results?

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball?

Just testing the waters again...

-Tyger


1. I think it has a bad rep because of all the fools that use paintball guns to vandalize property and hurt people. And also the part about carrying "guns" and "shooting people" does not go well for people that know nothing about paintball

2. Its to late to change what people think now.

3. If other companys promoted paintball I think it would help.

4. Being very popular and covering almost every sport, nike

[WARPED1]

Tourney players tarnish pb's rep IMO. All the swearing, throwing equipment, fights, and cheating. But it also had a bad rep in the beginning. We were all considered gun nut survivalist wannabe boys playing army. When we first came out of the woods, we were gaining acceptance. Then sponsorships began, and it changed the game forever.
The only thing that can save the game now, is the NXL on tv. It's a game non players can understand.

[Skoad]

See thats the thing. I don't think most of the "outsiders" even know what tourney pball is. I know my parents don't even know. They still think all of paintball is done out in the woods.

It would be really cool if you could get an online survey on some website, maybe a news site, espn, or some other site people who don't particularly play paintball frequent. Ask what they think about paintball. Have different options like: It's a sport. It's a game. It's a war simulation. etc, etc.

[magman007]

FooTemp's thread (http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144185) made me wonder, so I'll put it as it's own thread.

In YOUR OPINION :

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.)

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball?

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results?

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball?

Just testing the waters again...

-Tyger


1. Well being inside of the sport, the image at the moment is Kids with attitude. If you have the attitude, and the skills to back it up, you are considered cool at the moment. If you can ball, you get your respect. But, there is a fine line between beign able to ball and being respected, and there is the point where you can piss off one of the attitude entities (hk army for example) and loose all respect.
Out side of the sport, from what people know, paintball is a game like capture the flag, played in the woods. no one really knows about the tourny aspect.

2. the image of paintball should be like other pro sports. Sure, they are cliquey, but each person has their own niche. In skateboarding and rollerblading, there are the hip hop riders, and there are the punk rockers, and there are the ones who just do it for the love of it. Same with snowboarding. The thing is, everyone gets along(not between sports, but within the sport) Now, paintball already has these aspects, the "AGG" the "NEWBS" and the straight up ballers. The thing is tho, not everyone gets along. I think if people were straight up, played by the rules, and lost the attitude, the sport would be much more welcoming. Now, one thing our sport does have, despite the people not getting along, is that the majority of ballers will help another baller out of a jam, this isnt as rampant in other extreme sports.

TO the public, we need to get the speed ball aspect out, the colored jerseys, and the "cool aspects of the game.

3. A large company getting into paintball would do nothing but wonders for the sport. Heck, the large companies within our sport, have done alot. Look at DYE, dye has grown the fashion of the sport dramatically, not to mention that they have made quality products, that sell, and generate revenue within the sport. I think Dicks Sporting goods has helped tremendously with the sport at the IAO, but i think they need to advrtise it in their stores. This is where a big company could come in. Look at it like this. Gatorade comes in. They do one of their swetting ads, 20 seconds, 10 seconds of people playing a game, getting of the field, and chugging down a gatorade. its worked to get other sports into the lime light, and i can see that this would be HUGE. Remember, the majority of people still think its a game in the woods, not interesting etc etc. I dont think that a large company would try to change the image, atleast not from the get go, it may change gradually at the time, if more and more companies enter into the fray. If a Fortune 500 company comes in, and sponsors a team that Cheats, Curses, and plays in the grey area, they certainly are going to make them change their ways, or drop them from a hefty sponsorship.

4. I would love to see companies like Nike, Rebok, Adidas, Coke, Pepsi, Gatorade, and other companies, that could sponsor a team, on a true full ride(paid hotels, paid gear, completely uniform gear, and a salary to play the sport under their name). I think this would be a huge improvement for our sport. Look at what red bull has done for snowboarding teams? Vans was on the right track with their "Shoe team". Where they failed, was the fact that the shoe team, did not play together. If it was the vans factory team, or something of the such, im sure it would have worked out much better

[Burphel]

1. I think non-players see paintball very innaccurately. First off, they think of vandals. I don't even like thinking of them as paintball vandals because the fact is, the same people do similar things with baseball bats. Second, they think of backyard/outlaw players who don't give a damn about safety (their own or the people around them) or common courtesy. Third, they think of wargames. While this image sometimes comes near what a scenario/big game looks like, it still isn't even all that close. I don't think most of them even consider the tourney angle unless they've had some exposure.

What can we do about this? Organized paintballers aren't vandals or unsafe, but the fact is we can do a lot better at being conscious of our image. How many fields close every year because they're on rented or leased land and the players don't clean up after themselves and/or shoot things that don't shoot back? How often do you see people walking onto a field and then putting on their goggles or dry-firing in the parking lot? Think about how these things would be interpreted by an outsider.

2. Frankly, I'm glad the closest people come to realizing what paintball really is involves woodsball. While there's going to be cheating in any competative sport, it seems that the intense competition of tournament play has attracted the worst elements in paintball. And it seems that the promotors don't care. For now, I'm perfectly happy that tournaments haven't achieved the television coverage the players seem to want. Most tournaments aren't ready for it. Does anyone think paintball is going to grow because outsiders get to see slow-mo replays of players wiping, playing on, throwing guns, and arguing with the refs *every* game? And then that team winning the sportsmanship award? Do yo think people will change because they're on TV? Maybe, but lest we look like professional wrestling, I think it's better that we get our ducks in a row first.

Scenario/big game play offers interesting possibilites for TV. Look at the DVD's of both Shatnerballs. Granted, they left a lot to be desired, but the ability to watch a longer term game unfold, follow a continually developing plotline, along with the action has a certain amount of appeal. You can argue that paintball needs to come out of the woods, but the fact is, the vast majority of paintballers like it there. And if you need any proof that woodsball makes for interesting TV, go check out some of the old videos on Tyger's site.

The other thing that needs to happen is that tournament/scenario/big game/recballers need to stop quibbling about their differences and realize that it's all variations on a theme. Granted, I just unloaded on tournament play in a previous paragraph, but about the problems with the system, not saying anyone was stupid, backwards, or a cheater just because they like playing that format. You don't see roller hockey players *****ing about ice hockey or even field hocke players just because the games are 'different' when they've got more similarities than differences. Most of the tourney players I know hold their own out in the woods, and most of the woodsballers are fairly decent at speedball too. It's all about maneuvering and shooting. Quit making a big deal about what you wear or where you play.

3. I think it all depends on the company. Some of them will see paintball for what it is, or what it could be and try to keep it the same or improve it. Others would twist things to sell product. Just look at what the paint companies have done to the tournament scene, making everyone think that they need to shoot multiple cases of paint to be a good player. And the lack of movement resulting from the WWI trench-warfare approach to paintball is part of what makes it less than exciting to watch.

4. I've always wanted an Advil and Icy Hot sponsorship. You can't tell anyone outside the sport that it doesn't hurt, so I find it best to poke fun at the (in most cases) minor pain. Gatorade, Underarmor, and other generic performance atheletic companies are probably our best bets as far as not trying to change the sport too drastically to sell product.

[jayloo]

I have done this test on folks. Everyone who was not already introduced to the sport by someone ALL thought paintball was for folks to practice military style combat in cammo in the woods.

[MagAl]

FooTemp's thread (http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144185) made me wonder, so I'll put it as it's own thread.

In YOUR OPINION :

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.)

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball?

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results?

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball?

Just testing the waters again...

-Tyger

1) extreme (fun) activity thats way to expensive, dont believe too many outside of paintballers would consider it a sport

2) extreme sport

3) Dupont, would like to see some of the markers/accesories they could come out with, could really change the sport.

4) Dupont

[Lohman446]

Your not going to like my answers... here they are anyway

The image most people have of paintball is of graphic violence - and don't you dare point to the woods at this one. Speedball strikes non-players as just being situational confrontation "urban" paintball if you will. They still see people wandering around shooting at people

What about non-paintball companies getting in - only when they see the clear advantage of doing so. Can we say Activision running a team to show that they know the sport prior to releasing a paintball game. I noticed, I'm interested, others at Chicago noticed too.

As for Nike - they did run a sponsorship agreement with Bad Company for about a week - before they realized that it was not a commercial viable option. I know what Grant Hill represents (Sprite), I know what Michael Jordan represents (Hanes, Nike), I know what George Foreman represents. I even know who Tiger Woods represents I don't care a bit about basketball or boxing and golf is even farther down the list. I have no clue what Tony Hawk represents - I don't care about skating either and its TELEVISED. But there is the point.. when paintball comes to a point that non-ballers can associate with the celebrtiies... then maybe then we can be there. I mean, I don't associate anything with Tiger Woods because of golf alone, I see him as a celebrity.

We need to quit trying to mainstream and play - honestly and fairly. A bunch of people who cheat, especially on television, are likely not going to get the contracts as they are handed out (history may prove me wrong). The point here is this... it is indiviual player attitude (good and bad I guess) that is going to get us sponsorship. You will have to be good, but a team win loss record will only serve to highlight you. Somehow individual players are going to have to stand out. When we get back to the sport and the fun and worry less about the cameras that DONT EXIST (those cameras that cater to just us dont count, now the SI cameras, them count) we will develop the game into something marketable.

[teufelhunden]

FooTemp's thread (http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144185) made me wonder, so I'll put it as it's own thread.

In YOUR OPINION :

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.)

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball?

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results?

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball?

Just testing the waters again...

-Tyger

1) A bunch of commandos running around in the woods sniping at eachother and carving kills into their guns.

2) A bunch of athletes running around on a concept field with a point system, rules, and refs.

3) It depends on the approach. I don't feel that bringing in large corporations would help expand paintball much, the initial costs are too high. I don't think a large company would try to change the image of paintball, provided it isn't sniping with camo face paint.

4) Um. Not sure. I'm a bit biased though, as I don't feel paintball needs any outside help.

[barrel break]

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.) Wargame, nobody outside of paintball has ever heard of "speedball" or pro teams, and how public friendly they are

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball? An accepted extreme sport, such as Skateboarding, or snowboarding

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results? If done right, would help, and yes, if it would help sales, they would most definately change its "image"

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball? I would like to see any motocross company, they already deal with mechanical parts, and definately have the same mentality (in their own press)

[RRfireblade]

IN MY OPINION :D

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.)

War game based on 'hide and seek' and other military types scenerios using less-than-lethal projectiles.Often associated with other events such as malitious mischeif and basic vandalism.

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball?

Fun for the whole Family and good natured competition and sportsmanship.

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results?

No, whouldn't hurt it, and heck yeah......that's why they're in business.

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball?

Any business already connected to team sports and with a good positive image currently.Having a strong promotional and global presence and the clout/finance to exercise more of the that for 'our' sport......also a bonus.

[mkmckinley]

I don't think it's the kind of thing that will ever become mainstream or widely known. It's already pretty accepted; they have gear at walmart and Gart Sports. As far as image goes my girlfriend thinks it's really dorky, my parents think I'm wasting money, and most of my friends just aren't very interested. For those of us that play it's really fun, but for the rest I just don't think they really get it.

[FooTemps]

FooTemp's thread (http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144185) made me wonder, so I'll put it as it's own thread.

In YOUR OPINION :

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.)

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball?

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results?

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball?

Just testing the waters again...

-Tyger

Wow, I never thought I could provoke thought like this... lol

1. The image of paintball is still old school paintball. Woodsball and old school gear and such. People look at it as a tactical little war simulation or a game where they can play the matrix in, nothing more. I've gotten a lot of people interested in paintball but the questions they ask are very stereotyped about paintball questions such as, "Does it hurt to get shot by the gun?", "What woods do you play in?", "How big are the clips you use?", "What are paintball guns like? Are they :insert comparison to real gun:?", etc. They don't know what airball is, they don't know about "agg" or "muppet mower" (thank god). It's an image I would like to get away from. It is still too much a war game and far too less a sport.

2. The image of paintball should be more sport-like... I think that the only way we can achieve this is through radically different technology that looks unlike any gun in the world, and a new playing system. When I say playing system, I'm not talking about a new league... I'm talking about changing the way we play. Centerflag CTF does not have a sport image and doesn't resembly a sport in any way. If you compare paintball to a mainstream sport, the scoring methods are extremely strange, the playing method is unorthodox and the organizers are completely incompetent. I don't know what we should go towards, but there needs to be more change in order for there to be new image.

3. Any large corporation could help right now, but that's only if they know what they're doing. If you build a mask without knowing what a paintballer needs, it's gonna be crap. If you build shoes that don't hold up to paintball, crap. That would hurt too badly, but it'd still be an annoyance to us players and newbies. I could see a nike, reebok, gatorade, etc commercial completely butchering the image of paintball into all out war int he woods too. If any corporation jumps into the paintball world, they could do massive damage if they do not study up on the sport.

4. I'd like to see gatorade/powerade or nike get into paintball... This is because they make some damn nice commercials and a nice paintball speedball commercial could start changing our image.

[Burphel]

Funny thing, everybody talks about 'war in the woods' like it's an entirely bad thing. You ever meet anybody who showed up for their first day of playing paintball saying they wanted to go play 'tag at 200mph'? I'd agree that public understanding is a good thing, but it's rediculous to think that paintball will ever come completely out of the woods. Wargaming is a large part of paintball's draw. If you want to ignore it, go ahead, but there's a lot of people out there who want to be 'weekend warriors.'

[minimag03]

FooTemp's thread (http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144185) made me wonder, so I'll put it as it's own thread.

In YOUR OPINION :

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.)

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball?

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results?

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball?

Just testing the waters again...

-Tyger




1) To most people that have never watched/played the sport, it is still a war game that strange people play.
2) I like the image that we, as players, have. All that people need to do is watch and listen to us.
3)A bigger company would help regardless. They might try to change it to look more sport like and less war like.
4)Adiadas, because they are awesome :headbang:

minimag03

[GoatBoy]

Wow, the thread turns out pretty well when you number the questions... Maybe it helps people stay focused.



1. The image is still roughly something that's played out in the woods by nuts.

Stop and think about it. Where are the majority of our fields? They're out in the woods somewhere! You can have the most amazingly manicured airball field, but guess what? Chances are it's somewhere out in the woods. Gee, I wonder why people still associate paintball mainly with woods play? The push to get paintball out of the woods failed. What they did was just clear off a little place in the woods for themselves.

The other part of the image, the part where I think paintball really hits the mainstream... is actually all the equipment lining the shelves of your common stores. Any other contact with paintball has to be rather deliberate, but putting those items in common places get them the most visibility to people who never intended to be near paintball. So what do they see? Products which are apparently very deliberately targeted toward hormonally imbalanced 10-14 year olds...

This leads to, from the get-go, an inability for any reasonably mature, intelligent adult to take our "sport" seriously. Conversely, what kind of people then would our "sport" appeal to? I will leave this question for the reader to ponder.

My coworkers ping me about paintball quite often, probably as a result of all the gizmos and stuff that I get shipped to me. I can tell what their impression of the "sport" is... Oh, and out of all my coworkers, associates, and friends (not counting the ones I make from paintball), I am the only one who plays paintball.

Paintball's probably never going to be a spectator sport. This is the nature of fringe sports in America -- the fanbase is mostly ... 'practitioners', to use a commonly used term from another sport...


2. As a purely rec player myself, I personally would like to change to something like other recreational sports. Something stripped down of the stigma that you've gotta have special flashy equipment to play, and that you have to win-win-win and pretend to be some playa pimp bling PWNZ0RZ rippin Rasta A4. Just grab a gun and mask and head out to the field with your buddies for some good times. It should head in a direction completely opposite of "extreme sports". I don't see why walking out to the field to play paintball should feel any different from going to play raquetball or something.

I'm not saying try to push into mainstream so much as simply get away from trying to be an "extreme sport". That's so annoying. I find the whole concept of "extreme sports" somewhat childish.

I also think we need to get away from this mentality where we need to dress our guns up in little pink tutus so people get away from the terrible stigma of associating our "markers" with "guns". Hello, they're still guns. Stop pretending, and treat them for what they are, k thx.


3. They'd probably help by putting some business savvy into our business end. Paintball's sorely, sorely lacking in this department, across the board. They're the big corporations because they know how to make money. I don't think they would try to push paintball into something 'warlike'... They would push it into some sort of individual achievement left wing happy warm fuzzy advertising scheme.


4. I haven't given this much thought really. I think the beverage companies would be able to enter paintball without causing changes to it, so that would be a safe way to bring some... how should I say this... more interests into our "sport".




It's too bad I feel that I have to put "sport" in quotes every time I say it in reference to paintball.

[Empyreal Rogue]

1) Paintball is sadly viewed as a War Game. I don't like it any more than the next man but that's how the majority sees it. They see it that way because they know JACK about the sport. It's also common for the media to make up stories about "Terrorist Paintball Training Camps." Oh yeah, those BS stories are all too common.

2) I'd like to see Paintball displayed as what it really is, a sport. I agree with whoever (Sorry >_<) said a poll should be put on ESPN.com to see what the majority of avid sport fans think of Paintball.

3) I'm honored to be the first to mention this, yes! Remember when Budweiser had that paintballing commercial for the super bowl? They actually put a bad name on the sport with that commercial. First off no one had their masks actually on and several people were wearing goggles- which are illegal at most major fields. Secondly, and most importantly there was alcohol on the field. I'm not a stiff when it comes to drinking, but I don't know of any field that sells alcohol at all. It doesn't take a genius to realize that No masks + Alcohol = Danger. Danger within a sport leads to people turning away from it. Especially involving an activity that involves gun-like tools firing projectiles.

Kia also put out a paintball commercial. There were a mother and father hiding behind a log talking about the specs of the Kia Sedona and some other Van, a Chrysler I think. Anydangway, the camera goes, quickly, to what they're looking at and you can see people running then the guy sits up and says something regarding the price and gets gogged 3 times. It was a good commercial, showed how safe and friendly paintball is. So if the companies are willing to make a paintball commercial I'm all for it- just as long as they portray it correctly.

4) I'd like to see Gatorade, Adidas, Vans, and colleges get into paintball. Yes, colleges. Paintball is a growing sport, as mentioned many times, so how cool would it be to have your college sponsor a team? I'm not sure but on CSG they make PSU and OSU and Vandy jerseys and there are pictures of people wearing them as a team. Maybe it's already begun but obviously it's not very popular. I know when I get to college (One more year, oh yeah!) I'll at least get a Paintball CLUB started.

[Lohman446]

1)

Kia also put out a paintball commercial. There were a mother and father hiding behind a log talking about the specs of the Kia Sedona and some other Van, a Chrysler I think. Anydangway, the camera goes, quickly, to what they're looking at and you can see people running then the guy sits up and says something regarding the price and gets gogged 3 times. It was a good commercial, showed how safe and friendly paintball is. So if the companies are willing to make a paintball commercial I'm all for it- just as long as they portray it correctly.
.

So this log just happened to be on a speedball field? Interesting... this is my point in another thread, where I took the time to make a disclaimer to avoid getting flamed (I respect speedball, Im getting ready to go play a tournament now). As stated above by others, no matter what you do, that thing your holding shoots projectiles at people at a high rate of speed... Call it an automated dodgeball thrower for all I care... guess what it still is. Frankly under MI law it is legally defined as a firearm (whole nother discussion, and not enforced, but the technical law says it is).

New players and those that have nto played do associate it with war. Who cares? It has grown this big already with that associaton, it really does not hurt. "But mommy won't let Freddy play" :rolleyes: Well I feel bad for Freddy but, oh well. Parents have let there children practice martial arts, and guess what - most kids jump at the chance because they see it as violent, and quit when they realize how tame most of them are. Why has Kenpo grown - because it is a violent martial art. Why did the United System become so popular around here - because it is violent, it is geared towards sparring. Frankly, having practiced both it and Tae Kwon Do for some time, I find the United system much more interesting. People like violence... lets make that work for us rather than looking like idiots and trying to make shooting at someone look less violent.

[Lee]

Tourney players tarnish pb's rep IMO. All the swearing, throwing equipment, fights, and cheating. But it also had a bad rep in the beginning. We were all considered gun nut survivalist wannabe boys playing army. When we first came out of the woods, we were gaining acceptance. Then sponsorships began, and it changed the game forever.
The only thing that can save the game now, is the NXL on tv. It's a game non players can understand.

amen brotha.

[shartley]

1) What is the "image" of paintball? (For sake of argument, I'm talking about what "non-players" think paintball is.)

I think that depends on many factors. What part of the country do you live? Do you live in a city, rural, or VERY rural? Who do you hang out with and socialize with (demographic, social status, economic status, etc.)?

All these things would most likely get you different answers to your question.

As for in MY area, I can’t speak about everyone but can for those who I have helped into the sport and speak to about it..... they are very receptive of the sport. Depending on who the individual is, they usually have a different idea of what the sport is, most of them are correct but not entirely correct. I think overall the sport is getting a better reputation than I had even hoped for a couple years ago.

2) What SHOULD be the image of paintball?

I think it should be that the sport has MANY types of formats and many types of players. There is no one face to paintball, as there is no one face to auto racing, sailing, etc.

3) Would a large corporation (Nike, Reebok, And1) help or hurt paintball's image by getting into it? Related, do you think a large company would try to change paintball's "image" to better suit sales results?

I think they can only help. I know it is popular to bash “big business” but big business is how anything truly successful (i.e. mainstream) got that way. I also don’t think that just because big business gets involved that all the small companies will disappear. I think there is room for both. Unlike some, I don’t see them as a threat. I see them as a potential help to the sport.

4) And finally, what large corporation, if any, would you like to see get into paintball?

Oh my….. I would like to see non-equipment companies getting into the sport first. Like Pepsi, Coke, Ford, etc., in the way of team and event sponsorships. The paintball market is a prime demographic (since it is so wide and varying) to promote other products to. These companies have seen the light on this matter for many other sports and activities, so why not paintball? Well, up until now it was an image issue….. but I think in the next couple years we will see a big change in this. I think the sport is prime for big time sponsorship.

As for any other “equipment” companies…. I don’t care really one way or the other.

[Lee]

1) 4) I'd like to see Gatorade, Adidas, Vans, and colleges get into paintball. Yes, colleges. Paintball is a growing sport, as mentioned many times, so how cool would it be to have your college sponsor a team? I'm not sure but on CSG they make PSU and OSU and Vandy jerseys and there are pictures of people wearing them as a team. Maybe it's already begun but obviously it's not very popular. I know when I get to college (One more year, oh yeah!) I'll at least get a Paintball CLUB started.

http://college-paintball.com/nationals/

[Empyreal Rogue]

So this log just happened to be on a speedball field? Interesting...

Whoa whoa chief, re-read my post- when and where did I say the Kia commercial was on a speedball field? Oh that's right, no where! I don't understand what the purpose of pointing that out was...

[Lohman446]

1) Paintball is sadly viewed as a War Game. I don't like it any more than the next man but that's how the majority sees it. They see it that way because they know JACK about the sport. It's also common for the media to make up stories about "Terrorist Paintball Training Camps." Oh yeah, those BS stories are all too common.

2) I'd like to see Paintball displayed as what it really is, a sport. I agree with whoever (Sorry >_<) said a poll should be put on ESPN.com to see what the majority of avid sport fans think of Paintball.



Kia also put out a paintball commercial. There were a mother and father hiding behind a log talking about the specs of the Kia Sedona and some other Van, a Chrysler I think. Anydangway, the camera goes, quickly, to what they're looking at and you can see people running then the guy sits up and says something regarding the price and gets gogged 3 times. It was a good commercial, showed how safe and friendly paintball is. So if the companies are willing to make a paintball commercial I'm all for it- just as long as they portray it correctly.



I was being a jerk when I pointed it out.. but well thsoe two and that just did nto seem to go together

[magman007]

for the record, Theres a field in NJ that has a bar, and i think its a great idea. Knights Breed paintball was the field, and it was the host of the last AO NJ day.