Should paintball be televised?

[Tyger]

I know this will turn into a flame war, but I'm going to ask it anyway. The poll is just for the casual observers.

On one hand, we have people who say that paintball needs to be on TV. That the TV audience would turn into a revinue stream by mainstreaming paintball into people's homes. It would be recognition of paintball as a sport, and legitimise paintball as such. Plus it would be great to watch as well.

On the other, we have people who believe that it would ruin the sport by over-populating wiht people who saw paintball on TV and now want to be "Like Mike" if you will. Paintball on TV would be over-commercialised, over structured, and possibly filled with "prettyboys" who can't play but look good on TV.

Which brings to the point. SHOULD paintball be a televised sport?

As a related topic, what kind of paintball should be on TV? Tournaments? Scenario games? X-ball? A totally new flavor of paintball?

Open floor. Have at.

-Tyger

[teufelhunden]

I think the current paintballers would collectively have a heart attack if paintball was on mainstream tv at a time when more than 4% of the country is awake.

A good deal of paintballers always advocate taking paintball to the next step, making it more commercial, etc/whatever.. but don't like the consequences. For as long as I can remember, people have been saying how "TOTALLY AWESOME DUDE! :headbang: " it would be if Nike, Reebok, etc. got into paintball. What people either don't realize or don't want to realize is that with big business comes big business practice. So for anybody who wants paintball on TV or to be picked up by billion dollar companies, you have to ask yourself.. are you ready for business wars that will make Smart Parts look like water under the bridge?

For reasons like this, I vote no.

[Bulldog]

I voted no, because I don't think it's matured enough yet. Maybe in a few years if it gets a strong governing body that enforces the rules. just IMHO.

[Jet-Xino]

I'd like to see paintball on tv IF its done right. The little that I've seen on OLN was done very well. I think the most important thing are getting some decent announcers who know the game and arn't extremely anoying. As an avid paintball player myself I can say their is nothing more boring than watching a paintball game where you do not know any of the people playing or have anything invested in the particular game and on top of that you have no idea whats going on on the field.

If I as a serious paintball player find the games to be boring or can't follow the game then their is absolutly no chance that a non paintballer would have any kind of interest in watching. I think with good announcers, good teams, and a product review here and there it could work. I think for the most part it would be good for the sport paintball (as long as the rules are seriously enforced and fair play encouraged). Any chance or oportunity to help the sport grow would be great I think. Yes you are going to have a increase in some cases of unwanted incidents but I think for the most part alot of new people could potentialy be exposed to paintball and we could see the sport grow even more which is good. I think the good would outweigh the bad.

I can't understand the mind set that would want to keep paintball hidden or as secret from the public. Yes as with any sport or industry as it grows bigger your going to have to deal with things becoming more commercial and deal with big business controversy but I think for the average paintball player or any paintball player the improvments and inovations made (spured on by competition) to the sport will be well worth it.

[MasonFootball89]

Ok pretty boys wouldnt get on TV because its like in any other sports a national league was formed and the top players would be on TV because of their skills.

Once paintball is on TV it will almost automatically turn into a hit sport even more than it already is.

I think one of the best things that could happen to paintball would be getting it on TV. People could see how much fun the sport.

This would help them see the reality of the sport instead of jackass shooting each other in the cup (jock strap) and using them to hurt people.

Also they would learn why people love paintball(plus Id love to watch it)

[Krysys]

Simply....no.

-JohnnyK

[WARPED1]

Yes, but not as an XGame or extreme sport.

[lather]

Paintball has been growing in popularity without TV. I dont need to see paintball on TV to justify my enjoyment and appreciation for the game.

[ramennoodles]

hey cool, i didn't didn't know krysys was on this board, thats awesome, anyway, no, if you wanna hear my reasoning, i agree with his rant, check it out http://www.krysys.com/ramble.htm

[Gunga]

Couple problems I see with paintball being 'TV worthy'. Tourney paintball at least.

One...in every other sport (that I can think of) that is on TV, there's only one ball. Keep your eye on the ball. Things will happen around it. With paintball...everyone's got the ball. It'd be too confusing for Joe Public I think.

Two...you'll see people cheating. Well, I suppose there could be creative editing, but y'know what I mean. Paintball involves people with guns who shoot at each other intentionally. Adding cheating into paintball's 'image' wiith Joe Schmoe would be bad.

Another thing...most everyone is dressed similarly. There's always gonna be a team wearing the same color scheme as another. You're not going to confuse the two teams when the Bears beat on the Packers. Teams would need unique uniforms. Also, the jerseys would have to be simpler designs (they're too busy IMO) so you can actually read someone's name at a distance. Large player numbers would be nice as well...but then you run into the problem of the pack obscuring it from the rear...and the bunker/ground obscuring it from the front. So numbers would have to be on the sleeves/shoulders as well.

[RenagadeOfFunk]

I agree with Gunga, and not just because of being a fellow Chicagoan..

its too hard to watch all the players at once, and what "moves" will be cool besides bunkering...

...in other sports there are base rules, unlike pb which has X-ball, and different # of man tournies...

...then there will be more people interested in pb which leads to problems...more guns everywhere more stupid teens shooting each other in unauthorized places.

...and there will be those "like mike" people, as stated before.
When i go play basketball and a local court there is always that showoff/punk who swears and makes fun of the other guy just to prove he is the best...we dont need more people with egos and then them using pb markers...

...i know i talking about the .001 % of the players...but with more and more people playing that number gets bigger...

[Automaggot68]

I think the current paintballers would collectively have a heart attack if paintball was on mainstream tv at a time when more than 4% of the country is awake.

A good deal of paintballers always advocate taking paintball to the next step, making it more commercial, etc/whatever.. but don't like the consequences. For as long as I can remember, people have been saying how "TOTALLY AWESOME DUDE! :headbang: " it would be if Nike, Reebok, etc. got into paintball. What people either don't realize or don't want to realize is that with big business comes big business practice. So for anybody who wants paintball on TV or to be picked up by billion dollar companies, you have to ask yourself.. are you ready for business wars that will make Smart Parts look like water under the bridge?

For reasons like this, I vote no.
I very much agree with every reason stated. Good post

[Empyreal Rogue]

I saw a Speedball match on TNT one morning and this guy was blatantly cheating on Cable TV. But the refs, almost literally tackled him while one ripped the marker out of his hands and banned him. All while the game was going on.

When players get in arguments and start swearing at each other, it's no different from when Baseball Players clear the benches and fight each other and swear. You can easily tell what they're saying. The only difference is that it happens more often in paintball than baseball or football. Now Hockey is a different story, fighting is technically legal but there are consequences.

What I'm saying is that if the refs are willing to do ALL THEY CAN rather than half-butt their job then I'm all for televised paintball. If someone is cheating, let them cheat and let them get caught. Now the cheater boards are indeed more difficult to catch than a simple wipe but there are ways around it. Like before the match starts everyone's marker should be chronographed legally, as normal, with refs observing with BPS clocks. If they notice, through the clock, an obvious plateau in BPS then they're using a cheater board which would result in instant expulsion from the tournament. And in certain cases team expulsion.

That may be a bit extreme but if it's the only way to ensure -FAIR- play then so be it. Maybe players will eventually learn through fair play that there's no reason to cheat and give up. But that would be living in a dream world.

[vonort]

Why? Is pretty much all I can say. Why do we want it to go to TV. Everyone thinks its going to bring lower prices and more advances. Most likely when companys like Nike get involved your going to see prices go UP!!

Someone mentioned then just the pretty boys will be on tv. Umm that is pretty much what runs the tourny circuit now.


And if you really want to stop ramping, and cheater boards. Make tournys PUMP ONLY. Solves that problem. Also slows down the action to make it easier for a ref to stay on top of wipers.

[paullus99]

Actually, I'm surprised SPIKE TV hasn't picked up paintball yet for broadcast. They have all kinds of unusually programming right now (including the basketball/trampoline hybrid game I can't remember the name of right now). Seems like a perfect fit to me - I wonder if anyone has approached and pitched them on it yet.......

[dwab3000]

well i voted yes

but not these hyped up channels like espn..stuf like NESN, or FSN...OLN too....these are the stations we want to be on...not espn

espn, will hype it up SOO MUCH..and most of us on AO...hate hype (tho lately ive seen alot of it going around)

[azza]

I dont think paintball is ready to be a fully televised sport in its present state. There are still many problems that need to be addressed and solved before its truely a primetime tv slot sport.
Other than the main probs of cheating and reffing or along those lines, I think theres also as some people have mentioned theres too many points of focus.
Move the main focus off the players and back onto the flag, Im not sure how, but just some food for thought.
How many other sports do you see players get eliminated out of the game till there are none left?
The only thing basicly left is the field layouts, which is basicly decided by tournament hosts anyway, so they need to do their part when hosting a tournament by ensuring that fields promote movement and action. And IMO making field sizes smaller and using small bunkers doesnt count.

I know this is off topic but I also think that the lack of a governing body in some reguards is holding paintball back as a sport.

Cheers
Azza

[rkjunior303]

I think if it's done, they pretty much need to take a page out of how they broadcast the WSOP. I mean,c'mon. You watch that stuff and you get pulled in by it -- when it's just a bunch of guys playing cards... They need to make it INTERESTING for the viewers to keep their attention, this is including the occasional channel flipper that happens to run into it one night while seeing what's on TV. If they do a good job of explaining the game and how a game progresses, I think it could prove to be interesting...

Start out explaining the game and how the game is played (including safety). As the game is being played, maybe cut to player interviews, etc. Maybe throw in a tech tip or 'strategy from the pro' inset, etc.... If its PRODUCED properly, I think it could be interesting but it's also a VERY FINE line.

[Tyger]

Now what's interesting to me is that MORE people say "yes" than "no" in the poll, but more of the replies to the post are saying "no" than "yes". Why haven't more people taken time to post why paintball should be on TV? Just finding it interesting...

-Tyger

[hitech]

Because it's not a big deal either way. I voted yes, however many things would need to change for it to "make it" on TV. But that has been well documented above. ;)

[Pump Scout]

How about this - yes, but not in it's current formats. With rates of fire where they're at, it's very difficult for John Q Viewer to follow the action. The game would almost need to be designed specifically for TV. The various formats that are out there today just aren't going to cut it without technical/camera support that would make NASCAR green with envy. And they have a metric butt-load of cameras working their races.

I won't claim to have the answers to a viable TV format, but I have a few ideas. Problem so far is that few-to-none have been willing to listen. To me personally, it's all academic anyway - those who are in a position to make the decision of putting paintball on TV will do what's best at the moment for their pocketbooks. That won't neccessarilly mesh with what's best for the sport, but a lot of what has gone on in the past 5 years falls into that category.

[Chojin Man]

No. I think that any large company that gets involved in paintball, due to it being televised, will try to screw us over as much as possible.

[azza]

I think the one of the biggest probs personally is the volume of paint thats being used during games, since it seems to me when i watch unedited films of paintball theres very little movement right till near the end of the match when one side is on the brink of winning.

Paint isnt everything! For example in a 3 man tourny we had in Blenheim NZ, the 2 top teams when they played each other. Managed to play 7 rounds of ctf pb in a 10 minute match! And to top it off, it was 50 round hopperball(50 rounds for the whole 10 minutes, not per round) with recycling players!

Just my $0.02NZD
Azza

[Mr_Steven]

I think it would be awesome if paintball was televised, not only would it be more popular, but your average no-nothing person wouldn't look at paintball as means of vandalism anymore, they would see what paintball really is, and that its only the little immature kids who do stupid stuff with there walmart brass eagles.

[shartley]

I think it is a good idea. For me most issues pointed out don’t really matter.

If they can film a little white ball that was hit by a club, as it flies through the air, they can figure out a way to get enough cameras and a good enough crew to do on the spot camera changes to make watching paintball as interesting as watching any other sport. I just don’t think the major networks have had much of an interest in the sport yet (for obvious reasons). This should change though…

However, we will most likely end up seeing the minority of the sport being televised…,. But that is understandable, since it is much easier to set up for an arena event than it is for a standard woods field, scenario event, or standard Rec field. I think those will still remain as private productions when/if filmed, as opposed to standard “on TV” filming.

[Wickster]

Why not?

There are a lot of boring sports televised on tv (as Shartley said- golf), and paintball would certainly be better to watch than many of them. Of course there are many problems with televising paintball on tv as stated by others in this thread, but plain and simple for me is that I'd rather watch paintball on tv than golf, figure skating, fishing, gymnastics, etc.

Tyger- maybe others who voted yes but didn't reply have the same thought as me- it's not perfect, but better than some other sports on tv.

One last thought- MAYBE televising the games (and therefore televising the cheaters) would actually help to reduce the cheating. Obvious cheaters on tape can be suspended from further tournament play, etc.

Just my $.02.

[gc82000]

Here is my $0.02.

Ok in this day an age where cn you see a professional sport that does not introduce or have a life story on at least one of the players or competitors. Example american football. there are people who do not play the sport, but they know the entire roster of their favorite team.
And how many of us know or have even met a pro player. But yet it is the most watched sport in America.
Paintball, I think, might follow suit in introducing a new player or dropping a little history about a person.
As for bigger company joining in to the sport I dont think that is a bad idea. It will just make the industry more competitive. And plus it is already happening, need I say K2/WGP.
I also read another point that I think is null and void. The rapid fire of the guns. In nascar one of my favorite camera angles is the still camera right next to the track. Seeing those cars buzz by the spectators is one of the best shots in all of sports. Imagine a similar shot with paintballs.
One point that I saw in this forum and think is necesary the formation of a standing body to regulate professional paint ball. In other sports there is the NBA, NFL, MLB, PGA, PBA, FIFA. Why not a United States of America Paintball Association, or the like.

I know it is a rant, but no apologies here.

GC
Oh yeah I saw someone write about uniforms. Thinking of it like this, companies make money from professional uniform sales, Lebron James for example. Uniforms in Paintball are just not there yet. And I like the way they look now.

[abunkerer]

I think it should be on TV. Not for ratings, or for anyone who dosen't know the sport. I want it on TV because I like to watch games, and I think that most pballl players like to watch it too. They televise pool and poker and hunting..and Golf!
Being afraid of giving the game a bad image (by showing people cheating or fighting) is just players being overprotective of their beloved sport. Sometimes its that "bad" stuff that gives it a little flavor, like in skateboarding...everything was nice and cute untill the "skateboarding is not a crime" stuff came around and then people started the skateboarding culture, sort of an identity thing for many people. thats when the sport really became integrated into society.
Kind of like Whats is going on with the HK thing. People may "scoff" (yes, i said scoff) at those kids but what they are doing is something very big. They are creating a paintball culture, and that is important.
Paintball getiing it's "big Break" would be putting a lasting impression (stereotype) into the way society views the sport. If you were an entertainer you wouldn't want to get a big break too soon only to fail in front of everyone, you'd be FiNiSHED! If paintball had its big break now, would society like what it sees? would you?
It's going to happen soon, it's going to be interesting to see what side is shown; on one side the made for T.V. sponsor whores, on the other side you have the streetballer types..Im hoping that the coin lands on its edge. :cheers:

[danoxide]

i think that paintball should be on tv and it should be tournys...they should be speedball but i would really like if they made the feilds different....what i mean is have one side good for attacking and one side good for defending...kind of combine the whole Scenario and Speedball type games...but use Sup' air type bunkers while doing it...


:cheers:


just my 3 cents(yes i typed a 3)

[shatter_storm]

Paintball was on TV 10 years ago - it didn't work, the ratings sucked and nobody watched it. I'm not sure how it's going to be any different this time around... yeah we've got brand name markers and brand name clothing and flashy pro players, but we've also got rampant cheating and no common organization. How do you televise something that most people don't know about in the first place?

[abunkerer]

the recent nppl airings on Fox Sports Net had excellent ratings.