Originally posted by Pneumagger
Firepower is not good nor bad for the sport... it's a moot point. Historically the sport has been growing sice the 80s while ROF and firepower as been increasing as well, though i doubt there is a strong link between the two observations. In the past few years we've had the best technology ever and the sport as a whole is plateauing - infact many have begun shifting toward pump play recently.
I believe paintball growth has stalled due to marketability. As paintball looses it's renaissance hype it had the past 5 years, it needs something else to keep atracting people, and marketability for the tourney scene just seems unmarketable. I'm not talking about the concept of people running around shooting each other and a sportlike structure - I'm talking about players, teams, and attittude.
1)Players - most sports have a high degree of athleticism. Athletes tune their bodies to their sport and display a skill uncommon and entertaining. The majority of paintballers are not necessarily skilled. Sure, there are a select few players in paintball that train like pro athletes should, but in any major professional sport every player on the field and bench puts forth that sort of commitment and it takes skill to step out on a field.... however looking at the bulk of "pro" players, you see average joes out there weilding expensive equipment and displaying mildly active skills. You can be 300 pounds, fat, and be a professional backman player as long as you have lots of money and fast fingers.
That's just not very marketable, people without a prior passion for the sport aren't going to be pulled in average persons.
2)Teams - Teams are always in a constant state of flux, players swap around local teams like their a bunch of pokemon cards. When all the dozens of D1 Pro teams come from only a handful of cities, it just doesn't produce an active loyal fanbase - it'd be like 4 pro football teams coming from Dallas alone... just not representative of a marketable sport. Also, with such names as "Stoned Assassins" and other juvenile names it is a political nigtmare for outside industries to provide sponsorship. Furthermore, teams play in like 5 different leagues... paintball needs to agree on one league and one set of rules.
3) Attitude - If I had to choose one word to describe pro attitudes, I would have to choose either condescending or immature. Pro level players need to step up and realize they are the figureheads in a blossoming sport, and need to act as such and ensure the positive image of paintball from their end of the sport. Paintball has a reputation for dishonesty both on and off the field. Off the field there is always an onslaught of leag problems and litigation and all sorts of muck that does not display a stable sport. On the field there is cheating, as with every sport. But the fanbase for every other sport doesn't condone it to the extent that paintball does. People claim cheating is a "skill" and "needed to win" and "part of the game". Ballers need to realize, as with every sport, that cheating occurs in games and should not be part of the game - that's why there's rules. I have seen time and again people congratulating cheaters for a "job well done" [cheating] and other people defending cheaters and MANUFACTURES making cheater producs. It'll be a cold day in hell when a professional athlete from any major sport gets a high five for shooting up steroids or get a standing ovation because he stepped out of bounds and got away with it. It's hard to promote and market a sport on the national and professional level when a primary message to young players openly implies "Champions Cheat".
Paintball will continue to stagnate until it cleans itself up and becomes more marketable. It doesn't matter if the players are using pump guns or electros. Am I generalizing in this rant? Yes, and i am well aware that these descriptions dont apply to 100% of ballers... but it applies to most and that's a huge hurdle for the sport of paintball and it's image to overcome. AGD, Tippman, Kingman, WGP... they all had the right concept years ago and that concept got abhorred and abused. No surprise though, no different than the rest of the world as of late.
/rant
//if you want 10 minutes of your life back please send paypal request to [email protected]
I believe paintball growth has stalled due to marketability. As paintball looses it's renaissance hype it had the past 5 years, it needs something else to keep atracting people, and marketability for the tourney scene just seems unmarketable. I'm not talking about the concept of people running around shooting each other and a sportlike structure - I'm talking about players, teams, and attittude.
1)Players - most sports have a high degree of athleticism. Athletes tune their bodies to their sport and display a skill uncommon and entertaining. The majority of paintballers are not necessarily skilled. Sure, there are a select few players in paintball that train like pro athletes should, but in any major professional sport every player on the field and bench puts forth that sort of commitment and it takes skill to step out on a field.... however looking at the bulk of "pro" players, you see average joes out there weilding expensive equipment and displaying mildly active skills. You can be 300 pounds, fat, and be a professional backman player as long as you have lots of money and fast fingers.
That's just not very marketable, people without a prior passion for the sport aren't going to be pulled in average persons.
2)Teams - Teams are always in a constant state of flux, players swap around local teams like their a bunch of pokemon cards. When all the dozens of D1 Pro teams come from only a handful of cities, it just doesn't produce an active loyal fanbase - it'd be like 4 pro football teams coming from Dallas alone... just not representative of a marketable sport. Also, with such names as "Stoned Assassins" and other juvenile names it is a political nigtmare for outside industries to provide sponsorship. Furthermore, teams play in like 5 different leagues... paintball needs to agree on one league and one set of rules.
3) Attitude - If I had to choose one word to describe pro attitudes, I would have to choose either condescending or immature. Pro level players need to step up and realize they are the figureheads in a blossoming sport, and need to act as such and ensure the positive image of paintball from their end of the sport. Paintball has a reputation for dishonesty both on and off the field. Off the field there is always an onslaught of leag problems and litigation and all sorts of muck that does not display a stable sport. On the field there is cheating, as with every sport. But the fanbase for every other sport doesn't condone it to the extent that paintball does. People claim cheating is a "skill" and "needed to win" and "part of the game". Ballers need to realize, as with every sport, that cheating occurs in games and should not be part of the game - that's why there's rules. I have seen time and again people congratulating cheaters for a "job well done" [cheating] and other people defending cheaters and MANUFACTURES making cheater producs. It'll be a cold day in hell when a professional athlete from any major sport gets a high five for shooting up steroids or get a standing ovation because he stepped out of bounds and got away with it. It's hard to promote and market a sport on the national and professional level when a primary message to young players openly implies "Champions Cheat".
Paintball will continue to stagnate until it cleans itself up and becomes more marketable. It doesn't matter if the players are using pump guns or electros. Am I generalizing in this rant? Yes, and i am well aware that these descriptions dont apply to 100% of ballers... but it applies to most and that's a huge hurdle for the sport of paintball and it's image to overcome. AGD, Tippman, Kingman, WGP... they all had the right concept years ago and that concept got abhorred and abused. No surprise though, no different than the rest of the world as of late.
/rant
//if you want 10 minutes of your life back please send paypal request to [email protected]
You dont even need fast fingers in most 'Pro' Leagues. Money buys that skill too
High ROF attained from skill: Good for the sport
Artificially high ROF attained from buying a computer chip: Bad for the sport
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