Anyone have any thoughts on why paintball is an "Extreme" sport?
The way I see it, paintball is less physical than most sports...basketball, soccer, football, hockey, etc. It also lacks the "I could potentially break my neck in the next 5 minutes" featured in "Extreme" sports such as snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, motocross, etc. If you remove the slightly overrated sting of being hit, paintball is nothing more than a chess game about establishing lanes. Granted it requires athleticism and body control with the running, jumping, sliding, and keeping tight, but really, how EXTREME is it?
That being said, there is no doubt in my mind that many companies market along the extreme sport lines. Why? I know they are trying to attract the target market (Young males) but doesn't this instantly reduce our credibility with the market that can actually spend the money (slightly older males and dads) ?
Paintball already works uphill against the misconceptions created by the fact we are shooting guns (
) at each other, why add to it by casting ourselves as an extreme sport. I know it's cool and all, but wouldn't it be better if there was a little less hype and pb was in the olympics than if there is a huge cool factor, and we're in the X-games?
Keep in mind, i'm sure there is an answer to this, and I'm not demanding a change. I'm just wondering why PB is an EXTEME sport, and it's probably due to forces outside our control. I'm not complaining or yelling at speedballers, just posing a question! I love PB and don't really care about the social stigma, but you cannot deny that there is one, and it might be from our EXTREME status.
The way I see it, paintball is less physical than most sports...basketball, soccer, football, hockey, etc. It also lacks the "I could potentially break my neck in the next 5 minutes" featured in "Extreme" sports such as snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, motocross, etc. If you remove the slightly overrated sting of being hit, paintball is nothing more than a chess game about establishing lanes. Granted it requires athleticism and body control with the running, jumping, sliding, and keeping tight, but really, how EXTREME is it?
That being said, there is no doubt in my mind that many companies market along the extreme sport lines. Why? I know they are trying to attract the target market (Young males) but doesn't this instantly reduce our credibility with the market that can actually spend the money (slightly older males and dads) ?
Paintball already works uphill against the misconceptions created by the fact we are shooting guns (
) at each other, why add to it by casting ourselves as an extreme sport. I know it's cool and all, but wouldn't it be better if there was a little less hype and pb was in the olympics than if there is a huge cool factor, and we're in the X-games? Keep in mind, i'm sure there is an answer to this, and I'm not demanding a change. I'm just wondering why PB is an EXTEME sport, and it's probably due to forces outside our control. I'm not complaining or yelling at speedballers, just posing a question! I love PB and don't really care about the social stigma, but you cannot deny that there is one, and it might be from our EXTREME status.
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