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

[Tyger]

FooTemp's thread 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? ) 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 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 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 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 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.