[SoFlaBaller]

i havent seen an nppl field setup in florida in years...

[gunslinger84]

Originally Posted by SoFlaBaller

i havent seen an nppl field setup in florida in years...

You know . . . I was thinking that when I noticed the Tampa venue for NPPL. Was baffled.

[TherealInsomniac]

Prior to cru creating their pro team, the only 7man field in the state belonged to tcp. I'm not even sure if they bought a bunkerset or if they are relying on pre existing 7man fields form their partners in buffalo and Ohio.
There's one at paintball plex in Indiana. Cpx has one badlands has one....
The psp bunkerset is the current standard for field purchases. Outside of fields owning them for specifically helping their high division teams, i know of no field who just has a 7man field. I can think of 5 fields around here who don't have a national team regularly play there who have a psp bunkerset.

[tremis]

A lot of you might not have been around, or maybe don't remember what it was like when there was just 1 national league. It was a disgrace. Have you ever told somebody you play paintball and they said "pingpong?" Well in those days, there was more clout by admitting you played ping pong. It was lightyears more professional than paintball was. (might still be, it is on tv)

Anyway, when you all wish for just one league, good luck with that. It might be great, but the track record surely isnt. But times were different back then. That league was run by the Gardners, Rennick, Braun and Youngblood. It's a good thing it isnt any of those guys who will be running the sole league this time around.....oh, wait

[anti55hero]

Originally Posted by tremis

A lot of you might not have been around, or maybe don't remember what it was like when there was just 1 national league. It was a disgrace. Have you ever told somebody you play paintball and they said "pingpong?" Well in those days, there was more clout by admitting you played ping pong. It was lightyears more professional than paintball was. (might still be, it is on tv)

Anyway, when you all wish for just one league, good luck with that. It might be great, but the track record surely isnt. But times were different back then. That league was run by the Gardners, Rennick, Braun and Youngblood. It's a good thing it isnt any of those guys who will be running the sole league this time around.....oh, wait

This idea is uncomprehendable to most, even those who can be considered old goats in this sport. Great post and great point.

If its not NPPL that is the competition, fine. If its not 7 man, fine. But there absolutely should be some sort of option for the players to fall back on that is not regional, that promotes the professional side of paintball, even if you dont agree with the professional level of skill (as much as we think it matters, to the lay-public, and to selling products and marketing, it does not matter). The NPPL has done a fantastic job getting NPPL into big venues and into the view of many that would otherwise not have seen it. SO, if the NPPL does in fact die, I only hope someone else will step in and fight to continue what the NPPL built when everyone loved it not all that long ago.

[xTheirOut2GetUx]

Nppl always had great promotion and good venues. However they were crooked snakes when it came to how they treated the players both on and off the field. I personally prefer a race to or xball format. Not because I prefer to play it, it's pretty even for me when it comes to that. It's simply more marketable to the masses and at least makes it look like a sport.

I really would like to see another league come up and compete with the psp. Lets be honest though. The nppl hasn't been a real contender for the last couple years.

[carebearPM8]

Interesting because XSV was always better at 7 man than x-ball.

[ArchAngelIon]

Originally Posted by TherealInsomniac

Prior to cru creating their pro team

D3 5 man team now pro?

[TherealInsomniac]

Sort of. An old axbl team combined with some cxbl players. There's only one kid from Michigan on the team. It's Cru's owner's son.
But that is one part of the nppl that some people find laughable, and others find admirable. Anyone with the cash can try their hand at pro, which does dilute the quality of competition. Especially when 4 established teams pull out.


We know pbn hands out green names for those who play pro, but at what point does playing pro in the nppl mean the same as playing pro in cxbl, or uwl? I'm curious as to what someone needs to do in order to meet the criteria to obtain a green name.
From what I can tell the nppl is Edmonton, dynasty, and a bunch of APPA divisional players.

[skydad]

The best thing that can happen to paintball is one single national league. This sport has never been, especially now, large enough to support two national leagues. It has nothing to do with the number of players and everything to do with sponsors. Sponsors realize they cannot afford to support two leagues and are drawing a line in the sand. There will never be a chance for sponsors outside the sport to enter into the mix with two leagues. Plain economic 101 - more sponsors, better venues, more exposure.

The most similar situation is BMX just a year or so back. Two governing bodies NBL (dominate on the east coast) and ABA (dominate on west coast) battled it out with different race formats, tracks, etc. Although BMX probably has 10 times the number of people attending national events it still was not large enough for two sanctioning bodies. After a long drawn out battle, similar to paintball, the NBL raised the white flag and the ABA absorbed them.

BMX is a great model to study to determine how it continues to grow. Head to an BMX national event and it looks like a mini NASCAR with the RV's trailers, etc. Families base their vacations and lifestyle around the support and travel to national events as a such. All the while racing for nothing more than a trophy. Imagine a paintball national event where the winners won a trophy - the outrage would dominate the forums.

PSP will have a lot of presure to take the sport to the next level once NPPL collapses. If they do their job their will never be a need or the economics to ever start another national league. If the fail and the sponsors start to pull away it will open the door for someone else to step in.

[B*FordPRO]

Originally Posted by plastic

I live in ****ing Arkansas and there are four PSP fields. Zero NPPL. I could say the same for pretty much the whole of the Midwest.

.

[Skipdogg]

Originally Posted by tremis

A lot of you might not have been around, or maybe don't remember what it was like when there was just 1 national league. It was a disgrace. Have you ever told somebody you play paintball and they said "pingpong?" Well in those days, there was more clout by admitting you played ping pong. It was lightyears more professional than paintball was. (might still be, it is on tv)

Anyway, when you all wish for just one league, good luck with that. It might be great, but the track record surely isnt. But times were different back then. That league was run by the Gardners, Rennick, Braun and Youngblood. It's a good thing it isnt any of those guys who will be running the sole league this time around.....oh, wait

Yup, pingpong. hated that. anyway, I dont recall any problems with the Lively Series in the long long ago. And I think we have come a long way.

[bulzeye]

Originally Posted by skydad

The best thing that can happen to paintball is one single national league. This sport has never been, especially now, large enough to support two national leagues. It has nothing to do with the number of players and everything to do with sponsors. Sponsors realize they cannot afford to support two leagues and are drawing a line in the sand. There will never be a chance for sponsors outside the sport to enter into the mix with two leagues. Plain economic 101 - more sponsors, better venues, more exposure.

The most similar situation is BMX just a year or so back. Two governing bodies NBL (dominate on the east coast) and ABA (dominate on west coast) battled it out with different race formats, tracks, etc. Although BMX probably has 10 times the number of people attending national events it still was not large enough for two sanctioning bodies. After a long drawn out battle, similar to paintball, the NBL raised the white flag and the ABA absorbed them.

BMX is a great model to study to determine how it continues to grow. Head to an BMX national event and it looks like a mini NASCAR with the RV's trailers, etc. Families base their vacations and lifestyle around the support and travel to national events as a such. All the while racing for nothing more than a trophy. Imagine a paintball national event where the winners won a trophy - the outrage would dominate the forums.

PSP will have a lot of presure to take the sport to the next level once NPPL collapses. If they do their job their will never be a need or the economics to ever start another national league. If the fail and the sponsors start to pull away it will open the door for someone else to step in.

how much is the entry fee for a bmx national event?

[SoFlaBaller]

Originally Posted by bulzeye

how much is the entry fee for a bmx national event?

This. lol

How can you compare a very expensive team sport to bmx? That sport is cheap outside of travel expenses...

[skydad]

Originally Posted by SoFlaBaller

This. lol

How can you compare a very expensive team sport to bmx? That sport is cheap outside of travel expenses...

You clearly have no concept of what a competitve bike costs.

[SoFlaBaller]

Yeah actually I do....
Add up top of the line pb gear and its the same **** man.

The difference is the paint/tournament entry/practice costs.

[gunslinger84]

So how about that whole XSV not playing NPPL thing, gang? Huh? How about that? How do you feel about that? Any thoughts? Maybe opinions you want to share?

[randomdean100]

Originally Posted by skydad

You clearly have no concept of what a competitve bike costs.

Bike + helmet = what? a grand if you're an amateur maybe 2? Compared to about a grand to two grand for all of your gear, plus practice paint, entry to events, paint at events. We'll rule out entry to events and travel expenses for both because they both have that cost. So paintball has the added cost of paint, which anyone will tell you is a *****. Pro's in each sport have big sponsors so pro in either are comparable as well, except the biker makes more.

[John]

Originally Posted by TherealInsomniac

We know pbn hands out green names for those who play pro, but at what point does playing pro in the nppl mean the same as playing pro in cxbl, or uwl? I'm curious as to what someone needs to do in order to meet the criteria to obtain a green name.

That's a tough one. In the past, it was easier. We want to help professional paintball teams and players. They give up more than most people realize to play a game at a level most can only dream about. I won my Pro spot in the NPPL back in 2004 and it was a battle with most the top teams were playing so I understand a little bit of the sacrifice. However, I don't understand why some of the current teams think going Pro is a good idea. I can't see how they will be competitive.

I don't honestly know how to do the coveted green names for the first time this year. I think we also have some guys who didn't play Professionally very long who still have theirs. I will have to put some real thought into it. Let me know if you guys have some insight.

[SoFlaBaller]

That's always bugged me John...
But how can you take away old pro's green names? They were at some point a paintball professional. Some of them are big paintball names.
If they play/have played pro pb, and that's what the tag represents, you should give every player a green name.

If it's current pros... then anyone that played pro in 2012 or any event in 2013 should get the green as well.

[John]

I agree, there isn't an easy answer. I know the problems, the solution isn't as clear to me yet.