Selling Out the paintball community

This weekend I'll be going up to Factory PB for some indoor action. Pump guns only, should make good footage. I went to the website to find directions, and I found this :

Tuesday, November 29th, 2005!
Top Gun Tournament at Factory Painball Arena 6 p.m.
$50, Plus Paint
Limited to first 16 paind Registrants
Registration untill 6 p.m.
One on One play Best of Seven / Single Elimination
Winner gets complimentary entry into Top Gun Regionals ($200 value)
Top Gun Regional Winners go to National Championships in Las Vegas for Televised Event
National Prize: New Car!*
Call Now (847-473-2400)
Register on our factorypb.com to receive e-mail updates and other specials

*Terms and prizes subject to change and provided by UAPL

I tried to call them, but got a machine. There is a link as well, but it goes to a promo video from UAPL/WPL. I even went to the UAPL Website but they had no information on the event.

So what's to bother me? Well, first is the format. 1 on 1 isn't really about who's the better player. Often times, it's who's luckiest or who keeps moving. There are no mentioning of the rules of the event (nor any links, which bothers me) so it's probably unlimited paint format. Which means that there's only skill in shooting being displayed, and not skill in playing. Oh, and the ability to scream and intimidate refs into overturning "who shot who first" calls.

Second is the basics told on the site. 16 player limit. Fine, that's cool. $50 entry, ok, that's cool too. "SINGLE ELIMINATION FORMAT". I can't tell if the "Best of 7" part means that they will be putting people into two groups of 8 for a "round robin" format, or what. It just bugs me when they don't provide any more information than the absolute basics. I want to know the rules, I want to know the format, I want to know why I should spent $50 for a 1 on 1 event?

Then there's the regionals / nationals. I'd kinda like to know where those are going to be held, because frankly I need to know how I'm going to get there. Unless a part of the prize is to fly out to Vegas for the "Nationals", that's money out of MY pocket to get there for no guarantee of anything. Even the prize is "subject to change"! They could give me a "Toy YODA" and say the prize was subject to change. Which brings me to one more thing.

And finally, the prize of a "new car". You know, a long time ago there was a small event called the "Spyder Cup". The winning team received 5 "new cars". Mustangs, to be specific. What the tournament hype didn't mention is that the 5 cars were yours for a YEAR, on a lease. The winning team didn't KEEP the cars. It was one of the details that was hidden until you pressed the issue and REALLY dove deep into the specifics.

I feel like this "carrot" is about as deceptive. As I said, there's NO information about this on the UAPL site. In fact, there's no information about this high-prize tournament format ANYWHERE. Even on Warpig, I only found a 9 month old article on it, including this :

Those who prefer to proclaim the sportsmanship found in paintball may be less than pleased by the show's candor when discussing wiping and cheating. While not outright saying that they cheat, players interviewed on the show allude to the fact that hits can disappear. "“I did not cheat. All the paint on the side of my face and over here.. It was like a figment of your imagination. It didn't happen, there was nothing here" said Greg "Red" Hastings while making wiping motions with his hands in the show's first episode. (Milt) Call commented, "They asked me what to show and what not to show. I said to show the truth."

With a comment like that, I think I can guess about the quality of officiating, and the sportsmanship of the players being encouraged. It may just be they're not flinching at the truth, or it may be that they're aiming for a "WWE" approach to TV "Sports Entertainment".

So, let me think... $50 to win a shot at a place in a tournament where the rules aren't published, the players admit to cheating on camera, and the powers that be only tell the truth and not punish the guilty? Oh yeah, and the $50 doesn't include the paint I'd have to buy to play in the tournament. But the more I look at this 1-on-1 event, and how this "professional" tournament is being run so ripshod, the more it makes me question the entire UAPL company / tournament series.

Something tells me this is yet another attempt at making paintball a "Cash cow", and not a sport. A lot of people would just say "If you don't like it, don't play in it." I'm not playing in it. Not because I don't think I'd do well, I could probably beat the tar out of most people 1-on-1 with unlimited paint. But I think I "get" what the "UAPL" system is doing.

I guess it just bothers me when I see people put paintball on TV, but it's not the sport I play. It's what they know will make them money. And that's short "Mtv cuts" and character snippets, constant changing action, and glorify the cheaters. It's not about the sport, it's about the characters in the sport. It's also about making the money over making a community. I think that bothers me the most.

8-9 years ago I said that for $250,000 I could put paintball on TV in a format people would love. 3 on 3, centerflag, and WWE it out. Make the players "characters", make good and evil teams, and then have backstage stuff going on. I said at the time I wouldn't do it, because I had too much respect for the game. Apparently, not everyone does.

From the Warpig article, May '05 :

(Duke) Ellinger is no stranger to shooting and producing paintball, having captured the 2002 Nation’s Cup X-Ball tournament on video for his cablecast show Adrenaline TV. He now serves as president of Paintball Television Productions, and described the new TV show in a television production industry testimonial… "Imagine the WWE meets Adrenaline TV meets Arena Paintball: it's going to be off the hook!"

And if Milt Call wants to debate me on this, guest posting is still allowed on this forum.