Paintball x3

When you get right down to it, the sport of paintball is like an ecosystem: it relies on the balanced needs and contributions of all its occupants. 

By Lorrie Lee Jones

As with any thriving symbiotic relationship, it is comprised of elements that both give and take to support the survival as a whole. 

So when a disproportion develops and an element of that system mutates and begins to dominate the whole, then havoc can be wrecked on the remainder of the organization that once sustained it.

For Part One of This Series, Click HERE.

Sharks & Bottom Feeders

And this is the premise, Bob Long believes, is how and why professional paintball went awry. He blames this on a disparity that spurred off the sport’s fundamental principles of over twenty-five years ago.

“Back in the 1980’s it was simply ten-man games in the woods,” says Bob. “That’s how it started, and you had people aged 25-40 playing simply to have a good time. There were no sponsorships, and a box of paint cost you $150. You saved up that money yourself for a long time just so you could go play with your buddies.”

Today’s sport has evolved into a much different version of what was originally envisioned at its onset, mostly owing to a change in player mind-set. Bob recalls that while there were hopes of nationalizing the sport and bringing it universal exposure through televised events and such, they never foresaw the commercialized crux that evolved as a result.

Bob remembers; “Back then you had teams willing to pay their own way; you brought tents and slept at the field and roughed it. You made it happen. There was a strong sense of team unification. If someone couldn’t afford to play, the rest of his team pitched in to make it work.

“Then by the 1990’s, you had a new breed of player coming in. Unlike the Ironmen who spent the first five years paying for themselves, a younger crowd started coming up the ranks that just wanted, wanted, wanted and never put anything back into the sport. Young people, who didn’t have jobs, started showing up with their parent’s credit cards and making demands and having grandiose expectations. It became a disease that started using up resources.”

Then entered Corporate America stage left.

In essence, the sharks were beginning to circle and starting to put a strain on the very system that once supported them. Their aim was for the bottom-feeders who took whatever they could get. As the sport moved into the 2000’s, big-name corporations started feeding into the frenzy by enticing young players with large endorsements and sponsorship packages. They were starving out the system in their progression.

But not all that glitters is gold. It’s one thing to have someone always dishing out money for you; it’s another to have to earn that money yourself. This realization started sinking in for some of the top teams on the circuit by the mid 2000’s. Despite a division among the league ranks, teams like Dynasty and Ironmen voted against receiving prize money. This move forfeited corporate involvement and enforced the message to top-dollar gamblers and gluttonous players alike: “It’s not about the money.”

To these teams it meant proudly walking away with only a trophy. To them it was about honor and integrity and being rewarded for their hard work as groups of players that were out there to have fun above and beyond any other reason.

Aside from this, not all sponsorship and endorsement deals were being lived up to.  Promises had been broken and Bob Long himself recently won two such breeches of contract lawsuits against corporations who failed to fulfill agreements. Monopolies abounded and began skewing player’s visions of fame and fortune. As a player, coach and business owner himself, Bob saw both sides of this depravity.

“I get calls all the time,” says Bob. “So-and-so from somewhere on some team thinks he is doing me a favor by endorsing my product, so what can I give his team for free? I don’t think so. I have very strict standards on how that works.”

So does this indicate that an end to the sport is eminent?

“Not by any means,” Bob says. “People have to get rid of the ‘gimme’ attitude and put back into the sport by teaching the younger players its true meaning. You’re paying it forward; don’t play for the prize money… play for the trophy. Get them back to the time when your word was your word and a gentleman’s handshake was legally binding.”

Once the sport became commercialized, the quest for money and prestige grew cutthroat. Vendor monopolies developed at tournament events where, Bob stated, they demand upwards of $20,000 just to back your truck up into a spot. Also discrimination among types of merchants was rampart and a lot of viable industries were excluded by outrageous costs and imposed regulations. 

So how can we turn around and rescue this ecology? With people needing recreational things to do, Bob is confident that there will be a revival of the sport. However, this will not happen without some reconstruction and a change of player credo.

Bob advises that we can start by impressing upon younger players the basics of the game. Let them get a taste for it in its purest form. It’s time to slow the game down. He would encourage young players to discover their personal best and to exert their maximum effort.

But more than anything else, Bob insists we teach them to respect the game and how vital it is to give back to the sport so that it may continue to prosper. Everyone has a place in the paintball world, and with that also comes a responsibility to it.

For more information about Bob Long markers and accessories, visit www.boblongdirect.com.