Pete - the brit team comment was not an attempt to make a point. It was merely an observation and yes, of course I know that some of the bad blood was a result of the city debacle. Nothing to do with Missy Q though, the strange 300lb Beautiful Black Rap artiste, so I don't know where all this reference to 'you guys' comes from...
I do think support at events helps teams. I don't know how much, but surely its a confidence/morale thing? Its a lift. Its an 8th man. If this were not the case then teams' home records would not be expected to be better than their away form.
Chicago - If the teams got together and did indeed decide to throw all their money away for 2 years then that would hopefully stimulate the market and raise the bar with a truly independant series, in which case you might find that WDP/PP would be very happy indeed, as would all manufacturers, and from that point the costly promotional arm of thier company would cease to be necessary. Unfortunately its far easier talking about how easy it is than actually shelling out and doing it. You would find that the teams, as usual, turn to the industry for support and then its the same old same old isn't it?
You are also making the unfounded assumption that the top teams would pay for things. Their wallets only have an 'in' window. I would have thought you would have known that. Either way, I doubt you would see it in the next 5 years. My guess is never. But if I'm wrong, I see it as a good thing. The top teams are, as you pointed out, making money, so their particular motivation would be what?
As far as the players having no input, I disagree. The captains have a lot of input. The NPPL changes its format and schedule regularly due to player input. My theory on this is that so long as they are doing a good job, whats the problem? As I said earlier, the power is always in the product.
And your last paragraph is a classic chicken/egg connundrum, so much so I am not going to address it.
I do think support at events helps teams. I don't know how much, but surely its a confidence/morale thing? Its a lift. Its an 8th man. If this were not the case then teams' home records would not be expected to be better than their away form.
Chicago - If the teams got together and did indeed decide to throw all their money away for 2 years then that would hopefully stimulate the market and raise the bar with a truly independant series, in which case you might find that WDP/PP would be very happy indeed, as would all manufacturers, and from that point the costly promotional arm of thier company would cease to be necessary. Unfortunately its far easier talking about how easy it is than actually shelling out and doing it. You would find that the teams, as usual, turn to the industry for support and then its the same old same old isn't it?
You are also making the unfounded assumption that the top teams would pay for things. Their wallets only have an 'in' window. I would have thought you would have known that. Either way, I doubt you would see it in the next 5 years. My guess is never. But if I'm wrong, I see it as a good thing. The top teams are, as you pointed out, making money, so their particular motivation would be what?
As far as the players having no input, I disagree. The captains have a lot of input. The NPPL changes its format and schedule regularly due to player input. My theory on this is that so long as they are doing a good job, whats the problem? As I said earlier, the power is always in the product.
And your last paragraph is a classic chicken/egg connundrum, so much so I am not going to address it.
