Re: MSSUI dealing with the devil artical

Let me try taking this in another direction.

I think the point of the article is that there is more money involved
with Ultimate now than there ever has been in the past. The amount of
money will only increase in the future and this will, undoubtedly
change some aspects of the game. I thought the most interesting
aspect of the article was at the end when the role of the UPA is
discussed. There have been many posts here on the perceived successes
and deficiencies of the UPA and there is really no need to rehash all
that. Instead, let me make a comparison to basketball as it exists in
the US.

USA Basketball is the governing body for basketball in the united
states. If you examine their web site, you will see that it is an
organization composed of, among others, the NBA, NCAA, NBDL, AAU,
WNBA, CBA and the National Federation of State High School
Associations. Clearly, all these various organizations are involved
in basketball for different reasons. The NBA is in it for the money.
The NCAA is not (or at least that is what they say). Certainly the
state associations are not. USA basketball is "a non-profit
organization and the national governing body for men's and women's
basketball in the United States." They do many things chief among
them, acording to their constitution is "3.1 Develop interest and
participation throughout the United States and be responsible to the
persons and amateur sports organizations, and to other basketball
organizations, active in the sport of Basketball."

In ultimate, a number of people have proposed changes to the game,
some of which have been tried...refs, shorter stall counts, 2 point
line, etc. The same kinds of things have been done in basketball as
well. While the fundamental nature of the game is the same at the
high school and NBA level, there are significant changes. Shorter
shot clock, fewer allowed defenses, longer games, more fouls allowed,
different 3-point line distance, etc. Many of these changes were
implemented to make the game "more fan friendly" or more exciting
because, well, the NBA is in it for the money and so they want to get
maximum return for their money. While they are a member of USA
basketball, the purpose that they serve is different from many of the
other member organizations. Collectively, they all serve the game,
but do so in different ways. Some seek to promote the game, develop
interest, field amateur teams/organizations. Others seek to make
money by showcasing the best athletes and, arguably, the best game.

Back to ultimate again. The UPA is sort of like USA basketball. The
first purpose listed for the UPA is "to promote and support the sport
of Ultimate and its players". What we are missing in Ultimate is the
kind of professional league that exists in basketball. I am not
convinced that the UPA should be involved in the creation of a
professional or semi-professional teams/leagues. The UPA is not and
should not be driven to make money. Injecting money into governance
and promotion of the game can easily corrupt. It seems to me that
there is a space for another organization to promote high level pro or
semi-pro ultimate and do so for profit. It may well be that to draw
interest and dollars, much like in basketball, some changes may be
needed in some of the rules. It is also probably true that the fan
base is not yet there to support such and organization.

I think many of the angry posts here to RSD come from people arguing
different questions. Some argue that things need to change to make
the game more fan friendly with an eye to making money. Others agrue
that the purity of the game needs to be maintained. I would argue
that there is space for both of these goals as long as the respective
organizations seek to compliment and not compete with each other.
Since there is not complimentary organization to the UPA right now, we
seek to load it down with all the responsibilities and it often leads
to contradictions and perceived hypocracy because we are asking one
organization to do things that are contradictory.

Just my $0.02.

joel



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