This was originally a comment on The Truth About Guns post Ambienistas Rejoice! 3-Gun Nation Series Returns to the Internet, but it ran a little too long for the comment box... so I put it here. Please check out TTAG, I really hate leaving a comment there directing them here... :<
I don't think 3 gun will ever be as
popular as football. In general the popularity of a sport is directly
related to it's cost of entry. The worlds most popular sport, actual
football (the one where they use their feet...) is popular because
all you need to play is a single ball. Since everyone can play it,
everyone has a basic understanding of the rules, which are themselves
simple, just one sentence "Kick the ball into the other team's
goal" sums up the worlds most popular sport.
Mind you things like Nascar are
popular, but have a high cost of entry. The thing here is again, the
rules are very simple to understand, win a race, everyone knows what
a race is, but it is also related to a car, which nearly everyone in
the US has a basic understanding.
Also these are team sports (back to
football/field games), where people work together to outmaneuver
their foe. Generally (exception baseball) a large portion of the team
competes at the same time, and against another team.
Something like this three gun
competition has a high level of entry, and the technology it uses is
generally obscure, reducing the fanbase. The teams do not work
together at the same time, and they are only engaged in indirect
competition, do direct team vs team play (understandable though,
while I would like to be shot by some of those ladies I doubt I would
draw a large crowd).
As a final note we have the marketing
aspect of the game. Here I see team FNH, and others dotted with
sponsors, not "The Seattle Seahawks" or "The Oakland
Raiders." Games like football are more than just things we
attend to watch advertisements, we go to pit our cities against each
other and see who is the best, like nationalism on a smaller, less
violent scale.
If you wanted to make a popular sport
you would need to do the following:
1- Take... say 15 prominent cities and
have them establish teams for this "newsport"
2- Move the advertisement and
sponsorship out of the limelight to let the cities shine, the Seattle
Spartans (we do have a Mt. Olympus) and Oakland Operators sound WAY
better than "Team Foreign country based military arms
manufacturer." Sport is an analogue for cities to fight, we hate
each other you see.
3- Lower the barrier to entry. Have
team armories and open drafts so people don't need to bring their own
guns.
4- Yes, point 4 and now we address the
actual game. You need a game that directly pits one team versus
another, in a fast paced game that involves a lot of movement,
stamina, and chances to do improbable feats of skill.
5- Fill airtime. Require helmet
cameras, and a gun camera, and have commentators, like some cool
people. FPS Russia and R Lee Ermey.
If it was me, I would have a game go
like this, there is a live fire preliminary, where the teams compete
in shoothouses and such, do some long range shooting, etc. Then for
the final round have a simunition battle of capture the flag, have
ten players active on the field, and when they are hit they need to
be carried off by the next in line to deploy, who is invulnerable
while they retrieve their teammate, then the retriever replaces the
fallen teammate, slowly rotating through the whole team. It would be
fast paced, allow for various physical and lucky feats, and dynamic,
which is something the 3GN is lacking. I am sure to a seasoned
shooter the little differences are readily apparent, but the visual
drama is lost on a newbie. This would have people running, shooting,
falling, being carried, all somewhat relatable to a wider audience.
That was long, sleep time is now.
