Here it is -
my 10-point plan on how to revive the "world of the bubble." We went from a big time Bud Light sponsored national tournament to [glow=red,2,300]
NOTHING[/glow] in just a few years. Unless I'm mistaken, my South Jersey Bubble Hockey League (SJBHL - [glow=red,2,300]www.njbubblehockey.org[/glow], my only plug I promise) is the only league/tournament around in 2007, and participation in the SJBHL is at an all-time low. So clearly, we as a group aren't doing something right. Here's my proposal for how to fix it. No one's going to like all the ideas, some of you are going to hate some of the ideas, and even I don't agree with everything I'm proposing, but it is a start. Here's what I think, and hopefully this will generate a good deal of posting - if not, we're in even more decline than we think:
1) [glow=red,2,300]
Quit ripping on guys for the p*ssy pass.
[/glow]
It is part of the game, built into the design of the game - why wouldn't you use it to play the game the way it is designed to be played? It is also a great way for newer players to gain some confidence and score some goals, the name of the game. And guess what? All you "slapshot from the r-dman" players out there? That is just as undefendable as the girl thingy pass when you get good at it - the shot either splits the defensive gap just like the p*ssy pass (albeit with more force) or lifts up right over the defenders' sticks - it is one-on-one with the goalie, just farther away. Does it take more skill to execute the slapshot than the p*ssy pass? Sure it does, but the result is the same - an indefensible one-on-one chance against the other team's goaltender. And who are any of us to say what is the "right way" to play the game? There are plenty of you out there who use the "longstickman throwback to the r-dman" to see up that slapshot - why? Because it is a high percentage play. Just like the p*ssy pass. So stop bashing it, stop bashing those that use the play, and play the game the way it was designed to be played. Do you not use your Queen (like the analogy?) in chess because it is too dominating a threat? Do you not shoot 3-pointers in basketball because it "cheapens" the game? Come on - get real. Play the game! And you'll encourage a lot more people to come out and play the great game of Chexx Hockey we all love, and taste some success - maybe you'll hook them for life..
2) [glow=red,2,300]
All you "A players" out there, the top of the top, are just as limited in what you do as the p*ssy passer, so open your eyes, get over yourselves, and use some of the countless Chexx moves that are out there to show everyone what a great game this is. [/glow]
That sounds so harsh, but here is what I mean. What do you top players do when you play each other? Here is a synopsis:
When the left wing has it, you drag the puck to the blue line, put it between your skate and stick, and either pass back to the center or throw it at the goal for a low tip.
YOU DO IT EVERY TIME! Why? Because that, too, is a borderline indefensible position in the game - guard the low tip and the back pass is wide open, guard the back pass and it is one-on-one vs the goaltender. It is the highest percentage play from that position, and the whole game all you top players do is use it over and over and over again...How is that different than someone who only uses the p*ssy pass? Because it requires more skill? Years of practice and game play? Well congratulations - you're tremendous skill has won you...no opponents. It is less fun to play against that type of player than any other - drag the puck to the blue line, put it between the stick and skate, wiggle back and forth a few times...the clock going tick, tick, tick...at least it gives me time to sip my beer before you score. Well done - I'm sure new players love a 12-0 beating and will be begging to play you some more - oh yeah, and you mock them for their moves and say they can't use this play, can't play that way. And we wonder why interest is declining...
When the right d-man has it, you take some sort of slapshot uncontested on the goalie, either from the back line, the red faceoff dot, or up by the blue line - the location changes, but the result is the same - your r-dman with the puck, shooting at the goalie, uncontested. A high skill shot, no doubt, but also the next highest percentage shot after the p*ssy pass. None of you in a game against a decent opponent would try a bank shot or bank pass there, or would flip it to the l-dman for a jam shot, or would try anything else. It is like a caveman - "get puck to d-man, shoot puck on goalie, get puck to winger, drag to between feet, shoot on goalie, etc." There are countless other moves out there, and you all know them, but you won't dare try them in a game because it isn't the safest most effective play. The game is boring that way, and all comes down to who does those few moves the most effective, since you are both doing the same thing every time at that point.
If we want to include more people, generate more players, than I think we need to look at how we play the game. Do you want to win, or play? Guess what - almost everyone wants to win!!! Take away their chance, and you'll take away their participation, and we have seen it happen. So you top players - mix it up! Yeah, you might lose a game or 2 (horrors!), but gain a player or 2 (or 3,4,5,6...). Try a bank pass, and iceberg pass, a board pass, a combo move, a 3 rod move, etc.
3) With that in mind, those who can - [glow=red,2,300]
get your Chexx games out to the people, maybe even put on a little clinic.[/glow]
If you own a game or have access to a game and want to generate buzz and interest in Chexx, then get your game to the people. Let's face it - most guys who own games are very good, and likely beat up on their friends and family enough that no one wants to play them anymore. Sound familiar? You own a table but never get to play anymore? Then take it to the road! Get in touch with local bars/taverns and ask to bring your game in, offer to run a little tournament now and again or a weekly or monthly league. You might get free drinks or dinner out of it. Bring your table to the local skating rink, get young kids playing. Offer up your time and expertise, show off some moves (p*ssy pass included) - it doesn't always have to be about winning. Try recruiting. I've met many of you, and you could be great ambassadors for the game - get out there and drum up interest! The game can be a lot of fun to play - get people playing and stop trying to beat their brains in when you do it!
4) [glow=red,2,300]
Get in touch with local NHL teams and their minor league affiliates, or minor league hockey teams, and try to establish a working relationship.[/glow]
I'm in touch with the Phila. Flyers right now about a bubble hockey night at a Flyers game, and at one of the tournaments Jimmy and I ran (The Del Val Classic I) we had as door prizes free tickets to a local minor league hockey game (Trenton Titans) and small giveaways from the Flyers. But we should not have stopped there. In truth, that event had 42 players and the next one *(Del Val II) had 15, so our enthusiasm waned. However, if we want this to be a big nationwide network, you need to start local. You might be surprised how receptive the teams would be. Look what the St. Louis guys did with the St. Louis Blues? It took hard work, and the influence of Dave Williams and the now defunct IBHF (there's a guy we all criticized into submission - I hope we're proud), but they got something going. We all could do that. And I think we need to...it could build from something local into something national. Even if it stayed local, it would be a lot of fun and we'd all meed new people and new players..
5) This might rankle a few feathers, but: [glow=red,2,300]
Engage the rest to the table hockey community - Shelti, Carrom, Stiga, Benej, Coleco, etc.[/glow]
There is a large community of players out there that we never access - they run bigger events, have a larger following, and in many ways show more passion for their games than we do. Check some of them out at
www.tablehockeyheaven.com or
www.leaguelineup.com/nyctablehockey, or any of a host of others under Stiga, coleco, Benej, etc. Instead of turning our noses up at them, we should reach out to them, hold cross-over events, piggy back on their tournament schedules, get a captive group of table hockey fanatics interested in Chexx! Most of those die-hard players have turned their noses up at Chexx - too many undefendable spots on the table, too much reliance on the p*ssy pass and other similar plays, too many quirks with bounces off the bubble and ramps, too limited a slot pattern, etc, etc, etc. Those players already love to play table hockey - they just need to be educated in the world of Chexx, and shown that there is more to the game than they think. And maybe, to foster that involvement, we need to involve ourselves in their games, take out lumps and humiliating defeats for the greater good - bringing more life and more players into our game, Chexx Bubble Hockey. Stiga runs several tournaments every year throughout the US and Canada, and a big event in Las Vegas every year - we should have a presence at all of those! I know a Chexx table isn't portable like a Stiga table, but if it is possible in any way, we should do it! Same with Shelti and Carrom - we should find those players and get them into Chexx.
Once they play Chexx, they might like it, and some may never go back.
6) Having said that, [glow=red,2,300]
run local tournaments more often, and build toward a national event every year.[/glow]
You KONE guys - so what you only had 15 players, and most of them were newbies? Why cancel the event? That was a perfect opportunity to get new players interested. You guys love to play and to run tourneys - keep doing it. Maybe do it smaller and more often - 2 or 3 tables at a bar once a month of so, generate some interest like the Cool Bars did in St. Louis, building up to a big KONE every year. Maybe coordinate around the NHL season like the St. Louis folks did. It might start small, but might blossom. And maybe you really good players should take the cue from Tony Hernandez and not play in events sometimes, just so new guys can taste some success. I had a player in my last tournament (Burlington Bubble Invitational, 2007) actually tank bracket games so he could go B flight - he knew he had no chance of winning the A Flight, and he wanted to taste some success. We need more events for the "B" player - that's the only way they'll become A players. No one has the time like we did back in the 80's and 90's to learn Chexx - Chexx has to compete with a whole host of options for our attention now. If it isn't fun. and if people aren't good at it, they won't play - plain and simple. They sit at the computer, play video games, etc...
7) [glow=red,2,300]
STOP RIPPING EACH OTHER!!![/glow]
Look, there are jerks out there - I can be one of those guys, and have been one of those guys. But we need to come together if we want this to be something big. Stop ripping on Jord76, Bob Young (I beat Pete, Mr. "5000-2," a publicity stunt by the way), and some other guys - good natured trash talk is one thing, but I and others have crossed the line on occasion. There is no need for it, and all it does is alienate us from one anther and turn off new comers to the site.
Well, that is my rant. I have more ideas, but you'll all need new glasses if you've read this far, so I'll stop for now. Hope this spurs some debate -
GOOD NATURED DEBATE!