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-----Original Message-----From: Tom Yore Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 20:35To: USTSF Players, Promoters & OperatorsSubject: Re: FW: ITSF Dress Code at Tornado WorldsWell said Larry! You should post that message on the USTSF forum. -Tom btw, is four long paragraphs your idea of "quickly"?----- Original Message ----- From: Larry Davis To: Mike Boyle Cc: Team USTSF Players, Promoters & OperatorsSent: Monday, September 24, 2007 4:12 PMSubject: RE: FW: ITSF Dress Code at Tornado WorldsMike, To quickly address a few of your points: 1. Thanks to the ITSF and in particular the USTSF, foosball has received more public and coin industry media attention in the last 18-24 months than was received in the entire seven years (beginning to end) of the T.S. Million Dollar Tours -- media coverage that has included recent articles in the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, SportsIllustrated.com, MSNBC, the Washington Post, and global syndication by Associated Press, among others. The ITSF World Cup in Italy was attended by over 50 media representatives and members of the German, Italian and other Olympic Committees, with worldwide coverage by EuroSport (international sports new network similar to ESPN) and was even on Fox News here in the states. At the Hall of Fame Classic last March, there was more media present than any other tournament Valley has run in 35 years, with stories during the tournament run on a number of local Vegas television channels in Vegas papers. If you genuinely looked around at the last few Vegas tourneys, you would have seen them all filming and doing interviews. The same has been true for many of the USTSF/ITSF sanctioned tour events all year. Attached is an email I sent out last Spring with a description of just a portion of the coverage we've gained. There's far more listed on the foosball.com forum. This kind of media coverage generates exposure, both to the public and the media, which in turn draws the attention of potential sponsors, like Corona Light. But it's not just big companies that want exposure in return for sponsorship, since any individual player could show this amount of local, national and international media coverage to obtain their own individual sponsor and the sponsor would likely be delighted to get something more out of their investment than "give me money and I'll wear your logo on my shirt." It was done by countless foosball players in the 1970s, and there's no reason players shouldn't be doing it now. At the same time, the coin industry exposure via all the national and international trade magazines and websites has kept up / revitalized distributor and operator interest in the concept of even putting foosball into a location, which itself is a massive achievement when compared to the revenues distributors, operators and bar owners make from placing alternative games such as video poker and other "fruit" gaming machines instead of a floor space hog like foosball. 2. Valley-Dynamo does not systematically rip off the rookies. The rookies have a prize fund, which is more than they had on the entire Million Dollar Tour (first place in most tour events for rookie was trophies only). Thanks to Tornado/Valley/Dynamo, since the mid-1980s they not only get prize money but also get package deals, which they (or anybody else) didn't have on the Million Dollar Tour. Blame Tournament Soccer, not Valley-Dynamo, if you want to blame someone for ripping off rookies and novices. And blame nearly all the other promoters for the last 35 years for running their tournaments from DYPs up to tour events at the expense of rookies and semi-pros, because that's what they've been doing. Either way, the Pros & Masters do in fact pay more money to enter most all their events, and thereby incur greater risk, and further have invested a great deal more in training time in getting good and staying good than do rookies. Why shouldn't they have bigger prizes? In what sport do beginners/rookies/ams make as much as the top athletes in the world? Aren't all the rookies in most every other sport also paying into those sports in various ways that all ultimately pays for the top athlete's prizes or massive contracts (not to mention what fans pay to just watch those other sports that foosball "fans" don't have to pay at all)? Rookies and even fans in all sports buy into those sports because they enjoy the game and/or want to get better and unlike most any other sport in the world, foosball rookies can go to any pro tour event in the world and not only watch the top players up close and for free, but get to talk with them, ask them questions, and even play against them. And if you want to see a rip-off of a prize breakdown for rookies thru semi-pro in skill levels, take a look at any table tennis, darts, billiards, bowling, or chess tournament prize breakdown. The U.S. Open for Table Tennis, a sport supposedly much "bigger" than foosball, is a laughing stock by comparison. 3. Uniforms or at a minimum, a dress code are required for nearly every sport that is recognized as a sport, including several closely identified with table soccer such as table tennis, billiards, bowling and more; and foosball itself has a history of dress codes dating back to the Million Dollar Tour. And yes, rookies and novices did emulate the top players' attire. Wiswell and Fury, Bowers and Alwell, Simon and Lott, the entire Arapahoe Foosball Team and more were the standard and indeed, outstanding players all of whom by their and professional demeanor and exemplary team clothing/image somehow found it easy to attract sponsors. But for whatever reason, I guess that's the last thing anyone today would want to do -- even though it might save them the cost of their entries, hotel, travel, or team clothing as it did for me and plenty others in the 1970s. 4. ITSF is much further along towards being a "recognized sport" by the International Olympic Committee than most people in the USA know, largely because people in the USA don't bother to find out. This year's progress report from the IOC provided several key recommendations for compliance, all of which are standard for any sport seeking IOC recognition, all of which ITSF has duly acted upon, and which all the member federations and manufacturers are required to implement as appropriate. One is standardized rules, another is athlete dress/uniform standards. Sure, even I think the dress code as currently written may be too restrictive, but in fact most of it is nothing that most anyone couldn't and wouldn't wear at home or working out. Regardless, the ITSF now has 50 participating countries each of which has established an organizational and promotional structure that was not there before except for in only a few. These countries are across five continents and the ITSF world pro tour has reached 62 tournaments annually with combined prizes currently about 50% greater than that of the Million Dollar Tour's annual payout. I really can't see anything wrong with such massive expansion of the sport to so many new countries and new player bases and with so many new participants everywhere. In fact, the achievement is extraordinary and something only imagined even in the 1970s. I believe we can embrace this and continue to see growth, progress and greater participation in the sport worldwide, or we can badmouth it, be apathetic, and complain 'til our face is blue and in the end watch our as lack of support results in fewer tables/places to play leaving only trashed out tables in the back of dingy bars, and further watch as the game is systematically replaced by gaming machines and other more profitable use of revenue per sqare foot. But that's just my personal view. Very respectfully, Larry Davis "Ask not what the sport of Foosball can do for you; ask what you can do for the sport of Foosball." -------------------------------------------------- Mike Boyle wrote: -----Original Message-----From: Mike Boyle Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 12:07To: Team USTSF Players, Promoters & Operators Subject: RE: FW: ITSF Dress Code at Tornado Worlds Yeah, because the tournament room is just jammed with "Spectators", "Kids" and "Media", it's crawling with them, I can't hardly move around in there because of the overwhelming number of foosball groupies pawing at me for my autograph. If we just dressed better, all the media down at the Fashion Show Mall would flock to the sweaty foosball room. Why it would be a cornucopia of media attention if we were all in matching sweat pants. Attn: People - "Dressing to Impress" is great in concept...but who are we impressing? The media isn't in that room, non-foosball playing spectators aren't in that room...kids who aren't in the 17 and under event aren't in that room. The room is WAAAAAAAAY in the back of a two thousand year old casino, the general public, just doesn't wander into that room. In fact someone gambling who gets lost on the way to the bathroom would have to stumble around pie-eyed drunk for 10 minutes, and pass 3 well marked lavatories to inadvertently stumble into the foosball room. Honestly, if we all showed up in rented tuxedoes with "Sports racing stripes" sewn to the sides and our numbers and names embroidered on the lapell, do you think that we'd get Fred on the cover of sports illustrated? How about into USA Today's sports page? Anywhere? Maybe a small blurb between the paid golf advertisement for "illegal golf balls" and the Viagra add? No. At the world cup events, having all the teams in team uniforms is "Fun", but there is no media there, and the only people we're dressing up for is each other. If foosball ever becomes an Olympic event, then, I could see the need for a dress code, because then the media would watch, and non-foosball playing "General Olympic Audiences" might see us, one of the networks might even cover it. But at "Foosball Only" events 99% of the people in that room are foosball players or friends of foosball players. That's who's going to be viewing the "Dressed up people". Do you think Louis is going to care what Trevor is wearing this year at worlds? If he did, then maybe whoever made that Brokeback Foosball thing might be right. What about you Tom? Is your attendance based in some small way on what David Radack is wearing this fall? Go ahead, you can be honest. Don't lie, I've seen how you look at him. Who are we impressing? Oh wait, let me guess. Somebody's going to pipe up and say "It's the Rookies...the rookies will care how the top pro-masters are dressed". What a load. Valley has managed to design the tournaments to butt-rape the rookies and semi-pros out of their entry fees. The payouts for that level player are pretty much criminally bad. How about "Stop screwing the Rookies" and maybe they'll show up. Actually with Corona's sponsorship this year I'm betting a few more Rookies and Semi-pros will actually show up. I wonder how many people on this mailing list will instead think the increased rookie turn out is because Steve Moes crammed himself into some sweat pants? -----Original Message-----From: Jim Waterman Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 5:17 PMSubject: Re: FW: ITSF Dress Code at Tornado WorldsFrom the perspective of "spectators / kids / media"... and to "build up the players".... I'd think you would take top 16 "seeds" by however you are seeding players atthat event! "Tag em" with their seed number so they stand out for braggingrights and spectators to scope 'em out! ----- Original Message -----From: Bruce Nardoci To: Tom Yore Cc: Davis, Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 7:46 PMSubject: Re: FW: ITSF Dress Code at Tornado Worlds Top 16 by USA rankings, or ITSF rankings?Bruce---------------------------Tom Yore wrote:Hi Bruce,As I understand it, ITSF will be providing the patches for the top players to wear on their shirts.---------------------------"from ITSF:Hi TomYes there will be ongoing change in the rankings. However, what we mean by "top rated players" is the seeded players of a given tournament, the 16 best players in each case; these are the ones who would bear the patches on their sleeves.Hope that helps...ChristineITSF"...Our next rules revision will be more specific.-Tom----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce NardociTo: Davis, LSent: Friday, September 21, 2007 10:49 AMSubject: Re: FW: ITSF Dress Code at Tornado WorldsI've added it to the USTSF website under the rules link, and also added it below the Worlds banner at the top of the home page.The document isn't clear about one thing, exactly who does rule 29.3 apply to (top 16, PMs, other?).Bruce-----------------------------Davis, L wrote:To: Team USTSF Players, Promoters & OperatorsSent: Thursday, September 20, 2007 16:35Subject: ITSF Dress Code at Tornado WorldsImportance: HighAll, This information regarding the athlete Dress Code to be used at TornadoWorlds (see attached) has been out in some form or another for several weeks, but this document from ITSF's Rules Commission and endorsed by USTSA and USTSF is the most current and easy to read and understand. Also re-sent is the USTSF General Assembly Meeting invitation -- all are welcome to attend.Bruce, Although the athlete Dress Code is already on our website as part of theregular rules section, please give this document its own separate (indented) entry on the left side of the USTSF website main page under "rules" as soon as you can.Thanks to everyone for your help!! Larry Davis, for USTSFlarry.davis@ustsf.foosball.comwww.ustsf.org
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