when all this first came up and the rules were being changed my issue then is the same as it is now...I think the US should have its own League or Federation or whatever you want to call it...like the NBA, the NFL, MLB, or the NHL...I think we should have kept our own rules (and if they needed to be modified then modify them) and created/kept our own American foosball structure
these other sports, and many others could be named as examples, have the American version and then there are International versions of each with slightly different rules
this isn't, nor was it then, an argument about how good or bad any specific rule change is/was...this is about control of American foosball
I agree if we are going to compete in International events then we should adhere to international rules but in the US, we should play the game the way we evolved it
also, since giving up control of the rules to a body far away and internationally focused, we can not make changes we feel are good for foosball in America...in the beginning there was a lot of talk about Tom being Head Official and openness to change but I said then and will repeat now, that control will slowly erode (and it has already) until we have very little say in changes...eventually, assuming the ITSF continues to grow, the difficulty in changing a rule will become greater and greater...it was already hard here but think about the levels of complexity by adding 56 countries and 7 or more tables
I am all for creating a body that works with the ITSF for international stuff but I am not okay with giving up American foosball to an international body
I want American foosball to have its own unique identify and be a sovereign body determining its own destiny
I was unhappy about all this when a table manufacture controlled American foosball when and thought then, and still do now, that an independent organization, should grow and become the governing force of foosball in the US…like the NFL which is an organization apart from a manufacture
Mary Moore (Independent Foosball Promotions) was moving toward this but then got sucked into the International thing because of a few perks for a few players and because her table supplier was going in that direction
As much as I like and want the changes being suggested (conceptually) for the Tornado table, I am reminded that these changes are not taking place because the table manufacture is suddenly listening to the players…this is happening for the same reason Tornado sold American foosball to International control in the blink of an eye
MONEY…Tornado wanted their table recognized, they want to sell in Europe and around the world…that is why Tornado sold the American game and player to the international game and this is why these changes are being made…Tornado wants a different market than what they are limited to in the US even though they will do nothing to promote the US foosball market
When will we, American Foosball, rise up and take control of our own game? God bless the ITSF, I want them to do well but I want the US to have their own organization apart from the international connection and then create a committee that will work with the ITSF
I don’t know if this is possible any more, it may never have been because we don’t seem to have the visionary leader who will step up and sacrifice and organize and rally foosball here in the US…the video tells me we are further away from this happening than at any other time….
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