AFL Is A Sport, Shooting Is Not A Sport
Paintball probably isn't a sport, although for a while it was on ESPN and the viewers can tell who wins as it is the guy without any paint on him, but paintball is a lot better than what they get up to every four years with their little air pistols. If they have pistol events, why don’t they have darts, very similar except darts has a lot more fans and an old English guy who yells out “one hundred and forty”.
If it was more like The Running Man, and the competitors were shooting at each other instead of little targets, it could be better for TV ratings. The traditional handball competition on Sunday TV shows is a lot more fun to watch than a pistol shooting competition. You can actually see the projectile in flight, the contestants are well known and Lou Richards is entertaining.
The 5-Rings Show and their shooting events don't really test a lot of skill. The venue is like a library, it mustn't be too difficult to concentrate there. When the LAPD have to get their guns out, it could be dark and noisy and the targets are shooting back, they are not only more skilful but do it every day of the year, not once every four years.
One reason why shooting is never going to be popular is that a crowd can't really sit behind the targets, although from the footage that is shown there really are no crowds at the venues. Shooting for goal during the AFL Grand Final with 95,000 fans screaming is a lot more difficult than firing off a pellet gun as a few family members and friends watch quietly.
If it was more like The Running Man, and the competitors were shooting at each other instead of little targets, it could be better for TV ratings. The traditional handball competition on Sunday TV shows is a lot more fun to watch than a pistol shooting competition. You can actually see the projectile in flight, the contestants are well known and Lou Richards is entertaining.
The 5-Rings Show and their shooting events don't really test a lot of skill. The venue is like a library, it mustn't be too difficult to concentrate there. When the LAPD have to get their guns out, it could be dark and noisy and the targets are shooting back, they are not only more skilful but do it every day of the year, not once every four years.
One reason why shooting is never going to be popular is that a crowd can't really sit behind the targets, although from the footage that is shown there really are no crowds at the venues. Shooting for goal during the AFL Grand Final with 95,000 fans screaming is a lot more difficult than firing off a pellet gun as a few family members and friends watch quietly.

