The UFC has a revenue of 1.5 billion dollars. The NFL generates 23 billion in total revenue. What about the USPSA? It makes 3.56 million dollars. We gotta bump those numbers up, but how do we do it? We have to get more eyes on the contest, gotta get those Gatorade endorsements, those exclusive streaming deals, and the money that comes with them. How do we do that? I have five ideas on how to make USPSA and competition shooting in general more profitable.
Entry Music
Imagine that once per match, pre-stage you get an announcer and entry music. As you trot up to the starting point of the stage, your favorite song is blasting, getting the crowd pumped up and ready for you to shoot. You can come out swinging, pumping fists to your entry music.
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There are plenty of good gun-oriented choices. I imagine Marty Robbins will be a popular choice. Gimme the Loot by Biggie mentions TEC-9s, and while it would be controversial for a family-oriented event, Executioner Style by Kool G Rap would be great.
It would get the crowd pumped up, the shooters pumped up, and give folks watching a moment to pause and look up from their phones. Entry music seems like a cheap way to make a competition shooter a little better.
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics go hand in hand with entry music. It’s also super easy to do safely. You’re at an event where everyone brings ears and eyes, so there is already an added layer of safety. If we can get a little pyro off at the right time, it could be huge!
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Obviously, when a shooter enters the match, a little pyrotechnic flare would get people excited and riled up. However, that’s not the only time we can put up the fireworks. In the event of a clean run, throw up pyro. If we’re shooting Steel Challenge every time a new range record is set, shoot up the pyro.
Of course, the winners get pyro as well. Let’s just toss it up whenever we can, because why not!
The +5
The first time I shot a match, I learned how to reset the stage. It’s simple, quick, and something every competitor should be willing to do. However, we all know that sometimes you might need to run to the bathroom, fix something on your gun, etc and you might not reset every stage.
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With that said, we all know that one guy. The guy who seems to fade away when it’s time to reset the stage. He disappears and never seems to know where the pasties are or where the spray paint resides.
That guy is a jerk, and guess what? We can punish him while making an entertaining twist. If fellow competitors notice he’s not helping the reset, they can vote to give him a +5-second penalty in the next stage. Imagine the twist, a little dark music, and bam, the bum gets the penalty. That’s how we get the drama out of this match. More importantly, it gives us some much-needed justice.
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Engage the Audience
We live in a digital age where the audience can be engaged immediately, so why shouldn’t competitive shooting take advantage of that? The more your audience is engaged, the better, so you can keep them engaged by allowing them to partake in the match.
Imagine if the audience could vote on which stage to drop a little chaos into. Nothing unsafe, of course, but what about a random no-shoot that appears out of nowhere? What if a full-sized target gets swapped with a reduced-size target? Little things that turn a shooter’s well-rehearsed stage into chaos.
The DQ Challenge
When a shooter gets hit with a DQ-worthy charge, the shooter can challenge it. Not with a boring slow-mo replay showing he only went 179 degrees, but with something fun. How about a pasty challenge? The DQ-ed competition shooter has to attach 20 pasties to a USPSA target without ripping or tearing a single one within 30 seconds.
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Even better, make the RSO a part of the challenge. The RSO and the DQ-ed shooter do a little rock-paper-scissors. However, if either pulls out finger guns, they get an immediate DQ for sweeping.
Chase That Competition Shooting Bag
Why shouldn’t talented shooters make a little more money? Why shouldn’t the sport grow? We can make a few changes to make the sport more engaging, interesting, and dynamic by taking what works in other sports and bringing it into the mainstream. A little music, some pyro, and creative penalties are all we need.
(P.S. Yes, this is satire. Kind of, c’mon, entry music and pyro would rock.)
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