And finally Richmond had the charisma and influence to have others believe in this vision . Richmond ’ s standing in the industry and player base won people over to give this a try . The NXL debuted in soggy New Orleans the following year after a lot of negotiating .
My background in the pharmaceutical world provided the technical writing skills and attention to detail to bring the format to life on paper . The very first game of Xball was played on the Canadian long weekend on May 18 or 19th , 2002 , with Shockwave , The Untouchables , and a few other Montreal teams--complete with a new electronic scoreboard . The die was cast on that fateful weekend and the decision was made to launch Xball into the paintball community .
The very first public game of Xball was between Portugal and France--not powerhouse teams--at the 2002 IAO held at the Big Butler Fairgrounds in Butler , PA . The section of seating that held 500 spectators was crammed at 8 am on the first day before a single paintball was fired . By the end of the day , over 1,000 people were on hand to watch the United States play Russia .
Richmond entrusted me with the keys to the new car and together with much support of his closest colleagues , industry support , and sheer willpower , the NXL was born and put on national television with help of Dick Clark . But that is a story for a different time … www . paintball . media
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