2019 Pros Switching Sponsors Official Thread

[TheOtherBill]

I'm curious why this came from Innova first. It seems like with their long history that this should have been a joint thing, or maybe Innova says bye respectfully then Paul comes out thanking Innova and announces his plans immediately afterward.

 

[snappyj]

Fortune Mags top 10:

Discraft
Innova
Walmart
Exxon Mobil
Berkshire Hathaway
Apple
United Health
McKesson
CVS
Amazon



FTFY

FTFY

 

[CrowLegs]

You all have been McRolled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Unfortunately, it's a little bit ruined by the ad at the beginning.

 

[Jay Dub]

I'm interested to see a year from now how the sales of discs will be from whoever picks McBeth up.

 

[ru4por]

Personally I would love it if more people were on the course. It's always a little sad to be alone or the only group out on a beautiful day.

If more people were out enjoying the parks they might actually get funding or people might actually give a damn about them.

Likely a regional thing. Courses here are jammed all weekend and fairly busy during the week. Only in the dead of winter can you play a course and run into only a handful or two of groups.

 

[Putt for D'oh]

Are there any actual serious posts in this thread now? Because the conjecture i'm reading in the last few pages if it is not just for fun to say is purely mental.

I was firmly in the camp that initially thought Innova would match whatever Discraft was offering. It doesn't look like that happened and the rumor that the money being thrown about is bigger than has been previously mentioned I guess would be why.

This all started with rumors he was talking to Discraft. That was it. So now that Innova said they are parting ways at the end of the season why would there be any reason to believe anything... anything other than a 28 year old, number 1 world ranked player would not be simply taking a bigger paycheck from a rival sponsor and still plan on trying to get to 13x world championships?

 

[dorseymatt]

jessus, people are going to bring this up now? Wait, of course they are. Anything to try and downplay his move. :\:\

I'm pretty sure he went through an entire season without having any real back issues. And if he did, he's still better than almost everyone

Maybe I did a poor job communicating. I'm not trying to downplay this move. It's an extremely significant move. I don't blame him at all for securing his financial future! (especially considering he has a history of back issues)

 

[lyleoross]

what are you talking about? have you had a stroke recently?

After he hit a recent "Low" of 1044, his rating has been going back up. He just won USDGC. He had 9 wins and 7 other podium finishes this season. His smallest cash finish was $610 at Jonesboro, 1 of 3 times he finished outside of the top 10.

No one in their right mind would say Paul is on a downward slide right now. This is some really biased McBeth and/or Discraft hate. I'm not Paul's biggest fan nor do I care what the pros throw - but you can't argue your point in good faith.

Can I have some of what you're smoking? He's coming into his athletic peak in a sport where the mental game and experience is a huge part. He's going into the best years of his Disc Golf life.

We are going to find out soon enough. It is neither Paul or DC hating. It is simply looking at the whole picture. The number of top players dogging Paul has increased. And they're learning, image, marketing, positioning. I'm not saying Paul isn't going to be good, or that he won't do good things, he will. But a big chunk of what he did was based on his dominance. He's gonna win, lots, but not in the dominant way he did. Remember, we've doubled the number of signature events, thanks Steve Dodge, that get your attention. Paul's marketing position came into place prior to Smash, and DGPT, and Jomez. To pull the eyeballs, Paul has to dominate the landscape. I don't see that happening. If it does, I will be impressed.

To recreate what Paul did for Innova will take him dominating the NT scene, DGPT, Majors and possible a couple of events in Europe. That isn't being a top three player, that's winning. Maybe, but I think, Eagle, Simon, Conrad, Nate, KJ, Ricky, and others (Chris Dickerson for one) are going to have some say in that. Paul may even be the most popular talked about guy. But the distance between him and these other guys won't be like it was.

 

[infinitedylan]

Nope.

Not sure which part is nope, haha. I could be entirely wrong about my speculation on WHY he's going to Discraft. Doesn't really matter other than obviously it was a better deal for him. But he is going to Discraft, haha.

 

[infinitedylan]

So I'm guessing you guys are hiding the pre-McBeth Forces to slowly trickle them out in a few years with markup?

Good plan. We did stock up on a few of these though. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bphkzh1g0ST/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

[jvphobic]

Avery is still sponsored by Innova, and I don't think he has any intention of ever leaving. He still has the Star Teebird.

Jamie, you would know way better about this than me, but it really seems like it would make sense for Avery to go to DM. He is already their team manager and employee (pretty sure). I know the two companies are intertwined, but in my head Avery at DM just makes sense.

Avery is a big numbers guy, and I think this last year was his 20th with Innova. IF he were to break ties, I would guess this would be the year. But props to Avery for being able to straddle that line for sure.

 

[VictorB]

One thing I agree with - no one will have a season like McBeth's 2015 again. Which I believed before McBeth made the move, and before his World title streak was broken. That season was insane on all levels - like the Warriors 73-9 season - no matter how good he is, it's just highly improbably that someone does that well, or better, ever again. The variance in the game is too high, and the competition is too good.

 

[dwayne.hoffman]

Assuming Paul is heading to Discraft and Kevin Jones going to Innova, that still leads a fair number up for debate:

1) Paul Uli going to Discraft to support McBeth?
2) Who on Innova is moving up and down from Star and Champion teams?
3) Prodigy is strongly rumored to be signing several top pros. Whom (outside of Dickerson)?
4) And a question that may not have been asked enough in this whole shebang...will Dynamic Discs and Latitude 64 keep their current lineups?
5) Is MVP setting up for another out of the blue great signing(s)? They did get Dollar and King mind you.
6) Lastly, the women's field has interesting possibilities for movement as well. Is Hokom staying put (I lean towards a yes)? Will Madison Walker and/or Jennifer Allen be at Innova (gut feeling is no for one of them)? Fajkus and Weese staying? Will Lat64 bring on another marketable lady (I think so)?

Exciting times ahead.

 

[AHagglund]

Paul must be getting an incredible deal if he is willing to give up his Destroyer stamp.

 

[onemilemore]

. Paul's marketing position came into place prior to Smash, and DGPT, and Jomez. To pull the eyeballs, Paul has to dominate the landscape. I don't see that happening. If it does, I will be impressed.

Even if he doesn't dominate, he will have ALL THE EYEBALLS ALL YEAR because people will want to tune in to see how he does with his new sponsor. It's that easy. There will be a huge one-year bump in people following him for that reason alone.

 

[DinosaurThunder]

LA picked up Zlatan Ibrahimovic last year, a great but aging European soccer player. He took them nowhere, despite some great play and heroics. Paul will do some fun things for DC, but this won't pan out the way they want it too. There's a reason why dominant teams don't hire the guys on the downside, it doesn't pay. I like Paul, but he's level at best, and likely to be going down going forward. I suspect this will simply tarnish his image long term.

This is just about the worst soccer-disc golf analogy you could have picked. The comparison to Zlatan would be more applicable to someone like Barry Schultz, if he were to leave Innova and the signing announcement hinged on his past titles/performance. At least choose someone like Ashley Cole (minus his moved post Chelsea which are just paydays) who left for a direct rival close his peak, had frequent injury concerns each season and people questioned if he would thrive or sink following the move. He clearly thrived and enjoyed even more success both on the field and financially - I expect Paul to do the same.

 

[JTacoma03]

Jamie, you would know way better about this than me, but it really seems like it would make sense for Avery to go to DM. He is already their team manager and employee (pretty sure). I know the two companies are intertwined, but in my head Avery at DM just makes sense.

Avery is a big numbers guy, and I think this last year was his 20th with Innova. IF he were to break ties, I would guess this would be the year. But props to Avery for being able to straddle that line for sure.

Austin Montgomery is technically the team manager, but I think the duties are kinda being split - Austin handles the logistics, Avery handles the mentoring side.

I do think over time Avery will transition to full time Discmania as he fades out his playing days, he's told me he never wants to play Masters, etc...he just wants to play Open until he feels he can't, then retire.

Leave it to Avery to be the one who can straddle the lines like that, very few can manage that balancing act, lol.

 

[DanJon]

It makes sense for Innova to bring on the new guys on the tour.

They don't have to pay them as much and if they get injured, then there aren't locked in to a long term contract.

I'm sure if Kevin Jones, for example, signs with them it will be a one maybe two year deal.

Besides they have Sexton as the face of Innova now.

 

[Royalhghnss]

He might be going to Innova but he isn't taking Paul's spot. Those are shoes no one can fill currently.

O don't be so pedantic, you know what I meant

This came together pretty quickly if it happens. Last I heard it was down to two companies for him, and neither of them was Innova.

I will say I'm less sure of this one. So I wouldn't take it as gospel. Just what I've been hearing.

 

[Halcón]

From Hannah's Instagram:

hannahemcbeth_Hello �� Maybe you heard about Paul & Innova going separate ways in 2019 & you're here to see what's up. I'm a curious person too, and seeing as how more than half of my following is because of disc golf, I understand �� I can tell you what you will find scrolling through MY feed is a whole lot of smiles & love for my husband, and a lot of pictures of people family and friends that have helped us navigate our way through the last months in preparation for this decision. We are incredibly thankful for all the ways Innova has supported Paul (and me) over the years. Thank you especially to @innovajp for all that you've done for us behind the scenes. This decision was not easy, but we are looking forward to the future �� ♡

(Sorry, I can't figure out how to embed that better. And I guess the emojis don't transfer over either)