Sigh...
Alright, I told myself I wasn't going to post in this thread, and I'm doing it anyway.
I am a member of Team Trilogy. That is secondplace. I am also a sponsored member of TeamLat64.
I started throwing some Lat64 stuff back in 20120 when my game was going through a transition and I found that these new discs worked quite well with what I was trying to do. So slowly but surely I worked with things and found molds that could replace molds in my bag. I went to an all Lat64 and Westside bag(before DD was on the scene) and I began a relationship with Svante (CEO and Co-owner of Lat64) and from there my sponsorship was born. There were 5 of us initially, all fans of the plastic, who showed loyalty to a company we enjoyed. and that company repaid us by giving us a sponsorship. And I am grateful for how they have taken care of us.
When Team Trilofy came about, I was skeptical. I'll admit it. I knew it was a marketing thing and it wasn't even created by the companies. Actually I should rephrase. It initially was not a marketing deal. It was created because a lot of the more serious players and Lat64 supporters wanted a way to network and have some sort of competition. It began bc people were hooking up with close players from the fan page. I myself drove down to OH and played with a couple guys. Dusty did the same. Dusty and I played a round while the fan page was still young even. So it was with this mentality that TT was born. DD wanted to show its appreciation as did Lat64 and that is where the discounts come in. i have a linked account for my TT discounts...I have yet to use it. Why? BC I didn't throw the molds they were offering initially. Now I see they have some I do throw on there. Maybe I'll buy them with the discounts, maybe I won't.
Back to being skeptical. I felt that this sort of endeavor was going to createa very grey area in regards to the word everyone cares about...SPONSORSHIP. I was proud of mine and protective as well. Case and point, when word was released I was on the team I had 3 local guys approach me to "get them on the team" or ask "how can I get them to sponsor me?" and that kind of mentality is very offputting. I look at it as I was thanked and rewarded for supporting a company. I am an ambassador for them. I offer my bag for people to throw. Do I saw "you need to throw this instead, it's better", NO. Do I say I throw it because I liked it better, sure. I felt with Team Trilogy this sort of support and reward would get overlooked by people who thought exactly how many of you do, that they woulod believe them to be sponsored players.
There were some situations I am sure, but I know of a couple guys who joined, one for the wrong and one for the right reasons. Guy A threw about 90% a Trilogy bag. He dropped a couple molds, tried out a few and foud a bag that worked and joined. Guy B dismantled his bag and tried to rebuild it all within a couple weeks. He was the guy that approached me at back to back events asking why this disc didn't fly like he thought or that disc wasn't OS enough. I could have said he was an idiot and joined for the wrong reasons, bc I knew he did, but instead I decided to help him, and he actually has changed his bag a bit and is really working well with it.
I know I'm rambling some lots of thoughts I'll finish with this...
I joined Team Trilogy late, and Dusty can contest to this bc I know I spoke with him about this, bc I felt that a created fan club was overstepping the sponsorship lines. I did join bc in the end, it is about supporting the companies that support me, that chose to bring me in as an ambassador of their products, and competing against those like minded people.