BABI on the Brink

The vote to switch to 5x5 at the annual rules meeting may have failed, but it is also clear that it will probably pass next season. Thornton Melon, who missed the meeting, has expressed interest in moving to 5x5, and had he been at the meeting would have represented that missing 7th vote.

The Pickled Pecklers and the Buggerers both voted against, but we don’t hate the idea completely. However, please note that the Old Rips and the Busch Leaguers do not want to change, and they really do not want to change. Both are threatening to quit BABI if we pass it in the future.

I don’t like to be threatened. I also don’t know if they will follow through. That said, they are truly part of the fabric of this league, this incredibly well run league. They are both multiple winners. Mr. Leaguer has many times taken on secretarial duties, and has faithfully been the league scribe. Boof has been the league’s faithful treasurer since the Pecklers joined the league way back when. The league would be quite different without them, and in our humble opinion, not for the better.

But there is another factor that I don’t think everyone is considering. BABI has been around for a quarter of a century. Not a lot of leagues can say that. The fact is that 5x5 didn’t exist when the league began. Roto was strictly 4x4. A lot of the rules were based on the ability of scoring services available in the eighties. Frankly, 4x4 is part of the character of BABI. It has historical gravitas. BABI itself is an “old fucker.” We should respect that.

There is a lot to be said for the way I run PEFA.  It's my league.  Wanna play?  Gotta play by my rules.  When we let Fred Flintstone in the league, it was with the condition that he could never ever ask for any rules changes.  THAT is a good rule.

Why do you want to change to 5x5? Because it’s popular? Common? Standard? Why on earth would that be a good thing? Maybe we should appreciate our quirkiness.

Think about what a great thing we have. Don't we have fun?  Isn't BABI great?  Do you want to risk major change? Most of the support for this comes from the newest franchises. You could cause a schism that will not be fixable.

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.