Like in real sports, Quake has had its own NationsCups (NC) for a while now, thanks to ClanBase for that. It gives the national communities a lot of reasons to talk, whine, and eventually play some games. Yes that's quite a lot. So why is it most *star players* (I hate that callsign) do not even consider representing their country nowadays, while it was an honor in the first NC? I'll try to point out a few reasons:

- There are too many NC. Just like the title of this column suggests, the current NC system is too close from being Christmas four times a year. We all love Kata... errr, Christmas. Yes you do. And why is that? Part of it is because it's a special event held once a year, a couple of days dedicated to happiness, family and gifts. But when held too often, it just loses that magical feel which makes it all that special: the NC have lost their spark.

- The NC have the same coverage as the OC. I'm not despising the players of the OC, but the NC deserve, by their very nature, a better treatment coverage-wise. How do you, ClanBase, intend to make the NC special if they are treated the same way than any other tourney? Again, by reducing the number of tourneys being held at the same time, the admins would be able to focus more on each tourney, and make better coverages for them (/me crosses his fingers).

- The NC are held at the same time as the EC. No worries you say? Well, have you considered these tourneys are mostly played by the same players? It happens more than often that a player has to choose between playing the EC game for his team and the NC game with his fellow countrymen. And I'm not even mentionning practicing for the tourneys. In soccer (I don't like soccer, but here it's a good example), they don't let that happen by scheduling the tourneys so that they're not played during the same period. It gives the players more time to focus on each tourney, one after another, or give them some time to rest between two seasons. Such a schedule would only benefit the NC, as they can't compete in fame with the EC.

- The NC have no prizes to it. It might sound lame, but I think that the paid trips to Holland played a big role in the EC growth: who doesn't want to go visit Holland to smo.. play in the EC? The EC now have prize money and all, great. But what about giving that annual NC the little boost it needs to become attractive?

Only four points? Yes, I said a few.

To sum it up for the lazy guys who can't bother with reading all that stuff above, I think the NC would prove more interesting if they were held less often, with better coverage and at a different time than the EC. LAN finals would definitely be an improvement too, but I'm not in charge of ClanBase's wallet.