Bad Company Proves A Good Lesson

On the go in Las Vegas
Even though they’ve been around for over a decade, Bad Company may not be a name you’ve heard all too often. However, the team does have a notable standout feature on the field; they are one of the few teams that doesn’t play with “super” markers.

 
Tom Cole, Captain
The team, based out of Maryland, was basically a pro team before there was even a pro division. Tom Cole, the founding member and only original member still on the team, started Bad Company in 1988. Cole started the team with “local kids who decided to play…[we] started to do well, picked up some sponsors and went from there.” They entered into the pro division when the NPPL began in 1992.

 
Pushing the snake in Vegas

Company with their AMGs
What do they shoot? While most of the pro teams shoot custom markers worth thousands of dollars, Bad Company plays with Kingman Spyder AMGs, markers that retail for under $500. Cole explains that they are a great marketing team because they show that you “don’t need to spend thousands on a gun to win.”

 
You're gone!
Before the AMGs, Bad Company played with Spyder Xtras. Last year, the team took 4th in the 10-man World Cup tournament while playing with the Spyder Xtras, which retail around $200. After doing so well with the Xtras, why did Bad Company switch to the AMG? Cole explained that the transition occurred because, “they wanted a higher rate of fire…in my opinion the AMG is a more affordable gun with the same rate of fire as some of the higher priced guns.”

 
Where's he at? 
The roster of Bad Company today is mostly new, young guys. Cole is the only original member still on the team. About half of the members are new to the team in the last year. What does Cole look for in players for the Bad Company roster? “[I] fix the weakest link... find someone to fit the niche that we’re looking for,”   Taking to the air explains Cole. Cole seems to have found the players that fit the team. Their 5th place finish in Las Vegas, adds to their list of strong finishes this past year. So far in 2002, Bad Company finished 2nd in the Miami 7-man tournament, 5th in Portugal, 6th in Germany and 9th in the NPPL LA Open.