I'm sorry I ran across this thread.
Why? Because now, whenever I log in to CoX, I'll feel like there's something missing--something that's fundamentally WRONG with the game.
And that something is the lack of a Big Red Ball.
It would have been so beautiful--the sun would have shone brighter, we all would have laughed and sung more, there would have been concerts in the park. The Big Red Ball would have ushered in a new Golden Age. World peace, even.
But no, 'tis not to be. So I'll have to sit and sulk, bleary-eyed, with dreams of what could have been.