It's just a game, remember?

[DasBaldDog]

A continuation of my sermons on the world of the paintballer (this one will be to the point).
Paintball is a sport, no matter what some people will say. It is very competitive and stressful. We are bound, as human beings, to become intolerant and hateful towards others. We are also bound to do stupid things, whether it be thought, action. I saw a very stupid thing when I recently visited a small tourney in East Tennessee. A player got shot nearly off the line. He just got shot. His absence in the game allowed the other team to flank the remaining two players. Right after the game, the captain walked (or ran) over to the elim'd player and ripped his mask off. He then proceeded to pummel the kid. After helping to break up the fight, I went to watch another game but found myself lost in thought. When did this stop being a game? When did we all lose out minds? This was that kid's first tourney and he had to go to the hospital with a black eye, a broken nose, a broken mask and a broken spirit. I watched a movie recently called "Pay It Forward" (I highly recommend) and it was about an idea that one person does something good and that good thing keeps moving. Well, I did my small part to help. I gave that kid my mask (I had two in case one broke) and I got a small recball game going on the side between big games. It's just a game guys, have some fun.

[in trauma]

me and some guys at my field were talking about stuff like this a few weeks ago.

i found that only "pros" and wanta-bes take it that seriously enough to hit people for getting shot!!

if your going to play paintball you have to accept the fact that you are going to get shot!!

if you dont like to ge tshot dont play!
you should know if you arent in the game you can still get shot, that is why they have goggles on areas!


[Edited by in trauma on 06-19-2001 at 12:39 AM]

[DasBaldDog]

Feel free to post thoughts on the subject, but please, do not flame. It goes totally against the idea of the post.

[DasBaldDog]

In Trauma, I find the whole situation totally unacceptable. It's not boxing. In case anyone didn't know, since Jan 1 of this year, there have been over 30 paintball store robbings totallying over $200,000 worth of equipment stolen. It makes you wonder if these are the same people you play with on the weekends or what not.

[elTwitcho]

Actually, I think it's the pro-player-wannabees more than the competitive players with skill. Think about it, who is the guy who tries too damn hard with this stuff? The guy who quietly works his way up the field taking out everyone in his path? Not likely. The guy who stays back and can see a game unfolding right before him and knows how to take advantage of opportunities? I'm doubting it. So who then, the kid with the rental gun? Nope. It's gonna be the kid who spent 1500 dollars on his gun to look like a pro, the kid who spent 50 bucks on a jersey to look like a pro, the kid who's got matching gloves masks and marker to look like a pro, the kid who tells newbies how damn good his gun is every chance he gets because that's the gun the pros shoot. The kid who goes out every game and goes 200% against newbies making sure to light em up so they know he's better. They're gonna think he's a pro. This kid is not the typical pro player, he's the typical pro-wannabe. And if he loses, all the time he spent looking like a pro is moot. useless. He's too damng ood to lose and you know it. This kid is gonna wipe, this kid is gonna overshoot, this kid is gonna leave the starting area early. And this kid is gonna lose it when he does not win. These people are the biggest problem in the sport for 2 reasons. For one, it makes everyone around him miserable. For another, it makes us players who are in or getting into the tournament scene look bad. People start to think we're all like that. I can assure you we arent. At Skyball, more games than not we'd chat it up with the team we're going against right before a game like we were buddies from way back. Game ends and one team has lost, no hurt feelings. Back to being friends, chatting on the way off the field, joking around, holding the netting up so the player can get out... I'm telling you it's the players with No skill who try too hard to be something they arent, that are the problem with the sport. Dont give us tournament players a bad name by assuming they're one of us. Sure tournament players can be ****s, but then so can renters. On the whole though, it's the wannabees

[Richy_C]

Originally posted by DasBaldDog
A continuation of my sermons on the world of the paintballer (this one will be to the point).
Paintball is a sport, no matter what some people will say. It is very competitive and stressful. We are bound, as human beings, to become intolerant and hateful towards others. We are also bound to do stupid things, whether it be thought, action. I saw a very stupid thing when I recently visited a small tourney in East Tennessee. A player got shot nearly off the line. He just got shot. His absence in the game allowed the other team to flank the remaining two players. Right after the game, the captain walked (or ran) over to the elim'd player and ripped his mask off. He then proceeded to pummel the kid. After helping to break up the fight, I went to watch another game but found myself lost in thought. When did this stop being a game? When did we all lose out minds? This was that kid's first tourney and he had to go to the hospital with a black eye, a broken nose, a broken mask and a broken spirit. I watched a movie recently called "Pay It Forward" (I highly recommend) and it was about an idea that one person does something good and that good thing keeps moving. Well, I did my small part to help. I gave that kid my mask (I had two in case one broke) and I got a small recball game going on the side between big games. It's just a game guys, have some fun.
That behavior is totally un acceptable, and it disgusts me. If a person os going to flip like that,
1) He should not play paintball
2) He should not have been captain
3) He should have been fined and expelled from that tourney, that leauge, and many others
4) The police should have taken his marker
5) Charges should have been pressed
That just plain pisses me off, nothing, and i mean nothing gives him the right to endanger or injure another player.

[teammagma1]

especially a kid that was just there to have some fun and see if he enjoyed tournies, I bet i know his answer now

[iipaintballer]

Originally posted by Richy_C
4) The police should have taken his marker
[/B]

The police shoud have arrested the captian for assult and battery too...

[Xpert Rifleman]

This kind of thing happens in almost every sport, not just Paintball. Look at Soccer in Eruope. Those fans are nuts!!! Collage Basketball here in America is almost as bad. What about Baseball players who throw their bats at each other!!!! When a Paintball, or other sports team gets pissed because they know they cannot win, tempers fly.

[Xander]

Dude the man who threw the punches is an idiot!!! First of all it is just a local torny with most likely a small prize and even at a tourny like the spyder cup that behavior is not acceptable. Paintballing is viewed by most people as not a sport, but just a game that all the "bad" kids play! If we want to change their opinion we need to start treating it like a sport and if you get screwed by a teamates lack of experience than you tell him what he did wrong so he doesn't do it again and not give him a black eye!!!!!

[Richy_C]

Originally posted by iipaintballer
Originally posted by Richy_C
4) The police should have taken his marker


The police shoud have arrested the captian for assult and battery too... [/B]
Straight up man,

[DasBaldDog]

As far as I know, though I wasn't really paying attention to the moron, but I think they did expel him from the tourney and field, and that (most likely, knowing the field owner) came with a field suspension. I'm not sure if he got anything else.

[Savior]

Originally posted by elTwitcho
Actually, I think it's the pro-player-wannabees more than the competitive players with skill. Think about it, who is the guy who tries too damn hard with this stuff? The guy who quietly works his way up the field taking out everyone in his path? Not likely. The guy who stays back and can see a game unfolding right before him and knows how to take advantage of opportunities? I'm doubting it. So who then, the kid with the rental gun? Nope. It's gonna be the kid who spent 1500 dollars on his gun to look like a pro, the kid who spent 50 bucks on a jersey to look like a pro, the kid who's got matching gloves masks and marker to look like a pro, the kid who tells newbies how damn good his gun is every chance he gets because that's the gun the pros shoot. The kid who goes out every game and goes 200% against newbies making sure to light em up so they know he's better. They're gonna think he's a pro. This kid is not the typical pro player, he's the typical pro-wannabe. And if he loses, all the time he spent looking like a pro is moot. useless. He's too damng ood to lose and you know it. This kid is gonna wipe, this kid is gonna overshoot, this kid is gonna leave the starting area early. And this kid is gonna lose it when he does not win. These people are the biggest problem in the sport for 2 reasons. For one, it makes everyone around him miserable. For another, it makes us players who are in or getting into the tournament scene look bad. People start to think we're all like that. I can assure you we arent. At Skyball, more games than not we'd chat it up with the team we're going against right before a game like we were buddies from way back. Game ends and one team has lost, no hurt feelings. Back to being friends, chatting on the way off the field, joking around, holding the netting up so the player can get out... I'm telling you it's the players with No skill who try too hard to be something they arent, that are the problem with the sport. Dont give us tournament players a bad name by assuming they're one of us. Sure tournament players can be ****s, but then so can renters. On the whole though, it's the wannabees
Hey now, I have a jersey and a matching gun! However the gun I have is a spyder Xtra.

[Savior]

And also I try to hard :) because I really wanna-be
a good player, also I would love to be a tournement player some day. So don't go giving us wanna be's bad names now! :)

[Richy_C]

Well you'r not the type of *** he was describing

[Jake]

Well I have noticed this problem for awhile. The first tournament I went to as a spectator there were almost two fights and the winning team actually drew a penalty for arguing with a referee. In the documentary film PUSH you see Avalanche, "the team in paintball" acting like a bunch of babies when referees point out the fact that they have a hit on them. Given these players play with an enormous amount of stress to keep sponsors and to win but are they really looking like pro's by throwing their 2500 dollar guns around like they are nothing. There was a great article in Paintball Games International about cheating in tournaments and how it is hurting our sport. However I feel this obvious bad sportsmanship hurts our sport much, much more. People should not be allowed to disrespect referees and they should have to shake hands at the end. Like you said it is just a game.

[tsr]

that man who punched a new guy in the tourney is totally not needed in paintball scene. he's the typical wife beater, bully, ******* at work.

A couple months ago while in a rec game, one of my teammates shot someone accidentaly on the goggles which broke paint.. this dude got into a huge fit he threw his expensive angel down and ran back and was screaming who the **** shot me, he went to me and said was it you!!?! and i showed him that i wasn't shooting marbs (the paint on him was green) so he went back and talked in such emotion as if he wanted to beat the crap outta someone. two refs ran over and said chill or you're off the field. .. Some people take this sport too seriously... they shouldn't even play if they're crybaby sore losers.

[DasBaldDog]

Well, I posted this last night and I received several insightful remarks from such seemingly educated and well-thought individuals as Richy, ElTwitcho, Xander, Jake and TSR. I think I might have found a solution. I will post another continuation of my paintball sermons (They don't call me The Preacher for nothing) in about an hour. It will be titled "It's Just A Game, Continued" Please look for it.

[Doctorstox]

u know what, i am w/ Savior, don't give evrybody who tries hard and wanst to be good a bad rap. i might not have gone as far as the matching stuf yet, but i might, and u know what, i also agree that we should stop idiots like the captain of that team because it took me 2 months so convince my parents that paintball players weren't psychos that were about to go on killing sprees, and me and all my playing buddies are 3.8 gpa students who play on weekends, and we deserve the right to play, while idiots like that captain and those shmucks who shoot trick-or-treators on holloween are gonna get paintball banned, they can burn in hell.

[DasBaldDog]

Sorry but I forgot Andy was gonna do that switch over. I'll post the new thread tomorrow by 5 pm Central time. (I do have a life.....ie job, fiance....etc, you understand)

[FSU Paintball]

If anyone wants my opinion on this matter, just read ElTwitcho's post LOL. My opinion is exactly the same as his.


Personally, I think the old tyme pump games I played back in the day were much more fun than speedball in this electro age.