Top 3 "thing" that are detrimental to paintball.

[kosmo]

Originally posted by Gman63
When I rec-ball at my local field I let all of the experienced players know up front that I will not tolerate any intimidating tactics, play or language toward any new players. I also will not allow it from the newbs either.

I would gladly never play at your "golf course" of a paintball field. Thats exactly the attitude that I was talking about. Its part of the game. Its part of almost every game. Except golf. And depending on where you play, bowling. I mean think about it, if youre in a tourney the object is to win, even if its not a pro level tourney. How is intimidating the other team not to your advantage? If you cant handle being intimidated or you cant intimidate back, then you are just plain not a good player/athlete or team.

That having been said, no I am absolutely not out there to mess with a newbies head during rec ball. Well sometimes, but it depends on the situation. There are certain times when intimdation is warranted in rec ball. However, even in rec ball I dont think such behavior should be rightfully outlawed. A team of recballers is still a team, and as such the more mature and experienced members of the team should be looking out for the first timers to protect them from such tactics should someone there not be able to handle it.

[sbpyro]

I'm just speaking from my experience in woodsball.
I've seen a group of guys that play in tournies go play woodsball and procede to play the way they do in a tourney. Wiping, blindfire, and bunkering newbies. I've been bunkered before and understand it can happen. I guess my problem with players that can not seperate tourney play to rec ball. THERE ARE NO PRIZES INVOLVED! If your group can move and eliminate the other team then do so, but if you got nailed by a rental just deal with it, again part of the game. I'm a big fan or tourneys and think the tourney approach is not right for rec ball.

[GT]

Originally posted by GoatBoy

Which kind of leads me into an area which I'm sure will be controversial... But paintball just doesn't seem to be populated by the brightest of people. I hate to be elitist, but it's sort of the truth in my eyes.

[tsc]

1.) Stupidity.

Paintball is a dangerous sport. You can cite statistics at me all you want to tell me it's sage, but it is only safe because we fight to make it that way. Goggles can withstand a shot from a .22. Did you know that? That's so your eyes won't have to withstand the impact from a glob of paint going 200 MPH. Go soak an egg in vinegar for a few days. Take that yolk that's left over and shoot it with a.single.paintball. That is your eye, sans goggles.
Wear your googgles.

No, there have been no paintball related fatalities THUS FAR. But as paintball has opened up to a wider (and younger) group of people, the tight knit communities that emphasise safety above all else have fallen apart. I hear stories every day at school about how funny it was to shoot someone in the face, without goggles.

Barrel plugs/bags are a GOOD IDEA. Period. No one is expected to wear their goggles around the staging area, everyone is expected to ensure the safety of their fellow players. A friend of mine had to leave the feild after being shot in the face by some ignorant kid who refused to use his barrel bag, saying "It was an accident."

Same with velocity regulations. They are there for a reason!

The more people we get into paintball, the less and less we seem to remember these things. The "old school" players need to keep tight reign on the newer players until they can see for themselves why these protections are in place. I think alot of the reason some newer players don't listen is that they still are knee-jerk reactionary to any sort of authority figure.

2.) Sensless arguments, lack of sportsmanship.

I consider myself a hardcore recballer. I'd like to play tournies, sure, but as I'm on the west coast, travelling to them (as well as finding enough people to establish a team, and somewhere to play) is a great constraint on what I can and cannot do.

At our field (A large riverbed in someone's backyard), I have a posse of 10 and 12 y/o's with Tippmans. These are, as we say, noobs. I realize that I'm playing with KIDS that have started playing this year (maybe even that WEEK). Some of the tournie players that grace our humble field with their presence seem to forget this.

When a ten-year-old-boy using a rental gets shot in the neck by an Angel at 350FPS (In front of his mother, none the less) From ten feet away-- Everyone grinds to a halt. That is a PRIME example of SOMETHING YOU DO NOT DO. The shooter's excuse? "He's playing, he should expect it."

That is not sportsmanship. To my knowledge, the kid never came back, and hasn't played since. Our goal is to have people accept our sport, and get over the misconception that we're all steroid ridden, macho he-(wo)men out for blood. When a little boy runs off the field crying to his mother, the entire sport is set back.

When you argue over a bad call in a rec game (I admit, I made a bad call), and subsequently leave the field because you feel your team (Who was winning by a great margin) was "shafted", you're not being a good sport. Refs are human, so is the other team. Get over yourself, it isn't the end of the world. However, if points, status, and winning a tournament rested on this ONE call-- go for it. Yell, scream, and stamp your feet until you get your way. That's what competition is about, right? Yelling until other people roll over to your needs.

3.) A severe lack of brotherhood.

Do any of you posting in this thread think that you could play a game against anyone else in this thread, or talk to them at the field, without saying SOMETHING about how stupid they are (Assuming you disagree with them)?

My opinion is that what happens on the field, stays on the field. I took my friend on, one v one. He tagged me twice, two games. The second of the two he gave me a fat lip, a numb jaw, and now a scar. Did I avoid him at school, or storm off angrily? No. We went to get food together afterward, and still joke about it when he notices my scar.

Is that typical? No. I've seen much the same happen to people, and the person seemingly fouled storms off of the field in a cloud of explitives that would make Yosemite Sam blush. Is there a point to that? Has the person that tagged you mortally offended you to the point where you absolutely cannot live with yourself any longer, and are now going to find your dagger in order to commit seppuku?

It's a game. First and foremost, Paintball Is A Game. It's a hard game, a physically punishing game, one that will scar you..but it is a game.



(Wow, I actually posted..I feel so dirty.)

[Carbon]

Bump!

[go_go_thrash]

gtrsi about spending college tuition money on paintball gear, well i am trying out for the kent state paintball team and i needed something competetive on the tourny scene so i bought an 03 shocker, but isnt that part of my college experiance, i can still afford tuition, rent and food, albeit i dont eat much and i gave up buying beer for paintball, so i understand the concearn but at least the school buys us paint and air...

its 5:30 am and i have a test is my congress class...upp all night studying pardon my awful diction

[GT]

Originally posted by go_go_thrash
gtrsi about spending college tuition money on paintball gear, well i am trying out for the kent state paintball team and i needed something competetive on the tourny scene so i bought an 03 shocker, but isnt that part of my college experiance, i can still afford tuition, rent and food, albeit i dont eat much and i gave up buying beer for paintball, so i understand the concearn but at least the school buys us paint and air...

its 5:30 am and i have a test is my congress class...upp all night studying pardon my awful diction

I meant spending money that is otherwise for school. I started playing during my undergrad. I can remember many days of ramen for that case of paint. However school was first in my list of priorities as far as funding and time.

BTW if you guys are spending tuition money on paintball, please stop.

[FallNAngel]

Originally posted by FutureMagOwner
people shutup with the childish name callings.

the fact is fred is on the right track with enforcement. if a player cheats in the oylmpics or of baseball or whatever the player is the one who should ge in trouble not the whole team is my belief.

Baseball and the like are all team sports. Just like Paintball is a team sport. What goes for one person, goes for them all. By allowing only the player that cheated to be penalized, you enable the entire team to attempt to cheat... what's the worst that can happen? That one player gets in trouble. It's going to be a lot harder for players to cheat if they know their entire team is going to get shafted if they get caught.

And amen to everything Sarah said.