The Paintball Champion... kicked my butt

The noise alone is enough to get my blood pumping. Like the world's most terrible hailstorm somehow beating the indoor arena's walls, barrages of paint-filled bullets echo throughout the warehouse. The match ends, players exit, new players enter. As we file in through the nets I check my mask and safety off my paintball marker (gun) before getting ready to run. The Referee's voice booms a 3-2-1 GO! and I scramble to stay behind what cover I find as the first and often most vicious volley of paint balls pelt everything in sight. A little bit of quiet sends me running to the next obstacle, sliding on my knees across the slippery painted ground, pulling the trigger on anything I see move. Luck alone shows me an enemy that doesn't see me, yet. I fire the best I can, hardly tracing which paintball goes where, until I see his arms raise into the air. Whether it was my aim or another's that claimed the kill, I can't tell, but a proud sense of accomplishment runs up and down my body, quickly followed by a murder of paintballs exploding across my back and side.


Dead.


The official count is in: 16 welts scattered evenly across my body. I'm not gonna lie here, you definitely notice when you are shot, however, the pure adrenaline negates the effects almost instantly. Besides, there are more thrills in those first few minutes than an hour of a Michael Bay film, making it well worth the higher ticket price.


We met at Paintball Addicts at 8pm on a Friday night without any reservations and simply played by ear. Every Friday is Ladies Night where females do not have to pay the general 5 dollar admission and a full rental package including all the CO2 you could need is only ten dollars. That first fifteen bucks will get you 100 paintballs, and could reasonably get you through 2 -3 games, dependant on how often you shoot. We found that for the two hours we played, splitting a bag of 500 rounds between a couple works out almost perfectly, the 500 bags costing another 20 dollars. That puts it at around 25 dollars per person, including all the supplies and 350 paintballs each (easily 7-8 games).


I learned very quickly that Paintball demands taking action, but the actions I choose usually left me even more vulnerable. In retrospect, I would suggest at least watching a game or two before leaping into the crossfire. Watch for those who seem more skilled and note which obstacles they use for cover and how they move across the field. Trust me, not all paths to the enemy are created equally, so make note of good places to find cover versus those that provide only false senses of security. Move fast and almost erratically, chances are waiting to long in one place will invite enemies to make the first move and play action hero. Bad news is that the action hero thing usually works, so move first and move smart. Do not be afraid to take chances, they may not pay off every time, but you will learn quickly about what works and what doesn't, and the few times you get it right are totally worth it. Enjoy the moment, but then quickly check your 6 o' clock or else you'll end up like I did.


Dead.