I had an interesting experience last weekend. What started out as a day of paintball practice for this weekend's tournament turned into an unexpected trip down memory lane.
After the practice got cancelled at the last minute, and only one other teammate showed up the day was looking pretty disappointing. We ran a few games with the home team at Action Acres, Team Black Sheep, then the other teammate had to leave due to home obligations. This left me by myself. I had 3 options: run drills with the other team, go play with the walk-ons, or pack it up and go home. Since it was a beautiful day, and I didn't want to be in the way, I chose to hit up the rec field and got in with a group of guys out for a bachelor party.
We played the first game on the upper field, which seems to be an abandoned Christmas tree farm. It was pretty slow paced, with the players hiding and not making a lot of moves. When I got in I just ran up to the front and tried to draw fire since I didn't see much opportunity to hide with my bright white mask and colorful jersey. Needless to say, I didn't last long, but I did make enough of a distraction to let my teammates get into position to take the game.
After that, we moved down into the castle field, and that's where the fun began. The group decided to do an "assault the castle" game, which put the 4 man wedding party inside the castle while the other friends tried to take it. I decided that since the numbers were so lopsided, I'd help the groom out. So, I handed him my Ego 10 and I picked up his rental BT-4.
Man, shooting that gun brought back memories! Not to mention, everyone but the groom was shooting the same rental gun, which left a TON of opportunity for movement. I couldn't believe how relaxing it was. It was almost like playing a pump only game. There still wasn't a lot of movement by the other players, and they defended the castle really well, but it was one of the best times I've had playing paintball this year. The total lack of pressure and laid back pace was something I never even realized that I missed.
The feel of the rental mech. brought me back to my first days in paintball. The days when 200 rounds could last for an hour of play. I opened my hopper a good 3 times to reload it only to find I still had lots of paint left to go. I couldn't believe how much fun I was having. I knew right then and there I was going to get myself a mechanical gun just to play around with and visit some fields with walk on groups.
Well, after a few games it finally got late in the day, and I still had nearly 1/2 case of paint left. I certainly didn't see that coming when I'd set out for airball practice that morning. So, I gave it to the guys at the bachelor party as a thank you for letting me join and went on my way, determined to recapture that spirit of beginner recreational play.
Little did I know that as soon as I got home and out of the shower, that Ed would call me with a surprise. So, guess who's building a mechanical Autococker on a sweet looking Fireball Mountain frame. Oh yea!
Still, I'm kind of eyeing one of these for next time I hit a walk-on game to completely re-capture that entry level spirit. It's strangely refreshing to remember your roots every once in a while. Plus, I still have my trusty old Spyder SE on standby as well.