I used to play reguarly, at least once a week during the "season" (i.e. when it wasn't cold enough to render my hands inoperable). I ended up stopping more or less when I joined the Army - it seemed that the idea of running around with a "gun" in my free time was a lot like work. When I got out of the army and started with this whole "school" nonsense again, I didn't have the steady supply of completely expendible cash, so I started fencing instead (it's remarkably similar in some subtle ways).
Most of my grand moments in paintball revolve around epic disters. In my first tournament I had two such moments. I was on the right tape, and we lost our center, so I decided I was going to bunker one of the two remaining players on the other side. My plan didn't go past the "getting to the bunker and shooting the other guy" because I honestly didn't even expect to make it that far. Unfortunately, I got to said bunker only to find it was no longer occupied so, somewhat taken aback I kept right on going. I desperately scanned the field for any signs of life from the opposition and saw nothing. I decided to cut in field just before the last row of bunkers only to see, out of the corner of my eye, the intended target. In that moment I realized two key things: 1) My approach had, up to that moment been a complete surprise and 2) had I taken ONE more step forward rather than the step in field I would have won the game rather than being shot in the back eight times.
Another grand moment came from a day of walk on play. After playing for several years it became increasingly difficult to get a game with the average clientel of the local fields because people seem to have an aversion to being "owned". To prepare for such situations, I always carried my trusty old PGP and stock harness, just in case. In one particular game, after a long boring game of neither side moving the ref called the 2 minute warning (he was clearly as bored as everyone else was scared). Deciding there wss nothing left to do but run right up the field to see what kind of trouble I could stir up, I began a sprint toward the middle line of bunkers, which I found occupied. A quick shot from the PGP removed the first player, but the second player, in the midst of reloading it seems decided my presence was most unwelcome.
Not willing to see if I could cock the gravity fed gun faster than my opponent could level his marker I decided to keep right on running, only to be shot several times in the back. I stopped at the NEXT available line of bunkers and attempted to call for a paint check but the ref clearly wasn't going to have any of that, and more troubling it seems the bulk of the opposing team's front line decided to chase me down. Not sure if I was still a legal player, I kept right on running and each time I came to a bunker I found it was already occupied which was increasingly distressing - just WHAT had my entire team been shooting at the past 10 minutes? My run came to an end at the edge of the field my opponents had started at, which happened to contain a "fox hole" style of bunker. I dived right on in and lost my mask in the process. Doing what seemed natural, I covered my eyes with a forearm and groped desperately for my mask, and when I retrieved it after several interminable seconds I attempted to cock my weapon.
That's when I found out that I had apprently expended my entire CO2 cartidge. Inperterbed, I quickly retrieved another, deftly swaped the depleated unit for a fresh one and was once again ready for action. Only the whistle had been blown. During the ENTIRE game I fired precisely 21 shots and goten exactly one player out. Assuming my teammates, who were all clearly asshats, had probably managed to lose in the closing seconds I glumly inqured as to the winner. To my surprise, my team had won. It seems my complete recklessness and ill planned charge (by ill planned, I mean my plan was to start running and wing it from there) spurred my team to action. What's more, in the confusion that flowed through the enemy's ranks, it seems that they were easy pickings for my own team. While I had an idea before then, it occured to me distinctly at that very moment that there ought to be an axiom for paintball: If you don't know what to do next, just try the stupidest thing you can think of - because if nothing else, at least it's unexpected.
