Paintball means different things to everyone who plays the game. For me paintball is my outlet, my therapy, my place to go to help me make sense of things, a place to go to feel like everything is o.k. and I am welcome. It is my drug, my anti-drug, my serenity, my life. I was compelled to submit this because this man was so moved by paintball he took the time to write out what was spinning through his head. I hope you find the same meaning in his words as I have. –
People often ask us what it is about paintball that makes us spend the amount of money we do on this sport. This sport isn’t just a sport to us, it is a way for us to get away from everything that is bothering us. This is our way of getting away from all the racism in the world because in this game there is no racism, every person who puts on a paintball mask is like the person next to you. Both of you feel the same pain from getting shot by a paintball and you both feel the same amount of sorrow when your team loses the game. People ask why is this sport so different then all of the others. Sure you may have teams you play on, sure there is one person on the team who thinks they are better then everyone else. But were not running a ball up and down a field or swinging a bat at a ball. What we do is walk on a field with our paintball guns in one hand and a pod pack on our backs or a vest on our chests. You can never know what is going to happen in this game. There is no way for you to know what another player is thinking; once you walk onto the field everyone is equal. You have to trust the people you’re playing with so that you do not get double teams or shot in the back. What this sport teaches us the most is that nobody knows everything in this game there will always be one person who is one step ahead of you that is just how our game works.
Someone once told me if you want something you need to work as hard as you can to get it no matter the out come you do what ever you have to, to become the best you can be. My grandfather told me that. And he is completely right if you want to be good at something you can’t be afraid to get shot trying to make a move up. That is the one thing a lot of paintballers lost when they thought they were to good to move up and that is were the newer players step in they aren’t afraid to get shot because to them they feel they are making a difference and most of all they are having fun. A lot of players lost the one thing that this sport was all about going out and having FUN. Everyone got so into being the best and they forget what made them play paintball in the first place. Sure we may spend thousands of dollars a year playing this sport but in my eyes every cent put into it is worth it. This sport is never going away and if it does you will always have the good memory you had going out into the woods or on a field playing with a bunch a friends. You may be old but you’re never to old to put on a mask on grab your paintball marker and giving your kids or your parents a good butt whopping. Sure a time may come when you can’t run up and down a field like you use to but you will always have those memories playing in the backyard or on a field with your old-man. I am twenty three years old. When my time comes when its time for me to put my gun down I’m going to go to a field find a new player give him my gear and teach him everything I know about this sport. And go home to my daughter and teach her the same.
That is what paintball is to me, its a way of life and a journey a lot of people need to take.
Written by William D. Meeker
Photos by Catshack Reports
Πηγή: catshackreports.com
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