Nostalgia or Fact?

[Bud]

Back in the day was far more entertaining, unpredictable weather conditions, having to set up in mud, trying to walk that hill and not slide down to the bottom again, etc etc,(now games are held up if it rains a bit to hard) getting to play nam, preds banzai, shades on a regular basis only upped our British game. Trying to watch how your opponents played the field and not being able to see a bloody thing The camaraderie was far superior then than it is now, trust was not an issue then either, leave your kit anywhere and it will be there later, but now if you blink the buggers will have it away faster than a brockdorff ban, and why do the young generation of ballers not leave the in game conflict on the field where it belongs, just like in the good old days (well most of the time).

Being part of nostalgic change was also exciting, woods ball ....wow, hyperball.....bloody hell great......supair........yee haaa......x-ball oo la la ...........then......err....mmm.......getting bored now and i can't put my finger on it.

Woods ball was far more fun (especially 10 man) but supair is more of an exciting thought provoking game (which at my age hurts).

 

[Robbo]

Being part of nostalgic change was also exciting, woods ball ....wow, hyperball.....bloody hell great......supair........yee haaa......x-ball oo la la ...........then......err....mmm.......getting bored now and i can't put my finger on it.

.....too long in the game...or just plain sick and tired of all the crap?

 

[sponge10]

i think you got it right on both accounts pete

 

[wolf13]

I'll say my take, having started back in 92, I sorely miss the old days. Not so much for the woods we've left behind or the guns, but for the innocence of the day. I may be a sour old fart (not really that old, not even 30) stuck in the past (well, i am that since i don't even own a "modern" electro), but this is my take.

When I started, I was the kid on the field. the average player was late 20-30's where i was and the game reflected it. Yeah, when teams got involved it was cut throat and there were grudges, fists thrown and cheating. in rec play, you had bad apples, but in the end, you were as likely to end up drinking with other regulars around a grill at the field at the end of the day after the renters left then you were anything else. It was a game, and we were comrades in a shared passion. many days, we spent more time sitting around bsing and hanging around then we did playing and when a game was over, we came back laughing. Even amongst the teams, unless there was real bad blood, there was still comradeship and even if we didn't know each other outside of meeting at a tourny, we still could be friends.

Today, I feel old. physically, I am not really that old, but I feel old. the comradeship is gone when I go to a field, I see cliches and constant aggression. in fact, everything is about aggression. the games are faster, the time between is faster and the attitudes are faster. young or old, its all about aggression now, and its not left on the field. The staging area is just an extension of the field now rather then the decompression from the field. At the end of the day, unless you are friends outside of paintball, its hard to be friends at field anymore it seems. An average day at the field, I don't even see people talk to each other unless they came as a group, and striking up a conversation is almost like starting a fight it feels like a lot of times. oh sure, theres exceptions; but anymore the average walk-on day feels very unsatisfying.

 

[#29]

old school days


and you know i was there pete [ buger van] that all i will say


clint

 

[Robbo]

old school days


and you know i was there pete [ buger van] that all i will say


clint

Clint, I remember
...but, even though you were just a kid then, you should also remember the 'atmosphere' of those times and I wonder how you feel it has changed.

Your dad can give you a pretty good idea what it was like then, and as one of our country's top players, do you actually enjoy playing now or do you play for the love of the game......because there is a fundamental difference in the two.

 

[Bud]

.....too long in the game...or just plain sick and tired of all the crap?

Being in the game so long and watching the crap pile up is the mixture i think, and organisers greed....shame really

Will i or could i give it up after all these years........................don't know.

Robbo, what year was it when you popped your shoulder out as you dived into a bunker by the so called grandstand (woods ball), i think it was Mayhem down in Sussex, just one of those memories that i have that needs the loose end tieing up

 

[Robbo]

Robbo, what year was it when you popped your shoulder out as you dived into a bunker by the so called grandstand (woods ball), i think it was Mayhem down in Sussex, just one of those memories that i have that needs the loose end tieing up

Well, I played all the Mayhems but I'm pretty sure I didn't pop my shoulder in any of them and so it must have been someone else..either that or my memory is really beginning to fail me but I think I might remember if it had been me.

The only injury I can remember at those Mayhems were to my wallet when we were paying 95 quid for a box of paint ...ouch !!!

 

[size 6 feet]

i miss the old tourney days when i could afford to play 2 tourneys a month and or marshall or train. i miss koohdoow field one and timmy taylors super 7s series all the top uk teams came 6 divisions of 7 7man teams ,the preds zulu masai,shades ,brothers in arms,manc lions,the banzais,the vulcans, fat freddys cats,rage, all came from all over the country playin good run quality ball torneys,even when the bigger tourneys like mayhem (ask robbo) or campaign there would still be 12-20 teams playing.
also tim ran the succesful 5 man limited paint tourneys at activ8 good cheap paintball that many teams used as a training day
. a hopper of paint per man per game!!!!!!!!!!!! SKILL AND SPEED OVER CASES OF PAINT PER PLAYER!!!

And what about uk paintball characters you could talk to and admire at the field and in pgi you know the likes of robbo,jacko syd,bonich,
ledz,marcus, dave stewart,nicky T etc now we have hardly anyone that you could really say wow i know him if seen him at my field and in the magazines. (when i firsted played my first torney in 93 i was like a little schoolboy celebrity spotting and even worse at the 97 world cup especially chatting to robbo) now its all kids running faster,shooting straighter sliding further but not old enough to buy you a beer!!!

god i miss the old days of mags and cockers mamba remotes and trace kneepads and undercover cammo

 

[Bud]

Well, I played all the Mayhems but I'm pretty sure I didn't pop my shoulder in any of them and so it must have been someone else..either that or my memory is really beginning to fail me but I think I might remember if it had been me.

The only injury I can remember at those Mayhems were to my wallet when we were paying 95 quid for a box of paint ...ouch !!!

Well that has fooked that memory then, now i'm in a worse state of mind than i realised