Man's life saved by getting hit by a paintball!

[Pee Wee]

It's lucky he didn't have prostate cancer. Finding that out would've hurt a whole lot more....

now thats funny

 

[Mario]

Oh yeah,I can see how funny it is now,silly me And I’m sure none of the general public would ever actually believe anything they read in the paper. Like you say, just me being anal.Iam sure these stories are good publicity for the game.

you're a douche.

stop taking yourself so seriously.

 

[newboy]

Is that a douche or anal douche?

After all this is "the trash talkin`forum reserved for`ballers with attutude"

 

[TheGurkha]

'He was lying on the ground and looking upwards to shoot someone in a tree when a tiny pea-sized pellet went under the plastic helmet and struck the soft skin under his chin.'

- that whole paragraph is bull... thats the Sun for you, eh?

more likely case is that he tripped over and shot himself.

 

[newboy]

'He was lying on the ground and looking upwards to shoot someone in a tree when a tiny pea-sized pellet went under the plastic helmet and struck the soft skin under his chin.'

- that whole paragraph is bull... thats the Sun for you, eh?

I agree,but then I`am an anul doche for thinking so. .They call a paintball "pea sized" and state that it "passed through his safety helmet" but it seems most people dont share the view that these inaccuracies will in any way affect the view of the sport for future players.Hell,why not just say it was " a metal pea sized bullet and it went straight through his safety goggles and into his eye".That would support the view that ANY publicity(no matter how inaccurate or blatantly untrue) is good publicity.Older players/readers will understand the real facts here but I really believe that these stories could genuinely stop parents of younger players allowing them to try the sport for fear of their child’s safety.

 

[Mario]

I agree,but then I`am an anul doche for thinking so. .They call a paintball "pea sized" and state that it "passed through his safety helmet" but it seems most people dont share the view that these inaccuracies will in any way affect the view of the sport for future players.Hell,why not just say it was " a metal pea sized bullet and it went straight through his safety goggles and into his eye".That would support the view that ANY publicity(no matter how inaccurate or blatantly untrue) is good publicity.Older players/readers will understand the real facts here but I really believe that these stories could genuinely stop parents of younger players allowing them to try the sport for fear of their child’s safety.

Honestly, your wrong.

This will not affect younger players entering the sport. I guarantee it. This will not stop anyone entering the sport. There have been that many incidents over the years which have resulted in far worse injuries that have been reported in newspapers and it hasn't made one jot of difference to the rec market.

The one thing that will be stopping younger players getting into paintball at the moment is the current economic downturn. Younger players may not be able to get jobs to fund playing, if they're lucky to have well off parents the parents might have less money to spend on their offspring etc. Thats what will really stop all players. Not just young players.

What your also failing to take into account here is the context of the story. This isn't a paintball bashing article. This is an article saying that paintball saved a mans life. Thats not bad publicity. Thats really really good publicity.

People have a built in idea of what paintball is, based on what they've seen on tele. Byker Grove screwed things up royally because the context it was set in was bad (i.e. the story line was about PJ going blind) The Fast show created the weekend warrior vibe etc.

Your having a kneejerk reaction to this because i guess your passionate about paintball. Thats fine. But sometimes its wise to take a step back and take a different look at things.

 

[newboy]

Nice post Mario,and you make some very good points.
I would question this though.

This will not affect younger players entering the sport. I guarantee it. This will not stop anyone entering the sport. There have been that many incidents over the years which have resulted in far worse injuries that have been reported in newspapers and it hasn't made one jot of difference to the rec market.

.

So basically your saying, whatever is written in the press will not affect ANYONE entering the sport. I would disagree with this. I think you could say the press would make "no significant difference" to the rec market, but as you know, Industry figures would not show up a small percentage of people that were "put off" paintball. I agree that maybe the press do not influence the public perception of paintball to a huge degree but I am sure bad press will deter SOME customers, even though there are no figures to prove it. Even if bad press deterred 5% of new players trying paintball in my opinion that’s still a bad figure. If we could make press coverage more accurate then maybe it would encourage many, rather than deterring a few?

 

[Buddha 3]

Older players/readers will understand the real facts here but I really believe that these stories could genuinely stop parents of younger players allowing them to try the sport for fear of their child’s safety.

Older players? Hahahah! You must not know me... But thanks for thinking I'm one of the young'uns.
And you'd be hard pressed to find 10 active members on this forum who've done more in selling paintball to the masses than I have. So trust me when I say that I know what I'm talking about.

 

[newboy]

Older players? Hahahah! You must not know me... But thanks for thinking I'm one of the young'uns.
And you'd be hard pressed to find 10 active members on this forum who've done more in selling paintball to the masses than I have. So trust me when I say that I know what I'm talking about.

That was is no way directed at you .

 

[Buddha 3]

Nice post Mario,and you make some very good points.
I would question this though.

So basically your saying, whatever is written in the press will not affect ANYONE entering the sport. I would disagree with this. I think you could say the press would make "no significant difference" to the rec market, but as you know, Industry figures would not show up a small percentage of people that were "put off" paintball. I agree that maybe the press do not influence the public perception of paintball to a huge degree but I am sure bad press will deter SOME customers, even though there are no figures to prove it. Even if bad press deterred 5% of new players trying paintball in my opinion that’s still a bad figure. If we could make press coverage more accurate then maybe it would encourage many, rather than deterring a few?

You forget the other side of the medal mate. That 5% you mention will be more than offset by the people that go: "Ooh er, this looks well 'ard! Let's go do that!"
Even that talk of paintball being used to train Bin Laden's boys will bring people in...