Playing paintball and getting hurt --
Lets see -
I enjoy playing a game of 2 hand touch football on occasion. On a nice lawn, with buddies in the neighborhood, no one over 185lbs.
If I were invited to the next game only to find out that craze psycho thrill killers were there I'd probably bail out. If i found out that there were shards of glass sprinkled on the lawn, I wouldn't play. If there were savage killer bulldogs chained in one end zone, I would rather sit out. Even if it rains and there is a better than average chance I will slip and twist an ankle, I think it over.
Now if I were a college football player -
I wouldn't sit out because the field was a bit harder from lack of rain. I wouldn't not play because artificial turf burn the hell out of you. I wouldn't not play because the other teams linebackers are bigger than my linemen. I wouldn't not play because the driving sleet and freezing tempatures made it a far greater risk if injury.
If I were a pro football player -
Unless there was a high percentage chance of death, you can bet your last buck I'd be there to earn my $250,000 per game.
My point is - those who take the game into the SPORT level, and those who are driven by the competitive fire to be the best, are willing to lay it on the line in less than ideal situations. Those who are into the GAME for recreation and just good ole fun look at this a bit differently.
But my biggest thing here is that I have never heard such crybaby attitudes from supposed NPPL players. You were bloody and sore after the event!!! You have to be kidding. I have played the last 40+ NPPL events, and I don't think I have ever not been bloody and sore.
@ 1200 people played in a SPORT that consists of mad rushes, blistering paced advancements, and sliding and kneeling and bending, and landing, etc - 1 broke an ankle, one broke a collar bone, and many were scraped and bruised. I don't see the big deal.
I chose to play paintball at the highest level. I try to maintain a physical routine that allows me to do so. In some years, as I slow dowm, gain weight, lose cartlidge, and stiffen up - I will have to quit or chose to play in a scenerio game where I can walk to the Gong Pok Valley and confiscate the attache case with the important documents. But for now, I do what it takes to play. I use my body as one of the tools in the games. My body feels like it has been used afterward. I chalk it up as the price I pay to try and be the best. Some of you may well need to olook into being the best attache case carriers in a Wayne Dollack game. Not that there is any shame to it, but if you are built for games, or if your pain threshold calls for games instead of competitive sport, make the change in where you play - don't cry about getting a skinned knee.
