Well then, lets see. I too have heard of those storied that you speak of, and I'm sure there are many more stories. But the following is how it really got started - or so I'm told.
It all started with Bob Gursney in 1981. He was a sporting goods retailer who created a game that he decided would test people's survival skills. The first ever game (that Bob arranged at least) was played on June 27th 1981. It consisted of 12 people from such backgrounds as lawyers, doctors, journalists etc.
The whole project was based around the idea of a gambling weekend and each player was auctioned off to raise as much cash as possible.
Each player was issued with a Nel-Spot 007 paintball pistol. The objective of the game was to grab the flags from each of the five flag stations and to peg it back to your home base where you would upon arrival win the game.
Supposedly, the winner is the person who manages to retrieve all of the flags and return to base
without firing any shots. Very different from todays interpretation of the sport where the whole idea is to eliminated the opposition whenever possible! Another difference is that it was founded as an individual sport. Every man for them self as it is.
Bob had worked in sales an marketing in the skiing industry for ten years previous, and after the first succesful game he decided to arrange another. In the following september of the same year the second game took place in Alabama. The rules had been altered slightly so there two flag stations and this time 2 teams. Pretty much exactly the same as many rec-ball games nowadays.
This game too, was a success, and Mr. Gursney established a corporation and with $20,000 to get him moving, began what was known then as the 'National Survivor Game'. This was founded in 1982 and before long the company had 750 dealers and 20,000 registered players!
A few years past and things were going great when the trouble started. The name of the company was shortened to 'NSG' to rule out any negative association with 'survivor'. And the TV show 60 minutes compared the game to that of pramilitary training for terrorist groups. The inflicted some serious damage, and it was too late to repair it.
The next ten years entailed highs and lows with numerous court cases and battles between lawyers. First of all, Bob realised how it was almost impossible to continue the game in any form as the guns were far too expensive ($150) and there was only $400 left from the previous venture. Taking a chance Bob placed an advert in Shotgun News magazine and managed get get his big break.
A gentleman from Oklahoma decided to invest in Bob's idea and with a $10,000 check then man himself and his son started working on the fields.
It was a massive success - that was to be short lived. A few months passed by, but soon Bob was being chased down by lawyers left right and center - the paintball were toxic and ripping of the land being played on.
Soon a Californian company came to the rescue with a new paintball, designed to be non-toxic and bio degradeable. Superb, but the guns were still expensive so Bob managed to convince the manufacturer to design one to make it onto the market for under 60 bucks. Ka ching. That did it. The players poured in from around the country wanting to play.
But wait - the safety goggles. All sorts of pitfalls were encountered with the design of the ones orginally used and all sorts of questions were raised when an individual was rushed to the hospital after a tragic accident. The pictures were suppressed, thus not completely demolishing the sport and a custom designed goggle was then introduced to protect the entire face and side of the head.
There was one last giant leap to make - paintball guns were classed as firearm under a new congress bill which limited the use of firearms and the safety precautions required to take place when using them. Bob had enough connections to sort out this problem, and remarkably managed to get 40 senators to sign a declaration stating that the bill did not target the paintball industry.
All in all, Bob won 89 lawsuits and ended up losing millions of dollars. But after all that effort and hardwork look at how the sport has devoped and progressed since then! Just think, the industry wouldn't be anywhere near the stage that it's at today if it wasn't for the hardwork, commitment and dedication of Mr. Gursney all those years ago!
Sooo, yeah - that's pretty much what I read anyway. Sounds pretty convincing
(Source: Facefull)
