You know what???

[Buddha 3]

Like most sports, paintball is predominantly played by the male half of this world. The reason for this is simple (I will now do some generalisations, so ladies, don't get mad at me, you are the proverbial exceptions to the rule). Most sports, at one way or the other, appeal to the male's instinct for hunting and waging war. In soccer, you chase after a ball, in boxing you try to beat the crap out of the other guy, in American football you chase a person, and then beat him up somewhat. Even a seemingly timid game like billiards caters to this instinct, because it uses that part of the mind that is good at working out angles, which is the same part of the brain used for aiming, and figuring out from what side to attack the mammoth you have planned for lunch. Even a child's game of tag is really just a trainingdrill for the hunting it's supposed to be doing in later life.
So I'd say that most sports are in some way playing war, albeit some sports show their 'roots' some more than others.

 

[Flash-Bugout]

Re: um... I'm not

Originally posted by rancid

I don't know about you, but I've never heard of a sport that arms kids and has them wear military-style clothing; shoot guns which fire projectiles at other humans with the sole intention of 'killing them' and sending them to the dead box.

With the exception of the "shoot guns which fire projectiles at other humans" bit, what about fencing? Where the whole intention is to "stab someone to death"?

 

[Hotpoint]

Paintballs Image problem. Lets think about the origins of other sports:

Sprinting - Originally developed as a competive sport in Ancient Greece with competitors wearing full armour (ie to train soldiers)

Javelin - Another Ancient Greek sport developed from Peltast (spear-throwing) techniques (ie to train soldiers)

Pentathalon - Developed in the 19th Century as a sport for military scouts/despatch riders (ie to train soldiers)

Biathalon - Developed to train Ski-Born Infantry (to train soldiers)

Small-Bore Shooting - Deliberately popularised in the UK after the Boar War to train civilians in marksmanship ( ie to train soldiers)

Archery - Developed as a (compulsary) sport (ie to train soldiers)

Marathon - Commemorates an Army Despatch runner

etc etc etc, ad nauseum

Paintball - Game initially played by Lumberjacks using little marking pistols which were designed to tag trees. No military beginnings whatsoever just a load of Rednecks goofing off

As all these sports moved away from their roots they lost their military conotations. We are doing likewise.

 

[rancid]

Your examples are all elements of combat, they are not playing war.

Now, if in fencing you had ten vs ten and they all charged forward screaming, hacking and slashing then I'd grant you a yard. If in javelin you had teams of 20 lobbing it at each other then I would stand corrected. But, and here's the clincher, they don't!

As for Lumberjacks... well they didn't go 'hey, Jeremy, perhaps we can develop this into an international sport that could unite the youth of the world'. No, fk that. 'Right we'll be the marines, and you guys are Charlie. Now fk off over that hill before I put one between your eyes.'

We play war, and we love it.

 

[Hotpoint]

Originally posted by rancid
Your examples are all elements of combat, they are not playing war.

Now, if in fencing you had ten vs ten and they all charged forward screaming, hacking and slashing then I'd grant you a yard. If in javelin you had teams of 20 lobbing it at each other then I would stand corrected. But, and here's the clincher, they don't!

As for Lumberjacks... well they didn't go 'hey, Jeremy, perhaps we can develop this into an international sport that could unite the youth of the world'. No, fk that. 'Right we'll be the marines, and you guys are Charlie

I am not arguing that the majority of woodland newbie p'ballers aren't "playing war" (because they clearly are) I'm saying that paintball as a sport can outgrow this militaristic image as other activities have successfully done

As to the Lumberjacks actually I doubt they were thinking Vietnam I'd bet money they were playing Cowboys and Indians

Nb. Personally when I'm playing speedball I'm playing tag with guns not reinacting Ypres, so in that case I am not playing war nor am I thinking about it in those terms at all

 

[rancid]

If I could fix a bayonet on my Angel, I would.

 

[Buddha 3]

Originally posted by rancid
If I could fix a bayonet on my Angel, I would.

Just lend it to me for a day, and I'll fix it for ya.

 

[Hotpoint]

Originally posted by rancid
If I could fix a bayonet on my Angel, I would.

I am worried by the lack of a smilie after you typed this

Is anyone else having visions of Rancid on a woodland field bugles sounding in the background as he leads a hundred recballers charging towards the "enemy" sword in his hand screaming

"Advance the Colours Lads" or "Once more unto the breach"

Whats the matter Rancid?. Didn't your parents buy you enough Action-Man figures when you were a kid

 

[Baca Loco]

Originally posted by rancid
If I could fix a bayonet on my Angel, I would.

Look into airsoft, you'll love it.

 

[rancid]

Originally posted by Baca Loco

Look into airsoft, you'll love it.

You know I agree. That's the direction we should be taking the sport.