Claws for a Cause - The Good, The Bad and the Kitties

The Good:

Okay, I had a blast today and that can't be argued. A ridiculous amount of donations were made in the forms of food, animal toys, and cold hard cash which all went to helping provide for animals in need. It's days like this where I'm truly proud to have gotten involved with the paintball community, and with coverage from CTV, I'm POSITIVE that this event will have a long-lasting, beneficial effect on the way that the public views the sport of paintball, the people that play it, and of course what it means to rescue an animal in dire need of a home.

Left-Right: Noob, Omega, Cashman

Pre-Departure Selfie :p

The main positives of today were the above-mentioned benefits to the sport and the SPCA Animal Shelter, but it also came with an amazing air of camaraderie and good will that you always seem to find at charity events. No one's competing for a trophy, no one's gunning to buffer their 'rep' or this, that, or the other damned thing. This was a day to enjoy getting out, throwing a rainbow of paint and having a great time with even better friends. I got to spend my trip there and back, and much of my time on field and in the pits with my good buddy Ben Wilson, and my new friend Johan Scheepers and that was a daymaker in itself however I also got to meet a few familiar names from the Noob Baller Facebook page which is a treat since I finally get to put names to faces rather than just paintball mask profile pictures.

A short list (though I'm definitely going to forget some people and I sorely apologize) of the people I caused today's trouble with goes as follows:

Shout-Outs:

BigDave Kingboat (Always shenanigans... ALWAYS)
Bobby Weaver (Dude's got some epic flow going on... Check out dat hair!)
Brian Bates (Don't be a sap, don't double wrap)
Chris Hazard (Always giving me a hard time... But it's all just tough love :p)
David Charles (Snuck up on me and scared me sh*tless)
The entire Dead Men Walking crew 
"Grumpy" George Bel (Doesn't give a DAM, but will lend his out to deserving ballers)
 Jonathan "Bumbler" Basilious (GO FISH!!!)
Lindsey Pike (Always lookin' snappy out there)
The Magical Commando Squad (I freaking love you guys... And if you ever try to distance yourself from the MCS name I'll make you regret it... But friendship is still magic :p)
Mike Sutherland (Don't see you nearly enough man)
Omega's Curse (Get me on camera THIS time guys? :p Always a pleasure OC)
Phil Abraham "Twitch" (Anytime you need a hand brother)
Shaggy Pb (Battleaxe-wielding medical madman)
Tom Poh (Oh no it's the Poh Poh!)

There's totally a tonne of other people I got to see, meet, shoot at and be shot by but I just can't recall everyone's names. I'm exhausted and suffering from the beginning warning signs of a poutine coma (I reimbursed Ben and Johan for the value of the drive and their fantastic company with Smoke's "Shwasome" poutines... ALL THE CARBS).

The Bad:

Unfortunately it exists folks... It's inescapable.

I can't release a fair article without covering negatives of an event or venue if they pop up. You may remember that I was very critical of the PRZ Season opener's spawn system (which has since been re-worked and made much more fair and balanced), and that I was none-too-impressed with Skirmish Paintball gouging paint prices on a 3700+ person 'event-paint-only' event with I.O.N 2013, so you know I won't pull punches even with my favourite fields... I just can't do that and claim to be fair so... Here's the shake...

I was suffocating... And by that I mean air was in terribly short supply.

Shooting paint,
With no propellant at all...

There were only three air filling stations in operation today. I was hoping to find out that they had more than just the three 4500psi lines but no, even at their Bowser's Revenge big game, people I know who've played the event said that there were still only 3 lines in operation at any given time and they were all 4500psi fill lines. When I asked about a 3000psi fill line (as I run a 3000psi steelie) I was told to just "be careful" and "watch your gauge"... I'm sorry folks but if I'm heading to a field to play, and they can't safely accommodate my needs (which aren't extensive... 3000psi tanks are still pretty common) without me having to be that hawk-eyed with my tank gauge, I'm not going to be a happy camper just based on the lack of options.

This was made worse by the fact that the air station was completely shut down for stretches of time and when it WAS operating past a certain point you were lucky to get 2500psi in your tank before the compressor just plateaued and left you wanting more. My Etha's not some top of the line, super-light-weight bolt speedball marker, it's an entry-level paint slinger and I completely understand that. However when I can't get through a 120rd hopper and three 140rd pods with the air in my tank, it's BEYOND frustrating. It's one thing for me to get through ~560 shots, but that's with my Etha. If I was using a cyclone-fed marker or another, heavier pneumatic marker, I don't think it would be worth the trip out. I don't like giving such a poor recommendation but that's just the experience I had today.

The Freaking Hilarious:

Okay there were some SERIOUS saving points to this day that I haven't mentioned yet... And they come with some adult language so lil' kiddies? Plug your ears and close your eyes from here on out (keep calm and throw paint if you discontinue reading here... Gotta give my sign-off regardless :p)

On behalf of Jonathan "Bumbler" Basilious and the Magical Commando Squad... Let me say this loud and proud... NO FUCKS GIVEN!



Freaking love them... It's that simple. When you're having a rough day like I was and then you see a couple of unicorns and their bros rockin' a good ol' game of "Go Fish"... Things just seem to snap back into perspective. It says "remember not to take life TOO seriously... No one gets out alive anyway" :p Gotta live it up while you can and the MCS is DEFINITELY guilty as charged on all counts of paintball shenanigans, livin' the life, and showing everyone how to have a good time.

Puttin' The Claws Away:

It's time for me to go to bed folks... I've gotta wind down after an energy-draining day of paintball, socialization and shenanigans. I spent a LOT of time pushing what people were calling "bad bunkers" (people who obviously don't know that I take a "bad bunker" as a challenge rather than a warning) and holding that ground (despite plopping balls out of the barrel as my air supply died... Seriously that was absolutely killing my already mediocre flow lol). I'm the kind of guy who pushes the button when told not to push it, so being told that I can't hold a bunker, or that I shouldn't give a maneuver a shot? Pfft, I'm gonna spend the next hour trying different approaches until I make something fly (air and ammunition permitting).

With that said I had a fantastic day overall, more for the socializing than the paintball but hey, if you spend all your time out on the field, you don't really get to spend face-time with the people you're shooting at/with and that means you're losing out on some spectacular moments and not making friends in the best way possible... Y'know talking? Like humans? :)

Keep calm and throw paint as always everyone!

Joshua J. Taylor - The Noob Baller