Mine started with day dreaming. In 1989 I was a kid living overseas in Turkey with my family. Dad was an Airforce NCO and we lived at Incirlik. That alone was epic. However, there was no massive amount of options in terms of general shopping. It was the base exchange or mail order courtesy of catalogs. (the good ole days). Anywhoo, There was a section in one of the catalogs I was staring at that had a OG Splatmaster and a description of how paintball was played. I was 12ish at the time and it was laser engraved into my brain. I was going to play that game as soon as I could. Fast forward to 1992 when we moved to San Antonio from Turkey. That year on my 14th birthday my dad took me to Grandpas paintball. It was an indoor field using pump markers. It had an observation booth on the second floor enclosed with plexiglass. In the center of the field was a tower that "Grandpa" sat in. He would observe the games from there. In one corner was an Alamo, on the opposite side was another fort of some sort. Paintballs were paid for by the 10 round tube and fed into a standards size gravity shake and bake hopper. One of the first games that happened I ended up being 1 vs 5 and grandpa was telling the other team that this should be a quick match. Unfortunately for them, I walked all over the 5. Like nasty. As I shoot out the last guy with what I would consider rapid fire (at the time) grandpa is loosing his shit in the tower about how that match went. In order to walk off the field, you have to use the doors under the observation booth. Standing there was my dad with awe struck eyes. I put 4 or 5 shots in to the plexiglass as I walk to the exit. Off the field grandpa meets up with me and tells me that, that was some of the best paintball he had seen. Im sure he meant for walkon noobs because he had a team called Grandmas Hit Squad and I am sure they had some epic moments that he was a part of.
That was the hook. I did chores for months in order to get a marker setup and a mask. That was 1992 and I have never looked back. In 1997 a buddy and I were invited to play some outlaw ball in an area outside of San Antonio that now has mansions on it. Short version of a long story, A doctor that came into were I worked and saw a welt on my neck knew it was paintball and asked where I played. He invited me and my buddy to meet him up near San Antonio Hills to play an overnight event. Outlaw overnight event.... I should have known it was going to be something wild. Not having money and not knowing anything other than that I considered myself a good baller, I didnt know what to expect. You should have seen my face when I tripped the wire of some sort of flare device at like midnight in this game. Looking at the flare, blinding myself, and then getting hit by about 6 or 7 dudes hiding in the tree lines. That was epic. It wasnt until the next day that I found out everyone out there other than my buddy and I were doctors and spent thousands and thousands of dollars on their gear. They had flares, smoke grenades (like military grade), and gen 1 night vision that they used to stalk us. It wasnt even remotely fair but it was one of the most amazing paintball moments of my life. These guys were hardcore. Cockers, Automags, Shoebox Shockers... they had it all. I had a Spyder with a foregrip expansion chamber. After that night, I was determined to get a cocker. The cocker led to regular play at proper fields. In particular, to PipeCreek Paintball. Its long since closed down but its still fresh in my memory and all the fun we had out there.
What about you guys? What was the hook that snagged you?
That was the hook. I did chores for months in order to get a marker setup and a mask. That was 1992 and I have never looked back. In 1997 a buddy and I were invited to play some outlaw ball in an area outside of San Antonio that now has mansions on it. Short version of a long story, A doctor that came into were I worked and saw a welt on my neck knew it was paintball and asked where I played. He invited me and my buddy to meet him up near San Antonio Hills to play an overnight event. Outlaw overnight event.... I should have known it was going to be something wild. Not having money and not knowing anything other than that I considered myself a good baller, I didnt know what to expect. You should have seen my face when I tripped the wire of some sort of flare device at like midnight in this game. Looking at the flare, blinding myself, and then getting hit by about 6 or 7 dudes hiding in the tree lines. That was epic. It wasnt until the next day that I found out everyone out there other than my buddy and I were doctors and spent thousands and thousands of dollars on their gear. They had flares, smoke grenades (like military grade), and gen 1 night vision that they used to stalk us. It wasnt even remotely fair but it was one of the most amazing paintball moments of my life. These guys were hardcore. Cockers, Automags, Shoebox Shockers... they had it all. I had a Spyder with a foregrip expansion chamber. After that night, I was determined to get a cocker. The cocker led to regular play at proper fields. In particular, to PipeCreek Paintball. Its long since closed down but its still fresh in my memory and all the fun we had out there.
What about you guys? What was the hook that snagged you?
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