The first game of paintball will have been played forty years ago on Sunday, June 27th. Interestingly, one of the inventors of the game, Charles Gaines, is the author of the book "Pumping Iron", the documentary of which featured Arnold Schwartzenegger and is partially responsible for his fame. Also, "Gaines" is a very apropos name for someone writing (and participating?) in bodybuilding.
Paintball was very popular in the early 2000's. Every guy at my school played it, and one local event attracted thousands of players from around the country (and world?). Some time around 2008 or so, its popularity decreased dramatically. I've read this was caused by a patent lawsuit that basically destroyed the paintball gun industry, except for a few companies. I had already stopped playing by this time, so I was out of the loop; although, I had never really been in the loop to begin with.
For the past few years, I've only played once per year, at the aforementioned local annual event, which is much smaller than it used to be (about 20% of its peak attendance). Every year, I am interested in getting back into the game, but the interest eventually subsides when I realize no one else around here plays much, despite three nearby fields. Supposedly there's a bigger paintball scene in a city a couple hours away, so I may check that out. This was supposedly the last year the annual event would be held, so if I don't find another event or field to play at, this pass-time will be dead to me.
Admittedly, most of my old memories of playing are tainted by gear failure (my gun always broke down) and players/staff with bad attitudes. But I still always consider it a fun thing I was never able to fully appreciate, and I keep hoping to capture that potential, but then I forget about it until the next year.
Does anyone here play paintball, or did anyone *used* to play paintball?
