Chicago Force Paintball 2003

On September 20, 2003, Chicago Force had it's Second Annual Paintball Extravaganza! OK, maybe it wasn't 'extravagant', but it was a great day for paintball. Not too cold, not too hot, nice and sunny.

There was a good turn-out, with 27 people showing up to shoot Hawk...er, to play a rousing game of paintball. And how about those Star Wars scenario games, eh? Boy, we really hyped those didn't we? That was going to be a lot of fun, we're a Star Wars group, we're playing paintball, we should play Star Wars paintball games...

Well, they sucked. I admit it, they didn't work at all. Not even a little bit. In retrospect, I think I was making the rules too complex, and in the heat of 'combat', the fewer rules you have to remember the better. Also, there was a bit of friction with the management (we don't need to go into that now; it's a quality field, run by professional people, but everyone has their bad days), and we were only able to try one scenario: the Geonosis Arena. It seemed that the material I chose to make the 'impenetrable' Jedi lightsabers out of...well, let's just say that paintballs went right through it. The armor of the AT-ATs was the same stuff, even if we would have been able to use them. The moral of the story is either keep the rules simple, or stick to tried-and-true paintball games.

That's not to say that we didn't have a good time. Everyone that I talked to whole-heartedly gave the day a thumbs up. Blast Camp is a great field, and Nate was an excellent ref. He was able to keep a rowdy group in check and had some great games for us to play.

Most of the post-game talk was along the lines of "Can't wait until next year!", and I think it's safe to say that Chicago Force will be back at Blast Camp on the third weekend of September, 2004. Who knows, we may even drag along some Trekkies to shoot at.

Have I talked enough? You just want to see the pictures already? OK...

Matthew "Hazmatt" Callison
Chicago Force Webmaster

PRE-GAME
Thanks to my harping on it all the time, everyong made it to the field on time...except me. So I got a little lost. So what. Big deal.
Motley Crew	Our excellent ref, Nate	Nate explains the rules. Pay attention!
THE OCTAGON
The goal of this game is to have the most number of people in the center bunker at the end of the game.
The long walk to the field	Game on! 4 MB Quicktime movie Dial-up users beware!	The mad rush for the center
The first casualty	The teams take up positions	The Goal
Sithman hides in the grass	Thom fall down, go boom	Reds clean up opposition around the fort
Richie waits for his next victim	Mark shoots me in the groin area
CENTER FLAG
This game was played in a long building. There are red and blue flags in the center of the building. The object is to get to your flag and take it to the opposing end of the building. Easier said than done.
Nate gives us the run-down. Keep those goggles on!	You start with one hand on the wall	We could also use one side of the building
Red team returns fire	Preparing to make a break for it	What does he mean, cover him?
Bien and Hawk-boy get within spitting distance of each other...and don't know it.	With Hawky eliminated, Bien sprays paint at the enemy	Carrie takes a point-blank shot to the hand. Ouch!
"We've got the flag! Let's go!"	Bosh provides cover fire...	...only to be met with furious opposition
Go! Go! Go!	Ray gets a good angle	Daylan makes a break for the flag
Theresa shoots Daylan AND gets the flag	(insert Tusken roar)
ATTACK & DEFEND
One team is stationed on top of the hill and cannot leave. The other team trys to make it up the hill.
Game on!	No, you need to be on TOP of the hill	Mark is eliminated early. Serves him right for shooting a ref.
Losses on the Red team are heavy	Adam waggles his behind at the other team. Insult, or invitation?	Sithman begins his Reign of Terror. He's in that bush in front of Richie.
"Come out, Sithy..."	Sithman's second victim	Sithy bags number 3
Number 4 falls to Sithman's ninja powers	Sithy finally falls as he raises up to claim his 5th kill	"What'er you lookin' at, boy?"
THE EMBASSY
Similar to Attack & Defend, one team must guard the Embassy, while the other team tries to get inside the building.
"Now, if I only had a grenade..."	Kevin draws a bead on Mary...	...who is unaware she is about to be done for the day.
Get back in the window!	"OK, this'll be great. You cover me, I'll crawl under the window."	"They're going to be so surprised."
"Doh! They got me."	Vengenence is swift	Panic in the Embassy
THE AFTERMATH
Boba Welt	Just be glad I didn't take a picture of the welt on his butt	Merely a flesh wound, he's had worse
That's gotta hurt	The soothing nectar of the Dew makes the pain go away	Mark tries to run Hazmatt off the road
THE VIDEO
As promised, here is "Chicago Force Paintball 2003: The Video". Huge, huge thanks to Sithman for his editing skills that turned my shaky camera work into a coherent video. A note to those of you with dial-up Internet connections: this file is 33MB in size. When you start the download, go get a drink. Now sit on the porch drinking it. Come back inside. Tap a nap. Watch two episodes of "Changing Rooms" on BBC America. Take another nap. Get another drink. Your download should be done at that point.