Monday, October 24, 2011

Tampa Bay Damage Win World Cup!

Not what I usually do in this space but this is an extra special occasion. The sort of rare occasion that wouldn't have been possible without the contribution of a lot of different people who deserve to be recognized. First the team owner, CJ Botsolas, whose love of paintball and commitment to the team made everything else possible. Joey Blute, GM & sideline coach who also handles all the mundane, day-to-day boring crap nobody else wants to do. He wasn't able to be with us because his wife was giving birth to their first child, a daughter. The players; nobody wins without the horses to get the job done. Not at this level. Most of them may not be well known even in the competitive paintball world but they have proved they deserve to be. They are Ramzi El-Yousef, Chad Busiere, Bryan Smith, Daniel Holiday, Timmy Propst, Jason Edwards, Jacob Edwards, Mike Carthy, Keith Brown, Dave Bains, CJ, Alex "deuce" Delannoy & Mike Smarac. And never last, Alex Spence, whose struggle and inspiration has been in the forefront of our hearts and thoughts for the last year. The pit crew; Pops & Dill--the best in the business. It has been a great and abiding pleasure & privilege to share this with all of them. Friends, family, team.

13 comments:

Cody said...

Congrats from Blackout! Well deserved.

John said...

Congratulations! It was an amazing run for the team. It was also great to see Alex right there on the sidelines coaching and cheering along with his team!

Reiner Schafer said...

Congratulations. Will this mean the blog will change titles to "View From The Podium"?

Roel said...

Congrats Baca, was watching the live webcast and you guys played solid! Guess you really know what you're talking about;)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Baca, its a great day to be a damage fan.

Anonymous said...

btw. Is Beast now an official member of Damage team? Seemed through webcast that the huge guy brought alot of intensity, focus and well, physical "do not fuck with us" threat. Was kinda funny to see your fast & small runners look up to the huge guy like getting an "lets do this" before the points.

And for such size, he surely can gunfight insanely well even when bunker size is a joke.

Whats your take on how Bains fit into damage roster?

Baca Loco said...

Dave is (was) the missing link. (Think Jack Links beef jerky commercial.)

Every team needs a captain and Dave is a natural born leader. He was (and is) a perfect fit.
As for the future I can't imagine Dave in any other uniform.

Anonymous said...

Mark said
Well done to the first Pro WC Champs to hail from the sunshine state!!!!

Baca Loco said...

Thanks Mark.
Maybe officially but I consider the Strange win over Dynasty in Open in '03 to be the first. It wasn't an NXL title--in that league's first season--but it was better attended and much more exciting as well as being a bracket of established pro teams for the most part.

Neal Ryan said...

Congrats TBD! Wasn't able to watch this weekend but I'm sure it was fast and methodical and smart!

Anonymous said...

"the Strange win over Dynasty in Open in '03 to be the first. It wasn't an NXL title--in that league's first season--but it was better attended and much more exciting as well as being a bracket of established pro teams for the most part."
Mark said
Maybe so but it was still listed as D1, and who could forget the likes of Fury, Storm, Shocktech, not to mention MR Paintball factory as well as Legacy, Jax WoRRiors not quite what I'd call established pro teams. To take nothing away from that epic come-back against Dynasty.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on a great finish!

Daves got back to back to back WC first place finishes. That's amazing! He's easily the #1 pro mercenary out there today; a real difference maker. Do you have him locked up for 2012?

Baca Loco said...

Third Anon
Okay, so maybe sentiment got the better of me on that one--at least in terms of who all was in that division that year. But you also left out teams like Russian Legion & Naughty Dogs.