MAO Plus

This post should probably have been titled MAO Minus 'cus there's gonna be less MAO than y'all probably expected but I'm focusing on the positive. Cultivating my chi. Shuiing my feng. You know, all that mind body spirit nature in harmony crap. It's working like a champ. I'm so mellow you'd think I had a doctor's script for an unlimited supply of Kona Gold, but no. And, no more cycling tequila and Xanax for me. Listen to Baca kids, just say no to prescription anti-psychotics and mood elevators. Tequila on the other hand is a perfectly natural distillate of the blue agave plant.

As regulars to VFTD know I have a special soft spot on my head for paintball photographers and have had a few kind words for the guardians of our visual history. Not the way you remember those posts? Go with it anyway. It seems that in the brave new world of fewer photogs there's still at least one too many. Or so the photographers might have you believe. It seems one in particular has decided he has no need to follow either photographers field etiquette or common courtesy as he strides the sidelines stepping in front of his fellow travellers or simply brushing them aside with the sweep of his mighty lens. Taking no heed of their picayune efforts because he is the undisputed king of paintballphotography.
This was the first MAO not at the Paintball Central facility in Rock Hill SC. They should'a called it something else. I know, it's a dumb complaint but it wasn't the MAO. Of course it couldn't be the NJO either. It wasn't a bad venue either. In fact it was pretty good. The playing fields were good particularly considering the weather early on. The layout was okay. The parking ... meh. The free shuttle back and forth--priceless--(it was free.) It was isolated but not unreasonably so. Our hotel was less than forty minutes from the Philly airport with the venue about twenty minutes from the hotel. With decent accessibility to much of the east coast as well as several major airports not too far away it's a pretty good paintball field option. However, there's the question of timing. As the late summer event doesn't almost any Atlantic seaboard or northeastern venue risk seasonally unpredictable weather? (Rain last year in Jersey too.) Just saying. Bottom line it was a venue worth a second look and the league and competing teams received a lot of support from the OXCC staff & ownership.
Back when VFTD was a monthly magazine column I once wrote about paintball's untold stories. The personal stories. The team stories. The first timer stories. The unique stories and the shared experiences all the members of the tourney paintball family share in common, the highs, the lows, the moments of magic, the waiting--the list is almost endless. At a time when event reports were only scores and winners I wanted to remind people there was so much more than that to the world of tournament paintball. And there still is--unfortunately it isn't all positive. Traditionally most of the blame for the evils of tournament paintball have been laid on the doorstep of the pro ranks--and at times rightfully so--but some of the ugliness that occurs in the lower divisions not only among teams and players but supporters and worse, the parents of players, can make the worst outbursts from little league moms and peewee football dads seem tame and rational by comparison. It's not, btw, something new or unusual. I was simply reminded by a few stories I heard over the weekend. It's regular as the season schedule and maybe it's time to do something about it. There are unsportsmanlike and decorum rules in the rule book.
Congrats to Houston Heat for winning the pro event and Sacramento Damage for taking the D1 title. As well as the other winners (D2 Scottsdale Elevation, D3 DC Devestation, D4 Imperial) and all the teams that competed. This weekend they were the best and earned their titles, each and every one. Once again we had a layout that when push came to shove played slow with lots of games across all the divisions going to time. It wasn't terrible nor was it particularly exciting.
It seems the kids at Social PB are trying their hand at the rumorology game. It's not for the uninitiated as their first effort reads like a (weak) faux guerrilla ad campaign for the paintball industry. Trust me on this--if you're not making somebody angry you're not doing it right. I'm sure they'll get up to speed in time. As for the XSV rumor Mr. Curious will give you the real inside scoop. Yes, XSV is looking to play Cup in pro and they're using their sponsors to try and make it happen but it ain't that simple. Right now the league has 12 teams and a tourney formula that works given the time frame and the single pro field. Adding one team (that results in an odd number) complicates the process substantially so it isn't a done deal. And if you're curious about the real inside skinny start by asking yourself how many NPPL only pro teams (besides XSV) have inquired about a PSP pro spot. (Did you notice that Indy Mutiny played D1 at MAO?)
Lastly and certainly least it appears FaceFull is kaput again having missed at least three recent publication dates since its last revival. APG has even missed a publication date. On a similar note is the same fate overtaking Shooting Hot (online) paintball mag? Their last issue was May. (For those not in the know SH is the 'Deliverance' of paintball mags. "You've got purty lips, boy.") In a related note it seems Valken and LCP are hosting a scenario game the same weekend as World Cup and promoting it as an alternative event. Good to know somebody else in paintball has a sense of humor.