Paintball Magazine Paintball Media Magazine April 2016 | Page 64

For weeks I prepared, as this was my first game
being General. My team SAS nominated me to take this
position, and it was finally time… I loaded up my car, put
the 4 new shields I had made into the back seat, looked
at the game map hoping it would stick permanently in
my mind, and locked the doors as I got ready to go to
sleep one last time before the big game. Every paintball
player who attends big games knows this feeling; a mix
of excitement, adrenaline, nervousness, fear that you will
forget something… and anticipation of the fun to be had!

I set my alarm for 5:00 am, figuring since the car was packed
I could shower quickly and be on the road by 5:30am.
But, at 4:30 I awoke, just plain wide awake and excited…
Knowing that paintball was that day. Most days when I
wake before my alarm, I quickly go back to sleep, dozing
back off. But on paintball days, I GET UP!  As it is time to
go have fun! I showered quickly, kissed my wife goodbye
as she rolled over back to sleep and headed out to my car
to leave. Instagram posts, and Facebook posts to my team
mates alerting them to watch out for me on the roads, as
I then pulled out of my driveway and into the darkness. I

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wondered how much darker the mine would be without
the moon shining down through the fog of night.

For the past two years the Urban Guard has run this
mine game in Mineford, Ohio. I found out about it on
Mcarterbrown.com and attended last years game titled
“Marauders of the Lost Mines”, which was a themed
scenario based on the Raiders of the Lost Ark series. It was
so amazing playing in complete and utter darkness. I have
a few videos from last year’s game on my TrailsofDoomHD
channel on YouTube, but it is really hard to see, as it is
almost impossible to film in complete darkness! Each
player is required to have a flashlight, and you can tell
the experienced players to the mines as they bring more
than one! With last year’s game under my belt, I had two
lights on my Tippmann TCR, (a bright white LED and a
dim green LED). That way I could easily let people know I
was on the green team! I also had my trusty Tippmann A-5
with MonsterSpin barrel (Apex 2 plus Flatline) and a dim
green light on it. My JT Flex 8 full helmet mask with Vortex