PSP Northeast Open 2008

Hello to everyone out there and once again I have written up another somewhat entertaining event review for your viewing, no, reading, no, would it be "viewing" or "reading," oh who cares, pleasure. Now, I know I didn't do a write up for PSP Chicago back in June so I'll give you all a quick rundown on what it was like: crummy weather then hot then hot again then hurricane winds then hot again. The Chicago tourney overall was ok, maybe I was a little bummed because my birthday was Thursday of the event and who the hell wants to ref on their birthday? But let's get to the heart of the matter, PSP NEO, which was held at Smart Parts' All American Park somewhere near Pittsburgh, PA and I don't feel like wasting any more time.

Wednesday - Fly out of Houston at 8:30AM for Charlotte where I'll make an eventual connection up to Pittsburgh. Due to rising oil prices which effect EVERYTHING, I had to go cheap on my plane ticket and the cheapest tickets I could find at the time were with US Airways. All I can say about US Airways is this; I hope they go under soon. If anyone who reads this works for US Airways or has a relative/family member/loved one who works for that particular airline, I'm sorry but you or they need to find a new job because US Air sucks. I had to pay $15 just to put my bag on the plane and every damn person who flies on that airline brings a carry-on luggage so it takes forever just to get on the damn plane. We were late leaving Charlotte because several individuals refused to put their carry-ons in the hold. One guy got so pissed off he threw his bag on the floor of the plane and kicked it underneath his seat, what an ass. Finally get to Pittsburgh around 4:30PM and then sit around the airport with Amos, Ian, Seth and Benson for another two and a half hours till we get picked up by Dave Baker. We then drive for another hour to Greensburg (where the actual event is being held) and then I'm driven 5 more miles to where I'm staying with Travis, Jake, Pete and Cindy in New Stanton. Once there, I wait with Travis and Jake for two more hours till Pete and Cindy drive in from Minnesota. Overall, it was an exciting day in sitting...[/sarcasm].

Thursday - Wake up around 5:45AM to drive out to the event which starts at 7AM. We get there to find out that the refs don't even get to park at the event, Pete has to park his car elsewhere and a shuttle will take him back to the event, this is just the beginning of an exciting, bullshit packed event. Pete drops us off, we check in, grab jerseys and head off to our respective fields. Once again I'm on the D1 field (Dye) with the usual crew with some new additions. At this event it was Amos, Jeb, Smalls, Jake, Pig Pen, Logan, Paulie and myself. The new guys to the crew were O-town, Jimbo and Martin making 11 total refs, which ended up being great because for the first time we had a rotation so everyone got a break. Finally got a chance to take a look at the layout and the dorito side was anything but ref friendly. I got destroyed this event, easily, and there were hardly any safe spots. Anyway, started out with six D1 one matches and moved through them pretty easily. Probably the most exciting game was CDR vs RNT with CDR winning 5-4 and Ore from RNT being suspended from the event for spiking his gun, which was very nice of him.

After that came D2 and that's when things started getting interesting and by "interesting" I mean "bad." At this event we had a new scorekeeper, who is no where near as good as Becky is. Even though Jarred is an experienced board operator he hardly pays attention to what the hell is going on and when you have Clipboard (we didn't know his name for the first two days so we called him Clipboard) not knowing what the hell he's doing either, things go ary. In a match between Infectious (Dirty needles! lol) and DC Confidential the score switched FOUR times and by that I mean at first the score was 2-1, then 1-2, then 4-1, then finally settled on 2-1. We had a pow-wow about what the score should be and all the refs agreed it should have been 3-1 Infectious but Clipboard's scoresheet said otherwise. Also sometime during the D2 matches a huge thunderstorm came in and we had to stop games because of the lightening and the field went to shit, I can't put it any simpler than that. Then things seemed to get real sloppy as we progressed through our schedule into D3. In one match between HKN and somebody else we threw 6 majors, six! The games themselves were just ridiculously bad and were becoming an annoyance. All of which we blamed on Logan as he filled in the spot of the person who was sitting out. Screw you Logan and your shitty mojo. We finished up our schedule and then were moved to the NXL field which had lights to mix up with other refs from other fields and proceeded to ref till 10:30PM...10:30PM! That's 15 hours of reffing tournament paintball! Now I've done 10 hours and even 12 but 15 hours, my God there's no way of describing of how tired I felt. Finally, finished for the day we went back to the hotel, had a snack, showered and went to bed.

Friday - Pretty much the same exact same as Thursday from beginning to end. I got to sit out during the Damage vs Vicious game as it was my turn due to the rotation and it ended up being a blow out with Damage winning 7-1, which kinda pissed me off as I was hoping to sit around for awhile. Logan, however, sits out for nearly a freaking hour thanks to another screw up by Clipboard. Damn you yet again Logan. No real problems really other than the field, primarily the snake, going to shit thanks to the rain on Thursday. Another late finish after going to the NXL field to help with the night games.

Saturday - This may have been the worst day of reffing I ever experienced in my career as a referee. Now, I have worked in hot, cold and wet weather and I have had players and coaches threaten me with bodily harm and curse dead relatives I didn't even know I had but nothing compares to this particular Saturday. Started the day on time for a change with 4 D1 matches, no big deal. We finished an hour and a half behind due to all 4 of them went to time. Next, was two brackets of D4 5-man. Now, the past two times I've reffed D4 5-man, it was probably the easiest stuff I've ever done but that's only because I haven't done that massive of an amount of 5-man before this day. We killed the first bracket and went from being an hour and a half behind to just under 30 minutes behind, that's how much ass we kick as refs. We went through a total of 67 games out of a possibly 87 games and managed to almost catch up (in this situation I can use the phrase "catch up" quite liberally because being 30 minutes behind in tournament paintball is fairly normal). Problem is that was just one bracket, we still had another to go but this one was smaller by 27 possible total games to be played. To top it off we have to ref it two guys down meaning we go from 11 to 9. We finish it as well with the sun going down, exhaustion setting in and nowhere near done. We pack everything up and replace the entire Smart Parts field and run their games for them in an effort to catch up. To be fair we didn't run all of their games as we switched out every so often but we ran a majority of their bracket. After Smart Parts came NXL field where once again we substituted their entire crew for ours finally finishing at 12:30AM. Now, let me make sure you understand this, we started working Saturday, August 16th at 7:00AM and we finished Sunday, August 17th at 12:30AM. That's 17 and a half hours of refereeing paintball! The only way I can express how I felt after that is that both the Devil and Death walked up to me and one kicked me in the balls with the other kicking me in the face at the same time. Never again will I do something like this. I will feign illness, injury or both at the same time to get out of this. I will commit a crime that causes me to get arrested so I will not have to ref paintball for 17 and a half hours. I will not explicitly point my finger and blame someone for this atrocity, I will let them stew in their own juices of guilt and angst for making us do this. I would say I wish I wasn't good at reffing so I'd never have to do this but the problem is that I'm not any good, just better than the ones we have currently...

Sunday - After 17 and a half hours (yeah, I mentioned it again) and about 5 hours of sleep, we head back to the field to ref D1-3 finals and consolation, which total at about 8 matches altogether. We got a "late" start at 8AM and people still didn't show up on time. We reffed the first match borrowing refs from other fields just so we could start on time. Half way through the day I started falling asleep so I chugged half a bottle of coke (the beverage for you northerners) just so I could stay awake. We roll right through, finish at around 4PM and do so terribly exhuasted. We turn everything in and I go grab a beer with Roy Sears and managed to miss two rides back to the hotel but it was ok because I sat around with a bunch of the Air/Set-up guys and they're hilarious. Finally get picked up, grab my stuff from the hotel, shower at Amos' hotel and then get in a long conversation with Dave Baker about how and who is going to the airport as we only have one car, fun stuff.

Monday - At around 12:30AM we figure out who is going on the first run to the airport. Travis, Jake and Benson all need to go as they have 6AM flights and I volunteer also to go as I really don't want to sleep in Amos' room as it was fucking filthy. We arrive at the airport at 2AM, walk in and try to sleep on a semi-circle bench in the check-in lobby of the airport. Jake, Benson and Travis all check in and I'm left alone for the next couple of hours. I slept on another bench that was closer to the US Airways counter before Amos, Pig Pen, Ian and Seth finally arrived. We all sleep around one of the departure boards and Ian and I hear some lady say, "Why can't they just sleep at home," which causes me to laugh hysterically. Around 9:30 everyone starts to stir and the airport is starting to get real busy. We sit around talk about various bullshit and then move over to a glass divider that overlooks the security walk through and watch Strange Wilderness on Pig Pen's laptop. It was a pretty funny movie but I probably think that due to the sleep deprevation. We go through security at 1PM, grab some lunch and then eventually head to our respective terminals to fly home. After another connection in Charlotte I get home at 9:30PM and go straight to bed, tired beyond reason.

Well, that's it, another event review of an event I never ever want to do again. Thanks for taking the time to read and to all my friends in reffing, I hope to see you guys soon.

14 Days to go...

Two weeks left till the PSP 2008 Chicago Open held at BRAC in Bolingbrook, IL. As of right now registration is winding down and teams are trying to pay entry fees to play traditionally the second largest PSP tournament of the year. The layout has been out a good week and it probably one of the most interesting layouts yet.

I've reffed this layout but don't know it well enough yet. Supposedly, there are plenty of blind shots on the field, which means I'll have to be extra alert. Another good look at it and I'll be set.

Also the PSP is making strives to push them into the forefront of tournament paintball. At this event the league is once again having the NXL All-Star which features the top pro players competing together and is otherwise treated like one big joke by the players. Another new feature promoted by the league for this event is the addition of Premium Box Seating. For $195 you can sit in a special "area" 10 feet off the ground next to the scoreboard on the player's side of the field. You also get two T-shirts, VIP parking, free WiFi and complimentary beverages from the PSP hookers, I mean, um, Girls. The APPA is also trying to jump in on offering more and better to services to the players with allowing players to check in their bags for the low fee of $10 a day. This is America people, there's money to made and the more you get the better you are!

The weather right now in that area is still looking iffy with highs in the mid-80's with chances of rain between 20% and 40% but things have been known to change. I probably need to start going over the rules again so they'll be fresh in my head for the tournament. Still looking forward to the event and seeing everyone there, just 14 more days...

T-minus 28 days...

Like the title says only 28 more days till PSP's 2008 Chicago Open. The event is being held at Bolingbrook Recreational and Aquatic Complex for the fourth year in a row (first time was in 2005). To be frank, it's not a bad venue at all, I just feel a teensy bit sorry for the people whose houses are right next to the fields. I know I'd be pissed if I were woken up at 7:30AM on a Saturday to this:



Yeah, I'm sure a normal person would become a huge paintball fan after 5 days of that. I took a look at the weather in that area and right now it's highs in the upper 70s with a good big of rain. However, that will change in a month and by change I mean it could be worse (lots of rain), even more worse (no rain with temps soaring into the high 90s to low 100s) or ok (high 80s with rain forecasted everyday). I know I sound overly optimistic regarding the weather but if I don't put a good face on a possible bad situation, then who will?

Anyways, I'm looking forward to it as usual and hopefully everything will go well. I'll be on the D1 field as usual so stop by, make some slanderous remarks about my reffing ability and/or have a few laughs at my expense. Should be another awesome experience...

PSP Mid-Atlantic Open 2008

I wasn't there, sorry...

The Good Life

It's time I got back to the good life
It's time I got back, it's time I got back
And I don't even know how I got off the track
-Weezer, The Good Life

Today was a good day. I was able to get off work and play some good competitive paintball with some friends and had a good time doing so. I didn't play so well at first but once I got back into the swing of things, I got better. I didn't make any game breaking moves or stick someone stupid but I did my part to win the points I played and to me that's what is most important. It is what I miss most, doing my part.

I know that sounds odd of all the things I would miss about paintball but it's true. I love the adrenaline rush. I love battling with people. I love the sound. I love the excitement, intensity, aggression and outright insanity that is paintball. But I miss being part of a team even more. I miss going out to the field on Saturday or Sunday, meeting up with your best friends, shoot the shit for a little while then throw your gear on and play some ball. I miss stepping on the field and devising a game plan 20 seconds before it all starts. I miss the moment when after the dust has settled and you see that your team has more bodies then the other team the satisfaction that everyone did their part to win. I miss it, I really do.

This is the good life and I'm happiest after a hot day on the field. I'm soaked, I smell and I'm sore to the bone but I don't want anything else. Not money, not food, not fame, not even a beer (well, maybe a beer), I just want paintball and somehow, someway, I need to get back to it. I don't know what other sacrifice I need to make but I need to do something as this has gone on for far too long. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy reffing but I didn't get into to paintball to ref, I got into paintball to play paintball. I guess I'll just have to suck it up a little bit longer.

Thanks to everyone who was out there today; Carlos, Matt, Max, Jameson, Ryan, Chase, Pelto, Mikey, Kevin and the Texas A&M guys. Also thanks to Kim and the Twisted staff, my home away from home...

The Trend of Trends

Let's face it, paintball is one trendy ass sport, probably more so than other popular sports either traditional or extreme. The most popular trend in paintball is the trend to not look like everyone else by looking like everyone else...yeah, you read that right. If you disagree with me, go back and look of pictures of yourself and compare them with your teammates or other players, you look just like them. Just because your flex frame has neon green trim and your friend's frame has hot pink trim doesn't make you different. Argue all you want but here's the truth; in six months neither of you will have color frames and more than likely both of you will have latched onto some other new trend.

Like all trends, there is some statement being implied but for some reason that statement seems to lose merit or significance over time. Some trends disappear as quickly as they came while others seem to last awhile longer. Why this is I'm not sure but if I were to venture a guess (and I will) I would say that it's because some people are just too damn stubborn or it actually offers a level of practicality, which is an added bonus really. You're fashionable and smart, how often does that happen? However, some people take these trends too far and I no longer find it laughable but discouraging. I know they'll say they were only joking but if you're willing to dress up that much that means at one point you were serious enough to do so...

So which trends in paintball vanished and which ones persisted? Also what are some of the newer trends and what is on the horizon?

Sandanas - This has been the one persistent trend in paintball that will probably never go away and for good reason. The sandana is one of the oldest paintball products behind paintballs, guns and masks. The first reason the sandanas will stick around longer is that it is a practical piece of equipment. The mesh helps your head breath/stay cool and the headband offers some protection when taking a blast to the forehead. The second is that they're fashionable. Camo will never die, never. Despite all our efforts to try and separate out sport from the common misconception of this being a war game, we still hold onto some porition of camoflage like a security blanket. Third, if you can pull it off, then by all means wear it. Not everyone looks good in a sandana, I'm one of them, which is why I don't wear one (also because I don't find them that comfortable). A lot of players seem to not realize this and wear them anyways making me laugh at them and then singling them out later to try and teach them a lesson. It never goes through but their sandana aint so pretty no more.

Du-rag/do-rag/doo-rag - How ever you spell it you probably know what I'm talking about. Made popular by hip-hop/rap musicians, these are basically a poor-man's sandana but for someone who wants a little more flair out of their headgear. These started making their way onto the scene sometime in 2001, grew and then started to phase out. They came in a wide variety of colors and schemes and were dirt cheap. Du-rags also didn't offer a lot protection and some of them didn't really breathe well either. I wore one for a long time as I got tired of going to work on Monday and trying to explain why parts of my hair was pink or orange (hellfire use to stain terribly) so it did have some practical use.

Rockin' the 16 - This was a very short lived trend but it was big, no pun intended. Simply put "rockin' the 16" meant having a barrel 16 inches long and if it was a dye ultralite and/or two piece, well you were ahead of the pack. This also came out during a time when guns weren't exactly compact as they are now and with a 16in barrel, they looked like rifles (ex. 2k2 platform timmys). They made playing tight more difficult and didn't exactly improve accuracy but neither of those things were important to those who chose to "rock the 16."

HK Army/agg - I'm not going to even bother with this as this has been the most popular trend to sweep paintball. If you're not aware what either of these entities are go http://www.pbnation.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=349> here and I can only hope you make it out alive. They are responsible for all kinds of crap and manage to sill be the biggest trendsetters in the game.

Stickers - A pretty basic trend that at one point bore on absurd. Stickers are a great way to rep sponsors and express yourself. They're cheap, easy to apply and when you're tired of them, you can peel them off or just place new stickers on top of them. Well, a long time ago someone apparently noticed that if you put enough stickers on your gun or hopper, you can disguise hits or make them easy to wipe off.

Now, I don't know who thought this was a good idea and I don't know if it actually worked but the league soon jumped on it. At one point you were only allowed one 2'x4' sticker on your hopper or gun but I don't think any ref actually enforced this rule and if they did, I'm sure they were extremely popular.

Pink - For a brief period, paintball's figurative masculinity and sexuality was called into question when the sport went metro. Everything had to be pink to some people. I found it offensive as I watched perfectly fine guns re-anno'd to various shades of pink. It was awful and there are a stubborn few who feel it is necessary to continue in this ridiculous fad.

Area code - Letting people know what first three numbers you dial on your phone and where you're from is important to some, rekonize foo! Place it everywhere you can to remind people and if you feel necessary to do so, chant your area code. This will also help you remember in case you forget.

Florida Capri - This is a very recent trend and one I don't quite get. It's also entirely localized to the state of Florida and only players from Florida do this. Basically, instead of letting the pants go down the length of the leg, someone thought it was cool to stop the cuff sometimes as high as mid-shin leaving part of your leg bare and exposing your white socks to everyone. So far I've found no practical use for this adjustment nor do I believe there is one. Maybe they do this because they live in Florida and it gets hot there. Well, it gets hot here in Texas but I've never felt the need to hike my pants up to cool down. Maybe they do it to add some kind of bounce factor, hell I don't know, it's just weird and I'm sick of people asking me why they do this like I'm suppose to know...

I have no idea what new trend is headed our way and I don't really want to think about it. The fact of the matter is something will catch on, people will run it into the ground to where it's not cool anymore and then the whole cycle will repeat itself with some other asinine idea. Cue Lion King music...

Getting Started...

Hello everyone and welcome to From the Dorito Tape, a tournament paintball centric blog written by a guy who stands on the sideline, a ref. Yeah, I know, how lame right? Well, if you're looking for a unique point of view on the world of tournament paintball (one pov being that paintball would be a lot better at times without players) and for some decent laughs, then by all means, keep reading.

A quick introduction: I started playing paintball in 2001 and since then it has consumed my soul. At first it was for fun and to run around with my friends on Saturdays. I never had any plans of taking it further but that was till I saw Push, a movie about the 1999 NPPL World Cup in Orlando, Florida, and was introduced to the world of tournament paintball. When the movie had finished, a sense of awe had overwhelmed me upon realization that paintball was more than just a fun game with friends, it was a geniune (at least in my eyes) sport rife with intense competitions and tougher competitors...it was just what I wanted.

In 2002, I started working as a referee at the local paintball field, Twisted Texas, as a means to pay for my budding addiction. I even skipped my senior prom to run the field and pay for my first mid-range gun purchase, a Smart Parts Impulse. I continued to play as much as possible with the sole determination to play at the highest level I possibly could. In August of that year I left home to go to school at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, with the intent of continuing to play and possibly even starting a team to compete for Auburn. Little did I know how awful paintball in the state of Alabama was. The level of play and condition of the fields were just pathetic and my passion felt threatened. Luckily, Atlanta, GA is only a hundred miles or so from Auburn and for me, that was a justifiable distance to pursue what I loved most.

Paintball in Atlanta was leaps and bounds ahead of the state of Alabama and on top of that the style of play in Atlanta was exactly what I was looking for; fast, aggressive and dirty. I played in and around the Atlanta area for the next four years but never got to play a national tournament due to a conflict with school. Lame, I know, but I was still optimistic that I would be able to pursue my goal to play at the national level. It was also during this time I met Tim Schroepfer, the ref coordinator for Paintball Sports Promotions.

In 2006, I graduated from Auburn, packed my stuff and headed back home to Houston. When I arrived back home I made a grim realization that I had no job, no money, no team and a nonfunctioning gun. However, I was still intent on staying involved in paintball no matter what. Thankfully, a PSP referee clinic was held at Paintball Zone where I was able to be certified as a ref and convince Tim to let me work the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Open.

It was at MAO where I met those that would be some of my best friends; Amos, Travis, Diaz, Drew and Pig Pen. These guys make working the events worth it and the fun I have with them makes me hate the fact that the events are only five days long. Also at this event, after the first day I was moved up to the Open field and I had the opportunity to ref the first NXL All-Star game. Since then I've been reffing primarily Open/D1 and haven't looked back. Some of the most fun I've had has been being a referee for PSP and I intend to share to share it with all of you who read this blog.

Already posted are some of my event reviews from the previous season and the start of the current season. Also be on the lookout for commentaries regarding the paintball world as a whole. Enjoy!