Paintball is fast becoming one of the most popular games around. It has become an alternative past time from the usual athletic games being played; and it has become one of the most exciting outdoor sports in the world. Anybody can play paintball, regardless of race, sex, age and social status. It is a game for people who have taste for competition and adventure.
The game combines two of the most popular childhood past times: tag and hide-and-seek, the objective being to capture the flag of the enemy while protecting one's own.
There are several reasons for the popularity of paintball:
1. It is the team sport that enables one to remove an opponent from the game without being penalized for it. In fact, removing one's opponent is very much part of the game. It is the survival of the smartest and the quickest.
2. There is a strong sense of danger, not necessarily a physical one. The threat of being removed from the game makes it more exciting for the participants. But since it is only a game, the fear is not enough to make one mentally-incapacitated. With the right safety gear, no one is really in any real danger. It is all in the mind.
3. All players are equal. Experience is the only basis of one's edge over the other player. Factors such as race, gender and age do not put one ahead of the other.
4. There is a total absence of physical contact. There is no need for a player to manhandle his opponent so that he can be eliminated from the game. One only needs to shoot the opponent, which can be done from a relatively safe distance. Very few injuries and no deaths have resulted from playing paintball.
5. There is no need to be an athlete. Playing paintball does not require extreme physical strength. In fact, the game can be played with very few physical movements.
6.No one really needs to be experienced to enjoy the game. Though it matters, a lot of old-time players find themselves surprisingly eliminated by first-time participants. It is anybody's game.
7. It is gadget-crazy. Everybody likes gadgets. Paintball requires a lot of them.
Paintball is a very stimulating and exciting sport. Playing the game gives one the chance to renew the inner child in people. It enables one to maximize his sense of adventure, without risking life and limb for that sought-after rush.
October 12, 2009, 07:05:47 AM