Paintball’s Living Legends: In their own Words
by Douglas "Montydoom" Montgomery and Jason "foolybear" Lineberger on Nov 19, 2008
legend—an extremely famous or notorious person, esp. in a particular field
“Old school.” - Jim Lively, tournament promoter
Legend is such a subjective term, especially for a sport with a relatively short history. In two and a half decades paintball has evolved from buddies with unregulated marking pistols to machine gunning athletes and media outlets that direct their marketing to those living the “paintball lifestyle”—whatever that means. If brown is the new black, then scenario is the new tournament, and the 700 players who rode all manner of wings and wheels to CPX Sports outside Joliet, Illinois, converged to throw down with some great competition and a few of the movers and shakers who have shaped the course of the sport..
“It’s paintball; it’s paintball! You’re always doing good when you’re playing paintball. I don’t fly—this is the third event I’ve flown to in twenty five years.” - Guy Cooper, author of The Paintball Field Operator’s Guide
Living Legends, like scenario ‘ball in general, was all about coming together. DXS and Smart Parts came together, heading up the opposing sides, to promote the event. Wayne Dollack and Kerry “Viper” Rosenberry, two of the handful of roaming national scenario producers, brought their styles of scenario production to the mix, and paintball notables from the past 25 years rolled in to connect, reminisce, and rack up some eliminations on the field. Players came together, spotting each other in the airport, some even representing their sport by wearing team jerseys on the plane, letting everyone know that the paint-slinging masses were about to descend on the City of Big Shoulders. Those heartfelt greetings in the airport, camping area, or in the hotel lobby underscore the power of the community, the brotherhood created by the scenario side of the sport. The game, no matter how high profile, would be worth more than points and bragging rights, it would be like all the best parts of a high school reunion, those old friendships renewed in a nostalgic haze, only with a lot more projectiles and camouflage.
“People I haven’t seen in forever. Faces I recognize from God only knows how far back. . . a lot of Kodak moments.” - Glenn Palmer, Palmer’s Pursuit Shop
In terms of what happened on the field, the game ran along predictable lines—two powerhouse teams met in the middle, one side gave ground only to recover it and push back. Smaller groups ran the tapelines to collect covert mission points while focused efforts netted gains in real estate but created weaknesses elsewhere. With some of the country’s best players on both sides, the game never truly tilted in favor one way or the other, and the producers, Viper and Dollack, kept the missions interesting and challenging. The event paint, a special formula DraXxuS ball, broke like a dream—some of the best, if not THE best, ammunition used in a scenario event. Paintball Central kept air fill lines nonexistent with 4500 fills running smoothly all weekend, and CPX offered amazing terrain, from their urban field Bedlam, to the woods around the Temple of Doom, to the bombed-out wasteland of Armageddon. Games that fall apart give players something to gripe about on the forums, but a game that ran this smoothly left participants freeing their schedules for next year.
“We’re having a great time out here at CPX, playing with all our old buddies, the legends of paintball, running and gunning.”—Blue, EMR and Blue’s Crew
The roster of attendees ran the gamut from the ghosts of paintball’s past to the spirits of paintball’s future. Paintball’s originators, men like Glenn and Craig Palmer, Larry Cossio, Jim Lively, Dan Colby, Billy Gardner Jr., Craig Miller, Blue Hanse, Rene Boucher, Sal Briguglio, Erich Garbers, Pogo, and Guy Cooper took the field with a new wave of tournament pros and woodsball legends like Yosh Rau, Brian Cole, Matty Marshall, Frank Connell, Tyger Rubin, Deuce Hanse, Danny Tiljak, Brian “MOATI” Russell, Montydoom and Krazy-8 Kirk. Hard-hitting scenario veterans like Psycho Clown Posse, Damage Inc., Hellions, Bad Karma, Thunderstruck, and dozens of others brought their A-games to this celebration of good times past and great things to come.
“It’s the first time in history that we’ve got living legends to new players in one spot. We’ve got my daughter here, who’s a ten-year-old, and we’ve got Wayne Dollack, Dewayne Convirs, and Glenn Palmer.” - Spartacus, XO for Craig Miller’s side
Going into the final battle, both teams felt confident that they had victory in their grasp. Sean Scott’s team had rocked the field on Saturday with the help of the Blackhearts’ tank and some well-coordinated helicopter insertions. Scott’s players set the tempo of the game and maintained a strong line, enabling the mission squads to complete objectives on a regular basis. For his part, first-time general Craig Miller of Procaps leaned heavily on his experienced command staff and utilized some killer squads like Ground Control, the Clowns, and some of the Special Ops Elite Instructors to punch through the defenses to complete insanely difficult missions like taking the enemy base and holding it for 20 minutes. As fast as Dollack seeded the field with props—pieces of a WMD—Miller’s teams collected those parts, even if they had to shoot up the enemy and steal them. Scott’s Russian contingent may have gained more missions, but Miller’s Marines held the keys to winning the game, the ingredients in a recipe for mass destruction.
“Guy Cooper and I were able to go into the command post of the opposite team and take it, so that was a highlight.”—Jim Lively, tournament promoter
“I was in the base camp; we got over run, and I was using my little pistol, and it just got really close to being hand-to-hand combat. It’s been a really good time.”—Dewayne Convirs, Oklahoma D-Day Promoter
The final battle set up one side in Bedlam and the other in Armageddon with a wide, grassy berm in between. Five slapsticks sat atop that berm, each one worth a giant step towards victory, and the teams came out swinging for the fences. Waves of paint grenades cleared the hill as charging teams crashed through clouds of smoke only to break on the wall of opposition coming from the other side. Scott’s Russians showed more valor, charging time and again to drive back their foes, if only for a moment—long enough for one soon-to-be-bruised soul to smack an objective before being spackled from a dozen angles. While Miller’s team dominated in terms of cash and props, they never put the pieces together to nuke the other side, allowing Scott’s lead in missions and the final battle bonus to tip the scales towards victory.
“It’s been absolutely amazing. Even the legends have come up to me and said, ‘Thank you for putting all this together.’”—Sean Scott, Smart Parts
With a huge industry presence, even the game’s losers came home as winners. The companies showed their generous support of scenario ‘ball by tossing masses of free product to the crowd before the actual drawing. Viper kept the pace brisk, handing out goggles, guns, and mounds of gear donated by the event’s sponsors. The field was simply mind-blowing, the teams played hard, and the legends of the sport got a chance to reconnect and show some new dogs their old tricks. Living Legends, if the plans go through to make it an annual event, will soon be one of the must-play dates on many of the best teams’ calendars.
“Are you going to kick butt?”—Montydoom
“Yes.”—Brianna, age 10.
Best Ref - Kevin “Superman” Sanders
Russian Awards
Sportsmanship Award—Shea Welman
Valor Award—David Cilio
Most Formidable—Spartacus from Team Hellions
Most Valuable Player—Josh Foote from Team Delta
Most Valuable Team—Team Thunderstruck
Marine Awards
Sportsmanship Award—Aaron “Krazy 8” Kirk
Valor Award—Jake “Grave Robber” Manning
Most Formidable—Headhunters
Most Valuable Player—Jim Lively
Most Valuable Team—Ground Control