It is tough to miss the guys from Jolly Green on the field. Beyond the trademark neon green t-shirts they wear, they are found everywhere and anywhere a firefight breaks out. If there is a push to be made, an objective to be taken, or an assault to be repulsed, you can always count on the Jolly Green paintball team to be there with huge grins on their faces as they systematically and methodically pound opponents.

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In a sport tainted by cheating, hot guns and hot tempers, Ed Mentz represents everything that’s good about paintball. His enviable woodsball skills have netted him a collection of scenario awards and honors, but his off-field behavior is what most players remember about Mentz. He genuinely cares about others, whether they play paintball or not, and is the first to lend a hand when someone is in need. “It’s the right thing to do,” he says, “to be there when people need you. Whether it’s to provide cover in a paintball game or just help them if they’re down on their luck.” Though ‘integrity’ and ‘honor’ are much more important to Mentz than ‘winning’, somehow Ed always seems to play for the winning team. He’s a tenacious competitor, whose respect for the game is infectious.

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No matter where you go to play paintball, sooner or later you will run into a player who simply stands out. It may be his appearance, it may be his play, it may be his attitude. Blake Roney aka “French t0ast” is all three. His shock of curly red hair and Converse shoes may look out of place deep in the woods or in the streets of Blanding, but Blake is a serious paintballer with serious heart.

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If you’ve floated through the Special Ops forums for long, you’ll likely have come across a chap going by the name of Thalion. Helpful, insightful, and quick to respond, he’s been the saving grace of many a new player in need of advice. He’s also been a key player and organizer in Minnesota paintball, and takes roles of leadership on and off the field. In this issue, RECON takes a look at the man behind the goggles.

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"I’m industry now. I never get to play.” Many of the founding players and top industry names, the people who helped build paintball from its roots as the National Survival Game, make this declaration. It takes great effort and dedication to run a field or a large corporation--or even a small business--and still get out into the woods and shoot some faces every few weekends. But it can be done.

A chance to get back onto the field and enjoy the game was a major impetus behind Mike “Blue” Hanse, owner of EMR Paintball and Blue’s Crew, starting the powerhouse woodsball team in 2003. “I had the idea for about 15 years,” he says. “I used to be a gun manufacturer and I sponsored a lot of teams. I thought about putting together a true marketing team that would truly market its sponsors’ products and be emissaries for the sport, on and off the field. Meanwhile, I also wanted to have a good time. It was getting to the point where all I did was work and I didn’t play anymore.”

That’s no longer the case, as Blue now runs with his hand-picked Crew, 25 elite paintball warriors and 15 associate members, who are also emissaries for the sport, at more than a dozen events every season.
Blue’s Crew’s “Schedule of Carnage” includes high-profile games such as Wayne’s Grand Finale at Wayne’s World in Ocala, Florida, the Long Island Big Game at Cousins Paintball, the Michigan Monster Game at Hell Survivors in Pickney, Michigan, and EMR Paintball’s Castle Conquest attack/defend game. “I have not found anything quite as insane as Castle. There’s nothing like it,” Blue says.

That is quite a statement from a man whose paintball history spans 25 years. He’s been a manufacturer, distributor, and field owner and remains one of the most recognizable faces in the game. Through it all, he’s been a player’s player, a true paintball personality who remains devoted to woods and recreational play.

While the industry in general goes back to its roots with a renewed emphasis on what we now call “woodsball,” some heroes never left. 

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The following is a transcript of an interview that was originally released by Blast Radius Woodsball Podcast. Check out this interview and more shows at http://blastradiuswoodsballpodcast.com

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The first time I really heard about foolybear, I was just falling asleep in my tent at a BlackCat scenario game. The conversation and stories were still going strong outside, and as I lay on the ground, relaxing, bits and pieces of the current topic reached me. I heard about a scenario legend, an undefeated general, a master of rules and roleplay. My curiosity sparked, I rejoined the conversation, to hear stories and recounted exploits that most would think impossible, but which all those in attendance took as gospel, most of whom had been firsthand witnesses. That man turned out to be Jason “foolybear” Lineberger. 

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