Paintball

[blackrain]

Actually at the last big game that was local,I was offered the General position. I had to decline it due to work. It was a shock to me to even get it. I guess it was because I just have fun and help out others. My battle plan was just to have fun and who cares if we lost. That's basically what the owner wants is that type of attitude lol.
Local scenarios are great for me. Personally the bad elements leave,or just don't show up. As far as a mission,everyone runs it lol.One massive group trying to find prizes and props. It's just one big fun free for all lol.
Are the customers happy? Yes they are! Are they coming back? Yes they are!

No I think I hit the nail on the head. Harbinger I really agree with your points on who should be in charge. Your correct, it all comes down to money when that sort of thing happens. It's been going on in paintball since I've been playing.

Sponsership,more power to all of you who are. Me I'm self sponsered so I'm lucky. Do I have an attitude about it? Nope,I even gave away a bunch of grenades at the last big local game. I wasn't able to play,but wanted people who couldn't afford alot to have some fun.

Do I run missions? The whole game is a mission. I don't get caught up in role playing and all the other "Wanna be GI Joe issues".

Later,
Blackrain

[thundertb]

Yes the issue was 14 and the exact name of the article was Missing the Plot and that is what the author was trying to convey. And to answer the question that some have sent me, I am not The Hunter nor do I know who he is. It seems that he is a NE player based on every article revolves around the NE and the NE's perception of scenario paintball. So his articles are normally just a little off base from the national scenario scene. I also think, 10-shot that you went off a little half-cocked where this article is concerned.

Here is the quote that I think got 10-shot up in arms:

"No missions, no leadership roles, just paintball warriors! That's how Blue's Crew describes thier brand of play. 'Paintball Warriors' they call themselves. They play big games, at their EMR home, and across the country. They represent, very well, one approach to forming-and maintaining- a corps of players to support, staff and attract players to big games. They just don't run missions. While they organize and occasionally ref staff events, they don't take in-game leadership roles. Blue's Crew, in action, resembles a starving horde of homeless beavers turned loose on a Christmas tree farm. This is fine for big games.

But a fair number of teams demonstrate an equal disregard for storylines, roleplaying and game format at scenarios. They don't belong in scenarios. There's a reason Blue's Crew sticks to big games-the format fits their style, and what they want to do on the field. Scenario teams enjoy big games, but they truly excel in a much more structured, tricky environment Scenario games have a plot, a structure, or at least a set of objectives and point values that create a dynamic game-more then just throwing scores of players at each other until one side is overwhelmed."

Now I know Blue and his crew very well. I have played with and against them quite a bit. And guess what, I agree with what this writer has to say. The underlying premise behind his piece is the willy-nilly style that has come to try and dominate at scenario paintball events. Blue's Crew is not a scenario team and they never have been and based on what they have said they don't want to be. They are a marketing machine for EMR, combined of mostly members of other EMR home teams, who travel the NE and other parts of the country to promote EMR. You want to know why they don't do missions or what have you? It is because they are there for EMR and Blue and to play just shoot em up paintball. As a player, good for them, as a commander theat makes them an an albatross around my neck.

It sounds good on paper doesn't it? 20+ players, unlimited paint, high end guns and most of them with years of experience either in tourney or rec-ball or scenario paintball, all united under one banner and going in one direction, mowing the opposition, right? But guess what, that only works against teams who do not know how to deal with BC and it's tactics. Mostly that only works with people who are in awe of Mike or other members of his team or do not understand the ability to flank or draw in an opponent. I have seen BC become dis-oriented, and then cut to pieces, I have seen the major leaders of BC be taken out and a push become a trickle. And they don't play night time, most of the time they don't take a radio and hell up until NJ Nam, they refused to play with medics. However, I know a team that taught them the value of having a medic and now they will run with one but you have to assign them a medic because none of their players are going to put down their gun to be a medic.

Now in another forum somoene mentioned NJ Nam and the glorious push that BC did on the field to get the game started. And I will give them credit, they were the leading force behind the push that finally overwhelmed Saigon. Now do you want to know who was in command of Saigon and stopped not only BC but the entire other side from pushing onto the field for over 2 hours, I'll give you a hint. And it wasn't the devastating guns of BC that did it in, it was the fact that players were running out of paint and air and that the refs started pulling people back from their positions to give a tactical advantage to that side. The tank didn't help, the free paint didn't help and the paintball warrior mythos didn't help. In fact, the massive numbers of people who were with Blue and the crew died just like they did as they attacked a determined enemy in an emplaced position. They could have inserted in another area of saigon and laid waste. In fact, before the game when I got assigned the task of defending it, I told them simply it couldn't be done. Blue's crew would take the insertion point that they didn't use and they would push out because that side of the field played for that. When they didn't take it, guess what, we pushed up and occupied it and then it became like digging ticks out of a dog. When I asked them about it, they said that they didn't know that they could use that. The commanders didn't tell them to go there and so they didnt. So had they stepped back and taken a leadership role, I am sure Mike could have seen the best way for his crew to hit the field.

And that is only one example where not taking an active role in the game bites you in the ***. When they and the PB Nation mod-squad walked off the field at Living Legends, they left their side at 50+ short and guess what, there was no corresponding number of players who walked off the other side and that wound up costing them.

And Blue and his crew have said that they aren't a scenario team, multiple times. In fact I listed them as a scenario team of the month in Scenario News and got several emails from people telling me that several of the crew thought it was funny that all these scenario teams and people thought that they were a scenario team. And they were getting all these accolades as a scenario team and that they thought it was a joke. Now I am paraphrasing of course and it wasn't from Mike, and it isn't good for the image but this isn't about that is it? This is about a frank look at BC and it's impact on scenario and the fact that a lot of teams think that they need to be like BC.

BC gets a ton of press, hell 3 of their team mates are major writers for every magazine so one would hope that is the case. Mike is the master of marketing and that is obvious in the very nature of Blue's Crew. There have been other people who have tried to spin it off, Like Black Cat's All-Stars but Blue is the king of it. However as they have tasted media success and lemmings have been told that BC is the best 'scenario team' out there, they all want to be like BC. And that is where the article was going. In fact, they pointed out teams like XIIIth Legionaires, Ragnarok and Wetworkz as teams who run missions and role play and play night and are what scenario teams should aspire to be like. I saw the article as more of a comparison of different styles and trying to draw a line in the sand where BC is concerned or even where the public perception of them is concerned. Nothing more and nothing less.

The article wasn't about Mike, Chris, EMR or any of the members of the team. It was more about the idea that they have created with the statements of "No missions, no leadership roles, just paintball warriors!" more then anything. And that idea is not fitting into the theme of scenario paintball, it isn't conducive to a commander to have them on his team, and that is never going to change. The reason is that it doesn't need to, Blue's Crew does an awesome job at what they were created for. To market EMR, Blue, Deuce and their sponsors. Don't forget that and you might see what players like me see whenever we face off against the crew.

Besides in Isse 16, BC got the cover, there is a huge article about Castle with pictures of the crew all over and if you read the obviously biased article from Living Legends, you would have thought that BC and the PB Nation Mod Squad were paintball gods on the field distributing justice and that the only reason that they lost was luck on the part of Sean Scott. So they got their love in Jungle.

[ScrapIron]

TB, just to clarify, when you say "NE" you're referring to NorthEast US and not Nebraska, right?

For a while I was trying to figure out why someone from Nebraska would gripe about Blue's Crew.

[RealtorTommy]

Interesting as Blue's Crew has a Scenario section in PBN now.........hmmmm

[thundertb]

yes the North East, sorry for the confusion.

[RealtorTommy]

2008 Blue's Crew Schedule of Carnage


JAN 13 TOP GUN PAINTBALL
“PENGUINS VS. POLAR BEARS”
Top Gun Paintball Games


APRIL 26/27 EMR PAINTBALL PARK, PA
"CASTLE CONQUEST”
EMR PAINTBALL PARK | Scenario Paintball | Recball | Tournament Paintball | Castle Conquest | Paintball Safety
BC is Defending the CASTLE.


MAY 3/4 SHERWOOD FOREST VIPER SCENARIO, IN
“JUDGE DREDD TOTAL WAR”
BC is playing for “T” of Team WOW for the Terrorists
Sherwood 2
Viper Paintball :: 26 Hour Paintball Events (News)


MAY 17/18 CORAM LONG ISLAND Big Game, NY
Cousins Paintball Stores and Fields in the New York and New Jersey area


JULY 26/27 HELL SURVIVORS MONSTER GAME, MI
Welcome to Hell Survivors!


AUG 10 TOP GUN PAINTBALL “ALAMO BIG GAME”, NJ
BC is leading the Texans in their defense of the ALAMO.
Top Gun Paintball Games


AUG 16 WASAGA BEACH BIG GAME, ONTARIO
Welcome to Wasaga Beach Paintball Adventure (705) 322-6321


SEP 6/7 CPX WINDY CITY CLASSIC BIG GAME, IL
CPX Sports :: The Midwest's Premiere Paintball Field (News)


SEP 27 EMR PAINTBALL PARK, PA
“CASTLE CONQUEST”
BC is Attacking the CASTLE.
EMR PAINTBALL PARK | Scenario Paintball | Recball | Tournament Paintball | Castle Conquest | Paintball Safety


OCT 11 OYSTER FESTIVAL, VA
Welcome to the Chincoteague Island, Virginia First Official Tourist page


OCT 18 FOX 4 PAINTBALL BIG GAME
FOX 4 Paintball


DEC 6/7 WAYNE’S WORLD GRAND FINALE SCENARIO, FL

[thundertb]

Originally Posted by RealtorTommy

Interesting as Blue's Crew has a Scenario section in PBN now.........hmmmm

Not really as Mike is an awesome marketing guy! And I certainly will not take that away from him, and his group is talented, again not taking anything away from them. Howver, they really shouldn't be a team to copy and emulate, some of their attitudes maybe to aspire to? Sure, but if everyone is a paintball warrior and no one is running missions then how do you win the game?

PB Nation is just trying to justify it's place in Scenario Paintball, however if you went there before and go there now, you can see it is a entirely different place with different threads.

So please don't think my thread was 'anti-Blue's Crew' it wasnt, Mike and Chris and I are friends, it is simply my evaluation of the crew from a operational standpoint. If that is the way that they want to play, more power to them, same as with anyone else. However, to simply say hey that is ok for a high profile team (as they have become due to the marketing blitz) and everyone should be like that is a little unfair to the people who really get into the scenario aspect of the game.

To me, it is simply the other side of the coin.

[a_sock]

the run and gun teams or the guys who dont have milsim stuff on or dont look like they belong mop up milsimers and the like. yeah some scenario player can go out and wait 20 minutes to get a clear shot from his hiding spot, but the most useful player is the gun who takes 20 minutes to mow down 50 people. paintball doesnt really have that many specialists, but I kinda break down certain players in these categories. rushers-crazy players who will charge 50+ players and down half of them on his way. May get shot up, may shoot up others. very useful for gaining land, tearing down the enemy numbers. milsimers-the big guys with 10 pound guns and much more on them, slower, wont get as many eliminations but lasts in game a while, usefull for scenario points, makes our team look scary. the "just in case" guys- the people who hide behind bunkers and shoot out wildly, only make bold moves when theres people 100ft infront of them, good for defense, so many of them its hard to take them all out before getting shot by a more experienced player

[Mstrtal]

You forgot people like those on my team. Out to have fun. Run some missions. Cause havok on the field by doing the unexpected and doing it loudly in the most unusual way while singing twisted songs at the top of our lungs. You know the guys who don't run,don't hide,don't crouch just stand there in the open doing the time warp and sing "The internet is for Porn!"

[Clearush]

(Ok I was answering a post that dissapeared on me)

Does a team playing at a Scenario game instantly cause them to be a "scenario team" or does it make them a team that plays at scenario games?

What is a "scenario team" is it a team that partakes in all aspects of scenario play, or just any group of guys that show up and play together at a scenario game.

The contention is BC doesn't partake of the aspects of a scenario game, they run and gun and try to control the field but they don't general and they don't run missions for points to help win the game. So does that make or not make BC a "scenario team" or are they just a team that plays at scenario games?