The Wild World of TB!

So Thunderstruck attended the Free Finale last weekend. We had a great time, and Billy’s hospitality is outstanding. I’m sure there will be some more posts to come on how the game went and such, but this is about Billy’s unique consent form that he has everyone sign before they play at Low Country Paintball.
It is my humble opinion that if every producer and field took this same stance we’d have a lot less bullshit in our sport. Having seen enough of the crap that is out in front and behind the scenes, I honestly believe that most of the political BS is addressed below. There is room at games for all the different styles of play, father and son teams, drinking & partying teams, Mil-sim teams, Run and gun teams and even teams like Thunderstruck who play for that dirty word…..WIN.

I Understand

1) I understand I am entering a paintball game where I may be and more than likely will be shot, sometimes even overshot and it will cause pain, bruising etc.

2) I understand there may be players on the field who play aggressively or in an aggressive manner. That is their perogative to play that way.

3) I understand that the referees are here for my safety and to enforce game rules and I will not argue with their decisions, regardless of whether I agree with the decisions made.

4) I understand I must abide by all rules provided by the producer for this event and not doing so may cause my ejection from the game.

5) I understand I am entering this contest to play against players who may be of a better caliber than me and I appreciate the challenge.

6) I understand I may be overshot in certain situations and accept that as part of this type of game.

7) I understand I should read and understand all rules for this game and be governed by those rules accordingly.

8) I understand I must use event paint only at this event. Any other paint used will cause me to be removed from the facility without a hint of remorse from the LCP staff.

9) I understand I SHOULD CONSULT THIS FORM BEFORE CONSULTING THE REFEREE OR PRODUCER.

10) I understand this game is for fun and should be played in a manner to ensure all players enjoyment.

11) I understand I am to be respectful to all staff and referees as well as management of this game.

12) I understand that if my team is losing, it is not the producers fault, the referee, the paint or the air guys fault. Maybe the other team is just better and complaining because my side is losing will not help in the least.

13) And finally, I understand that I am playing this game of my own free will and I am free to leave the premises of this game at any time I am not happy. I understand that the producer, paint vendor, referees and air guy are really trying hard to provide for me and a lot of other players an enjoyable game, and if for some reason that I cannot find my happy spot, it is not their fault. My griping and complaining about how I was overshot or the other team is a bunch of aggressive meanies or even the refs are cheating is really pointless and probably one sided, so I am deciding here and no to enjoy this game to the fullest.

By signing below I am signifying that I have read the above and I understand all that is stated above and that by signing below I am agreeing with all that is written above.

Name______________________________________________________ Date_____________________

As we come to mark the day that will live in infamy, I am like most real men, wondering where the great generals are in the world. I have been doing a lot of reading these off days and prepping for the Free Finale with books on strategy and such. But I decided to dust off my Patton books and take a read. Got so engrossed, I broke out the DVD and watched it...... twice. Anyone who truly knows me, knows that one of my favorite commanders was Patton, followed up by Sherman. Funny coming from a guy born and raised in the South and a follower of some of the great southern generals as well. Anyone who knows Patton, knows that a lot of my personae of TB is taken from the man. I am a true believer in 'visible leadership' (look it up, dammit) and I truly believe that there is nothing to be gained by being PC and not speaking from the truth. But today I want you to see the clip, if you have watched Patton then you know what the scene is, if not, well maybe it will inspire you to get to know one of the greatest generals who strapped on ivory handled pistols and went to war. I have also put on here the actual speech that he said since the movie felt the need to edit it and 'tone down' the language, now where have I heard that before.

Enjoy!

DStrat | MySpace Video

The Speech

Somewhere in England

June 5th, 1944

The big camp buzzed with a tension. For hundreds of eager rookies, newly arrived from the states, it was a great day in their lives. This day marked their first taste of the "real thing". Now they were not merely puppets in brown uniforms. They were not going through the motions of soldiering with three thousand miles of ocean between them and English soil. They were actually in the heart of England itself. They were waiting for the arrival of that legendary figure, Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr. Old "Blood and Guts" himself, about whom many a colorful chapter would be written for the school boys of tomorrow. Patton of the brisk, purposeful stride. Patton of the harsh, compelling voice, the lurid vocabulary, the grim and indomitable spirit that carried him and his Army to glory in Africa and Sicily. They called him "America's Fightingest General". He was no desk commando. He was the man who was sent for when the going got rough and a fighter was needed. He was the most hated and feared American of all on the part of the German Army.

Patton was coming and the stage was being set. He would address a move which might have a far reaching effect on the global war that, at the moment, was a TOP-SECRET in the files in Washington, D.C.

The men saw the camp turn out "en masse" for the first time and in full uniform, too. Today their marching was not lackadaisical. It was serious and the men felt the difference. From the lieutenants in charge of the companies on down in rank they felt the difference.

In long columns they marched down the hill from the barracks. They counted cadence while marching. They turned off to the left, up the rise and so on down into the roped off field where the General was to speak. Gold braid and stripes were everywhere. Soon, company by company, the hillside was a solid mass of brown. It was a beautiful fresh English morning. The tall trees lined the road and swayed gently in the breeze. Across the field, a British farmer calmly tilled his soil. High upon a nearby hill a group of British soldiers huddled together, waiting for the coming of the General. Military Police were everywhere wearing their white leggings, belts, and helmets. They were brisk and grim. The twittering of the birds in the trees could be heard above the dull murmur of the crowd and soft, white clouds floated lazily overhead as the men settled themselves and lit cigarettes.

On the special platform near the speakers stand, Colonels and Majors were a dime a dozen. Behind the platform stood General Patton's "Guard of Honor"; all specially chosen men. At their right was a band playing rousing marches while the crowd waited and on the platform a nervous sergeant repeatedly tested the loudspeaker. The moment grew near and the necks began to crane to view the tiny winding road that led to Stourport-on-Severn. A captain stepped to the microphone. "When the General arrives," he said sonorously, "the band will play the Generals March and you will all stand at attention."

By now the rumor had gotten around that Lieutenant General Simpson, Commanding General of the Fourth Army, was to be with General Patton. The men stirred expectantly. Two of the big boys in one day!

At last, the long black car, shining resplendently in the bright sun, roared up the road, preceded by a jeep full of Military Police. A dead hush fell over the hillside. There he was! Impeccably dressed. With knee high, brown, gleaming boots, shiny helmet, and his Colt .45 Peacemaker swinging in its holster on his right side.

Patton strode down the incline and then straight to the stiff backed "Guard of Honor". He looked them up and down. He peered intently into their faces and surveyed their backs. He moved through the ranks of the statuesque band like an avenging wraith and, apparently satisfied, mounted the platform with Lieutenant General Simpson and Major General Cook, the Corps Commander, at his side.

Major General Cook then introduced Lieutenant General Simpson, whose Army was still in America, preparing for their part in the war.

"We are here", said General Simpson, "to listen to the words of a great man. A man who will lead you all into whatever you may face with heroism, ability, and foresight. A man who has proven himself amid shot and shell. My greatest hope is that some day soon, I will have my own Army fighting with his, side by side."

General Patton arose and strode swiftly to the microphone. The men snapped to their feet and stood silently. Patton surveyed the sea of brown with a grim look. "Be seated", he said. The words were not a request, but a command. The General's voice rose high and clear.

"Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American."

The General paused and looked over the crowd. "You are not all going to die," he said slowly. "Only two percent of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. Some men get over their fright in a minute under fire. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood. Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base. Americans pride themselves on being He Men and they ARE He Men. Remember that the enemy is just as frightened as you are, and probably more so. They are not supermen."

"All through your Army careers, you men have bitched about what you call "chicken shit drilling". That, like everything else in this Army, has a definite purpose. That purpose is alertness. Alertness must be bred into every soldier. I don't give a fuck for a man who's not always on his toes. You men are veterans or you wouldn't be here. You are ready for what's to come. A man must be alert at all times if he expects to stay alive. If you're not alert, sometime, a German son-of-an-asshole-bitch is going to sneak up behind you and beat you to death with a sockful of shit!" The men roared in agreement.

Patton's grim expression did not change. "There are four hundred neatly marked graves somewhere in Sicily", he roared into the microphone, "All because one man went to sleep on the job". He paused and the men grew silent. "But they are German graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before they did". The General clutched the microphone tightly, his jaw out-thrust, and he continued, "An Army is a team. It lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is pure horse shit. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real fighting under fire than they know about fucking!"

The men slapped their legs and rolled in glee. This was Patton as the men had imagined him to be, and in rare form, too. He hadn't let them down. He was all that he was cracked up to be, and more. He had IT!

"We have the finest food, the finest equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world", Patton bellowed. He lowered his head and shook it pensively. Suddenly he snapped erect, faced the men belligerently and thundered, "Why, by God, I actually pity those poor sons-of-bitches we're going up against. By God, I do". The men clapped and howled delightedly. There would be many a barracks tale about the "Old Man's" choice phrases. They would become part and parcel of Third Army's history and they would become the bible of their slang.

"My men don't surrender", Patton continued, "I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he has been hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight back. That's not just bull shit either. The kind of man that I want in my command is just like the lieutenant in Libya, who, with a Luger against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the gun aside with one hand, and busted the hell out of the Kraut with his helmet. Then he jumped on the gun and went out and killed another German before they knew what the hell was coming off. And, all of that time, this man had a bullet through a lung. There was a real man!"

Patton stopped and the crowd waited. He continued more quietly, "All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain. What if every truck driver suddenly decided that he didn't like the whine of those shells overhead, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, "Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands". But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our country, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like? No, Goddamnit, Americans don't think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important in the vast scheme of this war. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns and machinery of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on K.P. has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the 'G.I. Shits'."

Patton paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men. One of the bravest men that I ever saw was a fellow on top of a telegraph pole in the midst of a furious fire fight in Tunisia. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at a time like that. He answered, "Fixing the wire, Sir". I asked, "Isn't that a little unhealthy right about now?" He answered, "Yes Sir, but the Goddamned wire has to be fixed". I asked, "Don't those planes strafing the road bother you?" And he answered, "No, Sir, but you sure as hell do!" Now, there was a real man. A real soldier. There was a man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might appear at the time, no matter how great the odds. And you should have seen those trucks on the road to Tunisia. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they rolled over those son-of-a-bitching roads, never stopping, never faltering from their course, with shells bursting all around them all of the time. We got through on good old American guts. Many of those men drove for over forty consecutive hours. These men weren't combat men, but they were soldiers with a job to do. They did it, and in one hell of a way they did it. They were part of a team. Without team effort, without them, the fight would have been lost. All of the links in the chain pulled together and the chain became unbreakable."

The General paused and stared challengingly over the silent ocean of men. One could have heard a pin drop anywhere on that vast hillside. The only sound was the stirring of the breeze in the leaves of the bordering trees and the busy chirping of the birds in the branches of the trees at the General's left.

"Don't forget," Patton barked, "you men don't know that I'm here. No mention of that fact is to be made in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell happened to me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army. I'm not even supposed to be here in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Germans. Some day I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, 'Jesus Christ, it's the Goddamned Third Army again and that son-of-a-fucking-bitch Patton'."

"We want to get the hell over there", Patton continued, "The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit."

The men roared approval and cheered delightedly. This statement had real significance behind it. Much more than met the eye and the men instinctively sensed the fact. They knew that they themselves were going to play a very great part in the making of world history. They were being told as much right now. Deep sincerity and seriousness lay behind the General's colorful words. The men knew and understood it. They loved the way he put it, too, as only he could.

Patton continued quietly, "Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin", he yelled, "I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!"

"When a man is lying in a shell hole, if he just stays there all day, a German will get to him eventually. The hell with that idea. The hell with taking it. My men don't dig foxholes. I don't want them to. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don't give the enemy time to dig one either. We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans that we've got more guts than they have; or ever will have. We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!"

"I don't want to get any messages saying, "I am holding my position." We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!"

"From time to time there will be some complaints that we are pushing our people too hard. I don't give a good Goddamn about such complaints. I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. The harder WE push, the more Germans we will kill. The more Germans we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed. Pushing means fewer casualties. I want you all to remember that."

The General paused. His eagle like eyes swept over the hillside. He said with pride, "There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, "Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana." No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, "Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Georgie Patton!"

“When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep? No—here’s to the pilot that weathered the storm.” –George Canning

So I sat and pondered today on this day that while it is quite the commerical holidy is supposed to be a day of giving thanks for the things you have and the people in your life. Now in my personal life I have friends and family, and I have a good job, however I will not be thanking them here. That is done in the provacy of my home and other places to be sure. Just because I don't bring them up here doesn't mean I am any less thankful, just I pick and choose where I put my thanks.

So what am I thankful for this year? Well as most of you might now, late last year my team experienced some major issues with several team mates. They decided it was best that they left and start a new team. Others left later for much different reasons but based on what has happened this year, reasons that weren't as simple as they have given. And finally other people who I thought were my friends have done more to hurt me in so many ways that I won't go into here (yet). And in the end, it has all made me and my friends who remained stronger.

So what I am thankful most this year for, is the people who had the forttude to stick by me when no one else would. When the 'community' decided that I was not welcome and some people decided to ostracize me, there were others who stood by me and said that was not the right thing to do. While some people decided to take the 'high road' in public and back door deal and politic, these people stayed on the upfront and defended me and my team. I thank you all for that!

I am thankful for the other teams who want me to remain in paintball and regardless of their like or dislike, enjoy competing against me and want to do so more often. I am thankful for the fields and promoters who decided not to listen to the rest of the 'community' when they decided to kick me to the curb. I am thank ful for the people who see beyond the smear campaign instituted again by former 'friends'.

I am thankful for people in the past I may not have gotten along with, seeing that while we may not see eye to eye if you treat people fairly then you will be rewarded. And for others who are attacked on my behalf as people do all they can to minimize me and my 'contribution' to the game and genre.

But most of all I am thankful for my team mates. These guys and gal have stood by me, some through the sins of the past and others have for the sins of the future. It will be a hard road that these people have put us on, but not one we haven't walked down before. 2009 is almost over, we have done well this year and 2010 will be even better. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, even you arrogant and un-thankful pricks who want to see me and mine fail.

I leave you with a few Thanksgiving quotes:

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” –John F. Kennedy

“Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of gratitude.” –Sallust

“What soon grows old? Gratitude.” –Aristotle

“There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure for them, but because obligation is a pain.” –Samuel Johnson

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” –W.T. Purkiser

In this I mean more of a financial statement then a philosphical one. In these days there are producers who either don't want our business or say that our business 'costs' more than it is worth. But is that really the case? I guess in the end, all promoters reserve the right to refuse service to anyone that they choose. And if indeed the person is breaking the rules, I would agree with taking appropriate measures up to and including a ban. That is only right, to be sure. To attempt to neuter someone because of an opinion or a disagreement on how to play a game is a little harsh and at time draconian on it's best day.

But what does a team like Thunderstruck, of which I am a member and arguably one of the most visible faces of, bring to a scenario game? In the financial aspect, it is pretty simple. Everyone on my team is over the age of 21 and all have a job or other means of gainful employment. While in the past we have been sponsored by gun manufacturers and others, in the end, the vast majority of us are not sponsored at games. Because of the past issues in that, I am not looking for that kind of thing ever again really. I will pay my way and then I owe you nothing that you don't expect from everyone else. So let's look a that based off the games that Thunderstruck has played in 2009.

So far, Thunderstruck has played in over 10 games this year. In every game that I am aware of we paid the same price as everyone else who attended. And we wound up averaging about 3.5 cases per player on my 12 man team. TO be fair we had 10 people at most games and rarely had over 12, however we did have several games where we added 4 to 5 extra people not team affiliated to come play with us. So I will leave the number at 12 just to be fair to the averages. Early bird entry for most games is $50, so 12 x $50 is $600 bucks in entry. For air at most places is $15, so we have 12 x $15 =$180. And a case of paint averages around $65 based on several of the games we attended. Some it was $70 or $80 at others it was $55. We averaged 3.5 cases per player so per game that would be 12 X 3.5 = 42 cases of paint for the 12 of us. At $65 per case that turns out to be $2730 in paint money. And that doesn't include any incidentals, we travel so we tend to eat at the field and such as that. But we wont go into that part. So the grand total from us is $3510 if we just shoot our average. At some games we were 4 and 5 cases deep, but that is another story. So you take the $3510 that we average a game and multiply that by 10 and that comes out to $35,100 dollars in money to the producers in the games.

Now I don't know about most of you, but $35k is more than most people make in a year and quite a sum of money. In comparison, lets take a 30 man team who shoots the average of 1.2 players that is the scenario average (and has been for years on end). Do all the same math above (I ain't breaking it down again) and you come to $4290 for a 30 man team. That's a difference of $780 or 5.5 players. So my team brings as much to the table, financially as a 25 man team. The difference is that up until this year, we pretty much played one promoter's events, oh we traveled to other events, but we mostly stayed in one circle. But if you got just 6 games out of us in a year, that's still $21,600 which is no small number to sneeze at. And to replace that income you would have to add 25 players per event that we no longer come to that shoots at least the scenario average. Aren't all the promoters complaining about the game shrinking?

But to speak on that, Thunderstruck also has friends (hard to believe I know) and of course teams who want to play against us, that do travel and sign up on either side. Yes there are teams out there these days who say that they will boycott the game if myself or my team show up, but those guys, if you really look at them bring far less to the table financially then we do. On top of that, there is the fact that we do require people to step up their game. And I have yet to be at a game where someone on the other side or any side actually came up to me or a member of my team off field and asked for advice that we laughed at them or made them feel stupid. Most anyone will tell you, on the field is one way to look at the game, off the field is another. I am not going to be nice to you on the field, but I will treat you with respect and courtesy off the field if you bring the same to me. And while I could probably replicate how much money that is with teams who may or may not come to your events, I am not going to do so, I will conservatively say it is the equivilent of the above mentioned 30 man team. So at any game you can add an additional $4000 that we bring to the table just for people to shoot with us or against us.

In this hard economic times, are we really the kind of people you don't want at your games? We play hard, yes, but we do play according to the rules. We don't wipe and we play at night. We are known for being the team that the commander depends on and we don't walk off the field until the commander does. We go off for paint and air, but most of the time we don't even eat (well I might, but cmon, I am a big boy). That is one of the reasons that we have gotten as many awards and accolades as we have, we are simply there more then most other teams.

For 2009, we have slowed down a bit. The fiasco at VIP was tasking as was the breakup last November. The team is only stronger and shoots a lot more paint then it did then and we are looking at a promoter to spend out coin with. So far we have a few, Bill Bailey, Billy Smith, Rich Dolph(Phoenix) and Damian from TAW being the big four. If the bigger promoters don't want our money, then we will for sure spend it with the smaller local promoter and we will promote their events and try our best to direct teams to them. Regardless of what people think, we are ambassadors of the sport and there are a lot of teams that look where we play and come to play with us. We provide legitimacy to the events we attend and a lot of people have said that the events we have stopped attending no provide little to no challenge without them going against us. So take from all that what you will.

This isn't bragging by any stretch of the imagination, just some simple math and some simple statements. In the end think about the money you spend with a promoter and see if you are providing their house payments and car payments. If so, maybe, just maybe you should get a little more respect than the jokers who show up at one game and split a case with a friend. Well maybe not, but you get what I mean, right?

So I have been monitoring this website since it was sent to me over a week ago. And I must say after looking into it and reading more and more about it, I just have to say that this website is a bunch of bullshit. The premise sounds good, and what is that premise you might ask? Well it is simple, you sign up for this website and you get 'sponsored' by some of the best companies out there. Now the current economic status of paintball notwithstanding, is getting a discount really a sponsorship and is 10 to 30% off a product worth $39.95? Some might say yes, however let's take a look at it and see what there really is behind the scenes.

First and foremost the site is www.pbsponsor.com and who runs it? Well I don't know since the domain is registered via proxy and there is no contact information except for email addresses. There is no physical address or phone number for that matter nor is there any contact person that you can call or hold accountable should they not offer the services that they claim to offer. Now they have been posting on my favorite paintball forum as Jamie Slaughter and his little brother who is an Army 'combat' veteran but talks like a 16 year old. But I digress, the simple fact is; who are these people and how do you get a hold of them, once they get your money?

And then let's move on to another point; what do you get for your money? The people behind the company would have you believe that you simply sign up on their website and submit your information and poof you get a sponsorship. When you get offered the sponsorship you pay them $39.95 and then you get it. Now the sponsorships are individual and not team related. Meaning my team of 13 would have to pay $39.95 each to get the same Redz sponsorship. Now how is that a sponsorship again? Now for the remainder of a year you will get other 'sponsorship' offers from companies all outside paintball as well. Sounds great right? I mean 20% off a hotel stay, 15% off a coupon to Denny's, you know the important stuff. Oh and they are flying some pretty big logos like KEE and DXS and Planet E. But you have to ask yourself, what are those companies getting out of it?

What do I mean? Well as a scenario player who was on a team FULLY sponsored by two major gun manufacturers and other companies, there has to be a trade of value. Meaning they are paying you in goods to provide them a service which is normally awards, won games for tourney players and general in your face advertising. They pay you to rep them to the paintball world. Now, this company comes along and offers to be the middle man and caters mostly to the new and naive players who think that sponsorship is super important (it isn't but that is another blog) and that they can pay someone $39.95 and magically start adding logos to their paintball jersey. The question I have is that in every instance of sponsorship, I had a full length contract sent to me. Me and my team looked at it, discussed it and signed it. That was the only way to get a real sponsorship. These days everyone is 'sponsored' by some company and what that means is wholesale pricing that anyone can get if they open a dealer account.

In fact, if I had to bet on anything, that is what this is. The people behind the company have accounts with several manufacturers and they provide you with the 'sponsorship' which is their price and they make their money off the $39.95. I am quite sure that the sponsorships are very limited, meaning you wont have the full stable of products offered up, simply the product that they choose to sponsor you with. Then again it could be that this guy has convinced some of these people that he will send them X number of customers and what kind of deal will they give him? Again, this is only as good as the company who stands to make the most money and that company is the nameless, faceless people behind this farce.

They spent hours defending themselves on PB Nation and the best that they could muster is try it out. They never really answered the questions and simply tried to passive-aggressively push back that these people asking the questions were somehow to blame for people not getting sponsored today. That's pretty bogus if you ask me and so is this website. Just because Paintball X3 is running an ad doesn't mean shit to me, according to them that makes them 'legitmate'. I'll stick to doing sponsorship the old fashioned way and thats meet the people who make the decisions, pitch to them what I and my team can do for them and go from there. We already have a dealer account with several companies so no thanks on the whole sale pricing there Mr. 'PB Sponsor'.

However in the end, I am sure, like the playing paintball in the island paradise a few years back that everyone was swearing was legitimate and had sponsors and more, this too will be proved to be a false ad and yet another attempt of someone to fleece another guy of his hard earned money. As for me, no thank you. And if you were a smart person (which most people who visit here are) then you would stay the fuck away from it too. Make sure you pass this on to your friends unless you just want them to get fucked.