I played with a pro tonight…

I was at the paintball field tonite for a little “Wednesday night action” when Matt and his uncle from the paintball store stopped by with Zack Ducharme from Redz Hurricanes. (See profile.)

I joined them and we played as a 4 man team against basically everyone else there. They were just rotating the teams in against us. The kids’ mouths kind of dropped when they saw this guy, as he’s one of the best front players in the country.

It was kind of interesting being close to a sports specific fame like that, even if it was relatively low level. I was on the periphery of it – only playing with him – but you could feel a bit of the spotlight shift. On an ordinary night games are going on all the time, and people are off doing their own thing…cleaning their gear, refilling air and pods, etc. When we walked out on the field with this guy it was like a switch was thrown, and the whole place pressed up against the net to get a better look. The atmosphere when I made a move, shot someone out, or got tagged myself was certainly amplified with all those eyes on us.

It was one of those rare experiences in life that I won’t soon forget. Fortunately I didn’t embarass myself out there. All of the guys playing on our team (other than me) were very good tournament players, so I was happy to contribute a few kills here and there and not shoot any of my teammates in the back of the head.