Hey Socko,

Just wanted to drop you a line (or several) and thank you for the way you've been running the field. Airsports has always been a fun place to play, but having spent time there under your management, I've really come to appreciate just how much it takes to foster the sort of environment we have there.

Ended up going back over to THE OTHER FIELD after leaving today because I wanted to get some games in. Some of thier "regulars" were actually there today, so I got a better idea of how they run things on the field. These guys (who claimed to have been playing there for years now) were playing on, wiping hits, overshooting (and I mean 10-15 shots on target) at point blank range, using uncapped ramping (against 12 year olds with rental guns), and generally displaying every sort of negative behavior associated with the sport, all the whilst making gross safety violations both on the field and in the staging area.

It's extremely disappointing to see people playing in such an uncompetitive and downright vicious manner, especially against much younger players. I did my best to screen the younger kids on my team from that sort of fire and ended up doing pretty well, but it was clear these guys weren't used to having any serious opposition and came to the field so they could dump paint on noobs from five or ten feet away if they felt like it. I have at least fifteen raised welts on the left side of my body. We were playing full-field games in the woods all day.

It's disappointing, because the owners seem like pretty nice guys and they constantly describe the environment as "family-oriented", while allowing thirty year old men shooting Egos to bunker first-time players. I considered saying something to them but felt it wasn't really my place. Bottom line, I won't be surprised to see a serious injury on that field...they are making all the wrong choices when it comes to rules and safety regulations. I got so mad at the lack of sportsmanship that I intentionally overshot players once I saw them playing on with hits on their masks, gear, and the front of their bodies. In fact, I only saw one guy wipe--the rest didn't seem to think it was necessary to even conceal their cheating--and there were two or three refs on field during most of the games.

This was all extremely frustrating to me, as you can imagine, since I've been playing with the most honest, fair and competitive players I've ever encountered since coming back to Airsports this fall. Only on one or two occasions have I seen people intentionally play on, and the same goes for wiping hits, removing masks on field, etc. Your insistence on safety and fair play has really paid off, at least in my mind as a customer--you clearly attract a much higher caliber of regulars to your field and my days there have been the very best amongst my paintball experiences. These freindly morons at ____________make more safety violations in a single game than I've seen in three months at Airsports, and routinely tolerate the sort of play that makes honest players into assholes and allows assholes to ruin the sport for inexperienced players.

I have always prided myself on honest play, and today I reached the point where I was willing to sacrifice my own principles for the sake of literally forcing these guys off the field with the firepower of my marker. I was disappointed in myself at the end of the day for getting so angry, but at the time I couldn't help it. The turning point was when I watched an adult player (older than myself), whom I'd already shot twice, tear in to one of our guys trying to bunker him. My teammate tripped and fell as he was entering the structure, and took at least 10 shots to the neck and head from five feet away, ALL WHILE LAYING ON THE GROUND WITH HIS MARKER UNDERNEATH HIM. I've been shot out of a lot of games and seen my team lose on countless occasions, but never before today have I felt ashamed the way I played. Needless to say, I ripped on the asshole that shot him up like that for the rest of the day.

Thank you for running a different sort of field, for minding the players and and weeding out the d-bags. You will always have my business so long as I'm in the area, because you actively discourage the sort of play that seems to be the norm elsewhere. This sport would have a more positive reputation and a larger following if there were more individuals like yourself wiling to take up the burden of running a field. I realize it must be a pretty thankless job but after today I felt that I had to tell you just how much I appreciate what you do for the players. Players like I've encountered in the past two days ruin the sport for everyone.

 it just makes me more thankful for how good we've got it at Airsports. You really do a wonderful job of running the field and getting to know the character of your players, and the difference shows. You run what is without a doubt the best field in our area and it is a privilege to play alongside, or against, every serious player there. Sorry for being so long-winded, I was an English major. Thank you again.

-Jules