Sometimes you have to own up....

[Anjin3515]

OK....BAD day. Very bad.
Windy City Classic, CPX park Joilet IL 10/13/07

Make a VERY long story short....well...shorter.....

0) 10 a.m GAME ON
1) 2 hours of trying to get Q-loader to work..haven't even stepped onto the play field
2) get on the field, Q-loader scrapped...had to make due...about an hour of trying to find my wife and the rest of the people I am playing with
3) 3 hours and all I have done is fix things and run around looking for people
4) Finally get to play
5) 5 minutes into playing I get shot out
6) a few bonus balls fly at me as I raise my gun over the bunker I was shooting from as I shout "OUT"
7) I stand up turn around to walk back to base, I start to put barrel bag on my gun
8) 5 maybe 6 balls hit me in the back

9) here is where I totally make a huge mistake....I get angry...not really so much at the bonus balls...but because I have had a bad day, and on top of it I get lit up...so I take it out on the other team

10) I turn around and start screaming like a mad man, swearing up a storm, yelling about bonus balls
11) I walk up the the guys and swear like a drunk sailor, telling them I am going to get physical with them if they try something like that again
12) I am yelling, screaming,swearing.....in short I am being a total "private part of a man"
13) Some guys from team Ground Control come over to me...and in nice clam way try to calm me down....I swear more, I yell more...I am being a bigger "private part of a man"
14) I just lay into these guys...who are in fact trying to diffuse the situation and then I storm off.

A bad day just got worse.
Now I just feel the guilt rush over me.
I'm not really that kind of guy, thats not how I normally handle a situation like that. Ive had a bad day, nothing is working, everything seems to be going against me and I lost control. And none of that excuses my actions.

A little while later I did manage to track down the guys in the main open area and apologize to them. I explain my day, and tell them how I really feel bad for acting like that, and apologize again.
To the ENORMOUS credit of Ground Control they are all cool about it. The accept the apology.Clearly these guys have class, they are able to rise above the fray while I dug into it....they could have gone off on me....heck they had the right to after how I acted....but no...they choose to take the higher ground and forgive me.

But I want people to learn from my mistake. No matter how bad of a day you may be having....don't take it out on others...even if you get bonus balled. Don't lose control. Don't be a "private part of a man".
Play the game with honor, play it honest, play it with dignity and respect for your opponents....none of which I did.
I was 100% in the wrong.

So with deep guilt, and a sense of disappointment in myself....
I want to publicly apologize to Ground Control for my unacceptable behavior. I did everything possible to come off as a world class jerk.
Ground Control acted with class, and were trying to handle the situation in the right way, and I was just plain wrong. I admire that they were able to play with honor and class....while I clearly didn't.

As a player who tries to play with sportsmanship....I just flat out failed. I need to own up to my failure to play the game with class.

Let my mistake be a lesson to everyone on how NOT to act.


I am ashamed of myself and my actions.

Anjin

[Ninjeff]

for being a man about it in the end. Hey, we all screw up, its how we handle ourselves after the fact that shows class. IN the end, you showed class too by appologizing.

[Anjin3515]

Thanks.....it was truly a low point for me.

Point of me posting this is just a reminder to everyone....that you have to stay cool, act with some respect...even if you are ticked off and are having a really bad day.

[Josh2Xtremes]

A Paintball Rarity

It's sad that someone with a conscience in paintball is rare. Or is it sad that twelve year old midgets with machine guns, attitudes and a penchant for bonus-balling are the norm? Either way, I'll never judge anyone, I've made more than my share of mistakes on the field and off.

It takes a bigger man to stand up and say he did something wrong, apologize and go out of his way to make amends, especially publicly. I applaud you for that. Everyone's entitled to a bad day, but from it, and your subsequent actions, you've brightened mine and that's the legacy of it.

Thanks for adding yet another to the long list of reasons why AO is still a great place to spend time (at work or otherwise ). You'd never see something like this on some other paintball forums. :)

Josh

[Anjin3515]

Thanks very much.
I should point out that I didn't post this to get some sort of "way to go and be a good guy by fessing up"...though I appreciate what you said....

I really, honestly feel bad....and that I acted like a total jerk.
...the reason for the post is to let others be able to look at my short coming...so that maybe someday....if they find themselves about to go as ballistic as I did...just maybe they will take the high road unlike me.

The only good you can do from a mistake like this is to turn it into an example, a reminder....that the game is for fun, no need to get all wound up, ticked off and act like a jerk, that as players we can and should all choose to act with class.


So remember kids....
Learn not to burn,
Don't drown your food...in ketchup, mayo or goo,
Knowing is half the battle,
No matter where you go, there you are.......
and DON'T pull an Anjin!!

[Lenny]

That is awesome.

I know not many people would have the balls to apologize in the manner you have after something like that (I probably wouldn't).

As far as I'm concerned, you're still a good guy in my book.

[OneUp]

At least you're man enough to admit when you're wrong

I love tinkering, so when a gun doesn't work, it only means I get to do something else I enjoy.

About the only thing I get mad in paintball are bad refs (which I simply shoot them by "accident") and cheaters. Then I realize: I play paintball for the same reason people go see psychiatrists... to blow off steam. If they cheat and wipe it only means I get to shoot them again

[punkncat]

Man it happens. Get a good adrenalin rush after taking a few extra balls and there is no telling what the beast will say and do......lol
I have lost my cool to the point of having to leave the event/field many times. In most cases I went to the people involved and worked the problem out later.

Better luck at your next event.

[mostpeople]

Its important to remember, when you're playing paintball that getting hit with paint is no big deal - just the way it is - paintball. Bonus balls, well i'd bet my money that they werent shooting at you rather people behind or near you, and in that case you simply walked into the balls. Or you looked in some way to somebody (who didnt see you get out) like you were still in.. whatever the case may be. Just understand that if they stopped they realized what is going on, accept it and move out. EVERYONE gets lit up in paintball, thats the fact of the matter. I got ripped into full auto from an A5, or TWO from behind and put my gun up and they still fired at me, ref (I think gravediggersunion) had to come and get me out.. I just got up, said thats overshooting (like... go punch his card or record it or something), and walked away.

In the end, you realized you were in the wrong, good on you for doin that. Everyone here has had the urge at least to turn around and just light someone up for railing into them, but you just cant do that. The best thing you can do infact, is to go out and get hit more, you will come to a point where they dont hurt anymore, and it gets fun!

[mostpeople]

oh and get rid of that Q

[Anjin3515]

Im thinking about it....I just may do it....but I think I have to give it a fair shot

[Avale187]

If they cheat and wipe it only means I get to shoot them again

QFT

[ThePixelGuru]

There's no need to resurrect month-old topics just to say "QFT"...

[angrysasquatch]

Well, since it is resurrected,

What went wrong with your Q? I've been thinking of getting one of these for a while and I thought that one of the pluses was less mucking about than a Halo or similar hopper (other than refilling pods). Haven't heard any real bads about them other than tourney players saying its unsuitable for their style of play.

[ThePixelGuru]

Well, since it is resurrected,

What went wrong with your Q? I've been thinking of getting one of these for a while and I thought that one of the pluses was less mucking about than a Halo or similar hopper (other than refilling pods). Haven't heard any real bads about them other than tourney players saying its unsuitable for their style of play.

Mostly you gotta get the hang of prewinding 'em, and they break paint easier than any other loader I can think of. Plus they're not as easy to take apart as a hopper. Basically, just more effort. With a hopper you can just slap it on top and play. That's why I always bring a bunch of gear to the field, so if one setup doesn't work I can slap another on it instead of messing around for hours and getting pissed that I'm not playing. Figure I can muck around with it at home.