Joe "The Emasculator" Carucci and I arrived at the field about 0830 and began setting up. Shortly after Max "Bullet Time" McDermott joined us citing it was "too early". I am sure he will soon learn the joys and wonders of the morning cup of coffee. Accompanying him was his friend John Shepard who had run with T.A.P.s previously. We got the site set up and ourselves chrono-ed and supplied with paint. Orientation started about 1130 and with a few minutes to spare before game start Bobby "Diesel" Nolan and Tom "The Joker" O'Malley arrived. The game plan for the day was as usual for a Liberty big game. The first hour of the day would be red defending the town with blue attacking, the second hour switched, and after the lunch break the whole field would be open for play.
The game started with me, Em, and Bullet Time, and Shepard making a line to the Crypt side of the town to set up a line of defense. Em and I pushed up as far as we could while Bullet Time and Shepard hung back to reinforce. Upon reaching the tree line into the Crypt Em and I and some other red players encountered the blue team and started taking fire. I immediately had some marker trouble so I had to run back to the insertion point to fix it. After I did I ran back to the same point to find Em still pinned down. After assessing the situation Em wanted to make a push to the rock wall 15 feet ahead of us. Under covering fire he moved up but almost immediately got shot out by some blues hidden in some brush. After a couple of minutes and seeing a group of red players head into the same brush, another red player who was in the same cover as I decided to make another push up and clear the blues who were pinning us down from the brush. I started to move up but also got shot out.
Meeting Em at the insertion point we started planning what we would do next. He wanted to go back to the same point and continue trying to push the Crypt. As we reinserted we met up with Bullet Time taking cover behind a house. A Blue tank was making it's was down the field stopping about 20 feet away to target some red players. Since none of us had any grenades to take the tank out with we started firing upon the windshield as we thought we could take it out by covering the windshield to the point where the driver could no longer effectively or safely maneuver. That idea was busted as the tank used its wipers to clean the windshield. After a couple of minutes of debate with the ref as to exactly what the rules for the tank were, we grew impatient and since the tank had moved away we decided to just move to the Crypt and continue our push. After another brief moment of confusion as to where the field boundaries were we found ourselves shot out. Out of air and paint I headed back to our camp site. The Joker and Diesel were all geared up and ready to go so after re-supplying I re-inserted with them. Also at the site were Matthew "Guinness & Geishas" Greeson and Ryan "Deagle" Horton. G&G was having some marker issues as it was disassembled all over the table so only Deagle inserted with the three of us and we made our way onto the field.
The Red team had taken a good amount of the field when we inserted. The four of us took the left side of the field this time and began leapfrogging our way up. Diesel took point and we all moved up as one unit. Two laid cover fire as one advanced, so on and so forth. We had made it almost all the way up the field with about thirty feet left before we over-ran it. Only a couple of Blue players seemed to be holding a line on us and we wanted to take them out. Pot shots did not work since they were under good cover so we figured rushing them for a surrender would be the best option. I chose the Blue player holed up in a wooden tank while Diesel and The Joker picked their targets. As I made my run to surrender my player I got shot out from a hidden Blue. As I turned to walk out I saw three Blue players running as hard as they could away from where they were hiding. I thought what the hell but immediately saw why... The Joker was rushing down on them! Without firing a shot he chased three Blues from their positions! Very impressive indeed. With that rush, the horn sounded the end of the first round. Red dominated on defense!
When it was time for Red to attack T.A.P.s decided to maintain the same strategy. As we took the field we carefully choose which side to advance and not just rush into things. Choosing the middle of the field Diesel again took point and we began leapfrogging down the field. About midway down we came adjacent to a flag set to blue. At this point we had split into two flanks, Diesel and The Joker on the right and Em and I on the left, along with other Red players and the flag between us. Diesel called to make a flag run but Em figured it would be better for him to since he was using only the 8 shot cartridges for his T-9 and we could provide cover. That was the plan. Upon calling the run we provided cover fire while Em raced for the flag. Apparently upon reaching the flag and not getting shot Em was so proud of himself he decided to take the flag home as a souvenir. He grabbed the flag out of the cone and dove for cover. After a brief chuckle we reminded Em that he simply had to switch the flag to the red side, not actually take it. Amazingly he managed to make it back out to the cone and insert the flag to our side without getting shot. By this time the Red team had pushed so far up the field we had Blue held to their insertion point. Moving up the right side the only annoyance was some Blue players in the brush taking shots. Diesel grew bored of their antics and decided to flush them out. As we began to move into the brush a ref told us we were not allowed in there, squashing those plans. The boundaries seemed to have been a little more defined this game as in games past and were not clearly stated in the orientation. No bother, they were not doing much damage anyway so we just continued holding the line. I managed to get myself shot out trying to flush out a Blue player holed up in a house. Upon walking back to the insertion point I found Deagle positioned a little farther back down the field prone with his M4 styled maker set up like a sniper rifle. Coolest thing ever. That must have been where all our cover fire came from!
During the lunch break we replenished ourselves with food and drink and discussed the morning events. I came to find out Em had surrendered the Blue player who shot me out before the break, so I felt vindicated. G&G was still trying to fix his marker and we all ragged on him about field stripping a weapon. Taking the jests in stride he finally got it working and we all applauded his efforts. As I was refilling my air I ran into our general so I asked him if he had any plans for the afternoon and he said to just shoot blue players. Simple enough. I relayed that to the team.
As the lunch break came to an end and the next round of the game came close everyone began having issues with their equipment. Aside from G&G, Bullet Time had problems with air leaks, I had trouble with my mask, and Deagle had to switch markers. We were not ready as a team when the game started so we all decided to wait until everyone was set to go. As we were getting ready to hit the field a Red player informed us we were getting "slaughtered" out there because the Blue team "was hiding and shooting at us". Duh? We walked onto the field to find the Red team along the Crypt border in a stalemate with the Blue team. One Red player did manage a rally to push forward but his vigor only translated to about 15 other guys for about ten feet. It was bad. Em kept trying to encourage a push but Red didn't seem to want to. I got shot out so I had to walk back to the insertion point. Upon re-inserting a Blue tank was making its way down the town field. It was not a good thing because with Red focused on the Crypt, their backs were to the tank. Avoiding the tanks fire I met up with The Joker and told him about the tank. He had managed to procure a grenade so he went to take the tank out. By this point a few Red players had become aware of the tank and had moved off the line to fend it off. The next thing I saw was the WORST display of decision making I had ever seen by a team. The ENTIRE Red team, as if to be one person, stood up, turned around, and moved away from the line. I don't know if they all were going to take out the tank, I heard later after the game someone said someone called a retreat, I can't begin to imagine what happened, all I know is that my mouth hung open as I watched every Red player on the line abandon it. At the exact same time an insertion of about 20 Blue players was making its way towards their side of the Crypt. Seeing the opposition of Red had moved away, every Blue player began WALKING up the ravine. They quickly eliminated the few Red players who were holed up farther down the Crypt. It was unbelievable. Knowing what was about to happen I spotted The Joker and told him we were about to get fudged from behind. I don't know what happened to the Red team at this point, there seemed to be a lot less of them so I figured they got taken out by the tank. Serves them right I thought. The Joker thought it would be best to move back into the town as to let the Blue team advance to the tree line so we would have a better chance of defense. He, Bullet Time, myself, and a couple of stray Reds bunkered down in a house and waited for the onslaught. We each took a different angle either out a window or door. Blue finally made it to the tree line and we began our defense. We were quickly zoned in and took massive fire. A Blue APC tried to sneak behind us but we dispatched them before they would get a drop on us. To make matters worse, a Red player behind us must have thought we were Blue and kept firing on Bullet Time, who grew understandably frustrated. It was not a good situation. Doing the best we could, we were inevitably picked off one by one. For what it was worth I thought we held ourselves pretty well and The Joker’s strategy was our best, if not only, option. It got him completely pumped up and after a brief stop at our camp to re-supply he practically ran back onto the field to kick Blue butt.
After a brief rest I got back on the field to find Blue had pretty much taken over the town. T.A.P.s was trying to push forward as we faced heavy resistance. To make the best of the situation and to show that paintball should be fun Diesel called a play that will go down in T.A.P.s history. "Follow the fat man!" was the cry as he took point and the rest of T.A.P.s fell in behind. A few stray Red players also got in on things. We were all laughing hysterically as we moved up using Diesel as cover. Unfortunately, Diesel moved us forward to the smallest area of cover so we ended up huddled behind a very small building. As we started getting picked off The Joker laughingly put it best that maybe following the fat man was not the best idea. After a couple of re-insertions I was out of paint so I made my way back to our camp. Em was there taking a breather and Diesel followed shortly. The rest of T.A.P.s was still out there fighting the good fight.
A lot of people were starting to leave and I figured I would call it a day since I was out of paint and the day was almost at an end but after a while Diesel and I decided to scrounge some paint and give it one last go. Filling two pods each plus what was in our hoppers we went back on the field to find the town deserted. Red had pushed into the Crypt and we found The Joker, Deagle, G&G, Bullet Time and Shepard along with a small group of Red players on the far side trying to make a flanking move on some Blues putting up a resistance. The Joker had some Red players moving down the right side to flush out the Blues so Red could make a frontal push but since we now had a few reinforcements we nixed that idea and just went for a straight-on push. We moved up, slowly picking off Blue players from their cover. As I went to clear out a building I got hit on the hopper from what appeared to be behind me. Thinking there was a Blue player off to the side that I had not seen I started to make my walk back. As I did Bullet Time came up saying he thought he was the one that shot me by accident, thinking I was a Blue player. I reminded him that since I had a Red armband I was on his side. Ever a man of compassion he offered me a hug to make amends.
After a quick walk back from the reinsertion point I met back up with the team, now way past the Crypt. They had taken cover in some brush waiting for the last insertion figuring they would take out the Blues as they came back in. Red players were moving around the trails taking positions and searching out Blues. Contact was made and I got a little hasty in taking out some Blues. I moved up without the cover of the team and got separated. After a couple of minutes of dodging fire I got shot out. Walking up the trails I came upon The Joker taking cover behind a tree as quite a few Blue players were trying to take him out. Ever the warrior he stood his ground trading shots with them.
As the game ended T.A.P.s found their way back to camp. Having lost track of Shepard and not seeing him for quite a while, I was amazed as he was the last to make his way back to camp. He had been out there the entire time! Quite a show of endurance. As we broke down our site Frank came over the PA to announce that Red had won the game by a very wide margin!! Handshakes went around and everyone congratulated each other on a great game. I was incredibly impressed with how T.A.P.s played. Everyone was enthusiastic, showed great team coordination, and everyone was up front on the line in the thick of the battles. It was definitely a good day.
I nominated Bobby "Diesel" Nolan for the Red Crosshair. He took point on the advances both on attack and defense helping Red dominate the town, was anxious to get into the brush to flush out Blue players, and "Follow the fat man!" just might be the new rally cry!
