Mike and Ploy

Note: I started writing this back in January, but now just published it.

This last weekend we embarked on a interesting journey: 50 miles south to Santa Clara Paintball (which, interesting is located in San Jose).  There were supposed to be 20 of us, but we only ended up with 16.   Over the next few hours, we engaged in a simple activity.  Shooting small, Whopper-sized (the candy, not the burger), balls of paint at each other through a marker (or gun).  Why is this so much fun?

There are usually to responses if one mentions paintball.  There’s the adrenaline filled, chest thumping “YEAH, LET’S GO WHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” and the quite opposite response, yet adamant ”Those @#$%# things hurt – I’ll pass”.

I can empathize with the latter – before paintball became mainstream, it was largely for the hardcore.  Having it hurt meant you were experiencing life.  It can still happen, but if you’re going for the first time, the fields will usually put you in a beginners bracket.  Guns must be rentals and thus regulated.  Paint is shot at much lower speeds (250 ft/sec vs 400).  Full protective gear is also worn.  A hit is noticable, but not really painful.  My wife often hits me harder than those paintballs.   So, if you’ve never tried it due to fear of pain, it’s high time you tried it at least once.

That brings us to the second group, and back to my original question, “Why is this so much fun?”.  For those unfamiliar with the rules, I’ll make an analogy to another childhood game – dodgeball.  There are two teams – each one is sending projectiles to the other side.  If you’re hit by the “ball”, you’re out, and have to sit until the next round.   While dodgeball is usually done in a gym, paintball is done on a field, with barriers, obstacles, and other things in the way.   Some people also compare it to lasertag – but that game you don’t sit out, and can “stay in” until you run out of lives.

So, what’s the difference?  There’s the obvious gun part.  You’re shooting paint out of a marker at high speeds.  Hit a target, and you can celebrate.  Yay!  But shooting a gun is fun on its own doesn’t quite have the same response.

There’s the team competition.  Someone’s gotta win – but any team competition (such as sports) has this aspect, but it’s not the same either.

No, I think the response runs much deeper.  That thing that gets the adrenaline pumping, heavy breathing, instinct going.  Fight or flight, do or die, go big or go home aspect.  It’s easy:  Risk/Reward.  The same thrill you get while gambling – risking your life, or money, for the sake of ruining, or taking,  someone else’s.

Why does this intrigue us so?  Is there some subliminal coding in our genes?  It’s fun to put ourselves in danger?  Is this why there’s so many viral videos of teenagers (and adults) hurting themselves in stupid ways?  Why is this fun?  You can have “fun” reading a book, playing a board game – how is that any different from skydiving?

Nascar is the “biggest sport” in the US – I’m sure that the danger aspect of racing at 180mph has something to do with it’s attraction.  I mean, would you tune in every Sunday to watch a soapbox races?  Even if they were sponsored by Bud Light…

Our movies have some danger aspect.  Seems like you can’t have a summer blockbuster without something blowing up.   Violence is cool.

Which is all quite contradictory – If you ask people, they say they want peace.  No one wants conflicts, or to go to war, or to lose lives.  But yet, we’re so ready to jump into it all, express it, or to live it out.    Why?