Erin’s Army Insertion One

Looks like this part of Southern Ontario has seen the end of a drought and entered into something of a rainy season. Despite the downpour, over 30 of the most hardcore paintball players in Ontario appeared in support of another super initiative to aid Erin Morin of Erin’s Army on Saturday August 11th, 2012.

As the rain settled down it was close to noon before a good game of paintball could get underway. Event Coordinator Cro of Wak’d Apparel provided opening speeches and introduced The Glen Morris Mercenaries, seasoned veteran game officials present to run the event and keep it organized. It can be said and I am sure many will agree that sometimes the smaller more intimate games can be as much or even more fun than the mega games, this one was no exception to the rule.

The Catshack set aside the cameras in favor of strapping on the Tippmann Phenom and getting a game on. The first round began well enough but ended in failure for the Catshack with some minor technical issues with the gear. The second round began this time with the necessary tweaks that proved the old cat still has a few lives and the necessary aggression. One team started in the woods and the other tasked with attacking. As players approached the woods more than one found themselves eating the Cats paint. To create something of a twist game officials called out mid match that all players had to evacuate the woods causing many of us to make a dash for the nearest cover outside the bush. The cat streaked across an open expanse and posted up behind a big mound of dirt in the trenches and opened fire. Two more players down who had not expected the cat to be there before finally being eliminated myself.

As the day wore on the Mercenaries took players through a variety of different games that kept things interesting. As a highlight for this writer … The Catshack approached head ref Justin “Vapor” Hewitt of the Mercenaries and outlined a strategy to insure the legalities of it all prior to taking the field. The round entailed a “presidential run” in which the attackers had to move the president unscathed to the opposite teams side for victory. The defenders could not move past the 50 line. With the game underway, The Catshack casually strolled from the team insertion point over to the right tape line and straight up to the 50 seemingly unarmed appearing nothing more than an observer. No camera and arm clearly marked with the defenders team tape. The game was a fierce one as one team was bent on punching a hole in the line to move the president while the other dead set against it. Eventually the attackers overwhelmed and swept the field eliminating the last few defenders. At this point the “President” played by Tim Pan of Citrus Connection advanced preparing to end the game… as he walked a mere two feet away past the Catshack, it was like a cat pouncing on a mouse. Tim suddenly found himself in a loose choke hold with a TiPX pistol gently pressed into his temple (the pistol had been neatly tucked away in the back of my trousers) … the Cat quietly whispered “Mercy” into his ear before releasing a rather dumbfounded Tim Pan. It took a few moments of surprise and disbelief for the reality to set in as the game was called and the defenders handed the win. “That did not just happen … did it?” stated a shocked Tim as the rest of his team were briefed on their oversight causing many jaws to drop at the trickery that had been perpetrated on them all. Hey, if your playing with the Cat, expect the unexpected!

Overall the day was filled with some awesome paintball, many laughs in the staging area and all for a great cause. Crazy Bill’s field owner Carl Ethridge in cooperation with Cro Wak’d announced a new rain date for the Erin’s Army Insertion given the inclement weather and those that appeared were given free passes to attend the next game set to coincide with the “Dead Men Rising” big game in October. It is quite evident the true passion possessed by Cro Wak’d for this admirable initiative and better still, 30 people came together and raised an amazing total of $800 for Sarge and Erin as they continue to forge ahead with their personal battle with Cancer.

For more on Erin’s Army please visit www.erinsarmy.com/ and for Crazy Bill’s Paintball www.crazybillspaintball.ca/