Mud Fest
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (121775)
Gainesville, Florida
May 25, 2024 9:48am CST
Disclaimer: this is from a paintball tournament we played in back in April.
My last discussion was about a pickle fest. This one's about a mud fest. haha
I'm writing this almost a month removed from the event, because I've been quite busy and also because I've recently caught pink eye. It's been difficult to see let alone try to read and write on myLot.
For the professional paintball team I play on, we had our second major tournament of the year at the end of April in Dallas, Texas. Unfortunately, the weekend of the tournament happened to also be the same weekend a dangerous storm system full of severe weather and tornadoes hit the area. We were able to play the first three days of the tournament, dodging rain and severe weather. but on the final day of the tournament (the playoff rounds) the games had to be cancelled due to multiple tornadoes in the area.
The remainder of the tournament was postponed and the playoff rounds will be played at our next major in Atlantic City, New Jersey in late June. That will be extremely fun (said sarcastically), as we finish one tournament and play another in the heat of the summer sun.
We normally use yellow-colored paintballs in tournaments, but the yellow tends to blend in well with the mud, so we had to switch to bright neon-pink paintballs in order for the referees to distinguish if a player got hit.
Thank goodness I get paid for playing, because as much as I love the sport, it is no fun playing in the pouring down rain and muddy field conditions.
14 people like this
16 responses
@MarieCoyle (38998)
•
26 May
I'm sure sorry about the pink eye. I know it takes a while to get rid of it completely. I do not think I've ever had that, which is a miracle in itself considering I easily catch every illness in the world. Hope it goes away completely soon, Jeff.
Maybe when you go to Atlantic City to play the weather will be better and it won't be so hot. I don't think I would want to play when it's really hot outside in all of that gear!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 May
I have a feeling the Atlantic City tournament in June is going to be miserably hot. Our team colors are black, blue and white; I really hope we don’t have to wear our black jerseys!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Jun
@MarieCoyle Under any other circumstance, I would say I wasn't looking forward to it either, but we train in this scenario every week. So, I think we may have an advantage over teams from other parts of the country or world who are not used to, or acclimated, to such hot weather. But then again, I am assuming it's going to be miserably hot in Atlantic City in June. I could be wrong, and it could be beautiful there.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (38998)
•
28 May
@moffittjc
Honestly, not something I would be looking forward to, Jeff. Heat just zaps my energy!
@kareng (62441)
• United States
11 Jun
Oh man! Pink eye must be going around. My hubby had it too! Luckily, I didn't get it!
I agree, 2 tourneys back to back in all that gear in the middle of summer is going to be rough!! But, since you are young and only 29!!!, you will make it through with flying colors!! Glad you are still enjoying the sport!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jun
@kareng It's tough getting old in general, but it's even tougher when you play a sport dominated by young guys. My upper hand on them is that I use my maturity and experience to play smarter, where they use their physical ability to play faster and harder (which isn't always better).
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Jun
I still love the sport, but my 29 year old body can't recover as fast as it used to when I was in my younger 20s. The muscles and joints and bones creek a lot more than they used to. I'm thinking that maybe I have 1 or maybe 2 more seasons in me before I give serious consideration to retirement from the sport.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (182646)
• United States
25 May
I am sure it helps to be paid when the weather is bad Watch that AC tournament..you don't want to end up with heat stroke
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (182646)
• United States
25 May
@moffittjc Right, but I assume you are wearing something under your paintball gear.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 May
Playing against the heat is as much a part of the strategy as playing against your opponents. You wouldn't believe how many players get heat cramps, heat exhaustion and even heatstroke! There are strategies for staying cool and keeping hydrated, but so many players drink caffeine and energy drinks all day long to give them that "extra" energy boost, not realizing how bad that stuff is for you in the heat. I practically live off of water, gatorade and pickle juice during tournaments to keep my hydrated and free of cramps.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 May
@snowy22315 We are covered from head to toe in both protective gear and our uniforms, so there really isn't a way to cool ourselves down other than pouring cold water all over ourselves, which is not always a good idea to be running around in a soaking wet uniform. But we do use cooling towels on our heads and necks, and cool water misting fans in our pit areas.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 May
Well, I do play for the love of the sport, but yes I do get paid as a professional player. For the past several seasons, I've made more money playing paintball than I have in my regular full-time job. I pretty much take all the paintball earnings and put them in my investment accounts. Someday in the near future I'd like to travel the world.
1 person likes this
@just4him (317405)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
25 May
@moffittjc I'm sure it would be fun to travel the world.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
30 May
@just4him I've been to quite a few places around the world already, but they were the "mainline" places like touristy cities and whatnot. I want to dive deeper and got to out of the way places and explore hidden gems around the world.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (182594)
• United States
26 May
Sorry you have pink eye. I know how that feels. I wouldn't want to play in the mud and rain either. Good luck in the next tournament. Have a good day and great holiday.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 May
Thank you!
In one respect, playing in the mud is kind of fun; it’s like being a kid again. On the other hand, it’s very difficult to execute our strategy and game plan. But that’s what we practice and train for, to be able to excel in any weather condition.
1 person likes this
@HaruLoid (1588)
• Philippines
26 May
I had pink eye back in high school. My family thought it was one of those normal pink eye but it suddenly got bigger. They ended up bringing me to an eye doctor, and I ended up having surgery to have the pink eye remove, have all its pus out and give my eye some good cleansing.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 May
I’ve had similar experiences with my right eye, although it wasn’t caused by pink eye. It’s not fun when doctors have to mess around with your eyes.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Jun
@HaruLoid Surgery on and around the eye is dreadful, especially if they don't give you any anesthesia.
1 person likes this
@HaruLoid (1588)
• Philippines
29 May
@moffittjc I agree with you. I remember kicking the nurse when the doctor was cutting my eyelid. He couldn't apply anesthesia because it was too risky considering the thousands of nerves around the eyelid.
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 May
It is harder to play the game and execute our strategy, but it is a lot of fun running around and sliding in the mud.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (69320)
• United States
28 May
Ick. Does your team have a mascot? After that weekend, a hog would suffice. 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 May
We do not have a mascot. Our team name is Damage. We definitely did some damage at this last tournament…to the field that is!
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (50702)
• United States
25 May
I hope that the pink eye has completely cleared up. I haven’t had it but once decades ago. I recall how horrid itbwas.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 May
My right eye is completely back to normal, but my left eye is still swollen. And even though it’s still swollen, it’s looking much better today. I can actually see out of my left eye today!
@JESSY3236 (20038)
• United States
28 May
I was wondering if you was still doing the tournaments. Too bad I won't be in NJ in June. Sorry you have pink eye. Is the pink from the paintballs?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
30 May
I keep saying I'm going to retire, but I'm still having too much fun out there to give it up quite yet. So, yes, I'm still playing tournaments!
I've attached another photo, you can see splattered yellow paint all over the bunker from yellow paintballs that have hit the bunker, but if you look closely at the bottom of the photo you can see the ground littered with pink paintballs that we switched over to. I wasn't originally sure when this photo was taken at the tournament, but it must have been the first game after we switched over to pink paintballs because none of the bunkers are splattered in pink yet.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 May
I’ll take the mud over the heat any day! Of course, we had a little of both at the last tournament.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121775)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 May
It is very stimulating. It is a lot of hard work, but it is also very fun at the same time.
1 person likes this
@zhangxueying (3339)
• China
25 May
@moffittjc I just found out about this sport, paintball is not popular here, only live CS games in amusement parks are available
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (81006)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
25 May
Good for you getting paid since weather conditions are so bad, I hope your team wins,
@thislittlepennyearns (63040)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
25 May
Mud fest is reserved for four wheeling not for paintballing sir.
