Tippinators mounted up for a 27 hour drive through 2 time zones to one of the biggest woodsball games in North America, Living Legends IV at CPX Paintball in Chicago Illinois. Living Legends IV was scheduled on the same weekend as MXL event 1 so the Tipps sent only a small crew of seven players.On game day the Tippinators arrived three hours before game time on Saturday May 21, 2011 in order to view all exhibits and experience everything the CPX Paintball had to offer. The Living Legends Game was professionally organized. The team had a very quick check in, paint purchase, marker chrono, and team assignment.
Arriving early paid dividends as the team had a chance to meet players to whom they had only talked via online forums or by email. The opportunity to put faces to names and spend time taking face to face with players from around the continent was enjoyable. The team would have talked all day if not for the call to the player briefing prior to game start.
The Tippinators piled onto an on field bus to hitch a ride to the start point. The opening horn signalled the start of Living Legends IV. The tired legs and sore backs from hours in the car disappeared, replaced by game day adrenalin.
CPX boasts a huge playing area of many separate fields that are all used for one thousand plus players who attend Living Legends. Though the field was huge the team spent most of the day fighting up the left side through two of the center piece fields of CPX Paintball; Armageddon and Bedlam.
The Ruins of Armageddon, are built to look like the remnants of a town that was bombed during World War II. Columns and facades of buildings with no roof and huge stone pillars that look as if they were tossed aside by a rampaging giant cover the area.
After fighting through Armageddon the Tippinators pushed over an earthen crest and into Bedlam, a full town complete with cars, street lights and even a phone booth for Mark 'Tinman' Miller to change into his Super Paintballer outfit. Moving from rubble to a full urban environment took an adjustment in play which only added to the full game experience.
The need for paint, air, solid and liquid sustenance were the only things that could get the team away from the playing field. In just a few hours from the start of the game, the exhibitor area had changed from a thousand woodsball players milling about into a carnival like atmosphere. Kids with cotton candy, attractive young ladies handing out drinks, people playing beanbag toss and hundreds of people in street clothes browsed through the various tents and trailers added an extra air of excitement to the day.
As luck would have it Living Legends is scheduled on the same weekend as National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) Chicago Open. The Chicago Open event draws the best seven man speedball teams from around the world including the likes of Dynasty, XSV, and Canada’s Edmonton Impact.
Hosting a major NPPL event plus one of the countries largest woodsball events on the same weekend meant that the vendor area included manufacturer representatives from all major paintball companies plus a number of new players on the manufacturing scene. Players could peruse the newest, latest, and greatest gear for both speedball and woodsball.
When not on the woodsball field the team was able to watch a few professional NPPL speedball games and walk around the exhibitor’s area and talk to professional players. One of the highlights was Richard 'Krush' Robinson seated at a picnic table across from a pro team waiting to sign autographs. A pair of young players stopped looked at Robinson, looked over at the idle pros then back to Robinson. One of the players excitedly exclaimed "Are you Krush from the Tippinators? Can I have an autograph?" The pro players looked on as Robinson gave autographs and talked with the young players.
Living Legends is a fantastic weekend of paintball and is a must for your calendar next season. This is an event where you can play a massive woodsball game with pros like Billy Wing, Mike Paxson, Pete Utschig, and Rocky Cagnoni, plus watch and meet the best speedballers on the planet. You can meet manufacturer representatives to see the newest gear and meet the up and coming companies in the industry.
Was the game good enough to endure a 54 hour drive, round trip? Team Captain Bruce 'Charon' Johnston summed it up best, "The Living Legends game was such a good time that I would be willing to do the 54 drive in the trunk to play the game next year."
