Hellions ODB 130, ODA 133, ODA 153 and ODA 163 came out in force at their home field for the third annual Living Legends of Paintball: The Return of the Blues Brothers. The Hellions fielded 27 players and quite a few more plus ups under the command of their own D. J. "Honu" Fox on the side of "The Man" wearing Red arm bands. The event was unique in that the teams were selected by a draft to make the sides as even as possible. Once again, the event was a “Who’s Who” list of major paintball teams. Combined with the National Professional Paintball League Super 7 World Series tournament on the same weekend and on the same site, the game drew over 1,300 players!
Company Executive Officer Kevin "Buckshot" Buchaniec fielded the "Grindhouse" with several new upgrades including a gun-cam in the turret. The Grindhouse, with the help of the Lapu Lapu tank, kept the Blues Brothers on the defensive much of the time. Lani "Sky" Fox served as base communications and Adam "Bad Attitude" Holle organized base defense. No serious threat ever managed to breach "The Man's" defenses. David "Warthog" Wharton assumed command of ODA 133 and Don "D-Mac" McClelland commanded ODA 153. Dwayne "Zeke" Ezekiel was given command of ODA 163, which served as the anti-armor (AT) team.
The Hellions, GunKings and TechPB led the way establishing a very solid front line just slightly past mid-field while the mission teams--TSSOC, TOT and Bad Karma--used the space to start focusing on their individual objectives. Runners were needed to get new missions out as teams were often still returning from their previous objectives. The Hellions placed a lot of faith on teams that were not quite as well known to them before the game, such as 1 Canadian Parachute Infantry Battalion (1 CAN PARA), Knightstalkers and Team Spectre. The Grindhouse and the Hellions AT squad did an incredible job of keeping the enemy's armor from evey gaining a foothold on "The Man's" side of the field. Base defense was solid throughout the entire weekend due to the fact that it enforced very strict standards, including barrel tagging Tom Kaye and sending him off field to retrieve his player card. "The Man" did, however, manage to drop the Blues Brothers' base four times over the course of the weekend and sent the opposing general to his dead box twice.
"The Man" won the coin toss to decide the sides for the dinner and final battles. The Hellions opted to fight the Dinner Battle (worth less points) from the side of Bedlam (Chicago) in order to have the advantage of Armageddon (Joliet) for the final battle. The Dinner Battle was short but aggressive. "The Man" even managed to score several slap sticks--something relatively unheard of in past games. The night game was almost cancelled out of concern for the players. Several had suffered the effects of heat injuries due to the hot weather. The players chose to take the field and the game went on as scheduled.
Sunday morning began with even more heat and determination, which placed increased pressure on TechPB to help break the stalemate that developed at the choke in the middle of the field. Honu took up residence at "The Man's" dead box to help motivate the exhausted troops in addition to maintaining constant communications with the HQ element to allocate mission support units.
To counter the Blues Brothers' offensive, Honu sent one third of his forces running through the valley towards the enemy base with orders not to stop until they were all eliminated. They broke through and pushed all the way past the airplane (Steel Mills). The Blues Brothers had to thin out their front lines in order to chase them down, which allowed the rest of "The Man" to push their way forward. The "50-yard line" went back and forth throughout the day, with "The Man" eventually pushing into the cities.
The points were close enough that the Final Battle really mattered--the winner of the battle would win the event. . "The Man" grabbed the center berm and fought until time expired. The Blues Brothers kept it close but were not able to take the lead. "The Man" ended up winning by a very thin 17-point margin after two full days of paintball. Honu credited the win to his XO, "Chops" of TSSOC, and Sky, who both handled the mission assigments and left him to primarily motivating the troops. In the end, Honu and the Hellions were presented with the "Victorious Commander" award by Viper for the win and the "Most Formidable Opponent (Mo-Fo)" award by Dan "Barney" Alamo for doing the most to wreck his plans.
Hellions in attendance were: Adder, Arc, B.A., Buckshot, Crow, D-Mac, Firefly, Grendel, Glenn, Honu, Hulk, Kash, Kevlar, Mimic, Quette, Rebel, Sky, Splathappy, Warthog, Wash, WickedKlown, and Woodchuck. From the Southern Detachment (ODA 163) were: Charlie, Custar, Grandpa Jo, Mjolnir, Swampthing, and Zeke. Guests included: Paul "Sully" Sullivan, Russell "IronTalon" Weigandt, Mich O'Connell, Mike Higgins, Jeremy "Vamp" Brodin, and Eric "Diesel" Filipek. Allied teams that joined the Hellions and contributed significantly to the victory were: Tri-State Special Operations Command (TSSOC), Bad Karma, Team On Target (TOT), Knighstalkers, Gun Kings, 1st Canadian Parachute Infantry Battalion, TechPB, and Team Spectre (and many, many others too numerous to name).
A selection of photos from the event is available in the Gallery. Additionally, some photos are available through the team's Facebook page.
Friday
0800 -Gates and camping open
1000 - Proshop open for paint ticket sales
1300 - Early registration, check-in open, and paint truck open. Pick up your packets ASAP to avoid lines!
1300 - Air tank inspection opens. ALL tanks will be checked for hydro and safety, and receive an initial test fill.
1900 - Goblin one-on-one duels. Sign up with "Scourge" at the Viper Command Tent (registration begins at 5pm)
1930 - Free concert: "Skip Towne & The Greyhounds" with special guest Craig Miller on harmonica!
2000 - Registration closes until Saturday at 0800
Saturday
0800 - All services open at 8am
1015 - Presentation of 2010 PBWoman of the Year by PBWoman.com
1030 - Opening ceremonies and mandatory player orientation
1200 - Game on at noon SHARP (Be at your base!!!)
1730 - Stand down and prep for dinner battle
1800 - Dinner Battle begins!
1830 - Dinner Break
1845 - NelSpot auction to benefit Bob Gurnsey
2030 - Game resumes
2200 - Stand down and partay! (Alcoholic beverages allowed after 2200. Underage drinkers will be ejected from the event)
Sunday.
0800 - Non-denominational church services in front of the stage
0900 - Game resumes
1230 - Stand down and prep for Final Battle!
1300 - Final Battle!
1400 - Game over!
Scores, awards, and closing ceremonies (and THOU$AND$ of dollars in door prizes) to follow shortly after
This game is a MANDATORY event for the Hellions SFG. All members of ODB 130, ODA 133 and ODA 153 are expected to attend. Every effort should be made by members of ODA 163 to attend.
Viper: "(Barney's) opponent hales from the Midwest, and is a member of one of the region’s most infamous scenario teams, who have been a part of the command staff at both of the previous Living Legends events. He hasn’t missed a game since joining the team, and is well-respected as one of their hardest working teammates. In his twenty plus years of playing he has learned a lot, and continues to strive to become a better player. Leading the forces of “The Man”, as the Director of the Illinois State Police, will be DJ “Honu” Fox of The Hellions!
"The NPPL Super 7 World Series will be returning to Chicago, Illinois Memorial Day Weekend! What’s even better is that this event will be held in conjunction with one of the greatest Scenario Big Games in Paintball – Living Legends at CPX Sports. To run fluidly along with the Living Legends event, and to make the most of the holiday weekend, the NPPL Super 7 event will take place on Saturday and Sunday with all final games being played on Monday, Memorial Day. This is a change from the traditional Friday through Sunday format, but we know that students will appreciate not having to miss School to compete in this event! This will truly be an event for the history books with over 3,000 players expected to compete."
The 3rd Annual Living Legends of Paintball is once again being produced by Kerry "Viper" Rosenberry and hosted by CPX Sports in Joliet, Illinois. The theme is "The Blues Brothers Return" in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the film. The scenario story line is set to take place immediately following the film.