If you asked any veteran paintball player to name the single most explosive year for the sport, a majority would point to 2006. Sandwiched between the gritty, woodsball-dominated 90s and the hyper-regulated, machine-like precision of the 2010s, 2006 was the year paintball went mainstream. It was loud, colorful, and unapologetically aggressive.
By: Feature Desk
Paintball 2: The Next Wave , released on PlayStation in 2005, still had a strong multiplayer following in 2006, bridging the gap for kids who couldn't afford a $1,200 marker. Looking back, 2006 was the "dot-com bubble" of paintball. Fields were packed on weekends. Major sports networks (like ESPN2, albeit at 2 AM) occasionally aired the NPPL finals. Then came the 2008 recession.
goggle system was the undisputed king. Its soft, rubbery bottom (the "flex") allowed players to yell—or talk trash—without muffling their voice. Wearing a rare "clear" or "tiger stripe" Proflex bottom in 2006 was the equivalent of wearing limited-edition Jordans.
If you asked any veteran paintball player to name the single most explosive year for the sport, a majority would point to 2006. Sandwiched between the gritty, woodsball-dominated 90s and the hyper-regulated, machine-like precision of the 2010s, 2006 was the year paintball went mainstream. It was loud, colorful, and unapologetically aggressive.
By: Feature Desk
Paintball 2: The Next Wave , released on PlayStation in 2005, still had a strong multiplayer following in 2006, bridging the gap for kids who couldn't afford a $1,200 marker. Looking back, 2006 was the "dot-com bubble" of paintball. Fields were packed on weekends. Major sports networks (like ESPN2, albeit at 2 AM) occasionally aired the NPPL finals. Then came the 2008 recession.
goggle system was the undisputed king. Its soft, rubbery bottom (the "flex") allowed players to yell—or talk trash—without muffling their voice. Wearing a rare "clear" or "tiger stripe" Proflex bottom in 2006 was the equivalent of wearing limited-edition Jordans.