TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit 2011

Slow it down you move a little too fast

Ya take a deep breath and make it last
These should be the best days of your life

American Bang, Wild and Young,

American Bang 2010

I attended the 3rd annual TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit last Saturday at Hell Survivors Paintball Playfield in Pinckney, MI, and had a BLAST for the second year in a row. Every single person there had smiles on their faces, and the adrenalin rush you got on the field was incredible. The best thing about the event is how it perfectly embodies the fighting attitude that the mAss Kickers Foundation promotes. Last year’s benefit was my first time ever playing paintball or attending a MKF event, and I loved every minute I spent on and off the field. However, I had to depart around noon last year to take my sister back to college, so I missed out on all of the fun after lunch including the raffle and gauntlet challenge. This year I was able to stay and kick mAss all day! My Dad and I filmed a news segment for Fox 2 Detroit last week to promote the event, which brought in some new friendly faces and got the MKF some deserved publicity with the help of Andy Wlodyga setting everything up and Sean Lee producing.

It was great to see the families that I met at last year’s event as well as the dozens of professional paintball players who helped out from the Great Lakes Rangers and team F.U.B.A.R back again and ready to kick some mAss on the field! The professional players let my friends and I borrow their pads, jerseys, guns, and masks for an unforgettable day on and off the field. In the morning I was welcomed by Derrell, my personal body guard from team F.U.B.A.R., who presented me with an honorary team F.U.B.A.R. t-shirt! When the time came to pick teams (red or yellow) I teamed up with F.U.B.A.R. on the yellow team while some of my friends joined the Great Lakes Rangers on the red team. We played 5 rounds in the morning before lunch and then spent an hour or so raffling off prizes, eating, and dancing in the rain. There was a FREE massage table open all day, so I took advantage of my recovering back (I had surgery towards the end of March) and squeezed in some time on the table while it rained. As if the day couldn’t get any better after playing paintball and receiving a massage, a volunteer decided to give me the paintball gun that she won in the raffle, and a man gave me his CO2 tank so that I could continue the paintball fun at home in my own backyard.

My favorite part of the day was running through the gauntlet. It’s basically an open field with a few blow up blockades to hide behind while people line up along the side of the field to open fire at you. Usually the people who run through the gauntlet are the professional players who are used to getting pelted every weekend and don’t mind the welts and bruises. This year I decided to join them! My first two runs across the field were a little scary, but when you’re running around and having the time of your life you barely even feel the sting of the paintballs hitting. The fact that I was running through the field was a big deal – after having back surgery 4-5 months ago and not running for about 9 months I have to admit that I was a bit out of shape. My bodyguard and buddy Derrell assisted me across the field for the next few runs as we skipped and held hands :).

I’ve still got bruises on my legs and booty a week later but they were all worth it! :D I chose the picture of what I call the “fab 4” for this post because without those 3 guys the event wouldn’t be possible! Go Andy, Sean, and Eric + everyone else who made this year’s TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit a success!