First Aired: October 2, 2007
"It's like a game of chess but really sped up and people are shooting at you." It's not a subtle description of tournament paintball, but it's a very adept one. While many are familiar with the NPPL's seven man team competitions, Fox Sports Net's new show Xtreme Paintball: Beyond the Paint, tries to give a little bit of the story behind the players and the culture that surround this increasingly popular extreme sport. The show will follow the lives of the personalities behind the teams throughout the NPPL Season and I'll give a brief description and review of each episode.
The first episode presents the sport of tournament paintball with a breif description of the field and introduces us to Alex Fraige - the team captain of San Diego Dynasty - and we get a glimpse of his artwork that now decorates JT apparel. After a 7-0 victory over the New England Hurricanes, we're introduced to Alex's take on the success of Team Dynasty - teamwork. Following a close victory of Sacramento Excessive over Dynasty (thanks to Rich Telford) we get a brief look into Alex's San Diego home that he shares with several other professional paintball players.
While the footage of the matches is well shot and brings you close into the action, the beauty of the show comes from the personalities it presents. Alex Fraige's laid back nature, Rich Telford's passion and Chris Lasoya's intensity demonstrate the people who make up the sport. The focus of Beyond the Paint is not to give an in depth explanation of tactics, equipment or strategy but to introduce the non-paintballer to the feel of the sport. While it's only the first week, the show definitely has the potential to positively introduce this extreme sport to a new generation of players.
