Since this forum is dead... so long, Bloodsport :)

[Kalash]

Feel free to skip reading now if you'd like to avoid a nostalgic blog post. Cheerio!

--

Flash back almost a decade and a half - I was an avid young airsofter who'd saved up enough from Christmas and birthdays for a few guns and gear. My Dad would drive me out to games, waiting patiently in the car for hours with his coffee while I shot it out on fields and through woodland. I was an active poster in this community, and I think I still have the most viewed (maybe even the most posted?) thread on the site (posted March 5th, 2008)! I was only 16, but was eagerly awaiting my 18th birthday so that I could get age-verified and start attending age-verified events. However, it wasn't to be.

Long story short, Bloodsport banned me permanently for spamming three comments in a row. Yeah, believe it or not I'm pretty sure it was as silly as that (it was 14 years ago, after all, my memory isn't so great, but you can check my account's post history to see: https://airsoftcanada.com/search.php?searchid=51540380). Back in those days the only way to find events was through this forum and by being banned I was essentially cut off from playing. I created a new account to post in game threads, but predictably, this account was banned for evasion. And so, eventually, I dropped the hobby. I graduated high school. Fell in love. Broke up. Fell in love again. Broke up again. Helped my Dad through cancer. Moved to Italy. Almost got kicked out of university. Graduated. Travelled the world. Came back home to watch my grandfather die. Mourned. Moved to Tel Aviv, of all places. Made a new life. Fell in love again. Didn't break up. Turned 30. And never played another game of airsoft.

Funny how life turns out! At the time I was playing I was pretty gung-ho on joining the army (I made this post here about joining in two years). I remember constant fights in the household with my parents, who were as pacifist as they come. I loved talking to the many vets in the community, and I viewed airsoft as a form of training. I had my short-term pretty well mapped out - no university, straight into the army. But after the ban, after I'd been disconnected from the community, my interests slowly changed. My parents managed to convince me to get a degree before joining the army. In University I made new friends, experienced more of life, and changed more. I grew further from the person I was.

Who knows - maybe if I'd never been banned I would've joined the army in the end. Maybe I would have served in Afghanistan. Maybe I would've stayed in Canada. Maybe it would have caused an irreparable rift between me and my parents. Maybe I would've... I'll never know, but it's funny to imagine that a simple ban changed my life.

I remember being absolutely furious at Bloodsport for years. A lifetime ban meant that I could never be age-verified - who was he, this asshole from Alberta, to ban me permanently from a sport I'd been obsessed with? I even messaged him a few times (this must've been 8 or so years after my ban) in an attempt to get unbanned (how much did we all change from 16 to 24?) but he was firm and, once again, banned the account I'd messaged him with.

So I gave up. Moved on. Forgot about these forums. But every so often - every few years - something would remind me of that old sport I played and I'd wander back to check up on things. Was that thread I'd started 14 years ago still on the first page of Off-Topic? Are the forums still active? Did they ban airsoft guns in Canada yet? Is Bloodsport still an admin? I'd go back through my old comments with the feeling of looking into a time-capsule - "Oh right, I was into scale models back then!", or "Man, I was polite - what happened?", and, "I think I've actually gotten dumber... shit".

Bloodsport's last post was over a year ago, June 21, 2022. His profile says that he's 46. He could easily have kids as old as I'd been back when he'd banned me. I wonder how much his life has changed in the intervening 14 years. Then again, who cares? For someone who perhaps had a profound effect on my life, I never knew the guy more than an admin's name on a ban statement, or a curt message received before another permanent ban for evasion. Wherever his life took him, I hope he's doing well.

On my end, I couldn't imagine things going differently now. I've lived such a good life, seen so much of the world, and met so many amazing people. I'm a far happier person than I was all those years ago. I have a great relationship with my parents now that I didn't have before. And, funnily enough, living in Israel helped me realize that I wouldn't have been a good fit for the army that I dreamed of joining 14 years ago.

So thank you Bloodsport, and so long! I'll probably wander back in a few years to see how things are going, but it felt like a good time to write my own little goodbye. It'll be a sad day when the forums close, the domain expires, and all these many posts and memories disappear. Until then, to the few who remain, happy airsofting!

- Zombiefruit

[Desmodus]

Heh, I remember you.

[Kalash]

Originally Posted by Desmodus

Heh, I remember you.

Really? Feels like a lifetime ago!

[Hamburglar]

What an insufferable man that guy was.

Glad the community has moved on to other platforms, can’t stand literal forum mods let the wee bit of power get to their heads.

Nothing against the other mods, but that guy was something else

[hollywood...]

Originally Posted by Hamburglar

What an insufferable man that guy was.

Glad the community has moved on to other platforms, can?t stand literal forum mods let the wee bit of power get to their heads.

Nothing against the other mods, but that guy was something else

no offense taken...

[Janus]

lol imagine all the therapy for these scars

[Kalash]

Originally Posted by Janus

lol imagine all the therapy for these scars

Everyone has their own personal cross to bear. Some lose their jobs, deal with cancer. Me? Banned from an airsoft forum. Can't say it ever gets easier but you can learn to live with it

[jmireau]

Originally Posted by Hamburglar

What an insufferable man that guy was.

Glad the community has moved on to other platforms, can?t stand literal forum mods let the wee bit of power get to their heads.

Nothing against the other mods, but that guy was something else

Mods unfortunately pretty much ruined the page. Never understood their seemingly constant need to flex.

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by Kalash

Everyone has their own personal cross to bear. Some lose their jobs, deal with cancer. Me? Banned from an airsoft forum. Can't say it ever gets easier but you can learn to live with it

Yes those are definitely comparable and on equal footing.

FFS

[lt_poncho]

Wild times in the 90's/00's with arguments that seem like nothing today - but it was fun getting into it at the time.

To his credit, even without admin powers, he could go toe-to-toe in a heated argument.

Good luck to future endeavors!

[Rumpel Felt]

This was a nice little commentary I must admit. Touching... I'm about the same age so I do have some similar sentiments. When you're as young as some of us were in our airsofting prime it really is a significant part of life and development. It's kind of like a year at age 10 feels like an eternity while at 50 it's just a 'meh' and keeps getting mehier with age. I also had a hard-on for the military at this age.

Most of my airsofting career was underage. I was somehow passable for 18 at 14 when I started. This was pre-age verification days though and luckily I just turned 18 when that all went into effect. Funny because now at 34 I still get ID'd at the LCBO periodically and I still pass for being 10+ years younger in numerous scenarios. Some people are genuinely blown away when I tell them how old I actually am. No idea how what with all the years of craziness and nothing really special genetically.

Ah I do miss the days when this forum was alive and the place to be. There's never been a site I've visited every day, multiple times a day since; not even the online portals for university. It seemed like it was actually a global go-to for information for a while there in the 00's.

My active days started and ended in the 00's. Last game I ever attended was an all-nighter at new (shittier) Flag Raiders in late summer 2009 I believe. Then I turned 20 and began my liberal hippie university career (okay no, I'm actually apolitical/dead centrist). I had every intent to continue on. I felt the addiction pull me as we all know ie. continuing to buy new guns and gear for a couple years. I just never again did manage to get out to a game. Life angle completely changed. No longer was airsoft a central thing. It became classes, assignments, work, sex, drugs, partying, some travelling, and various other random shit.

When I came back here to have a look after a few years things had changed. Seems social media had also destroyed this community as it did everything throughout the '10s. I liked the tight-knitness of this community when there was only like what, 1000 actually active players nationally? And it was all mostly centered on here. Now with Facebook and all that other bullshit there's just too many people and zero accountability. The 'spirit' is dead. From what I've seen online I don't think I even want to play again. Maybe if a bunch of strictly old-timers (can't believe I said that) arranged an event but that looks unlikely.

Oh and I hope shit head who shall not be named is still enjoying his dangerous offender label (probably scot-free by now knowing our joke of a 'justice' system). At age 14-16 that whole incident was the last thing I expected from a hobby community like this. Attempts were made on and offline but I was never having that shit. I know there are at least a few people out there walking with scars from that though and I truly do wish them well and hope they're doing good.

Anyway, nostalgia is a blessing and a bitch. Some great times in the 00's to remember but they will never happen again because of the way the climate of it all has changed. It's not me though as I have happily not gone the wife, kids, mortgage, etc. way, yet anyway and no plans to anytime soon. Some relationships here and there but fuck that too. Just going to keep playing the fields and ride out this extended youth all the way.

I'll continue to lurk here and there just to remember some of the best and unique times in the '00s. Playing/being in on airsoft was like being a Trailer Park Boys fan then. Then it all got popular...

[Drache]

It's sad to see what this forum has become. I remember it in it's prime back in the day. But people grew older and the Government keeps trying to ban our sport. Now we are just a shell of what we used to be.

[Drakker]

This is not only us... most forums are pretty much dead. The newer generation doesn't use them, all they know is social media. The lack of maintenance here hurts even more, as the few Airsoft forums that are still active are also well maintained and have modern software and more features to keep people active on their sites.

[Lt_Crazy]

Wow yeah after....well let's just say a very long time being away, it really is dead!! I'm very suprised

[Double Tapper]

greetings people. been awhile since i was on silence is hard to see on what was a
very busy forum. covid didn;t help

sorry for bad post . micro keyboard and big fingers lol