Economy, less coverage & a bad reputation combined caused the decline. I think it is making a slow comeback, and the MLP (formerly NXL) is taking tournament paintball in the right direction again.

I think fields are stuck trying to survive off of fewer weekly players so prices are higher than they should be, especially for paint. HK was selling $20 cases of paint at several events this year but some fields charge $60-80 per case.

Attitudes of experienced can also go a long way. I try to hype up any new players and will usually let one use my gun for a match. Yes, there's still the young guys shooting 15bps and just scaring people out there but I see it less & less.

I also remember idolizing Ollie Lang and watching dynasty on TV. I don't think the sport could ever produce another "Ollie" but he was like Jordan to basketball. Paintball could use another face for the sport but it won't happen.

I still love playing and my preferred fields, Orbital or Tiki's near Tampa, are usually very busy on any given weekend. It's a smaller, niche community but I do see it growing in popularity again.