"3… 2 … 1 … Go! Go! Go!" \nTwo players from each side dive right and left, sliding on their knees through the mud to take cover behind wooden pallet bunkers. Even before they reach their positions, a hail of paintballs is launched from either side in an attempt to eliminate them. Each player bobs up and down and side to side, peering out to shoot down their opponent and then moving back to avoid the return fire. \nWithin seconds, the first cry comes out: "I'm hit!" Then another. Two players leave the field with one hand raised to signify their defeat. Unit 55 is down to one. \nOutnumbered three-to-one, Ronnie Buthius tucks himself behind a small stack of wood, hoping to avoid the final, fateful paintball. In desperation, he peeks out for a shot and takes it. But before he even realizes it, he's taken out an opponent, and he too feels the splatter of paint and plastic against his jersey.\nIn less than thirty seconds the first game of the speedball tournament is over, and all three members of Unit 55 are eliminated. Their rival team takes the flag waiting in the middle and hangs it on the opposing end, signifying their victory and giving them 45 points. \nBetween games the teams huddle under tents to talk trash, down Gatorade and escape the scorching heat. Though enemies on the field, during the breaks teams intermingle, sharing stories and cigarettes.\nBut Buthius, team captain and senior commanding officer, is all business. With his team trailing, he impatiently clicks his fingers against the trigger of his gun in anticipation, mimicking the rapid-fire motion he'll need to win the next game. He tries to pull the team together and boost morale by saying, "We're better than this."
It's the beginning of summer speedball season in Scottsburg, Ind. Bob and Woody's, a paintball field and supply store, holds tournaments here every three weeks. Normal turnout is around ten teams, but today coincides with the Indianapolis 500, so only four of the most dedicated teams show up to compete. On this day, Unit 55's opponents are more experienced than them in speedball, but they are hardly intimidated by that.\nBulthuis started the team in 1998 with a few friends, after a disappointing experience with one of the only teams in Columbus, Ind. "We started playing in the woods, just shooting against one another, and moved up from there," he says. At the time, paintball was considered a weekend hobby at best.\nIn its early years, Unit 55 struggled to recruit new players. "We went through about 50 players to get where we are today. Most of them couldn't give the commitment and dedication that Unit 55 requires," Bulthuis says. They decided, then, to look inward, and found the committed players within their families and circle of friends. Since then, Bulthuis adds, "We have become more family than team, and that has helped us on the field."\nUnlike those who consider paintball a hobby, Unit 55 is devoted to their sport and plans to go pro eventually. The team operates like a military unit, with the team divided into squads and each player given a rank. The Alpha squad is an attack unit, while the Bravo squad and the Special Forces unit include snipers and a stealth group that attacks its opponent from behind. \nTo promote their team, they maintain a Web site, Unit55.org, which includes player rankings, pictures, videos, a team history and applications for interested players. Bulthuis wants "everyone in Indiana to know who Unit 55 is."\nEvery player is important, but Bulthuis is clearly in charge. "I run my team like a democracy," he says. "We vote on major issues, and I take it into consideration when making my final decision."\nArron Taylor, second-in-command and leader of the Bravo squad, joined the team in 2000. He is a key player and aspires to take Unit 55 to the next level. "It is every kid's dream to play a professional sport," he says. "Paintball keeps that dream alive for those of us who aren't athletic enough to play baseball, basketball or football. This is a sport about using your head." \nGoing pro in a sport like paintball is no easier than going pro in any mainstream sport. Unit 55 has gained sponsorship from Paintball Valley and is looking to expand its support. But the most important part of getting noticed is, as always, winning.\nThere are many steps along the way to recognition, including proving yourself in amateur and pro-am tournaments. According to the World Paintball Championships Web site, "millions of Americans play paintball every year, but only a few rise to the ranks of a professional tournament player."\nThough paintball has come a long way, even gaining ESPN coverage, it is still not taken as seriously as other professional sports. "People think that we just go out and play army," Bulthuis says, "but we work as hard as any other team to be the best."\nButhuis attributes his team's success and future promise to the fact that they know each other so well. He knows what they are going to do during play because they have been together so long. "The more we hang out off the field, the better we play on the field," he said, "This is not just my team -- it is my family."
The Scottsburg tournament conlcudes, and as the points are tallied, Unit 55 silently packs their gear, trying to come to terms with their defeat. \nDisappointed in their performance, they shake hands, congratulate the more experienced teams and leave for home. \n"We stepped out of the woods only last October to try our hand at speedball," Bulthuis explains, "We are at our best in woodland tournaments."\nBack at home, everyone gathers around a well-worn poker table in Bulthuis' garage. Laughs are shared and jokes are cracked -- mostly at one another's expense. Cigarette smoke fills the room as they relax and hash out next week's strategy for a woodland tournament, where they'll be back in their element. Bulthuis' two little girls run in and out, each man taking turns entertaining them. \nButhuis grabs 3-year-old Elizabeth, and asks "Are you going to play paintball when you grow up?" \n"Yes, daddy," she giggles. \n"And who are you going to play for?" \n"Unit 55"
