Shatnerball Trip 2004

Game Day

George (Blue Team), Darryl(Maroon Team) & Colene (not playing) just starting the Big Game.

Tom's team coming over the berm from Armageddon into the Bedlam field controlled by the Bill's team.

The Blue Team holding Bedlam for a short time.  The buildings were just outside walls, with netting separating the store fronts on the inside.  It was great to ref and play as nobody could run around a corner and wipe.

Special buses drove players to the field entrances.

Three models that helped Bill at the Auction afterwards. 

Three models that helped Bill & Tom at the Auction afterwards. The barrels were props on the field that had to be moved or recovered.

• George Lewko played on Bill "The Shaft" Shatners's (73 years old) team and his west side boys. The Blue Team. 
• Darryl Kuny played on Tom "The Don" Kaye's team side. The Maroon Team.
• The field was Challenge Park Xtreme just outside Chicago.  The story line is everybody wants to be a "Bad Guy", so it's mobster vs. mobster.
• All players had to wear the event shirt or commemorative jersey, so it was easy to tell what team players were on.  Blue or Maroon. 
• Game Day started early.
  • Tom Kaye arrived in a Model T.
  • Mancow (the shock jock) was a foul mouth jerk, on stage in front of many children.  He shot himself in the foot during the game.
  • William Shatner power parachuted in, and was them picked up in the Model T.
• Kathie & Colene guarded our equipment in the staging area.  That was great so we didn't have to walk out to the parking lot every time we left the playing field.
• Shatnerball had 660 players.
  • Tom's team took control of the field within 1/2 hour.  His team had some very experienced scenario teams which Tom sponsored.  They had great commanders & most of the tanks.
  • Bill's team was stuck at our HQ for all of the first half and couldn't break out.  It was shoulder to shoulder action.
  • About 1/2 way through the morning, The Shaft gave us a pep talk to earn some points.  During that mission, I charged into the closest bush and helped push The Don's forces back. Eventually I was overrun and alone.  I crawled forward, up to an unsuspecting maroon player.  I waited until he shot and nailed him from 10 feet away.  He never saw me, but he got up and told his buddy my location.  [Later, he told me if he knew were I was he would had shot back and "got me too".]  I crawled away from this player, and ran into a couple.  I shot them and then they returned fire.  I called out hit. As I approached them, they now called out hit, once I could see their hits.  And kept calling for a medic (only good for 1 minute after being hit, and not in the head or body) all the way off the field (a good 5 minute walk).
• Transport to the field entrances was provided by special buses.
• Tom's team kicked Bill's team all day.  During half time, they switched some commanders and tanks over to Bill's team.  The battle in the afternoon was more fair.
  • I played the far tape line and shot out numerous players.  I was by myself most of the time, and had to circle back continuously, and lose ground until help arrived. 
• The Last Battle was held on "The Jungle of Doom" field.  It was crazy as 600+ players attached the Temple.  This was shoulder to shoulder and re-entry was to tag your end (our was the giant poopy head).  It lasted 1/2 hour.  Crazy stuff.
• The bush could be very thick or fairly open.  The field was an old apple orchard, as there were tons of apples on the ground everywhere.
• I purchased one of the autographed event banners after the auction from a kid.
• One kid donated a marker to the auction, and three times it was bought and donated back to the kid.  This marker raised to most money of all items auctioned.
• The auction took 2 hours and ended when it got dark.
• We then drove home, straight away.  Arriving home Monday evening near midnight.

Game Day