Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico—Two years ago, 19-year-old Eric Connor discovered the “adrenaline rush” that came with paintball. Once his father saw him play, all he wanted was to join his son.
“At first, our team use to split us up, but now they know we go out there as a father-son team,” said Joe Connor, Eric’s father.
The Connors are part of a team called Recondo, which meets every other Sunday to play on a paintball field on the outskirts of Matamoros.
The Connors are a team on and off the field.
In May, Joe Connor opened Connor’s Paintball Store in the Southmost area. His son helps run the store
“The store is like a hidden jewel,” Eric said. “Then again, so is paintball. It’s not as mainstream as other sports.”
They opened the store after noticing a growing demand in paintball supplies.
“At first, our customers were from Matamoros because they knew us from playing,” Joe said, “but now we’re getting more Brownsville customers.”
The store has a few supplies in stock, but mostly works as an ordering service.
Clients come in, the Connors place their orders online and pay for shipping and handling fees. Less than a week later, the merchandise is ready to pick up.
The store caters to woodball, speedball and scenario players. The three games are the mostplayed in the area.
Woodball is “capture the flag” in the woods, while speedball is a faster version with inflatable bunkers as hiding spots, Joe explained.
The Connors play all three but enjoy scenario the most. In that game the main goal is to rescue a hostage.
“You have to really strategize and work as a team,” Joe said.
“It’s intense. At times, you do stuff you never knew you could do,” Eric added.
Competitions, like those televised on ESPN2, are usually based on speedball, Eric said.
“I don’t really like them — I do this for fun — but I’ll play to spend more time with my dad,” he said.
Paintball may have brought the father and son closer together, but Eric said there was one key reason behind the store.
“People needed more options,” Eric said, “and that’s exactly what we’re giving them.”
The Brownsville Herald
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