You missed it again, didn’t you?

Posted on December 1, 2004 by Hazmatt

The last hurrah at Des Plaines Bowl

Karaoke. Second verse, same as the first

Posted on October 24, 2004 by Hazmatt

Chicago Force met once again at the Blue Frog Bar & Grill to sing it’s heart out. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) the video tape of this event was, um, un-usable.

But we do have pictures.

Paintball Part Deux

Posted on October 1, 2004 by Carrie

Based on a True Story

We have been having so much fun at paintball that we decided to head out to Indiana for the second time this year. Blast Camp was once again the site of the chaos.

Players only managed to shoot the camera twice this time, both in the same game. Somehow in the Fog of War a 400-pound guy in an orange shirt looks just like the other team…

: The gang’s all here

: HawkBat prepares to go into the big, scary building

: Goat gives the Horns

: Adventure Bros.

: Light ’em up!

: The boys let the girl go first

: Carrie moves into position

: Splash one QCJO

: Number two goes down

: Carrie didn’t shoot him (but she could have)

: Imperial troops have entered the base!

: A little R&R between games

: Jeff thought paintball was at his house, so he showed up

: You’ve got a little somethin..oh, it’s a paint chip

: Hard smokin’, hard drinkin’ paintball chick

: Our guy

: Sithman’s friends showed up (even though he didn’t)

: I’m number 1!

: Tate holds the bunker

: The quick bird gets the kill

: Jeff bravely defends his post

: “Where’d he go?” “Where’d who go?”

: Laying down on the job

: Rushing the Octagon

: Blue Team storms the Octagon

: One the lookout for Red Team

: Double your firepower

: The last thing you see

: I still can’t believe that Jeff actually showed up

You want the DVD? You can’t handle the DVD!

Posted on September 21, 2004 by Hazmatt

You want the DVD? You can’t handle the DVD!

On September 21, 2004, Lucasfilms caved into fan pressure and released Episodes 4, 5 & 6 on DVD. A fourth disc was included that had behind-the-scenes documentaries and other assorted goodies.

Chicago Force was on hand with many of Chicago’s finest Star Wars fans for the midnight release of the DVD boxed set. Check out the madness.

Chicago Force Whirlyball

Posted on August 5, 2004 by Carrie

On Saturday, August 7, at 3:00 P.M., Chicago Force ventured out to Lombard to play fun-filled games of Whirlyball. Whirlyball is a combination of lacrosse, bumper cars, and basketball played with whiffleballs. Afterward, we had dinner at a nearby Old Country Buffet.

Whirlyball is located at 800 E. Roosevelt Road in Lombard. Old Country Buffet is at 551 E. Roosevelt Road.

Where the Beautiful People© hang out

Posted on August 1, 2004 by Hazmatt

The Annual Chicago Force Summer BBQ was a great time to hang out, relax, bash politicians, and share in all things Geek. Just don’t walk into the wrong conversation if you want to stay away from movie spoilers!

: C’mon in and relax

: There was a lot of this going on

: Hey Dave, is that a cell phone in your pocket or are you just…nope, it’s a cell phone

: Emma is having a good time

: Did I mention that there was a lot of this?

: HawkBat explains the intricacies of some EU point that no one cares about

: If I was this cool, people might like me

: Gina strikes a pose

: Bring on the food!

: Everyone was full by the time Hans showed up with the good stuff

: Mark did all the work

Chicago Force Backyard Theatre: TPM

Posted on July 23, 2004 by Carrie

On Friday, July 23, at 7:00 P.M., Chicago Force’s Backyard Drive-In Theater presented The Phantom Menace. We enjoyed some good fun as we harkened back to the movie whose line-up formed our initial group. Showtime was approximately 9:00 P.M. Thanks to Dave Gray who opened his McKinley Park home.

5th Annual Line Party & Anniversary

Posted on May 15, 2004 by Hazmatt

May 15, 2004 saw the 5th Anniversary for this little thing we call Chicago Force.

It’s been a long and windy road, and it seemed only appropriate for this year’s Anniversary/Line Party to be held at the birthplace of Chicago Force, Zephyr’s Ice Cream parlor.

While the sunlight made things a little warm in the beginning, a good time was had by all. Zephyr’s puts on a good spread, and there was plenty of time for mingling, chatting, and playing embarassing parlor games.

Check it out.

: The exact meeting place of the first Chicago Force meeting

: Tables Set

: Preparations begin

: Prizes Galore

: Prep time is INTENSE

: Matt explains the Kung-Fu grip

: Traveling Vader makes an appearance

: The Imperials know how to chill

: Chicago Force: The Cup

: People start to show up

: The gang’s all here

: Ready…Set…Game!

: Guess The Star Wars character

: Who’s Who?

: “That one looks like Cliff Claven!”

: Thinking… Thinking…

: Is that Ponda Baba or Walrus Man?

: Peaches qualifies for Who Wants to be A Star Wars Millionaire?

: Mingling and chatting

: Star Wars Pictionary/Charades

: Believe it or not, that is supposed to be Yavin IV

: Pod-racing charades

: Admiral Motti getting Force-choked

: Big Fish chasing a bongo

: Speeder bikes on Endor

: Nice Y-Wing…not

: Much better on the TIE Interceptor

: Han frozen in carbonite

: Peaches the Asteroid bumping into people

: Ah, the food arrives

: Good Eats

: Good ‘ole 1777 W. Wilson Ave.

: How many can you name?

: Group shot, Vader included

: Jason is first up on SW Millionaire

: He really gets into the game

: And I mean, REALLY

: Carrie wins the most prizes

: Matt’s caught a wild Peaches

: Dan proves he’s wearing Star Wars

Paintball!

Posted on April 17, 2004 by Carrie

April 17, 2004 saw Chicago Force return once more to Blast Camp for a day of paintball fun. The paintball gods smiled down from on high and we had excellent weather for the third year in a row. Blast Camp is an excellent field, and Chicago Force thanks them for their courteous treatment, professional attitude, and for building a damn fine paintball field.

We didn’t have quite as many turn out this time, only 16, but everyone there had a blast, from the grizzled veterans down to newest of the newbies who had never touched a paintgun before that morning.

We were graced by representatives from the Quad City Jedi Order and the Indy Knights. Thanks for making the trip out, guys!

It was such a good time that plans are being made to turn paintball into a bi-annual event, with the next session possibly in September. Stay tuned to Chicago Forc Web for details.

Pre-Game

: QCJO represents

: We rock!

: Professional Ref Jeff

: The gang

: Jeff explains The Rules

: “Bad Boys, Bad Boys…” Sing with me now

The Octagon

: Radar chronograph

: Jeff gives out the game rules

: Game on!

: Carrie gets into the zone

: Dave pushes it up the middle

: Small people can hide better

: Casualties start to roll in

: Out!

: Sithman moves up the outside

: Waiting for the next game

: Hawkbat takes an early hit to the skull

: Switch sides, play again

: Blue players walk off field Check out the orange player in the lower right-hand corner, about to send the QCJO to the side-lines

: That last blue is eliminated

: Long walk back to reload

Intermission

The next game we played was “Downed Rebel Pilot”. The Rebels had to escort the downed pilot to a safe area, while the Empire tried to kill him. Getting the pilot out or keeping him safe for a set period of time won for the Rebels, eliminating the pilot won for the Empire.
As I played the role of the pilot, there are no pictures of this game. One team successfully kept me hidden in a corner, while the other team made a bold move to get me out. And it would have worked, too, if I wasn’t so fat and lazy.
Anyway, in all the rolling around on the ground, I thought I lost my car keys. So there are no pictures of the next games, as I spent an hour combing the grass for my ride home. Turns out Dave had them in his pocket the whole time.