Getting into Team Fortress 2: Possibly this late on?

I've been wanting to get into TF2, since I miss the 'old-school'-online shooters. However, I'm aware that TF2 has been around for awhile, and that whatever community remains have deep ingrained knowledge of the classes and the maps. So, can one get into the game relatively easy, or will I be outclassed no-matter what?
Any quick-pointers about the classes? I was interested in perhaps playing a Scout, since I always enjoyed the fast, agile classes.