The Best Experience of My Life

Yep....I know it sounds like the lamest thing in the world, but yesterday was easily the most emotionally exhilarating day of my entire life. This post is gonna be long, sorry.

So its been a while since I posted, like 2 days, so there is some action I have missed out on so I will catch folks up to speed first.

Semis: USA vs Japan

This was the game that Sockeye prepared for and they didn't disappoint. Japan was priority #1 on Team USA's radar and their second contest was even better than their first. The win wasn't as definitive (14-10, instead of 17-11), but Sockeye balled. In looking at USA's tournament holistically, I think their focus was wayy to much on Japan and not enough on Canada. Furious has had a tendency to set up the over confidence bear trap which worked in 2005. Skip Sewell was telling me after the Finals that the game felt a lot like '05 when they lost in the Finals and it just goes to show you that no team is invincible. It is pretty ironic that Furious' best strategy in winning gold was to go 0-3 in pool play last fall.

However, as for the semifinals, the game started off with Team USA receiving, converting on their first possession and then going up a break. At 2-0, Japan answered back with their speed, but this game was a bit windier than a few days back and considering Sockeye's level of preparation, Japan's offense would have to utilize auxiliary offensive weapons. They looked good early, earning a break of their own in the first half, but it would not last.

The BB tied the game at 3s and the two juggernauts went point for point threw the first half. Mike Caldwell played a phenomenal game and looked like a machine on the field with the most precise execution I've seen in a player. He has so many release points that he can throw from and his fakes and cuts are so incredibly sharp. On the other side of the disc, Seth Wiggins had a great first half with a fantastic layout D, the first of two in this game. Tim Gehret also played a phenomenal game with two break saving layout Ds. He and Seth were the two best players in this game and it was incredible to see him turn it up a notch if Team USA's O-line coughed it up. It reminded me of the ECC '07 game where he got a fantastic layout catch block after a silly Sockeye turnover.

USA took half 7-6 (on serve) and this game looked like it could be close. However, as most games had gone with USA, teams came out firing but once Sockeye's D figured out their opponent's strategy, they adjusted and began to collect breaks in the 2nd half. After trading points, USA was receiving at 8s. USA was aiming for that pivotal threshold where the game goes from close to out of reach and this is when it happened. They put Ben Wiggins on the D-line in an attempt to bolster their D-line offense and it worked. They got the score and then the break to go up 10-8 and then they broke Japan again to make it 11-8. Japan would answer to make it 11-9 but Sockeye would break them again and play out the game on serve to 14-10.

At certain points in the second half Sockeye's offense didn't look great but Japan simply could not capitalize. They seemed to be filled with so much emotion that their nerves collapsed under the pressure. One turnover that comes to mind was a wild hammer that Chase tossed up that was D'd. Japan didn't connect on this opportunity and over threw a streaking cutter deep, being covered by Chase. The two made huge bids for the disc and what impressed me the most was that Chase was definitely behind his guy when the throw went up but managed to close the gap with his speed. He hit the ground hard however and it looked like the wind was knocked out of him. He laid on the ground for a a minute or two and when he finally spoke all he said was "What the f@#$ am I doing throwing hammers?". I thought it was hilarious.

Anyway, Japan tried a variety of things to slow down Sockeye's offense but it simply did not work. They made a ton of brilliant switches on defense, but they could not slow down Sammy CK, Moses, and Nord. Ben, Bestock, and TG ran a great offense together and in the second half, Tim got another break saving layout D. I was so impressed with his O-line defense. The one thing I did not like though was the amount of calls Sockeye made. I AM NOT SAYING THEY WERE BAD CALLS, but they made a lot and Japan did not. WFDF has no officiating whatsoever so if one team wants to make calls and the other team doesn't things will get hairy and they did. Sockeye called back several scoring attempts and Japan couldn't duplicate their success.

Semis: Canada vs Great Britain

Of all the teams outside my boys, I was the most impressed with Great Britain at this tournament. I've mentioned this before, but they played an amazingly polished game. They were spectacular in the air and made great decisions on offense. However, they were matched up against the best and they got rocked. Canada quickly took away Great Britain's deep game and despite the 17-11 score, they were well in control. They lead 13-6 late in the second half before giving up 3 breaks, but they cruised when they wanted to. I could tell Mike Grant was getting a little pissed and on an O-line turnover, he got a fantastic foot block to save another break. I had to watch Furious for a few games to realize how they work, and Mike's leadership on the O-line is why he is proclaimed the best player in the world. He and Hassell lead a great charge along with Savage and a few others and Canada earned their shot at the Americans, something Lugsdin told me they wanted above anything else.

Masters Finals: USA vs Canada

After I finished watching the semis I went over to the showcase field and Parinella, the Count and the Condors were facing off against Canada. I did some commentary for this game, so I'm not going to go into too much detail. I will say that USA looked far better than they did in their first contest with Canada. Instead of being down the whole game and rallying, they had a decent lead for most of the contest.

However, down the home stretch things got a little hectic. Team USA was up 14-12 (pulling) and after Canada scored, they were broken to push the game to 14-13. I was in the booth commentating and right before Canada pulled I said, "These guys are the most experienced players in the game. Their blood is ice cold and I don't think they'll get broken". I knocked on wood and good thing I did because Dugan had two throwaways on game point and Mooney was foot blocked on his own goal line. Team USA came devastatingly close to having to play it out on Universe (upwind) but in the end, DoG capitalized and Mooney tossed the wining goal to seal it. Husak played a great game and despite being former rivals, both Jim and Al had great things to say about their D-line stud. Namkung hurt his shoulder so he didn't play much and despite a separated rib, Dugan still gave it his all and USA won gold in sterling fashion.

Party

After the game Alex and I got some sushi and went over to the tournament party which was a total bust. When you have a function like this at a major public venue like UBC, you have take many precautions, none of which are good for party goers. The event had music, ultimate players, and beer, but the main contingent was hanging out just outside the doors. Beer was expensive, the party inside was dark and loud as hell, and security was wayy over the top. These guys were your stereotypical suburban cops on a power trip and it was a real buzz kill. There were no shenanigans or flip cup or boat races. It just wasn't an ultimate party. I am sure the WFDF folks did their best, but it sucked and the folks I chilled with had the most fun being outside. It just goes to show you why the best "fun" tournaments are in the middle of nowhere like Redmond, Washington or Versailles, Ohio.

The one positive thing that came out of this however was that I finally got to shotgun with The Count. Everyone was predicting a blowout and despite the fact that he was victorious, I was right there with him. Husak can vouch for me, it was definitely a close victory, but a victory for de Frondeville none the less. I don't mind though, Al seems to be good at winning and considering he had to use all his fingers and some other body parts to count all his championships, I was ok with admitting defeat. I would love a rematch however, and I think I can take him if given the chance.

Finals Prep

Despite staying up fairly late, I was up early Saturday. I wanted to do some prep for the gold medal game and I figured 8 hours would be enough time. I got some coffee and fruit at a nearby market and headed to the stadium. The Ultiviallge crew was setting up for the broadcast and these guys were a lot of fun to work with. Rob, Dale, Skizip, and Dick are great people and are a ton of fun to work with. They let me loose this week and also let Alex hook up with the crew and help out where he could.

I was working hard in the press box during the Women's and Mixed finals so I have zero input on those games other than USA/Japan women was a great game and Fisher Price looked red hot winning gold via a game point Callahan.

The Block Stack guys were very accommodating for me as well and I really wanted to give them a good show for the finals. Despite Furious being my favorite team, I felt that I didn't know know enough about them and I really wanted to be prepared. I looked up every player I could but I really struggled because a lot of the information is just not available online. However, to my delight the Team Canada guys had camped out right outside the press box and despite being somewhat star struck, I did my job and approached them. Considering I had never actually met Oscar or Nick Menzies, I was a bit nervous. Other approaches hadn't gone very well this week but to my relief, they were so down to talk. They tossed so much information my way and the only thing cooler than hearing it from the horse's mouth was knowing that these guys knew who I was, they knew what I was trying to do and they were so happy to chat with me. Oscar and Nick, in addition to being great players and defenders, are really good people, not unlike the rest of Furious, and they really made my job so incredibly easy. Thank you again.

Anyway, I had my notes ready and we were set to go on the air at 4pm. I had called some family and friends to tell them to check out the broadcast if they could and at 3:55p I took my seat at the table and was ready for the most thrilling experience of my life.

The Finals

I'm not going to lie, I completely thought Sockeye was going to win this game. I had a chat with Lindlsey (I want a story by the way, Grant) earlier in the day and I told him I thought Sockeye would win. I really had every reason to feel that way and considering the fact that I love to be pessimistic in the hopes of being pleasantly surprised, it was a good mind set for me to have.

The weather was great all week but by the time the big boys stepped out, it was really raining. I scratched my head a little bit at the schedule of the tournament because the field the finals were played on had been played on probably 15 times already. Unlike College Nationals where the final field is untouched before the finals, this field was burger by the time USA and Canada came out. Players were slipping all game and in some instances, a fortuitous slip by a defender meant a goal for the offense. However, despite this, there were no significant injuries, thank god.

From the opening pull Team Canada really looked fired up. They started the game off with a break and before I knew it they were up 5-2. Team USA was easily the loudest team in the tournament but the crowd for the Finals was predominately Canada. Furious is notorious for slipping in intensity but the crowd really brought the noise and I can imagine that the intensity Sockeye depended on and Furious struggled to hold on to, went in favor of the red and white.

The first half went Canada's way 9-6 and despite a heated rivalry between these two, the game was very spirited thus far. Jimmy Chu and Roger Crafts both accidentally roughed up some Canada cutters but both were very quick to apologies with a "no contest". The second half however, would not go down this way.

Furious started on O and extended their lead to 10-6. I was already pretty fired up but after this score I really began to believe that Furious was going to win. The first half is just the first half, but being up by 4 in the second half in elite open is pretty iron clad. Mauro Ortiz, John Hassell, and Mike Grant all played spectacular offense. Mike's flick is unreal and he has such composure even when the stakes are this high. He had a sick stall 8 IO 30 yd break throw and I'm not surprised he lead his team with 40 fantasy points. He and Hassell looked great together and every time they got within 10-15 yards of the endzone, I knew they would connect and they did.

USA's offense on the other hand was really lackluster. Very few Sockeye players seemed to be in their element and it was very surprising to see. Moses played a great game with several deep cuts, but it seemed like Sockeye was just out of sync. Their line calling was a bit peculiar with several players jumping from O to D and vice versa. It appeared that USA was really trying to earn breaks back by putting great offensive personnel like Ben Wiggins and Tim Gehret on the D-line. Conversely, they seemed to second guess their O-line by putting strong defenders on the O-line like Biggins and Roger Crafts to insure a strong defensive front if/when the turn came.

And come they did. Both teams suffered from drops and poor decisions. There were a few spectacular layout D's from Oscar, Chase and Nate Castine, who had a jaw dropping layout catch block on Mike Grant. Nate was furious after getting beat a few points earlier and it was very obvious that he was fired up to get that D back.

However, Furious' 3 break lead to start the game would be enough to keep them comfortable. Sockeye really pushed but couldn't get anything to work. I heard that Mike Caldwell became a dad the night before (congratulations) and had to drive back and forth from Seattle in the middle of the night. I can't imagine this to be a good thing for his game and considering his brilliant offensive capability, I think this hurt Team USA. In addition, Furious' underneath game gutted Sockeye and when they tried to adjust, Canada owned the Fish deep.

Then the calls came. Down the stretch this game really got ugly. This is my blog so I get to be biased or subjective or whatever, but USA really showed their true colors in the end. They really began using their mouths to win and the crowd was incessantly negative towards them. Tim Gehret, who is one of the most composed players I have ever seen, made two atrocious foul calls that took back two spectacular D's by Lugsdin and Kirk Savage. The travels were also very prominent and despite the fact that Canada may have traveled in every instance, it really appeared that USA was exceedingly frustrated with themselves and panicked. I don't mind strict travel calling but call it beginning to end. The first half was so spirited and it was really difficult to watch USA get more and more sensitive to travels as the game got closer and closer to ending in favor of Canada.

However, despite the obvious frustration, Canada stayed composed. For the crowd, this was incredibly irritating to watch and considering that WFDF rules have no officiating whatsoever, all a player had to do was make a call and that was it. There was no overturning it and I can think of more than one occasion where Canada had to send back a goal because of a travel call. Unlike Japan though, Furious hung tough and grinded it out. Canada definitely had their cages rattled giving up a two breaks late, but they didn't let the tension get to them and finished the game with world class precision.

Towards the end of this game I was going crazy in the booth. Mike Grant made a fantastic layout catch on a second effort (but was called back on a travel) and I jumped up in celebration only to hit my hands on the ceiling, cutting them both. For the remainder of the broadcast I had to dab my knuckles with a napkin because I didn't want to bleed on my new white Ultivillage jersey. I wanted to keep the emotion in, but I just couldn't towards the end. We got soo many emails about me being biased and what not, but I could care less about my critics. None of these people were there and none of them could appreciate or understand the electricity in that stadium. This was the best game I've ever witnessed and considering the fact that my favorite team was taking it to their biggest rival on the biggest stage and I was at the mic, yikes, it was crazy.

One person sent an email that was titled "Professional Commentating" and basically told me to shut the hell up and I just laughed. Never before in the history of our sport had a game of this magnitude been broadcast live or even commentated. I'm not getting paid, I'm not a professional, but there was no one in the world better for the job than me. Everyone out there listening, every ultimate nerd watching the game at home would have traded places with me in a heart beat and once Marc Roberts reeled in the game winner, I about died. I felt like Al Michaels calling the USA vs Russia game in 1980 and I don't care if anyone out there understands this, I felt the way he did that day.

For 6 years I have been following Furious George and I literally bled for them yesterday. All of my fanhood and research in this sport can be traced back to my commitment to this team and the opportunity Rob and the Block Stack guys gave me was one no one in this world has ever had. I have never played at Nationals and probably never will but I found a different way to make my mark. The bulk of my ultimate effort wasn't at the track or on the field, but at a small desk in a lab in New Haven, CT. It's difficult to comprehend, but in just a little over a year, I went from being a simple free lance blogger to the most respected journalist in our sport. The Hodags can have their National Championships, Kershner can have his Callahan, I worked my ass off for 5 years to be the most well rounded, competent, and respected writer in the ultimate world and I achieved greatness. No one can take this experience away from me and to top it all off, none of my critics, none of the people that have disrespected me (and they know who they are) are world champions. To my complete shock and amazement, Furious actually likes what I do.

I introduced myself to Morgan Hibbert at the party and he spent about 15 minutes inflating MY ego. Alex and Skizip wanted to puke, but when a player wearing a gold medal tells you that he respects what you do and talks about what I write with his team mates at practice, there is no better compliment. He even quoted my college ultimate draft post on RSD and commended me on my bold Hot Women in Ultimate post. Talking with Morgan was one of the best experiences of the tournament because he knew my literature back to front and reassured me everywhere I had been criticized. I had slammed Furious all year (and praised the hell out of Sockeye) but the Canadians loved the dialog. Morgan just loved the fact that "someone was paying attention and it doesn't matter if its good or bad, it's just cool to hear about Ultimate in a PTI/Tony Kornheiser sort of way". In Canada they really understand the fanhood aspect of the game and I think its because the culture is a bit more enlighted in this reguard. In becoming a fan, a person basically conceeds they are not the best. If they were the best all they'd have to do is root for themselves. However, the Jock mentality that finds its way into American athletes really has trouble letting go of the dream and I think that is why we struggle to truly appreciate the fan base in our country.

In any event, after the Finals I did a few interviews (on camera) with some of the Furious guys including Lugsdin, Hassell, Menzies, and Mike Grant. After the Mike Grant interview Skizip kept filming me and he caught me saying "I just did an interview with Mike Grant" in my worst man crush accent. Once again, these guys were so receptive, so accomdating, so respectful and it just reminded me why I love this team. For me, it's not enough to root for a team that identifies with my geography. You have to really suck me in and despite endless "Benedict Arnold" criticism, I really could not care less. No one who criticizes me in this regard has any understanding of who and what I am or what Furious has meant to me. I bumped into Ollie Hondred at the party and after sharing pleasentries he gave me shit for wearing a Furious jersey and I simply told him, "one day you will have worked for something for 4 or 5 or 10 or however many years and when you finally earn it, it will mean the world to you and odds are, no one else out there will understand but you". I don't feel like a gold medalist (and don't actually want to) but I earned exactly what I have always wanted. I did it all by myself, in the face of considerable opposition from the biggest names in ultimate but here I am now, as happy as a pig in shit. I know its a cliche but if you really want something, your passion is really the only limiting factor.

Closing Thoughts

I got up at 545am to take Alex to the airport and when I got back, I simply couldn't sleep. I was still so excited and I just had to get my laptop out. Because ultimate is so player based, its hard for people to respect or even understand fans in the US, but Canada does. I was talking with Oscar before the finals and he said he liked my jersey (I was wearing a Furious one) and I said, "Yeah I know it's kinda pathetic that I love you guys so much". But then he cut me off and said, "No actually it isn't. We're all really glad that their are people like you out there."

I'm probably embelishing a bunch here but I don't really care. I feel the way Arizona and Wisconsin felt at Nationals in May or the way Sockeye felt last October. Hell I might even feel the way some of these Furious guys feel now. This sport is great folks and it's ok to be fan.

just my thoughts

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