The Birth of Dodge Balltimate

Many times in the past, I've said that a major contributor to my interest in Ultimate Frisbee is the Culture. It's the people and the attitudes. It's the parties and the craziness. It's playing hard and then partying hard. And every now and then, it can result in a moment of sheer genius.

...like the invention of a new game.

Let me explain.

This past weekend was the Delaware Spring league finals. Our team fought hard in the first game but lost - and was therefore sent to the "not winners" bracket. So we stood around with our next opponent enjoying a pre-game beer when we began discussing ways to make the game more fun. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I wasn't there yet. I was across the field. But as I walked over, I heard the guys deciding how they could incorporate a dodge ball into an ultimate frisbee game.

Now, a normal group of athletes would laugh at this... but we thought it was brilliant! So after a few minutes of making some rules, we hit the field. And the game goes something like this:

If you don't know how to play ultimate, here's a handy link.

http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Ultimate-Frisbee

1. Before the Defending team pulls the disc, the dodge ball is placed in the middle of the field. Once the disc is pulled, some players will rush in to try and get the ball. Anyone can grab it.

2. When you are holding the ball, you cannot move around. You either have to throw the ball at someone, or drop it on the ground, or pass it to a team mate.

3. If you hit a player with the ball then they have to stand still for 5 seconds.

4. If you hit a player with the ball AND they are holding the disc then it's a turnover.

5. If you throw the ball at a player but they catch it then you are out of the game for the rest of the point. However, if one of your teammates catches a ball that is thrown at them then you can come back in.

I think that's the main set of rules. So you can see that there is a lot of confusion now that 2 objects are moving around on the field. When you are on offense you have to protect the person with the disc. On defense you have to make sure that you don't get frozen when the person you are covering is making a cut towards the end zone.

It's a lot of fun and I can't wait to play it again.

The Philly Pretzel Shot

Whenever I mention that I play Ultimate Frisbee, people ask things like, "Is that the thing on the golf course?" or "Isn't that just a bunch of hippie's getting high?"

well, this post isn't about what the game is, or why I love it. I covered all that in this post.

Instead, I want to talk about the people. And I can do that be telling a story from last week.

First let me continue my first thought. During those situations I tend to mention that Ultimate Frisbee is a "way of life". Certain kinds of people gravitate to the sport. People who are a little more free and crazy. People who, in adulthood, think that streaking is still fun at parties (we're going streaking through the quad!). People who get tattoos that say things like "Breed Ultimate" (what kind of loser would do that??)

Ok now back to last week.

We had a game friday night on a big field in philly. After the games, especially on fridays, everyone stays around to party. You break out the grills, tap the kegs, and have a good time.

So in an effort to spice things up, I brought a bottle of vodka which was to be mixed with some juices that other people would bring. Well guess what... they forgot the mixers. Now all we had was a bottle of vodka (aside from all the beer), and just taking regular shots of the stuff was obviously out of the question (duh).

We were trying to think of mixer ideas when one of the guys made a joke, "Hey, why don't you chase the vodka with a shot of mustard." and we all had a good laugh.

...and then I proceeded to take a shot of vodka and chase it with a shot of mustard.

the first thing I said was "Oh gross! ...[pause] ...Oh nice!" and of course other people had to try it because I couldn't be the only brave (read: idiotic) one.

When the bottle got back to me I couldn't just do the same thing again, so I grabbed a female on my team (she-who-shall-not-be-named) and put mustard on her neck. Then I took the shot of vodka and licked the mustard off her neck.

The bottle went around -and came in to my hands again. How could I take it up a notch? Well, I thought of the mustard as being like the lemon at the end of a shot of tequila. And what else do you have with a shot of tequila? SALT. So I grabbed the same girl and had her put mustard on the same spot on her neck. This time, I licked the other side of her neck (sweat - salt) and then took the shot and then the mustard.

no one followed this one except the girl who reciprocated with me.

We then took our new found drink around to all the other teams. And you know what? A lot of people tried it... even with the sweat. As soon as we demonstrated it as a serious shot, everyone was game. Even some people took it a step further by using other body parts (also to remain unnamed... the people AND the body parts).

And thus the Philly Pretzel Shot was born... in all its grossness.... I mean glory

I hope that explains what kind of people play Ultimate Frisbee. (awesome ones)


Disclaimer: the preceding events did not take place exactly as they were told. Actions may have been slightly changed due to the alcoholic haze that the writer was experiencing while going through it all in the moment.

Revitalizing power of Spring

I think that seasons affect most people. Some will go so far as to say they have seasonal depression, because they hate being cooped up in the house all winter due to frigid temperatures. Maybe you like the winter. Perhaps you love heading to the mountain to hit the slopes. Or maybe even to try being in the Polar-Bear clubs. But I don't think anyone can argue about how great the first days of spring are.

For me, it's not the warmer weather or the chirping birds outside my window. It isn't the "Free Ice Cream Day" at Rita's Water Ice. And, surprisingly enough, it isn't even the sudden appearance of mini-skirts.

It's Ultimate Frisbee.

This past weekend I dusted off my cleats, pulled out my discs, and headed to the fields for the beginning of PADA Spring League. That's the beginning of Spring for me. It's the smell of the fields, the sounds of the games going on around me, and the knowledge that I'm doing something fun AND healthy at the same time.

Because of my asthma, I had to work out in the gym all winter. And while it's nice to have the general goal of losing weight and getting in shape, I do it for Ultimate. I get up at the crack of dawn a few times a week so that when Spring starts I'll be ready.

My heart is racing right now, as I type about it.

I just love warm weather. I'd take it over cold weather any day of the week.

So enjoy it while you can, people. Get outside and do something. Feel the sun on your face. Sit in the grass. Go grill some food.

But whatever you do... do it outside.

175 Grams...

it isn't very much weight. 175 Grams is probably equivalent to a handful of pencils. That's fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of life, the universe, and everything. So why is it the title of my blog today?

Because that is the standard weight for a UPA approved, Discraft manufactured, tournament-style Ultimate Frisbee (or Disc, since the word Frisbee is owned by whammo).

Lately, I've signed on to some new projects at work and it really keeps me busy. But the past few days have slowed down and I've had time to blog again. So as I sat here at my desk, pondering today's topic, I realized something. I don't think I've ever really talked about Ultimate on this medium. How about we change that...

In case 1 of my 7 readers doesn't know how the game is played, here's a small introduction. Ultimate is played on a field, roughly the size and shape of a football field, with endzones at either end. 2 opposing teams take the field. 7 players on each side. Each player lines up at the front of his team's endzone and play begins when one team throws the disc across the field to the opposing team (like a kick-off). The receiving team wants to work the disc downfield until someone catches it in the endzone for a score. When holding the disc, you can't move; only pivot like in basketball. The opposing team wants to intercept the disc, or knock it down (or wait for your team to drop a pass) so that they can work the disc towards their endzone. Games are played until one team gets to the designated high score (usually 13 or 15 in regular games).

So that's the basic idea. There are tons of rules that are dictated by the Ultimate Players Association (UPA), but we don't need to get into them right now.

This is why I play the game:

1. Ultimate is a self-officiated game. That means, if someone fouls you then you call "Foul". Then play stops and the person you called the foul on decides if he agrees with your call or not. So why doesn't that person always lie and say that he didn't do anything wrong? Because of a fundamental rule of Ultimate. Spirit of the Game. It means be honest and respectful. If I accidentally knock someone over on the field then it is my responsibility to concede if they call a foul. It doesn't mean that I did it on purpose. Accidents will happen. This isn't a game where we see what rules we can break because the referee is looking the other way. That's just not how you play.

2. Friendship. In most tournaments, you have pool play on Saturday which decides the seedings for the final brackets on Sunday. Saturday night, though, you party. All the teams get together to drink and have fun. No matter how hard you fought each other on the field, you becomes friends at the party. You drink together, play beer pong together, and even get naked together (not in a gay way... but there is a lot of nakedness). Plus, there is great respect given to the team that stays at the party the longest (and still wakes up to play the next day).

3. Ultimate is a sport that anyone can play. You don't have to be an olympic athlete with cat-like reflexes to be on a team. If you're over-weight then you learn to throw well and hang back around the frisbee a lot and let the other kids run more. Can't throw well? Then you can catch the disc and toss it back to the fat kid so he can throw it to someone else. You also don't have to be a certain age to play. After college, there is a "club" level and then there is "masters" when you get up in your 30's. Plus I play in leagues with guys that are in their 40's and 50's. It's a game you can play for a lot of your life.

4. I love the game because it's beautiful. Yeah, I know that sounds dumb...but it is. There is something amazing about watching a guy (or girl) run down a 50 yard pass and dive (lay-out) through the air to catch it with one hand in the back of the endzone to win the game.

Anyway, summer league starts on Monday. That's why I'm writing this. I don't think I'll get any real work done today because this is all I can think about. I'll post some pictures in a few days. I have a lot of great shots of people diving for the disc.