Kudos for UPA website - part II
So, when last we spoke, I was going to go to Tampa pickup based on what I got from the UPA website and a subsequent email to the listed contact. I got there around 6PM, had to hunt around for awhile to identify the area with discs flying. That alone is pretty cool, how frisbee is usually pretty simple to find, because discs flying around are pretty unique, and there are always a bunch, not just one guy throwing a football or a soccer ball, etc.
The lights were out at the time, but there was still some light in the sky (nice going west and still being in the same timezone, in Boston, still getting pitch dark by 5PM). So, put my stuff down and take off on a long jog to get warmed up and stretch. After a long lap and some stretching, go back to the central area only to hear the organizer saying that there may not be lights because it is the first week of term. After some more discussion, he goes off to try again. Instead of trying to find someone to warm throws up with (which I HATE, I would much rather get straight into playing. After all, after 21 years of throwing, how many throws does this arm really have left...), I make a pillow out of my stuff and I lie down and close my eyes. Definitely a bunch of young college guys here, doing the things that the current college generation is doing, with their respective in jokes, etc. Finally, hear the organizer guy come back and say they are going to turn on the lights in 5 minutes. Too bad for the other guy that showed up 5 minutes earlier, asked if there was pickup, heard that there were no lights, and took off.
So I start rousing myself, the lights turn on, and 30 seconds after the lights turn on, I hear someone call my name, and it is Nathan Stuart, who I played with from 1984-1987 at Princeton (yes, I'm old). Talk about serendipitous. He was a professor at the university and striving to get off the poundage, but this was about all he was doing at this level, no real competitive ultimate. We catch up, exchange email addresses, and then get the game going. Naturally, we are going to both play on the same team, white/skins. Another sidebar, I hate lollygagging when there is ultimate to be played. It takes some work, but we finally get the game going. It is a motley crew of young college kids. I had gotten the scoop from the one guy I had emailed with. USF had had an ultimate program 5 years ago that was pretty competitive, then it disappeared. The current squad was basically 1-2 years old, and was just starting to play together and get familiar. The skills and teamwork were definitely on the lower end, but the attitude was good, so it will be interesting to see what happens. Just to give you an idea, I told the organizer I was just in town from Boston, he asked if I played, I said yes, he asked with who, I said DoG, then had to say Death or Glory, and he finally thought he might have heard of the team, but basically knew nothing about it (I was wearing a Guinness shirt and subdued DoG shorts).
We started by playing unofficial coed, with women randomly playing in points, not always equal numbers. It started slowly. Nathan and I were the only people that had played any reasonably high level on our side, while the other side didn't have much to start, so we scored like the first 8 goals. Finally, one guy from Bulge showed up, played with dark, and that made all the difference. All of a sudden, they had somebody that could cut, catch, and throw long. Naturally, since I was there to get my first real exercise since Nationals (Goaltimate counts, but not really), I covered him as many points as possible. In any pickup situation where I'm the new guy, I usually go upfield because I don't want to intrude on whatever organized offense the other players have in terms of handlers etc, but that didn't last too long as it was quickly apparent they didn't have any. I never took the pull, but after about an hour, I started getting the first pass off the pull pretty consistently.
In the interim, another Bulge guy showed up and was playing with his teammate on Dark, and everything changed. Nathan had retired (reached his limit) so our experience level was not very high. The first Bulge guy was Steve and the 2nd guy was Ryan. I was now covering Steve every point, and on their pulls he was covering me. Mixed pickup like that is definitely hard, knowing when you have to cover your guy and when you don't (every time Ryan got the disc, I clamped down on Steve, knowing that the long random pass was going to come). Towards the end, Steve finally notices the DoG on my shorts and asks me if I played with them. I say yes, he asks what year, and I say now. A few points later, the game is over around 9PM. Hanging out at the fields after with Steve and Ryan, catching up on Tampa ultimate, how they 'choked' at Regionals (lost two out of their three main guys), how Florida ultimate is tough and how they want to make a superteam because all the teams have numbers but are thin on stars, and how a combined team would rock.
Finally walk to our cars, say goodbye, I change clothes, start the car, see they are still talking, drive up to them and ask if there are any cool places around, finally we go grab some wings at the Coppertop Pub and hang out for the next couple of hours and talk frisbee. All in all, much better than going out to dinner with a bunch of people from work, eating too much food, then bailing at 9PM.
Conclusions:
* Ultimate is truly a wonderfully social sport. You really can go almost anywhere in the country and find a pickup game, people to hang out with, and if you aren't a total loser/asshole, a place to stay for the night. I remember when I was driving around the country for four months in '93, I timed a good chunk of it out west to hit various tournaments, and in each location was able to find lodging (and ultimately found somebody to travel with me for a few weeks). So appreciate the sport, and take advantage when you can.
* Random pickup is challenging and yet rewarding. It is sort of fun when people didn't know what I do, so you can sort of expand your horizons and not be pigeonholed. Granted the level wasn't the highest, but I got a hammer point block on Steve, who is a VERY good player, and we definitely had some fun matching up against each other. The challenging part is not knowing how people are going to cut. Even worse, at a medium-low level game like this, you really have to pick and choose your moments to cut (especially when you are being covered by a good defender like Steve), because you don't have faith in your throwers and you don't want to give up the easy D.
The lights were out at the time, but there was still some light in the sky (nice going west and still being in the same timezone, in Boston, still getting pitch dark by 5PM). So, put my stuff down and take off on a long jog to get warmed up and stretch. After a long lap and some stretching, go back to the central area only to hear the organizer saying that there may not be lights because it is the first week of term. After some more discussion, he goes off to try again. Instead of trying to find someone to warm throws up with (which I HATE, I would much rather get straight into playing. After all, after 21 years of throwing, how many throws does this arm really have left...), I make a pillow out of my stuff and I lie down and close my eyes. Definitely a bunch of young college guys here, doing the things that the current college generation is doing, with their respective in jokes, etc. Finally, hear the organizer guy come back and say they are going to turn on the lights in 5 minutes. Too bad for the other guy that showed up 5 minutes earlier, asked if there was pickup, heard that there were no lights, and took off.
So I start rousing myself, the lights turn on, and 30 seconds after the lights turn on, I hear someone call my name, and it is Nathan Stuart, who I played with from 1984-1987 at Princeton (yes, I'm old). Talk about serendipitous. He was a professor at the university and striving to get off the poundage, but this was about all he was doing at this level, no real competitive ultimate. We catch up, exchange email addresses, and then get the game going. Naturally, we are going to both play on the same team, white/skins. Another sidebar, I hate lollygagging when there is ultimate to be played. It takes some work, but we finally get the game going. It is a motley crew of young college kids. I had gotten the scoop from the one guy I had emailed with. USF had had an ultimate program 5 years ago that was pretty competitive, then it disappeared. The current squad was basically 1-2 years old, and was just starting to play together and get familiar. The skills and teamwork were definitely on the lower end, but the attitude was good, so it will be interesting to see what happens. Just to give you an idea, I told the organizer I was just in town from Boston, he asked if I played, I said yes, he asked with who, I said DoG, then had to say Death or Glory, and he finally thought he might have heard of the team, but basically knew nothing about it (I was wearing a Guinness shirt and subdued DoG shorts).
We started by playing unofficial coed, with women randomly playing in points, not always equal numbers. It started slowly. Nathan and I were the only people that had played any reasonably high level on our side, while the other side didn't have much to start, so we scored like the first 8 goals. Finally, one guy from Bulge showed up, played with dark, and that made all the difference. All of a sudden, they had somebody that could cut, catch, and throw long. Naturally, since I was there to get my first real exercise since Nationals (Goaltimate counts, but not really), I covered him as many points as possible. In any pickup situation where I'm the new guy, I usually go upfield because I don't want to intrude on whatever organized offense the other players have in terms of handlers etc, but that didn't last too long as it was quickly apparent they didn't have any. I never took the pull, but after about an hour, I started getting the first pass off the pull pretty consistently.
In the interim, another Bulge guy showed up and was playing with his teammate on Dark, and everything changed. Nathan had retired (reached his limit) so our experience level was not very high. The first Bulge guy was Steve and the 2nd guy was Ryan. I was now covering Steve every point, and on their pulls he was covering me. Mixed pickup like that is definitely hard, knowing when you have to cover your guy and when you don't (every time Ryan got the disc, I clamped down on Steve, knowing that the long random pass was going to come). Towards the end, Steve finally notices the DoG on my shorts and asks me if I played with them. I say yes, he asks what year, and I say now. A few points later, the game is over around 9PM. Hanging out at the fields after with Steve and Ryan, catching up on Tampa ultimate, how they 'choked' at Regionals (lost two out of their three main guys), how Florida ultimate is tough and how they want to make a superteam because all the teams have numbers but are thin on stars, and how a combined team would rock.
Finally walk to our cars, say goodbye, I change clothes, start the car, see they are still talking, drive up to them and ask if there are any cool places around, finally we go grab some wings at the Coppertop Pub and hang out for the next couple of hours and talk frisbee. All in all, much better than going out to dinner with a bunch of people from work, eating too much food, then bailing at 9PM.
Conclusions:
* Ultimate is truly a wonderfully social sport. You really can go almost anywhere in the country and find a pickup game, people to hang out with, and if you aren't a total loser/asshole, a place to stay for the night. I remember when I was driving around the country for four months in '93, I timed a good chunk of it out west to hit various tournaments, and in each location was able to find lodging (and ultimately found somebody to travel with me for a few weeks). So appreciate the sport, and take advantage when you can.
* Random pickup is challenging and yet rewarding. It is sort of fun when people didn't know what I do, so you can sort of expand your horizons and not be pigeonholed. Granted the level wasn't the highest, but I got a hammer point block on Steve, who is a VERY good player, and we definitely had some fun matching up against each other. The challenging part is not knowing how people are going to cut. Even worse, at a medium-low level game like this, you really have to pick and choose your moments to cut (especially when you are being covered by a good defender like Steve), because you don't have faith in your throwers and you don't want to give up the easy D.
posted by Alex de Frondeville at 4:08 PM
4 Comments:
You really can go almost anywhere in the country and find a pickup game, people to hang out with, and if you aren't a total loser/asshole, a place to stay for the night
An aspect that very well probably will change as ultimate goes "mainstream".
Growth of the sport = not an absolute good...?
Now is that necessarily going to be the case? Even if it goes mainstream, does that mean that pickup will no longer exist? Or is it because the type of person that plays pickup at point will not be as 'alternative' or necessarily as social, etc.?
I don't know if people have experience in other sports that can chime in.
Alex,
Glad to hear you found some pick-up in Tampa. If you had contacted me ahead of time, I could have scouted out the best game on the days you would be around. (I do live on the other side of the state, but I still have my connections.)
At least you got to play with/against Steven and Ryan. They are two of the better players on Bulge. I know they can be very competitive and fired up at tournaments, but I have found them to be nice guys.
Lastly, if you are already out there dragging your sorry carcass around the fields, I guess I'd better start responding to the queries about whether I am going to be playing in some of the upcoming random Savage and Hat tourneys down here.
Ah, well. The cycle starts again.
Now is that necessarily going to be the case? Even if it goes mainstream, does that mean that pickup will no longer exist? Or is it because the type of person that plays pickup at point will not be as 'alternative' or necessarily as social, etc.?
not necessarily the case...but a non-zero chance...
pickup will likely exist, much in the same way that you can still find pickup basketball or soccer all over.
what i postulate is this: if ultimate continues to grow as it is, you'll find it becomes much less of a "social sport". now there's still a sort of bond that ultimate players have with each other that comes along with playing an alternative, relatively unkown sport. you can usually find someone who knows someone you know, go out for beers and swap ultimate stories, etc.
i had a friend who used to skateboard when skateboarding was still alternative. he told me that he used to travel all over europe and always find a home and food as a guest of his fellow skateboarding bretheren.
then the sport got mainstream...and it lost this social aspect.
i fear ultimate will face the same fate in the next 20 years or so...
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