Hello hello!
I’m happy to report that this term has been quite busy, much like
my other terms this past academic year. The hope is to scratch and claw my way
to summer, give myself a little bit of a respite, think about comps, hang out,
travel/road trip, and camp more than last summer, before rinsing and repeating
for third year.
But one thing that has been very pleasant to notice this year has
been the gradual onset of Spring this year, which, for whatever reason, has
felt a lot different this year as opposed to my Springs in Maine and
California. The temperature has progressively crept upwards (it is something
that I definitely track on a daily basis) and the leaves and flowers have
timidly approached from their winter hiding spots. I guess this feels different
than Maine, where it is mud to green in two weeks, and California, where at
some point it hits 70 degrees and doesn’t really waver. And I honestly can’t
remember last Spring at all and if this differed. I can’t decide if this was
because all I remember is gray and rain, or the fact that I was living in an
apartment complex, or the fact that I mostly took the bus and was not
biking/walking as frequently or as often. I guess I’m trying to say that it has
been nice to at least look at the flowers (and various shades of pinks,
purples, and greens) if I don’t have time to smell them.
And since it has become more tolerable outside, there has been a
lot more Ultimate in my life. I believe that we are at one of the milestones of
this young sport, and that is with both the establishment of the AUDL as well
as a greater accessibility on the internet I really feel like Ultimate will be
able to blossom even more.
Hattip to Elise for this article on Slate, documenting the rise of
the semi-pro AUDL: http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2012/04/audl_ultimate_frisbee_league_is_america_ready_to_watch_pro_athletes_toss_around_flying_discs_.html
It’s super exciting to see a commitment to developing a
professional ultimate Frisbee league. It’s also seems silly to me that
something of this magnitude hasn’t really been started before, so I’m pulling
for a successful year one (Go Surf Ninja and the Rhode Island Rampage!).
This is also because I’m also excited for the idea of a possible
expansion westward to see some serious teams in the Northwest, where ultimate
is taken very, very seriously. Despite a lack of club teams in Eugene (although
this seems to be changing, and a women’s club team was 9th at nationals last
year), it’s awesome to see high school ultimate (over three play it here at a
relatively high level) and some great club teams (Oregon is number 1 for girls,
number 2 for guys).
Another interesting aspect that I’ve found is that it is so much
easier to read and track ultimate at a national level right now, with resources
out there that weren’t out there just two years ago when some of us were still
Dazzlin’ Asses (although USA Ultimate doesn’t like that name because of the
“Ass” in it… Burrito submitted something like the Dazzlin’ Badonkeydonks, which
might even be better than our current name). Trust me on that fact, cause I
looked at the time for more drills, etc.. It was so hard navigating the webz
for good resources, and now I track sites like Skydmagazine.com and
rec.sports.disc (though this one has been around for a loooonger time) to be
able to keep up with ultimate. It’s really fascinating diving into this culture
and to try to learn even more about ultimate. It makes me feel like a freshman
all over again, walking with Al from Williams to Olin as we debated the merits
of various Star Wars films.
Also, it’s Regionals this weekend. I’ll be able to see the #3 girl’s
team in the nation tonight play against the #5 team in the nation.
And finally, one more essay that I’ve stumbled on, describing how
a person fell in love with the sport, played it through the early parts of his
young life, and is able to reflect on it and describe his experiences beautifully.
Check it:
http://billanddavescocktailhour.com/ultimate-glory/
