Congratulations to Tanasi for pulling out a 17-15 victory over the Sailers O St. Pete! In one of the most hard-fought wins in the history of Ultimate (It just has to be!), Tanasi pulled through with incredible determination and almost ethereal teamwork. The Sailers fell behind early on, but, after half time, raised their flag high and boarded Tanasi’s craft to take over the lead. With only 2 subs, the Sailers passion consumed the field – their presence was indomitable! The score was 14-13. The Sailers had Tanasi on the plank and their swords at their backs, but the waves rolled in Tanasi’s favor, and they dove and they flew and they caught and they threw and the next thing you knew the sea had turned orange! Tanasi orange, that is! This is about where the disc began to fly high, catching the easterly and soaring into the endzones, where Tanasi ruled! With a spank by Phil and another by Aaron and a grab by Timmy and yet another D from Phil, Tanasi showed its fervor. Then, in the final moments of the game, the HUGE Mr. Tim Halt let one zip into the endzone; a leading pass, which necessitated Phil’s leaving his feet. Momentarily, he was poised horizontal over the grass, and then floated to earth with a Tanasi victory in his hand (Did anyone snap a picture?). Both teams played with incredible intensity and Spirit, offering the crowd of over 100 a spectacle that will surely go down in the annals of Ultimate history as one of the greatest games ever! (And the reports of a "Wagon Race Half Time Show" were the result of some weird mass-hallucination...)
Congratulations to Barbie’s Creepy Sister for their
victory over FLO in the Women’s
Division! (I was unable to
watch this game. Anyone want to
share some highlights?)
And, who can forget the D.O.C. what with their bright
orange shirts and faultless Spirit and little Scotch Whisky screaming all about
the field like a pinball on crack? These
guys dominated the Consolation round on Sunday, taking home first place as “The
Team that Rocks!”
Kudos to Voodoo for capturing the much coveted Spirit
Award! It was a tough decision, as so many teams deserved the Spirit
Award this year, but with Mike Alley (The ChickeNooga Allstar!) at the helm and
Charlie Cwiek as their spiritual guide and Chip inadvertently discovering the
value of the "eye-fake", Voodoo deserved recognition.
Thanks to all of the teams for playing the game the way it should be
played! It made for an exceptional tournament!
And, who was witness to the Sailers’ taking of the Party Award, led by the big man, Eric Nelson, in one of the nastiest full-tilt competitions in the history of this tournament? Mr. Chattin (AKA “Sideshow”) of D.O.C. sucked down the first one with diligence and ardor. It was as if he'd done it many times before! And even as if he'd avoided glass balls in the past... He was obviously surprised when someone else took the stage and followed suit. Eric of the Sailers with rolling eyes and a rhythmic sway took the second full tilt, allowing his lips to leave the disc only once (which created the forum for later controversy…). The third and most grisly attempt was made by another Chattanooga native, who was sure he’d succeeded until the obvious came up. Mr. Nelson, along with his manager, Floyd Roberts, discussed the intricacies of the competition with Sideshow (While the third man lay on the floor). In the end, concentration was not an arrow in Sideshow’s quiver, and he mysteriously disappeared, leaving Mr. Nelson alone with his award (just wait till you see the pictures!). Speaking of the party: I saddled up to the bar and had a talk with Kameron, the bartender and manager of Parkway, concerning the disc flying over his non-Ultimate patrons' heads. I informed him that the chandeliers were being nudged and that the disc was every now and then landing on the pool tables below. I expected him to demand the madness stop! To my surpirse, he asked if he could come out and play with us! Parkway ROCKS!
The Mike Barker
Brass Balls Award went to the male and female who the group felt had spent the weekend
playing at the highest intensity and level of Spirit. These
two people should be examples to us all!
·
Mrs.
Molly Sehring of FLO is the new owner of a Brass Ball! She fiercely fought
the battles on the field and even took 175 grams of plastic up her nose for her
team! Rock on, Molly!
· Mr. Hiram S. Chamberlain of D.O.C. is the proud daddy of his own Brass Ball! I watched him play early on Sunday - He laid out for everything and never stopped running, even between points! He is also the man we have to thank for having TP in the Port O Potties!
As I drove home Sunday night, I had this relentless
smile on my face. I was so tired
and I’d lost in the finals, but I felt like a winner.
The weekend is one of the best in memory.
The team I played with, The Sailers O St. Pete, was an eclectic group of
players from several areas. Led by
Floyd Roberts, the Sailers offered so much fun, camaraderie, and Spirit.
It is reportedly a tradition with the Sailers to take a shot of Rum before every
game and at every half. In that tradition, we finished two fifths and one
pint on Saturday (and you wondered why we all appeared to run
sideways...). During one game we played, Floyd actually stepped
onto the other team to teach them how to play against our zone defense, as they
had never played against a zone before! That
was a first for me – I think that’s cool as shit!
I had begun playing Saturday morning
with people I didn't really know, and ended up Sunday playing with good
friends. But, the Sailers weren’t the only reason for the smile.
It was all of you – all of the people that had made the trip to
Chattanooga! To be surrounded with
such love and friendship offers an inexplicable high!
So, I won’t try to explain the sensation.
I’m sure many of you have felt it!
Beyond the sport itself, that bond is what brings us back time after
time.
Peace to all of you!
Steve