One would think that the winds on the Northwestern Lakefill have forged our team in to elements-conquering badasses. This is somewhat true, we are very competent when the weather is nasty because our zone defense and offense is pretty solid (at least compared to our man-defense/offense). But is it really all that fun?
What is fun about ultimate? I've thought about this a lot. I haven't played a ton of different sports, especially not to any seriously organized extent, but ultimate certainly has an incredible and growing appeal. I think a lot of it is the players' potential to do so much. There aren't very rigidly defined positions in ultimate (as compared to other sports), and the best players can do everything. And everyone on the field is running, throwing, catching, diving, jumping, etc. You get to do it all! I've played as a center in basketball and a lineman in football, but neither can compare to the diversity that ultimate offers (though nothing was worse than playing DH in softball). Anyone on the field can make a huge impact, can make a game-changing play, but at the heart of the sport is teamwork. No one person can do it alone, so success depends on everyone doing everything well together.
And then there's the physics and mechanics of the game itself. The first layout D I ever got was one of the best feelings I've ever had. You're running your ass off trying to put pressure on your man, then the offense makes one small error, a barely underthrown pass and you POUNCE.
You don't know for sure if you're going to get it and then there it is - you just get a finger or two on the disc as you're flinging your body through the air, one last desperate attempt to change the possession - a dull and unceremonious *thunk* is heard, and the disc veers off course, harmlessly hitting the ground. The pain of hitting the ground in a barely controlled crash is non-existent, you are JACKED UP on adrenaline because your sideline is cheering so loud. Now I'm on offense, I'm going to make you pay for that mistake.I understand the dramatization of an athletic play in prose could make any sport sound like some kind of epic event, but I think there is nothing more glorious or representative of the sport of ultimate than laying out. And after you get your first couple layout D's you start learning how to create the situation for yourself. Standing a few steps behind your guy on the breakside, luring him in to a false sense of security, the defensive pressure is up, he makes an in-cut, the handler anxious to get rid of the disc throws it, he doesn't want to get stalled, you follow him in and your angle of attack is open. You won't always get it, but when you do the feeling of a simultaneously calculated, reckless and somewhat desperate plan working is exhilarating.
And then of course there's the art of skying someone. For those who don't play ultimate, the word "sky" becomes a verb in the sport to mean jumping up and claiming the disc as yours before your opponent can. Some would say simply knocking the disc away or preventing your opponent from catching it on offense is "skying" someone, but I think the verb should be reserved for catching and dominating. This is an aspect of the game that is truly unique to ultimate. A disc floats unlike any other object and once it is launched, it becomes a race. Usually the offense has a slight advantage, but the players involved are running their asses off to establish position at the spot where they can get the disc at their highest point. Speed and vertical jump are both crucial. Even someone who has a huge reach and vertical jump can be beat by someone smaller who has established position (see Alex Nord vs. Buzz Bullets, ECC '07). A lot of the time someone can simply reach the disc at a point that you cannot. Spectacular things can happen during this contest. There's physical jockeying for position, and once the moment of attack comes it is gone in almost that same instant.
One person has skyed the pants off the other, and often the victim is briefly unaware that he has just been dominated. The feeling of successfully skying someone is both predatory and fulfilling. Getting a lay out D a lot of the time requires an offensive error. Skying someone is much more about a contest of wills, bodies and precision between two (sometimes more) people. It is the pure establishment of dominance.Now back to my issue with wind. Wind changes everything about ultimate, because the unique object of play is so susceptible to it. Frisbee novices may find it nearly impossible to throw accurately in wind. Zone defense becomes the strategy of choice, and the game becomes less about athleticism and endurance, and more about mental poise and patience. A defense will try to force an offense to throw as many throws as possible by eliminating open space as opposed to open players. I could go on and on about zone defense/offense, but bottom line is I think it's boring and frustrating. I consider myself pretty good at zone offense, perhaps one of my strongest games, but I still don't find it that enjoyable. Errors become common and expected which is always a problem with someone who stresses consistency. Very often a team will patiently work a disc all the way against the wind only to turn it over on the scoring throw. It's heartbreaking and infuriating. I don't feel good after beating or losing to a team with zone. It's an honest strategy, but it feels like a dishonest win.
So is ultimate in extreme wind really proper ultimate? Ultimate is definitely meant to be played outdoors, as most sports are. And the weather and the elements can be a challenge that must be overcome in any sport also. But is ultimate the exception, just because of the unique object of play? Even if the conclusion is made that wind/zone is kind of bogus, an unfortunate factor of the game, is there really anything to be done about it? Probably not. So I guess on Saturday morning, if you see the weather is going to be hell, bitch and moan all you want, but man up and do what you can for your team. But trust me, I'm going to bitch and moan plenty.
EP #6
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