Ultimate is “The Greatest”
Dec 5, 2008 Blog General
I used to play Ultimate. A lot. I loved it, playing 3-4 games a week on average. More if I could. That was my life 8 years ago.
Then life hit. Got married. Had a kid. Moved a thousand miles away. Started a new career. Etc. I actually tried to keep up with the sport by joining the KC Ultimate League in the summer of ’04. But by that point it was obvious that my Ultimate career had peaked and I was a has-been.
Today, I played a very mild game with some co-workers for about 30 minutes. And I think “mild” may be too strong of a word. If you can imagine 6-7 people in business attire playing “no rules” on a quarter field, trying not to break a sweat, trying not to get grass stains, trying not to run into parked cars…well, you get my point. It was mild. But you know what? It was awesome and I loved every minute of it!
I think I’m hooked. Again.
Ultimate is a kick ass sport. And it’s not for pussies. In my past life I’ve kicked out a guys tooth, broke a guys forearm, split my eyebrow open, bent a finger backwards (what’s that called?), dislocated my shoulder, rolled both my ankles, and had grass permanently embedded in my knees and perpetual aches and bruises (especially ribs) during the season. And I’d do it all again.
It’s totally worth it. But don’t take my word for it, check out this video highlighting some great clubs at play:
My favorite play is a diving catch. It just simply looks badass to those who witness it, and feels even more badass to the one did it. I’ve had my share of diving catches, and I’m itching to do some more.
In Ultimate, there is one play that tops all others. It’s called “The Greatest”. This is when a player, while in-bounds, dives for an airborne disc that is floating out-of-bounds. In one single motion, the player catches the disc while he/she is airborne, and throws it back in bounds, and a teammate catches it. It requires a lot of hustle and a little luck. And it is simple beautiful to watch. Take a look at just one example of this awesome play:
There are a couple of teams in the area that I’ve threatened my wife about joining. It takes a level of commitment for sure, but I think I’m at that point once again.
PS – Saw a youtube video for playing Ultimate on Ice, which sounded sick, but turned out pretty lame.
Tags: disc, the greatest, ultimate
Leave a Reply