casual ultimate » 2008 » November

I think Saturday night at Natties has been one of my favorite nights each of the past two years. Both years, my team ended it’s quest for the title that day, and the team dinner, toasts, and partying ensued. It’s kind of sad that both years I got really drunk. I didn’t get as drunk last year as I did this year though. I don’t know if Ultimate is committed to the idea that drinking is good and that binge drinking is great. It seems like it at times though. In any event, I get caught up in the idea that one drink = fun and so two drinks = more fun and so on. I was having an awesome time with my team, even though we were the last game to finish on Saturday after being knocked out of quarters by like 10:30 (that sucked so much to play two more long tedious games and never get to hang out with anyone on Saturday).

Anyway, we went to dinner at this little family-owned italian restaurant named after a woman named _______ (I don’t remember her name, but James seemed to know her, and she gave a good hug.) During dinner there was a series of toasts that were funny and touching, and we were a table of 28 in the middle of a not particularly large restaurant, so Darryl (who is rich from investing one dollar on his 18th birthday) paid for all the other people’s dinners in the restaurant, and if that weren’t enough, I serenaded each table with the fiddle with any song that they wanted to hear. I laughed more at that dinner than I remember laughing before. It was so fun. It was sooo fun. Holy shit, things were funny at that dinner. I toasted Josh and Margo’s baby on the way (which does not exist), Martin told some fantastic stories from his college days, Sherwood’s parents were reeeeaaallly chill about the off-color jokes that were just flying from my mouth like so much vomit would later.

The point is that this was a night that was a ton of fun. I was where I wanted to be with the people I wanted to be there with, and I felt absolutely fantastic. There’s no feeling quite like completing your season with a team you love, where you play your best, and your team fights to the end. It feels soooo goood. So filling. Like a catharsis with a twist of straight up magnanimity. It’s a cathardinimity. So why did I feel the need to drink so much? I thought about that. I had a copy of “the big book” with me (Alcoholics Anonymous, the text, pictured above). I’m not in AA, but it’s the basis for all twelve-step recovery, and it’s an absolutely amazing book. So good. Seeing that book on my bedside table the morning after was pretty cool. A message from my higher power. Message received. One explanation is that I’m an alcoholic. Another explanation is that I get caught up in the moment sometimes. Another is that I seem to think that I need alcohol to have fun when I’m out and it’s beer-thirty.

It’s been cool this past month since nationals, during which I haven’t had anything to drink, to see that sobriety is really nice. It makes my body feel good. It makes my mind feel good. I have a lot of fun, and I really enjoy the people I’m with. It turns out that I love people and that when I am hanging out with people I like, I really don’t need a drink to have fun.

I think a big piece of the puzzle is: I get anxious when I am trying to meet other people’s expectations and ignore my own needs and drinking helps me to get over that. The solution is very simple. I take care of my own needs, always. Here are two tools that work:

1) when I take care of myself, everyone else gets taken care of automatically, everytime.
2) what other people think of me is none of my business.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

I was riding back from Nationals on a couple of planes next to a couple of strangers, and I had an amazing post swimming around in my head. All I needed was a laptop, and it would’ve been epic. I didn’t have a laptop though, so here’s what I remember of that amazing post.

Natties was good. Revolver played very well. We had our least spirited game, 1st game against Machine, but it was a good game. We came back and beat those pansies on double-game-point, but let’s be clear: the play of the game goes to Hensley who appeared to make a ridiculous lay-out callahan on an up the line dump cut by our best player. Robbie insisted he had possession and that Hensley stripped it, but even if he’s right, that shit was insane.

That was the first of three come-from-behind double-game-point wins on the weekend. We stung Truck Stop later that day after Stout bitched us for the first three quarters. 11-14 to 15-14 on the backs of some Last of the Mohican fiddle and the spirit of Revolver. What an amazing spirit.

Sidenote: Nate M from Brass was playing with Truck Stop, and he played well. It was good to see him out there and to be in a game with the two people that I think I respect the most in the game: Nate M (Truckstop) and Nick H (Revolver). They each have a way of carrying themselves with self-respect and imposing that on the team. The players respect themselves, each other, and the team. Everyone is heard. Everyone is an equal. I think it starts with rigorous honesty and looking people in the eye. After that, I’m not sure what sets these guys apart, but ask anyone who’s played with them.

On a personal note, I was not 100% after knee surgery and felt I played great. As well as I could’ve played although I wish I had come up with a couple improbable high discs during the course of the weekend. Our team carried 28 guys at Nationals and everyone was healthy and there, so that was pretty impressive. I also played on an O line that relied heavily on Stanford chemistry to carry us through, so I knew from the get-go that I needed to play high-percentage disc and just sort of do what I could do be a net-positive for the team.

The fiddle. My God, what a tool. I never really discovered what a powerful force it can be in Ultimate. We rallied behind music several times during the weekend and made comebacks that I thought were impossible. They were ridiculous. The comeback against Bravo on Friday was totally stupid. We ran off the last 3 or 4 to win after being down the whole game, and I don’t think it’s vain to say the fiddle had a tangible impact on play and the general energy of our team.

We had team meetings each night of Nationals, and I said during one of those meetings some things that were really on my heart about Revolver, so I’ll try to reproduce some of it. I think Revolver is an important team. Not because we throw or cut differently or have better playmakers than any other elite team. This team is humble. We have guys who can hang with anyone, but I think the fact that those guys in particular (Robbie, Handler, Wiseman) are all incredibly humble and want the team to succeed before themselves gives the team a character that I really appreciate. It’s like being on a coed team except I’m not very good.

Anyway, I thought I’d check in with you all. I’ll be in Chicago from December 7th to December 10th. 1-800-HOLLER

it is a gorgeous chicago fall day for the 2008 election and this blogger has tickets to obama’s election night rally in grant park! woot! we got lucky enough to get them before they disappeared so the casuals will be in grant park to witness history.. either our first black president gets elected or the loop erupts into an absurd riot. clearly we are hoping for the former. get out and vote today!

also in other non political news team pegasus, the cycling team that i joined but then shirked all summer while planning the wedding, is having a recruitment meeting at weegee’s a week from today at 8pm. so if you still read this blog and are interested in racing for an awesomely fun team come out and see what its all about.

in other pegasus news.. the team has put together a calendar of lady cyclists to raise money for the team and for world bicycle relief. you can pre-order yours here. there is even a NSFW version cause im not gonna lie.. some of my teammates are giving it all away. Im not of course but i am nevertheless in the calendar with my bike (Im july) and so is ms. ultimate’s new haven roommate (she’s october). anyways the team and world bicycle relief are both great causes so buy a nudie calendar for charity.

i will probably post about the wedding at length at some point (i can hear you holding your breath your so excited) and hopefully chuck or bjorn will give us a post about nationals? anyway is anyone out there?

happy election day!

edit:

heres a video of our own flying viking at nationals making a heroic catch.