TiV - Recap

My car left LA around 10 PM on Thursday with Blackout, Peaches, Falco and Eraser. We had a pretty good time on the way, soldiering through some pretty scary fog and rain in the mountains. Luckily we got in safely staked out some good floor space in our sweet vegas house. It was complete with leopard print master bedroom and matching pool table, jacuzzi tub for two (where Scarecrow and Vonage shared a special bromance), and big screen TV - pretty much everything Smaug could want in a house.

We were in the Clubs bracket starting against some chumpy teams to start out with. I'm actually kind of glad that Merced didn't show up for our game because I think it would have been a waste of both our times. I heard they were learning how to mark, etc. when they finally got to the tourney. I sympathize with new teams, but I don't think either program would have gotten much out of it.

Friday

Georgetown -

Catholic Justice was actually surprisingly good. I'm pretty sure I've played against them with the Birds in Vegas and lost before. By the time we started our game, there was strong cross wind. This entire weekend was all about zone, and it started in this game. I think the final score was 7-4. I don't remember much about them other than their best played had a cast on his left hand and he was still very tough. We had some great arguments over plays with them, with lots of animated gesturing and acting out of plays. There were some up/down calls, but I'm thinking specifically of Ratchet snatching a disc from a dude in our endzone as he was juggling it, him ripping it away and both of them calling strip on each other.

Gonzaga -

They were definitely not as good as Georgetown. It was windier in this game, and the importance of field position became very clear. The team that turned in near their own goal line more was likely going to lose the game. They did a pretty good job of punting up wind, but we played some good deep zone D and knocked them down. I think we won around 8-4 or 5.

We ended Friday going 3-0 on paper. I somehow rallied our team to go to the Palace Station Casino buffet, which was 10 bucks and pretty dirty. I heard some people complaining, but overall I was pretty happy with what was basically a dorm dinner. I tried to go to bed early this night, but people were awake and coming home until about 2. Oh well.

U Conn -

What is up with all the good basketball schools that we played? Anyway, they were very athletic, but very undisciplined. This game was probably the best conditions we had all weekend, with relatively still air and dry fields for most of the time. On of their players had the most ridiculous grabs I've ever seen. Sultan boxed him out hard and he went completely horizontal at about shoulder height over Sultan for a one handed snatch. Both teams went crazy because it was just amazing. We were down by 2 early in the game. They had some big guys and they were in love with the deep shot. Once we figured this out, we started forcing them hard under. They weren't hanging with us in our cutting, maybe because they had a pretty small squad, but we capitalized on their failed risks and managed a comeback to win by 2ish, 11-9 maybe. This was probably our best game of the weekend and probably my personal best game as well.

Saturday

Cornell -

We had officially won the Clubs bracket, something that I'm pretty proud of. Cornell was our semi-finals game in the tournament to go to quarters. Anyway, they were BIG, with lots of dudes taller than me. They also had great wind throws and used the vert stack very effectively to break the mark all over us. It started raining pretty hard in this game and the field got very muddy, which negated any speed advantage we might have had on their big guys. I think Cornell deserved a power pool spot, and they went on to quarters. Good for them.

After this game Arby, Knuckles, Falco and I went to my car and sat in the heat for about 40 minutes trying to get our body temperatures back up. I'm not sure if it worked, but it really sucked getting back out.

Azusa Pacific - That Was Terrific.

We really wanted to beat down on a team after our first loss of the weekend, and APU came at just the right time. They had won their bracket because they play almost exclusively zone, and the weather played right into their hands. We went up big with some solid zone work. I hit Concord with an upwind hammer to the back corner, which was probably my favorite play of this game. It was also starting to get really wet by this point and the wind was kicking up. It had been pretty fun to lay out in the mud during warm ups, but now that we were wet and the wind was blowing it got pretty miserable. At one point, the wind started howling and the rain drops felt like needles in my face. We probably played for half an hour on our goal line. It was actually funny how futile it was. We had a string of ridiculous punts and great grabs to get it up to their goal line, but Scarecrow threw an OI into the wind and that was it. After this point, APU politely asked if we could just cap the game and we were only too happy to agree. I think the final score was around 9-4.

We had another bye after this game, and potentially two more games to play if we wanted to have a back door shot at quarters. We went and huddled together in the 5 tent. It was really pouring at this point and we were just miserable. There were jokes of mutiny that had just a little bit too serious. Some people were physically not able to play another because their bodies were just not willing.

Humboldt -

I'll admit, I did not want to play this game. If we won, it would have meant staying at the fields til like 6 or 7 PM to play Cornell again. Every square foot of the field was chocolate pudding texture. We were running open lines and I think I only played about 3 points all game. Carlton and Florida were playing behind us and they were absolutely at each other's throats. My general impression is that Florida was really douchey, but I loved the intensity that Carleton plays with. Anyway, this game would have been a waste had some people not brought the intensity after the half. Thor got an absolutely disgusting layout callahan grab on some fool. Thor and the Flood were head to toe caked in mud by the end, and it was freakin awesome. But I was happy to leave.

The highlight of my entire weekend was, without a doubt, the buffet at the Bellagio. People had been hyping it all year, but I was still impressed with the quality and variety of very GOOD food. I started light, with seafood and sushi and worked my way to the red meats, which were plentiful. Everything was several steps above what you would expect from a buffet. If I were served any of the dishes in restaurant, I would probably be pretty happy, but all you can eat after the day we had just put me in rapture. The highlights for me were the spicy tuna hand rolls, crab legs, seabass, venison, pesto mashed potatos, creme brulee and apple cobbler. I had at least 5 heaping plates of food. I ate like it was my job.

Afterwards we checked out the party (see below) and then went to play/watch some craps at the Flamingo. It didn't turn out to be the crazy night that I had hoped for, but it was satisfying.

Sunday -

Colorado State -

We showed up about 15 minutes before game time, which I really loved. I hate the really long warm up process. This would be an interesting topic for another post actually, but I think that anything more than 15 minutes of warm up is just wasteful. Anyway, I ate a donut, did some plyos and we went to work. We were trying to play loose relaxed, and we were winning for most of the game. They were definitely very tired, and their zone was super loose. I took a few impatient shots that I shouldn't have, but on the whole I played pretty well until the end.

Anyway, somehow we ended up at universe point, receiving on O and working upwind. We marched it up on zone O and Sultan sent me a bladey outside throw towards the back of the endzone. Passed over the defender and sat in the wind. I could have stood there and waited for it to come down into my lap, but no, I went up for the sky and BOUNCED OFF MY HAND. It was just a momentary lapse in confidence, but I'm still too upset with myself over this one moment. People heatedly discussed this play for about 20 minutes after the game, with me and Sultan defending it as a good look, and other people saying that it's not the chilly endzone O we want.

I'm sticking to my guns that it was a good look. It took two execution errors to make it a turnover. It was a high reward look to an open receiver to win the game, and I think we should take it next time it presents itself. We could have let the defense catch up and set up their goal line D which would have taken us a lot longer and maybe ten more throws. I think the probabilities go with the one throw in this situation, especially when it's two of our more experienced players. I don't remember how, but we got another turn and worked it up to their goaline again. I looked off Linux wide open deep on the next drive because I was trying to be extra chilly. Banshee took a risky cross field bladey look to Linux which bounced off his hand as he layed out for it. They marched down the field. Game over.

I like the idea that you should play universe point exactly how you should play any other point. Once you change your system and tighten up, and you will get in your own head. You should just relax and do what you know how to do. The other idea here is that you should be playing every O point as if it were universe point. If you are changing your mindset that much, maybe you are taking too many risks in your normal offense.

Northwestern -

Nut is a very solid team, and being from the windy city really must help them out in conditions like this. Paul Sohn is a baller and played very well for them - RoSham alumni represent! They beat us by a few by using a killer trap zone and better punting strategy.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how we played this weekend. Winning our bracket is something to be proud of. I wish that we had stayed a little mentally stronger for the Humboldt game, and I wish that we had pulled out at least one of the Sunday games. We definitely improved and and I feel like I got to know my teammates a lot better, so I guess it wasn't such a waste of a weekend after all. I can only pray that it doesn't rain next weekend. I will cry if it does.

I wanted to stick around and watch BLU in semis and the men's games, but my car was pretty desperate to get home, which in retrospect was probably a good idea. I had a ton of work to do Sunday night/ Monday morning and I barely finished it. Ultimate is definitely effecting the quality of my school work, but I knew that it would coming in. What I need to remember is that, if I'm going to be making this sacrifice, it will be a waste to play anything less than as hard as I can, all of the time.