It's like 1993 again. I can hear "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" in the back of my head.
Although far less interesting than other discussions going on, I had a small talk with a sz alum about our performance this year. He was quite impressed and called it equal to the 1999 zero semis performance. I found this interesting as we did not make the semis and that year zero was very competitive in the semis against the 'dors. His point was this, they beat a nobody to get there (bog) and then had a tight one with the 'dors. Instead of playing a nobody in the quarters, we played the monkey and lost in the quarters.
This, along with all the NFL parity talk, got me thinking about parity in ultimate. Or lack there of. To me, ultimate is like the NFL in the 80s a couple of teams who are always there and the occasional up and comer.
Since 99 (when quarters started), here are the semifinalist:
99 - dog-furious, condors-zero
00 - condors-dog, furious-jam (?)
01 - condors-dog, jam-furious
02 - furious-dog , ring-sockeye
03 - furious-ring, condors-jam
04 - sockeye-pike, jam-furious
05 - furious-jam, sockeye-dog
If you consider zero "lucky" in 99, meaning not playing any of the big 4 [not that they should apologize], you could consider 99->01 that there were 4 top teams and then the rest (w/ zero being the best of the rest in 99).
And it seems now that there has been a top 3 to emerge at nationals the past 2 years. Although they have played close games with other teams, they are the ones left standing.
My thoughts turn to how can this be cracked? Zero is currently has an interesting mix of young guys based in the twin cites + madison, plus a key # of vets around the cities. The current core of the team will be on our 4th year together (bascially a reloading year in 03).
The obvious disadvantage for us is "frisbee central" aka northwest is 2000 miles away. 5 of the top 9 teams are out west and it is hard for a team w/ $$ issues to get out there much. I feel we have to see them at least once before nationals and hopefully we will be able to do that.
The other coast, although not as good, still is better than the central region. If we are to choose where to go, is it better to go against teams at a similiar level or even below us? Or should we go exclusively to the place where the teams are at a similiar level or above us? The ol' confidence v. expereince during the non-conference schedule.
Although local tourneys allow us to have a bit more fun + experiment with new things + positions, there is only so much that we can do with these. It is unfortunate that we have a tourney 5 hours from the cities and fairly central to our region, but teams like Chicago + Truck will not go to b/c they can't get enough good games... I can't blame them, but maybe our 6th place finish will bring them back. The only real driveable tourney that is competitive for us is Chicago. And that is late in the year.
We are not located in the greatest area for competitive frisbee, that is for sure. But we enjoy it here and we enjoy playing here. Last year was very interesting b/c of our youth and our combo with some of Madison. It worked better than expected and it gives me confidence going into the new year. We had much success this year with very little experience together. People came away from nationals thinking we can compete at the top and we need to improve. That is a great attitude to be apart of.
Now this year, what can happen? What other teams will now shoot for us? Will the upper teams expect a little more from us? Will we push them more? For me, what will happen after a tie score like 10-10? We did not win many of those games last year. A sign of inexperience on the field and inexperience together.
Although far less interesting than other discussions going on, I had a small talk with a sz alum about our performance this year. He was quite impressed and called it equal to the 1999 zero semis performance. I found this interesting as we did not make the semis and that year zero was very competitive in the semis against the 'dors. His point was this, they beat a nobody to get there (bog) and then had a tight one with the 'dors. Instead of playing a nobody in the quarters, we played the monkey and lost in the quarters.
This, along with all the NFL parity talk, got me thinking about parity in ultimate. Or lack there of. To me, ultimate is like the NFL in the 80s a couple of teams who are always there and the occasional up and comer.
Since 99 (when quarters started), here are the semifinalist:
99 - dog-furious, condors-zero
00 - condors-dog, furious-jam (?)
01 - condors-dog, jam-furious
02 - furious-dog , ring-sockeye
03 - furious-ring, condors-jam
04 - sockeye-pike, jam-furious
05 - furious-jam, sockeye-dog
If you consider zero "lucky" in 99, meaning not playing any of the big 4 [not that they should apologize], you could consider 99->01 that there were 4 top teams and then the rest (w/ zero being the best of the rest in 99).
And it seems now that there has been a top 3 to emerge at nationals the past 2 years. Although they have played close games with other teams, they are the ones left standing.
My thoughts turn to how can this be cracked? Zero is currently has an interesting mix of young guys based in the twin cites + madison, plus a key # of vets around the cities. The current core of the team will be on our 4th year together (bascially a reloading year in 03).
The obvious disadvantage for us is "frisbee central" aka northwest is 2000 miles away. 5 of the top 9 teams are out west and it is hard for a team w/ $$ issues to get out there much. I feel we have to see them at least once before nationals and hopefully we will be able to do that.
The other coast, although not as good, still is better than the central region. If we are to choose where to go, is it better to go against teams at a similiar level or even below us? Or should we go exclusively to the place where the teams are at a similiar level or above us? The ol' confidence v. expereince during the non-conference schedule.
Although local tourneys allow us to have a bit more fun + experiment with new things + positions, there is only so much that we can do with these. It is unfortunate that we have a tourney 5 hours from the cities and fairly central to our region, but teams like Chicago + Truck will not go to b/c they can't get enough good games... I can't blame them, but maybe our 6th place finish will bring them back. The only real driveable tourney that is competitive for us is Chicago. And that is late in the year.
We are not located in the greatest area for competitive frisbee, that is for sure. But we enjoy it here and we enjoy playing here. Last year was very interesting b/c of our youth and our combo with some of Madison. It worked better than expected and it gives me confidence going into the new year. We had much success this year with very little experience together. People came away from nationals thinking we can compete at the top and we need to improve. That is a great attitude to be apart of.
Now this year, what can happen? What other teams will now shoot for us? Will the upper teams expect a little more from us? Will we push them more? For me, what will happen after a tie score like 10-10? We did not win many of those games last year. A sign of inexperience on the field and inexperience together.
posted by sometallskinnykid at 10:52 PM
1 Comments:
"Two Princes" is currently piping up from downstairs, where the guys rennovating my basement listen to the terrible pop station. Hey, it beats the crap out of Christmas carols.
It's clear in the case of the college game that getting beaten by the top dogs in the preseason is much better than winning a lot. It's not quite as clear in club, but it seems to be true there too.
C'mon, forget your king and marry me (go ahead now)
Is it in your head yet?
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