This past spring break I was visiting family and chatting with them about my life. Despite my feable attempts to reach out and expand my life, time has really limited most of what I have going on to veterinary school and ultimate frisbee. As we were talking, my passion for the sport was pretty clear and the question arose, “Why do you like ultimate so much?”
I think most people who play ultimate would say that it is pretty addictive, but what is it exactly that makes ultimate so great? I have heard people say that the fact that the disc floats makes it such a unique sport. This makes sense, since the physics of ultimate are different than others. We are able to run faster than the disc flies some times which allows for laying out and jumping high for floaty discs.
Others claim that spirit of the game (SOTG) is what makes ultimate so unique. I do believe that in the college and club women’s game (the two that I have played, thus the only I can speak for) this still has meaning and does set the game apart from others I have played.
I think these ideas are legitimate reasons, but I don’t think they are why I am so in love with this sport. Honestly, I don’t think I can pick just one reason. Instead, I think I will just post a list of some of my favorite things about playing ultimate (these are probably more specific to Woman Scorned, but that’s ultimate to me).
1. Boom box respect
2. Our janky handmade flag
3. Double handed high fives
4. Rushing the field
5. Watching the energy on the field change because of sideline cheers
6. Heckling teammates
7. Heckling friends on the opposing team
8.Team huddles
9. Giving people nicknames
10. Sleeping in the most random places to save $10 a night on hotels, but being willing to drive 30+ hours (at $4/gallon) to play 8 or 9 hours of ultimate
11. Cheering on other teams we are friends with
12. Getting ridiculous tan lines
13. Playing with 100% heart and passion, and being able to put it all out on the field
14. Pump up buddy gifts before and during tournaments. I love ridiculousness.
15. Playing defense while jacked on Red Bull
Phone a friend on Gchat (at 12:30 am)- Why do you love ultimate?
“I get to escape my life for an entire weekend, I get to hang out with my team and kick butt, and I get a personal trainer” – Annihka Murray (WS)
“I love the competitive, yet friendly atmosphere at tournaments between the teams and also, that the teams can play fair without having to have a ref.” – Ashley Bomar (WS alumni)
“I love ultimate because of the great community of people and how positively the sport and people have impacted my life over the past 8 years.” – Michelle Ng (Molly Brown Town, Texas and Cal alumni)
“I love the people and the community, and how strongly it influences everybody – myself, my friends, my family” -Magon Liu (WS)
“Well I mean there are multiple reasons why I love/play the sport –for the competitive side, success/glory, etc…but I guess when I look back on it all, I’ve realized my teammates have been the main reason why I have fallen in love with the sport and community.” – Christy Cheung (KU Betty)
Let’s see if anyone reads this blog. Feel free to comment with what you love about ultimate, please.
