A brief love letter is a new column on the site. It is an opinion based , Column?, i guess you could say. Anyway hope you enjoy.
Ultimate Frisbee, people think of it as the sport of college students looking for an excuse to skip class, as a sport for the gym classes of the world for people who “cant play real sports”. All of this is simply not true. Ultimate is a sport that translates through young and old that can bring communities together and form lifelong friendships. In many ways it could be the next soccer, all you need is a disc, a friend, and a field.
Sailing through the air like a bird, perhaps that’s what draws me to the sport of Ultimate. In fifth grade I was always fascinated at recess with the gulls that seemed to float above the clouds in a lethargic soar. The way the disc fly’s is the same as those magical creatures, lethargic, that’s fantastic for a slow runner like me. It gives faster players an advantage too, to overtake defenders and grab the disc from behind. It also has the aerial acrobatics football provides once a game occur every play diving catches and defenses are crucial to a team’s success in the sport. Another watchability factor that simply makes the sport more enjoyable little to no stoppage in play, much like soccer but unlike soccer much more movement.
This is aided by the fact that there are no referees in the game of Ultimate. The fouls are all called by the players which makes for many different tones to a game. If two teams play with good “spirit of the game”, meaning they have good sportsmanship and make the proper calls, the game is clean and fast. If you prefer a chippier style though some teams will let a lot and I mean a lot go. It can be clean and fast or like an aerial game of hockey and football combined.
Combination is another factor that makes Ultimate just that the Ultimate sport to watch. It combines the deep passing game of football on nearly every play and acrobatic Odell eques catches every single game. The speed of players like Messi and Ronaldo make soccer one of the most watched sports in the world. Ultimate’s speed matches that of free flowing soccer and hockey it’s just beautiful chaos. Defense on the thrower perhaps the most difficult place to defend on the field is fakes and basketball like crossovers with a disc.
Bottom line is give this sport a chance check it out and follow TheAudl on Instagram and twitter. If you want high paced physical all out non stop action and your not a fan of hockey (why would you be against hockey?) ultimate is the sport for you.