| Raleigh Llamas win the 1999 Jockey UPA Coed National Championship |
Fast forward to sectionals, where still more players were introduced to their teammates. The team played in 4 games to 15 and won by a combined score of 60-8. That setup a 3rd seed at Regionals in Lum's Pond, DE, where the Llama upset the #2 seed Quaker City All Stars to have a shot at the defending Regional champions, Washington D.C.'s Blind Date. In the final, the rain was being driven sideways by a gusting wind, and the final was a cold, muddy mess. The Llama fell behind 4-8 at half, but surged to come even with DC at 9-all. From there, Blind Date had the defense to shut down the Llama offense, and ran away with a 15-10 victory. In the backdoor final, the Llama proved their worth by defeating QC All Stars a second time 15-9. This earned them a trip to Nationals, officially known as the Jockey UPA National Championships. As the second seed out of the Mid-Atlantic Region, the Llama received the 9th seed into Nationals, which were being held in San Diego, CA. Because of the low seed, the Llama was to face the three Regional champions in pool play for their first 3 games. First up was defending National and World Champions from San Francisco, Red Fish Blue Fish, in the first game on Thursday morning. The game was mostly a seesaw battle, with the teams trading points early on, then RFBF pulled out a halftime lead, 8-6. The second half saw a Llama run of 5 points in a row, taking the lead 13-8. From there, the teams traded points until the Llama came away victorious, 15-12. Riding the high of knocking off the tournament's #1 seed, the Llama rolled on to defeat the #1 seed from the South, Sweetwater 420, 15-3. The team was beginning to feel like they were unbeatable, which is where the trouble usually begins. As the third and final game of Thursday began against Colorado's Ryno's Revolution, the Llama came out flat and were quickly down 2-6. Calling a timeout, the Llama was brought back to earth and got their heads back into the game. Tully Beatty led the charge, chasing down a flick thrown out of bounds, leaping from in bounds to throw the disc back over his shoulder. Jeff Plentl went up to get it and when he came down, his feet were in the endzone for a score and the Greatest. This set the Llama off, who steamrolled the Revolution to a 15-9 final score. Friday morning's opponent was Mon Ami Burundi, a Canadian team who had only suffered one loss to that point. MAB came out strong and the competition was fierce enough that there were a few hotly disputed calls. The Llama started out slow, and was down most of the game. In the second half, the Llama pulled even, then traded points until 14-all. The Llama closed the game out by scoring the next two, crushing the hopes of the Canadians. The final pool pool game matched the Llama up with Resounding Funk, whose numbers had dwindled to the point where their players were exhausted. The Llama showed no mercy and powered to a 15-6 win, winning Pool A with 5 wins and 0 losses. The final game of Friday was the so, pulling even at 10-all. The Mike Gerics inspired cheer had each sideline dueling with the cheer: "Raleigh-ollie-ollie" "Llama-Llama-Llama" But that spirit would stand yet another stress, as the Fish again made the spindle sing in agony, scoring three straight to go up 13-10, then won the next 5 points 3-2. So that made the score 12-16, game to 17. What followed was made special by the way the team played. The Fish didn't just roll over. They didn't contribute to their own demise so much as the Llamas forced it upon them. What turned the tide was outstanding individual and team effort. What will always be a permanent memory in everyone's mind who saw it is the sight of Tully Beatty, behind his defender in the endzone, chasing down a 60 yard huck that was sent to the near cone about 8 feet off the ground. Blazing speed got him to the spot in equal time with his defender, but sheer determination allowed him to reach out in front, grabbing the disc with both hands for the layout score. That made the score 15-16, and the most emotional event at Nationals soon followed. The Llama could now smell victory, when previously it seemed out of reach. All that was needed was one more defensive stand. Going upwind, the Fish chose to huck it to one of their big men downfield. What the thrower wasn't counting on was Amy Beatty having the courage to get in the mix to break up the play. She entered from the left, and the receiver entered from the right, but she got there first. Intercepting the pass, she was rewarded by getting steamrolled, then fell to the ground face-first, losing consciousness somewhere along the way. Immediately it was apparent that she was hurt, but to what extent was a serious question. As players began to approach her there, lying face down on the ground, disc still firmly grasped in her arms, she remained motionless. Soon players started called for the medics, and as Katherine Bliss approached her, she turned and yelled for someone to call 911. A deathly silence fell on everything near that field. With two medics, Bliss (a general practitioner), and Mike Soo (a neurologist), if there was anything that could be done (or not done) for Amy, she was in good hands. That did little to ease fears, though. As Amy lay there in such an awkward position, one couldn't help but think that something more terrible than the obvious had happened. After nearly three minutes, as she began to regain consciousness, her limbs twitched and her body reacted violently to the shock. Understandably, she was completely disoriented as she began to speak, and let everyone around her know that she wanted them the hell off of her. NOW. Much to the dismay of the medics, she was trying to sit up and remove the neck brace they had so carefully put on. After what seemed like an eternity, first a fire truck then an ambulance arrived. The crowd erupted into applause as Amy was placed on a gurney and wheeled to the vehicle. It was a heavy hearted moment, to say the very least. Brian Dobyns gathered the Llamas at midfield, who embraced in a team circle, tears in their eyes. Not much was said...there wasn't anything anyone could say to even attempt at giving perspective to the situation, but Brian seemed to find a way. As the ambulance drove off the field with Tully in the front seat, he turned and signaled with two fists what his desires for the Llama were: win it. The Fish graciously offered 3 options: declare the game a draw and end it, play the game some other time, perhaps the next day, or take a few minutes to regain composure and finish the game. Broc Adams spoke up and said that the game must go on. And so it did. With outstanding play from Broc, Matt Hull, Robin Miller, Amy Gerics, Sarah Boudreau, and Judy Ryan, the Llamas scored the next 2 points then landed the Fish with a 50 yard flick from Mike Soo to Jeff Plentl for the Llamas' first National Championship, 18-16. It was your typical post-victory celebration, with a dash of a major comeback, a hint of pride, and a whole lot of genuine emotion thrown in.
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