Grits are yummy the first time around, but what happens when you reheat them: you get a burning combination of talented Ultimate women who know how to have fun and play hard at the same time.
Ex-Grits traveled from Oregon (Kim Kepford), Colorado (Nara Schramm), Michigan (Nicole Fluhr) to be a part of the reunion extravaganza stemming from the Triangle. Not only had most of us not played as a team since 1993, most of us were busy in other areas of our hominous lives: Kim and Tammi Brooks had babies (Lucy and Maya), Kelly was drumming with Poor Valentino, Katrina Dukes had moved away to begin a career making stronger rubber... Alas, Therese Durkin could not make the trip down, which would have been icing on the cake (butter on the grits).
The two pools were headed by Bootie and the Ho' Fish (Lucy) and the Philly Peppers, who were in the Reheated Grits' pool. The first day of play proved to be the demise of the Ho-Fish, clad in fishnet stockings and sequined tops (how can you run in fishnets?), and the triumph of the NC women, undefeated Friday and 3-1 Saturday. The only loss was in a tight battle against the very serious Philly Peppers. After taking the first half with a decent lead (6-5?), the Peppers were a little hot under their collars and came out heated for the second half.
The highlight of Saturday at Fools was not in the play, but in the spirit of our team. Each player made a personalized Grits reunion t-shirt, with the intent to place all the t-shirts in a grab-bag. We formed a circle and Beth held the bag for each ex-Grit to blindly choose a shirt. The shirts reflected the personalities of maker and team alike. Favorites included Katrina's "Gr" (front), "its" (back) in huge black lettering, picked by Anne Waller; Tammi's word jumble that included the word "breast," chosen by Kathy Hohenstein; and Liz Phillips' shirt that she picked for herself (after making it about an hour beforehand).
The other highlight was the group shotgun after pool play on Saturday. Kudos to Camella Bailey and Liz P. for getting the beer, and Amy Kim for winning the shotgun (I'm pretty sure I won!). And in traditional fashion, Grits won the party: Liz P. spooked the bass player during the band's encore and he actually stopped playing.
Sunday highlights included a hotly contested semi-final game between Reheated Grits and Six Degrees (Michigan with a few DC women). Grits enjoyed a comfortable lead, but either the lead made the Grits relax a bit or the constant rain took its toll. The Michigan women came roaring back but never gained the lead; Reheated Grits won 15-13 (?) to play, once again, the Philly Peppers in the Finals at 97 Fools.
There was talk of not playing and forfeiting, or better yet replacing the finals with a beer relay. The spirit of the game and the idea of standing in the chilly rain won out, and Reheated Grits
put forth a valiant effort. However, the hard training of '96 National semi-finalist Philly Peppers proved to be too much: Grandma ruled (inside joke).
The weekend came to a close, the rain never let up on Sunday - it always rains at some point at Fools - but the Grits left steaming hot.
People clearly forgot all the banging, the bruising, the soreness of the first Hombre a Hombre. Ultimate players must have short memories because many came back and invited friends. Thirteen teams descended on NCSU's fields to settle who was the best and who could have the most fun.
There were many interesting subplots. The frisbee athletes formally known as Port City used this tournament to show-case their new and improved attitude. These guys swore to the Tournament Organizing Committee (TOC) that they would no longer be the Dennis Rodmen. If Ultimate were mainstream, the media would follow the Slickers like the Dallas Cowboys; they'd be salivating for the next accusation of violence, vandalism, domestic abuse, gun toting, and controlled substances. But this was a kinder, gentler club team from Wilmington. Nonetheless, the TOC elected to put them in the furthest corner fields so as to not frighten corporate participants.
Along with a college team from Wilmington, the TOC was proud to announce two other out-of-town guests. UVA and a team from Richmond became out first interstate guests. Another tournament first was the breaking of the Jacqueline Robinson gender barrier. Maybe there will be more G.I. Janes reporting for duty next year. And what's Zen doing in a place where they keep score and issue a stall count? (Papa's note: Zen is getting better and better in competitive play - they were the best 2-6 team at the Asheville tourney {:*))
Bring It On (BIO) opened up its championship defense in the A pool against a team with many Burning Ring of Fire players. The game featured five original BIO, but this time on opposite sides. Asked about the shakeup, team captain Rob Burke said, "There's a little bloodletting now, but these moves were necessary to keep us competitive well into the 21st century."
The B pool was stocked with an abundance of fine college teams. Fittingly, those younger legs had to do more running, as the pool ended up with five teams.
Pool C was made up of players with many previous affiliations. They know each other well through club, corporate and pickup play. The scouting reports here should be accurate and detailed.
The A pool championship matched BIO and the club team from Wilmington (Not-Port). The three T's, Travis, Tim and Tully, were too much for opponents. What those opponents didn't get too much of was the infamous deportment of the Wilmington players. Any dispute was settled in a calm and peaceful manner with mutual respect. These guys are serious about cleaning up their image.
Jinx also finished off pool B with a perfect record. Things seemed shaky without Roy and the Cooze, but a stingy defense suffocated every rival.
Thor, claiming to be a master's team, lowered the hammer on the C pool. The TOC may do a better job of checking their birth certificates next time as they were rumored to have included several youngsters.
The top two teams from each pool advanced to a single elimination playoff with Not-Port and Jinx receiving byes. At stake was a complimentary meal from the FLYING BURRITO in Chapel Hill, whose good food and friendly service make it the place to visit when you're over at the Hill. [Product plug #1]
Thor took a commanding lead 6-4 lead over Darkside in a game to seven. However, this time youth and enthusiasm won over age and treachery as Darkside went on a 5-1 run to eliminate Thor 9-7. The other quarterfinal featured Zen and ... (Zen? In a playoff? I tell you, they're getting better! A sure sign that the apocalypse is upon us, with Zen and Darkside in the playoffs and Ring and Flatball on the sideline. Maybe Applewhite was onto something after all. It's amazing how hard people will play to win a meal at FLYING BURRITO, conveniently located on Airport Rd in Chapel Hill [Product plug #2].)
Anyway, BIO decided to rely on a zone defense against Zen to combat the steady play of Bill Keither and Anthony Burgess. On offense Zen sliced through the Swiss cheese zone. The defense was keyed by an awesome taco point block by Rick Klevens on Timmy Brooks. That was the final insult. The defending champions turned up the pressure to such a degree that a Zen backhand sailed out of bounds over a 12' fence into the parking lot. The handler exclaimed "The Honda Civic was the only open cut I saw!" BIO won handily.
Jinx, looking fresh from their bye, was matched with BIO in one semifinal. Not-Port faced off with Darkside in the other. Jinx burst to a 5-3 lead and you could almost hear the champagne corks on the sidelines. "Never underestimate the heart of a champion," Mike Ditka says, "We will find a way, we will make a way." BIO's Dan Axon found a way to get a key block. On offense, Timmy Brooks & Drew Priess made play after acrobatic play. The 4-0 run sent BIO back to the finals where the boy scouts from Wilmington were waiting.
BIO brought it on early, racing to a 3-1 lead. At that point, they experienced that transcendental moment when an Ultimate player feels on the verge of a monumental upset. A lead like this, against Not-Port, is akin to leading Michael Johnson at the 200-meter mark. You can dream of glory all you want, but it's only a matter of time before you're looking at the back of the gold Nike Sharks [Product plug #3]. At that point everyone in the field knows that they are racing for the silver medal. BIO worked hard for the only other goal they scored, as Not-Port cruised the rest of the way. Tournament MVP Tully Beaty said, "Your fields are a lot nicer than ours." If he only knew we can't use them in the rain.
The MVP of courage was Danny Wrenn. Last year at this time he was lying in bed with an uncertain future. Now he's spanking fanny and taking names as one of the baddest savage seven players in the state.
Any tournament as surprisingly successful as this one has to have several organizational MVPs. Papa Joe Slater was tapped at the last to lend a hand. After each stage of planning, his only response was, "Is there anything else I can do?" (Papa's note: It was actually "Come on man, help me get some good players.") If you've ever attempted to organize anything you know how rare and valuable that type of attitude can be. The TOC hopes to see all of you next year and maybe some more of your friends. Field space is limited, but the TOC will set up cones on Hillsborough St. if need be.
Attend the First Series of Triangle Women's Ultimate Clinics (sorry, guys!). Clinics are open to beginners or to anyone who wants to work on her fundamentals. We will run, throw, condition, and have a good time!
Clinics will most likely be on Thursdays;
the list is forming now for September.
Call Boo at 933-8599 and get started!
Hombre a Hombre
By Joe Slater and Ron Burke
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