Windmill Windup Was Wonderful

Part II


So this post is about the actual ultimate that was played in Amsterdam, as well as the team. First off, I'd like to say that the level of competition - at least in the upper part of the standings - was quite good. This was to be both good and bad for our team, "Pookas."

For starters, it should be understood that this was basically a pick up team. Following UK nationals, Ben and I were in House 40 having a beer when both of us expressed dismay at having played our last tournament of the year. We also both expressed interest in Amsterdam based on what we'd hear of the tournament. In the next 5 minutes, we established a basic core of 5 or 6 player - Rickard being the first - and then filled out the roster via group emails within Ireland. Unfortunately the Ireland captain forbade the national players to participate, even though he played with us, so mainly we had people who no longer are playing for Ireland, are taking a year off from playing for Ireland, or are new up-and-comers. Plus me and Freshman Rob, who hasn't been a freshman in years but still brings that same cRAzY from back in the day when he steps on the pitch.
The level on our team was quite high, although we had trouble converting throughout the weekend. Contributing to this was the fact that we were an Irish team - and Irish teams do Irish things at night, and then they play Irish ultimate in the first game of the day a.k.a. they "represent" at the social events, and then have trouble with hangovers/tiredness in the first game. I think this was epitomized by the fact that D-Man couldn't play at all by the third day of games, sitting on the sideline and mumbling with a cooky crooked smile on his face. The greater issue was that we still had to establish a group dynamic, that we all play different systems, and thus our dump was kind of sketchy, leading to easy turnovers and unnecessary scores by the opponents.
Overall, however, we played some good ultimate and some bad, but mainly the former. We even pushed our way up into the top 8 for a minute there beore we were paired against the eventual winners of the tournament, whom we had to face for the first game of day 2. As it turned out, it was the German national team (DNT) playing under an assumed name (Inside Rakete), who were using this as a tune-up for Worlds in Vancouver. Unlike us, they arrived at the pitch well ahead of time and warmed up properly. Our groggyness (I believe I started the game with an untied cleat because we couldn't get enough people on the line) was noticable as they quickly dismembered us, resulting in the embarassing final score of 15-2. However, they handily won the final 15-6 and had a bunch of bagels throughout the weekend, so I guess we actually did respectibly against them.
For me presonally it was nice to play DNT so I could see where the bar is set if I want to make a push and try to play internationally. Basically, they have one amazing, tiny little Asian-German handler (Hans) surounded by a bunch of guys who look like me: all over six feet, slim, athletic. Unlike me they are in amazing shape, jump through the roof, have clearly sniffed an interval training in the past few months and they never stop running, just keep tearing the D down cut after cut. A bunch of them also have long, curly hair, which means I should either kidnap a player and assume his identity or get myself in shape if I want to play DNT. The first option sounds soooooo much easier....
But back to whatever I was talking about...... yes, team Pookas. A Pookas is an Irish ghost/spirit that most often appears in the form of a horse, and sometimes can spit fire from its nostrils. Unsurprisingly, this makes for a popular motíf in an ultimate scene where spirit is still valued above success (refreshing after playing in the US, but imagine the naíveté..... by thé wáy, do ýoú líke thése? Í dú, théý máke me féel so sophísticáted). As a whole, the team dynamic and tournament in general is fittingly described as "good craic" (pronounced "good crack"): We began shaping our team identity in the very first game, against the French masters team, when the sideline yelled following encouragement as a disc got hung up in the wind: "Get high!" Our success over the weekend eventually led to the modified call "Stay high!" which of course also carries a graffiti reference, fitting for a city as artistically innovative and progressive as the man himself. Basically, we went to go play a fun tournament without too many expectations for success, although we did all realize that we could make waves if we tried hard enough. When things went poorly, we laughed, when they went well, we celebrated. It was like playing TSGH before we took ourselves too seriously at Sectionals and imploded, and it was thoroughly enjoyable.

I'll stop here and if you have any further need for information, we can clarify this in the comments section. All of the above (and the other Windmill post) have already led to excited email exchanges about next year's Windmill, for which I want to put together a top-flight team comprised of people from the US, Ireland, and Germany who can ball for realzzzzz. Besides Ben, we already have at least one Irish national player lined up (Perfect Dave has given me a definite yes), and I'm confident I can get a few more (Cean, Tommy, Rickard), as well as the Eintracht Frankfurt captain. Add to that a few DC guys like Cracky, BiggieShorty, das Shelf, the Glove, Mr. Maki, Q.P. Live, Kazan, and you see where the team could go....... better reserve your spot early!