Day 3 - Tuesday, July 6th

All games after 12 pm canceled due to lightning, then water logged fields. Rescheduled for tomorrow, playing 3 games. This is very disappointing because of instead f playing in a 30,000+ football (soccer) stadium, we will now be playing on the worst fields in the tournament. Although those fields are still quite good, I wanted the big field, the stands - even if empty - and my name on the scoreboard after I catch the score. I know it's vain and selfish, but it makes me dream of a day when this sport is hugely popular and games do occur in hug stadia. I won't be playing anymore when that happens, but just once I wanted that feeling....
Other than not playing, I splashed out on a ton of gear at the 5 ultimate tent today. Not all that fiscally responsible, but the stuff feels amazing. Later I watched the Clapham (UK) vs Nomadic Tribe (JAPAN) showcase game, officiated the Dublin 100-meter sprint at halftime (they were all wearing proper trousers, blue collared shirts, and ties) which was globally viewable via a web stream, and received a text from Kat Smale (hi Kat!) in the UK after she saw me on the stream.

Alex Ong made an incredible stir fry for dinner. My stir fries are pretty good, but after tasting that, maybe I should just retire from making them.

Off to bed now, three important games tomorrow!

First Set of Pictures from WUCC 2010

Lily (ICENI), Jon Cater, Charlie and Alex Meixner (HERD) on the plane. Go Wizz Air (I swear I'm not ting the piss)

Oh, look, Nice Phil (CLAPHAM) is here too!

Late night arrival at the hostel, where discussion about fields ensues with Fergus Weldon and Gash (both CLAPHAM), among others

The first thing we do in the apartments is get our player pack.... and start throwing around the mini disc in it.

That's Herdcore, Kos!

Germany game on the big screen on the Old Town Square

Germany wins!

Misha's all kit'ed up now in the double XL cowprint

Opening ceremony - weird but the guy doing handstands was impressive

About half the crowd - there are 3600+ players and staff at WUCC 2010

Max Woolf (QUIET COYOTE) shows off the corn

Now Spears is doin' it in the Herdchendise

Day Two - Monday, July 5th

After a night in which we had a thunderstorm that made me think a building nearby had exploded and correspondingly bad sleep, we breakfasted and made our way up the athletic complex for a game against a Zagreb team. Not too much to say since they were bottom of the pool, and we knew we needed to win both games of the day in order to advance into the top 20 and power pools for the rest of the tournament. We came out hard, played crisp offense and hard man D, leading to a 9-1 score at half. We then stayed strong and focused in the second half, although they were able to hit a couple of their deep shots, and finished the game out 17-5.
After ultimate games they do this thing named "The Call", where both teams stand in a big circle, ideally interspersed so no one adjoins a team mate, with arms slung over each others' shoulders. Each team then has one player speak (normally the captain) about the game. It's often gratuitously complimentary, but it helps keep the Spirit alive because you know that after a game you can't walk away from the opposition, but rather will still be engaging with them. Yeah, this is a hippie sport at heart, even though it is athletic and competitive on the field. The Zagreb captain gave the most excited and positive call I've ever witnessed. It was pretty awesome, and it showed through how, although their young team is being destroyed each and every game, for them it is an incredible opportunity to learn and be inspired. Also, the spirit of the game was incredible, everyone so positive and any potentially contentious situation resolved quickly, with lots of smiling, hand shakes and hugs. A really fun game to be part of.
Getting off the field early and putting in some time in the shade while refueling our bodies was appreciated for our showdown with CUSB, the Italian champs out of Bologna. For both teams, it was win and move into the top 24, lose and you've missed out on an amazing opportunity to play some of the world's top teams and grab some bragging rights and glory for your team.
Unfortunately, the showdown ended in a disappointing loss, and we are now in the bottom bracket. We came out extremely anxious and jittery, not looking like our normal selves on offense and taking a long time to adjust to their long game on D. I definitely was one of the main culprits in that respect, being so hungry for a layout D on an under cut that I gave up multiple long cuts that ended in scores to for them. However, these Worlds games are long, the weather hot, and you're never done until the last score is caught. Down 9-4 at half, then 10-5, we fought back to 16-15, disc on their goal line but unable to convert. Final score of 18-16, I think.
I really picked my game up in the second half, denying cuts, dumps and long throws while getting a few Ds, too. It all started when I was fouled going for a catch in the endzone, was fouled in blatant manner, but he then contested the foul (their team is known for poor spirit, but this was far from the worst game I've had against them in that respect). Alex Ong stepped up with some massive layout Ds and Alex Meixner had a HUGE layout score - her first true layout! Congrats Alex. Riley was all over, and was awarded MVP (a big mortadella) in this game. Harry is laying out like a madman, and his body looks the bit, he can no longer yell or laugh because it causes the wounds on his hips to re-tear, which is extremely painful. It hurt to lose this game, because although we are the better team (says Ben Spears, see next paragraph), we were unable to make that count. They came away with the shots they needed and we couldn't take advantage of the fact that they didn't have many quality subs. I think anyone who's played with me in big tournaments knows how much I hate losing, and how personally I take it, and this really hurt. I also threw what became our last pass of the game, where a defender saw what was happening and came off his man to jump in front of Amy Bartlett and got the D. I sometimes worry that I've developed the EVL syndrome, an affliction that a lot of us from GW are affected by - I think that throw from regionals 03 will always be in the back of my mind on those big points. The Rook was saying the same thing.
During the first half of the CUSB game, two of my g-dub (GW) team mates came to watch. Big thank you to Ben Spears and Tom Manowitz (The Rook!) for being an awesome sideline with quality banter and heckling. It's amazing to see that g-dub has sent multiple players from the same generation to this tournament, and apparently Faust turned down an invite to play with Boston's Ironside. Great to come from a program that churns out quality player after quality player and where we stay friends after we leave school and come out to support each other at these events, although Regionals are the ultimate proof of this as alumni come from around the country to see the team play every spring.
On a personal level, I saw myself as the inofficial Mr. Irrelevant of this tournament coming into it: last roster spot on the last team offered a spot. I've since heard a few other teams were given their spots even later, but more importantly, I belong here. The way I'm playing, I no longer I have any doubts about whether I deserve to play at this level. I speak enough languages that I can hear the other teams warning their players when I mark them, and conversely telling defenders that they have to stay on their toes when I'm on O. I was voted MVP of the Iku (Japan) game, and players are looking to trade arm bands with me, which I think is a big sign of respect. I've had three turnovers all tournament. It's inspiring, because I know I'm still ascending, far from peaking after the years I didn't play. I need to start hitting the gym to increase the distance on my flick, adding vertical leap - I want to go back to dunking basketballs - and becoming a lock-down defender whose player never even gets thrown to because there are no openings. I know it's not nice, but I stuck the game disc from the CUSB game into my bag: once it's on the wall of my room, it will be a daily inspiration to work as hard as I can and come back in 4 years as a better, stronger, faster player than I am today.

On a last note, thank you to those of you who have written me emails and/or are following the games and stats on the WUCC website. The stat keeping isn't perfect - they've missed some of my assists, for instance. But it's awesome to know you're "watching" from afar, and I'll continue to do my best to give you something to cheer for.

Sunday July 4 – First Day of games

I could barely sleep last night, I was so nervous and excited for today to come. Finally, after months of working myself as hard as possible in sprint sessions, endurance runs before work, and daily strength exercises just t be considered for the team, no to mention what I’ve done since my selection, the day had finally arrive. We had our first game at 8.30, which meant a 7.30 start to warm ups on the field. And yes, that meant I was sweating hard and putting in serious effort well before the time I usually show up to work.

The first team was against Iku, the Japanese mixed champions. We played a fantastic game, with momentum swings back and forth. At one point we were even up a break, but unfortunately we were unable to keep our foot on the pedal, and ended up losing 17-13. Although a respectable score, we had drawn first blood and knew we could beat our seeding (28^th), with top 20 being a highly realistic goal.

I myself played very well in this game, being awarded the MVP by our opponents and scoring a sweet hat for that. I’ll post a pics when I have the opportunity. My D was strong, and I was turnover free for the game – a rarity for me, but something I’ve consciously been working on.

In our second game we matched up against Quiet Coyote out of Boston. This team features a good friend of mine whom I have known since my sophomore year of college, Misha Horowitz. If you had told me the day we met that we’d someday be facing each other at Worlds, I would have laughed in your face, so preposterous the idea was at the time. But today it became reality, and the surreal feeling that had surrounded this matchup since I saw it on the schedule was lifted when we slapped hands on the field. Misha and I have always matched up well, and today was no exception: we battled back and forth, each knowing the other’s moves all too well, which meant we both had to work hard to get what we wanted on the field. It was awesome. I wa also glad to see that after all his injury problems, Misha looks lean and fit, and he certainly proved that it is more than looks on the field. I don’t think he’s been this fast and nimble since he started getting injured, and he confirmed what I saw: he feels great and ready to play at this level. So good to see a friend get back on track like that.

Ultimately, we ended up losing to QC by a final score of 17-10, which I think was fair. Herd kept building throughout, as evidenced by the fact that they took half 9-3 but we went back and forth with them in the second half, each team delivering runs to keep the game exciting. Following the games, I gave Misha the full Thundering Herd kit I’d bought him, including the highly coveted cow print shorts – we’ve been receiving offers left and right for those things.

I finished out the day by drinking beer and having fun with QC, who hooked me up with a fitted hat, first in the Strahov stadium – HUGE – and then at the show game before returning to the flats for Si’s amazing spaghetti Bolognese. A solid start into Worlds, and we move on to Monday with the expectation of winning both games, against Zagreb and Bologna (CUSB) and moving up. I’ll start the day by watching Ben Spears and Chain, which is great. It’s amazing how many friends and acquaintances I have here! Max Woolf is playing on QC, also, and I ran into The Rook a.k.a. Tom Manowitz, who’s here with the Melbourne, Australia, team Redbacks that also features Herd 2 team mate Glenn Monauer.

I’ll keep you updated.