Category: finals

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USAU Club Championships – Day 4

Last year the finals were at 2:30p which left a lot of time early in the day to think about the upcoming game against Chain Lightning. We had tried to tune out by watching a movie and lounging around, but the excitement kept burning through, even if it wasn’t explicitly mentioned.  This year we had less idle time because of the earlier start, but nobody avoided talking about the finals, and things clearly felt looser, closer to a normal morning at Nationals. Instead of arriving early like last year for an almost hour and a half warm-up we would only start jogging 50 minutes before game-time, five minutes extra than we had warmed up for the rest of this tournament to allow for team introductions. Leading up to the first pull, Ironside sounded very energized, while we conveyed a calmer demeanor, which is exactly what we wanted.

Game 8 – Bracket play, finals – 11:45a vs Ironside (Boston, MA)
We’ll leave it to the Open division reporter, Jonathan Neely, to narrate the full game, but here are some choice details:  Ironside broke our O-line three times, but our D-line converted at a high rate, looking almost as efficient as the O-line after the turn. As for the game-winning upwind hammer, Eric Halverson says he wasn’t thinking goal when he threw it, but simply saw Tyler Grant wide open and let it fly. Grant, with plenty of time, checked the goal line and carefully leapt for the catch to get his feet across.

Deserving Bart Watson won the Peter Farricker Spirit Award to keep it in-house after Robbie Cahill won last year. Ironside earned the team spirit award that we had been honored with in 2009. Congratulations to both well-deserved spirit award winners.

It was a truly great season, for which we owe many many thanks:  To everyone that has proudly worn the Revolver jersey, helping to build the team into what it is today, especially the founders Nick Handler, Chris McManus, and Marc Weinberger, and Chuck Kindred for spiritual coordination.  To the 2010 captains, Mike Payne, Alex “ Dutchy” Ghesquiere, Robbie Cahill, and Bart Watson, for all their endeavors in planning, executing, and leading.  To Patagonia and George Plomarity, for keeping us clothed, comfortable, and stylish.  To all our friends, family, and fans across the world for their years of support and motivation.

We all look forward to 2011.

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World Ultimate Club Championships – Day 7

The team ate breakfast at Hotel Rhea and then traveled to the Vrsovice complex in small groups to eat a light early lunch and soak up the atmosphere around the stadium as the mixed and women’s finals played out. Around halftime of the Fury-Uno game, Revolver walked to a nearby grass field to throw and warm-up, while Sockeye prepared on a separate field. After plyos, Hollywood Squares, and some individual skills work (pulls, hucks, and marking drills), we headed for the stadium under the hot sun and refilled our water bottles. A few minutes of half-field scrimmage and the directors ushered us into the tunnel under the grandstands, where we waited for what seemed like forever to be announced. Sockeye, after finishing a team song, ran out as their names were announced. Then, Rocky Beach, about to play in his final game with Revolver before retirement, led the entire team onto the field.

Game 11 – Bracket play, finals – 14:00 vs Sockeye (Seattle)
We won a tough game against a favorite rival. Check out the link for the video, but the commentators are unfortunately badly misinformed about most things they say, including many mistaken player identifications.

Two momentous plays in particular, from Revolver’s perspective:

  1. #12 Nick Chapman flying down the field on the pull at 8-6, masked by the stack, and blocking the first centering pass. Though we turned it over afterward, it set the tone for the defensive point and eventually led to a second straight break for the defense to take the half.
  2. On a huck to #20 Mike Caldwell of Sockeye, our #50 Beau Kittredge made up a lot of space and laid out high to block the disc in the back of the endzone.

The remaining original nine (Nick Handler, Rocky Beach, Mike Payne, Eric Halverson, Robbie Cahill, Mark Sherwood, Jon Levy, Josh Wiseman, and Ryo Kawaoka), with the team since its debut in 2006, celebrated with their younger brothers a championship long in the making.  Indeed this title belongs to every member of every Revolver team since the beginning, because the team can only build on what has come before it, and all of us have shaped the direction of a team dedicated to intensity, humility, and discipline, founded on a spirit of hard work and camaraderie.

Congratulations to Sockeye for a great tournament, as always–they are worthy opponents and champions. Congratulations as well to all the medalists in every division, including the other three American teams to sweep gold for USA.

Thanks to all the fans out there that followed and supported us along the way!

…but we didn’t put a team together merely to win a world championship… so it’s back to work for everyone–except Rocky Beach, who goes out on top–until another fall series begins in September.