Stanford Invite '09

So, I am working on a six page essay that's due about 26 hours from now, and while I only have an introduction done I have decided to take a break and write my first blog. Oh well.

This last weekend I attended the coolest tournament of my frisbee career to date. The 2009 Stanford Invite was bad ass. Contrary to popular belief, the Stanford Invite is not held at Stanford University (it's a new thing as of this year). It is now held in a small town north of Modesto known as Ripon (if you say it with a French accent you will meet some very confused locals). I had the distinct pleasure of driving to the tournament with three veteran squids who showed me a good time. Hutch provided some sweet music for the drive, Pumba brought the booze and stolen snacks, and Meowth brought a keen sight that spotted every call box on the way up (for those of you who know the Squid drinking game, my real name is Chris and my frisbee Name is Bitusa, adding new importance to the frequency of call boxes on freeways).

We spent a good twenty minutes exploring the almond fields of Ripon (almond capital of the World) before we decided to get to the game fields on Saturday morning. All sixteen of us Squids who decided to attend cleated up and got ready for a good day's work. We performed a clinic for PacLu, and then geared up for a game with Washington. To our great regret, we let Washington sneak off with a win. We certainly could have won that game which would have put us at least in the 3rd/4th game on Sunday. It proved even more disappointing when we watched UW spank Colorado the next day going up 7-0 early and finishing them off 13-6.

At any rate, we finished strong after that showing the Canadians how we do it down here in America. At some point a veteran Squid asked how many of them were professional hockey players, and while only a few were, they confirmed our belief that the rest were in fact Mounties. After half, we replaced our typical Air Squids on four cheer, with a big U.S.A., and then finished off the poor guys who had been taking the brunt of the observer's traveling calls.

Our last opponent DIRT, of Western Washington was supposed to be our most difficult opponent. But they showed little enthusiasm and failed to show the speed that makes them a quality team until the second half, by which time it was far too late. At some point in the first half our coaches decided to run a box with three of us fish as the marks. Didj and Threeve were the side marks and I took the middle. They caught the pull five to ten yards in front of the goal line, but that was as far as they got. Us marks pushed them all the way back into their goal and then Didj capped off our efforts with a strong D. We quickly capitalized on our strong defense by getting a quick point.

After we finished them off, we warmed down and sat down in a circle for a post-game chat. With my parents just a hundred yards off, Dollar passed around a pack of Bud-Light and we proceeded to down a round as a team. My parents could probably care less, but I thought it was amusing.

I had dinner with my parents and then rejoined the team at fresh choice where they were finishing off a large meal. We returned to the hotel and called it an early night as we were getting up at 6:15 the next morning (5:15 with the time change). When we got to the fields (via a more efficient manner than the previous morning) we arrived to frost and fog. It was a moment that brought me back to my pre-San Diego life growing up in Nor-Cal where frosted fields are a common occasion on winter mornings. We warmed up early and then took down a Santa Cruz team that was eager for a win after an extremely difficult first day. We refused to give up the lead like we had against UW and the older guys showed us how a team is supposed to finish a game.

During our second round break we made our way to the sidelines of our next game where we watched our next opponent, UC Davis, take on Lewis & Clark (a school that I was considering attending less than a year ago). We entertained ourselves by cheering on Pumba's younger brother, a whopping child that we nicknamed Jumbo-Jet because his number was 747. We also got enjoyment out of a Davis player who had a whopping ASS, probably too large to fit in a Jumb0-Jet. He was a good sport though. While we were mocking him he came over and did squats for us, and even proceeded to scratch the monster.

When the game was over, we did a strong warm-up while Davis rested. It proved to be a good choice as we did a good job of beating a Davis team that is working to become a Nationals contender as well. Bobble and Forge put on a bidding clinic. After Forge made a nice play to pull one in, he did his best to make a short end-zone play as exciting as possible throwing a quick-low bullet for Bobble to bid on. Bobble pulled it in too and we all had a good laugh, while our racing hearts slowed down.

For our last match up we took on Oregon, the second ranked team in the country. We stayed even with them for the first few points, but our veterans showed their fatigue and let UofO get a few breaks. For as many breaks as we gave up in the first half (which ended 8-4) we made a valiant comeback. We had returner heavy lines that brought the game all the way back to 14-13. But the last point we seemed to have nothing left and Oregon did a brilliant job of finishing us off for the score.

This tournament was an important stepping stone in my ultimate future. I got to watch some awesome teams play frisbee (like Carleton vs. Florida in the finals), and I was inspired by the effort and skill that our veterans showed all weekend long. I now know what top level ultimate is like (and it is significantly different from the clips shown in "I Bleed Black", which was my previos idea of how college ultimate was played).

To top it off I had a good ride back as between Pumba, Meowth, Didj, and I we polished off a handle of tequilla, forgot to buy gas, did doughnuts in an abandoned gas station, and listened to some more sweet music courtesy of Hutch, who unfortunately fell ill on the journey. Thanks to all those who made this tournament so sweet, and now I can't wait for TEXAS!!!!!!