1997 Nationals

[Commentary by Joe Seidler]

The Condors were on their way to ‘the show’. And I was flying with them. I had been looking forward to this trip with the team for a month. I knew they would win Regionals, and Jason got the okay for me to travel with them to Sarasota. It had been years (decades) since I had been out with just guys, and it felt good. The flight was uneventful, and some of the guys played boggle in the St. Louis airport. Brent’s parents met him at the airport during the layover; aren’t parents great. Most of the guys slept from St. Louis to Tampa. We got into Tampa, rented our cars and vans, found the houses the team were staying at, and then I checked into my motel only a few blocks away. We were in the resort town on Siesta Keys with an abundance of restaurant/bars. Four of us picked a pasta place, sat outside, ate, drank some beer and watched the World Series. Not bad.

Thursday morning was cool, clear and damp. The polo fields were wet with dew and the recently cut grass clippings clung to your shoes. By half-time of the first game, the fields were dry, your shoes were clean and the Frisbee was ultimate. All you could see were Ultimate players. Unlike the ‘97 college nationals where the fields were separated, all of these were together. It was wall to wall Ultimate. 14 men’s Open teams, 14 women’s Open, plus the men’s and women’s Masters teams.

The Condors would play 3 games this day starting with Big Ass Truck from S.E. Michigan at 9:00am. The horn sounded and everyone started on time. BAT wore gray and white shirts and the Condors were in green. The beginning went like I was used to with the Black Tide. The Condors went on top and looked sharp. The last point of the first half was a huck from Jason to Ryan just like always. The second half repeated the first and the Condors won 17-10. The day was getting warm and the sky was clear. It wasn’t long before the Condors’ voodoo was started.

The second game was with WUDI, the new version of the New York team. By half-time the Condors were behind, but the players still seemed confident. The second half did not go well and the Condors lost 11-17. It was getting hot and humid and knowing the next game was against Seattle Sockeye, the first seed, may have weighed heavy on their minds. They didn’t expect to win, and of course they didn’t. Seattle won easy 17-10.

The first day ended with 1 win and 2 losses. It was a bit depressing at first, but by the time we were eating dinner, the guys were back in step. We found a good vegetarian restaurant, and we both annoyed and entertained the other patrons. Everyone seemed to feel good.

Day 2 started with Ring of Fire. The Condors had beaten them at Worlds in July, and I think they expected to beat them again. But things had changed. Ring had a few more good players than at Worlds and the Condors began to make unforced errors. The combination yielded a Condors loss of 13-17. Now things were bleak. The Semis were out of the question, and the team was pretty low. Somehow, they rallied and beat Pump House 5, 17-9, to end the day on an up note. After two days, the Condors were 2 wins and 3 losses. One game to go. The only serious injury occurred today with James Studarus hyper-extending his knee.

That night everyone had fun again, but I’m sure they were thinking about the tournament. No chance at the Semis was like a rain cloud following the guys around. Some were talking about what went wrong, and some were quiet. I remembered what Dugan had said, and I brightened up a bit. This was the first time since 1990 that the Condors had made it to Nationals. So here they were, a very new team, a lot of young players, and playing with the top 14 teams in the country.

Day 3 was bitter sweet. The game started with the smell of ‘icy heat’ being rubbed onto sore muscles. They came from behind to beat Chain 17-14 in a close game. It was a sweet victory, but the tournament was over for the Condors. Now it was time to reflect, relax and watch the Semis. Out came the beer, and I looked for shade as much as possible. The Condors finished with 3 wins and 3 losses putting them tied for 7th place.

Halfway through the game Saturday morning, we got a surprise. Mark Danenhauer and Dan Wachter, from the Black Tide, had driven 1,000 miles all night long to get to see the Condors play. They had been traveling around the country and were on the East Coast. They stayed with the Condors for the rest of the weekend. It looked like Dan would need some serious training when he returns to UCSB to play on the Tide. Jason, Ryan, Mark and Dan played frisbee in the ocean Sunday morning. I enjoyed watching, and so did the other sunbathers.

Day 4, Sunday, was pretty laid back. No Ultimate to play, only to watch. We got to the fields about the time the men’s Open finals started. Boston vs Seattle like the year before... with the same result. It began to sink in (for me) just how good the 4 top club teams were at Nationals. If the Condors want to make it to Semis with a shot at going all the way, they will have to get better, much better.

I didn’t get any pictures of the women’s games. A few of the guys watched and cheered for the Women on the Verge. They were favored to reach the finals, but they lost to Schwa (Portland) in the semis. I did notice a few of the other spectators though.