2010 Emerald City Classic Tournament Recap
Truck Stop charges to an impressive 6-1 weekend in the great Northwest
This weekend Truck Stop again took to the road (the air) to head West, this time clearing the Rockies en route to Burlington, Washington and the annual pilgrimage that is Ultimate's most competitive tournament: the Emerald City Classic (ECC).
The weather was spectacular - the Pacific Northwest at its finest. Blue skies against green grass, set off by the meandering Skagit River against the backdrop of the Cascades and the white-capped majesty of Mt. Baker. Ah... good to be back out West.
We arrived Friday night. My rental car cohorts were delayed, so I idled away the sunset in a Sea-Tac bar, sipping a Manny's Pale Ale and marveling at the beauty of strangers' interactions in the comfortable anonymity of an airport bar. A 45 minute drive later we arrived at an Irish pub in Everett, WA, recommended by my seatmate on the cross-country nonstop from DCA. Amazingly, I remembered her directions. Amazingly, they were accurate. A bachelorette party was in full swing... about the only thing in full swing in sleepy/sketchy Everett on a Friday night. After some delicious burgers (and more Manny's), the bachelorette screwed up her courage, approached the table (of four men) and inquired: "Can I please have a condom? I'm supposed to blow it up and carry it around for the rest of the night." We exchanged glances. I held up my ringed hand in self defense: I'm out. My fellow 28-year-old, in a long-term relationship: also not packing protection. The two youngsters, 23 and single: nothing. What are kids coming to these days? I suppose at least the two of us are to be applauded... she left our table empty-handed.
We finally arrived at the hotel. Hmm. Not the nicest part of town, perhaps. We started cursing Calvin in muttered words (45 minutes from the field, AND sketchy? Nice job on reservations). I remarked as we got out, "Don't leave anything in the car that you don't want stolen." We rolled to the check-in counter, and found a sheriff waiting. I jokingly inquired whether we should be encouraged or frightened at his presence; he laughed and we engaged in a little banter (the highlight of which involved him making fun of the youngster's plaid shorts. I mean honestly, plaid shorts. In my day, you would have got your ass kicked for something like that. Kids these days). Then an enormous individual shows up. 10 inch goatee. Heavily tattooed. He turns his back, exposing the stark letters on his shirt: JAIL BONDSMAN. My teammates and I exchange uncomfortable glances. Another guy shows up. Plainclothesman. Shirt touting his service at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. Hmm. The sheriff begs our pardon to cut in line. We nod our assent. Sheriff asks the befuddled night clerk for the "second key" for "when doors are locked from the inside." The guy asks, "Are you sure no one's inside?" Sheriff: "I'm sure there is. But I'm pretty sure it's someone you don't want on your premises." The clerk produces the key. I take another cautious step back. The room: 352.
We proceed to check in. Room: 346. Lovely. We make our way up the single elevator, down the hall... the smoky hall. Great. We're in the smoking section. More curses upon Calvin's name. We walk down the hall, and there the scene unfolds: a man handcuffed in the hallway, the sheriff reading rights, the Bondsman filling the entire hall. As we approached our door (only three away), the plainclothesman stepped to bar our passage. As he did so, a second criminal emerged from the hotel room, prompting the Sheriff to crow with delight: "Oh, a two-fer!" We ducked into our room, slid the latch... and again cursed Calvin's name. Outfuckingstanding. Welcome to Everett.
Saturday dawned bright and beautiful, our lungs only slightly worse for the evening in a smoking room. Time to go to war. First up: Sockeye. Perennial northwest powerhouse. In six years of club Ultimate, I've never beat them; nor has Truck. We had a tough warmup, with four of our guys rolling up late because they were filing a police report... apparently they'd left the rental car unlocked, with a wallet and GPS inside. When they woke up this morning, no wallet, no GPS. Beautiful.
We managed to field a full squad, however: time to play. As always, it was a good game, with Sockeye going up early to take half 8-6. I remember shockingly little about the particulars of this game (each subsequent game erasing the previous), but the D finally started clicking and ramping up the pressure to break back to even. They had a couple young fast guys - Rehder looked good - and they ran a lot of classic Seattle poachy zone. It came down to double-game; not the first time we'd been there against the Fish. We pulled, and they turned almost immediately on an upfield drop. A couple passes later and Siegs rifled a laser to a diving Bobby Gordon for the pancake and the win: 15-14, Truck Stop.
We came into the Furious game fired up, setting a strong tone from the start with a textbook Sean McComb backhand to a textbook Stout sky over Hibbert to open the scoring (a repeat of the Colorado Cup opening, for that matter). However, we again struggled in the first half to convert Ds, and they took half 8-7. Finally the D caught fire, reeling off consecutive breaks to open up a convincing lead before a Kolick Kobe (was that right handed?!) break throw found someone for the win: 15-12, Truck Stop.
Third game of the day against San Diego Streetgang, another C Cup rematch. They had more players this time, and most of their offense ran through their lefty handler: quick release pinpoint flick hucks giving us trouble downfield. They had some young athletes, and despite Truck going up early (finally producing first-half breaks) they hung around the game. We took half 8-4. Highlight came in the second half when S.S. McComb looked me off open side in favor of a filthy crossfield IO backhand that was released before former Pittsburgh teammate Brent Bellinger even made his cut. Result, as usual: goal. 15-10 Truck Stop.
3-0 heading into the Revolver game, last game of the day. They were missing Cahill and Wiseman, and their first play on offense pretty much told the story: center to Bart, give Beau about 6 seconds to set up an away cut, flick huck... goal. Unfortunately, the Truck came out tense, committing multiple unforced errors - turfs and drops - before finally settling into a rhythm. Battled back from an 8-4 deficit at half before the D stepped up to bring us back into the game. Huge sky D from Bobby Gordon on Boo, followed shortly by a huge layout block by Stout also on Boo. We pulled back to within 10-9, with the offense getting the disc back after a turn on what was in my opinion the sickest D of the tournament (and there were some sick Ds): Long flat flick huck to the open side, Brent peels off his man and chases downfield for the poach. Disc is out in front of the offender, Brent closing from behind, lays out huge over the right shoulder and somehow actually gets a hand on it. Gotta be a COTD. Outrageous. Unfortunately, I also suffered a massive hematoma to my lower left leg. I went up big for a hanging huck against Sherwood and somehow ended up getting royally kicked/cleated in the lower calf. Made the catch, called foul, and hobbled around for a minute trying to figure out how bad the injury was. Continued playing... but would return to haunt me for the weekend.
Then Revolver closed the door. A couple offensive miscues for the Truck, a huge D from Russell on me followed by a punishing huck to Kanner the other way gave them a 13-9 edge and they pulled away to finish 15-10. A disappointing loss, doubly so because it didn't feel like we got outplayed: we outplayed ourselves. Revolver's a good team no doubt, and their offense will certainly be smoother with Cahill/Wiseman back in the rotation, but they did not bring their A game to ECC... a fact that became clear in the Saturday showcase vs Ironside.
Nonetheless, 3-1 on the day: a very solid debut at ECC for the Truck. With a bunch of guys making their first trip to Seattle and seeing some West Coast teams for the first time... good stuff. We settled in to punish some salmon and enjoy still more Manny's Pale while watching a great East-West game.
Lounging before the game.
Ultimately, it trended the same way most East-West matchups did at ECC: decidedly in favor of the East Coast.
Saturday night a motley crew of Truckers wreaked havoc in the Everett Denny's, making life interesting (annoying?) for Janice our waitress and the other patrons. Probably the first time she'd participated in credit card roulette, but she was all for it. Heated debate: all-you-can-eat pancakes for $4, or buffalo wings? Milkshake or fudge brownie a la mode? Ice tea or Long Island Ice tea? (The answer to all these questions, for the veterans among us, was always the second option). Keegan took down the CCR for a whopping $30 bill (that's almost criminal for the amount of food we ate - thanks no doubt to the questionable "no profit August" policy that Denny's has adopted). Bobby, despite not partaking in the $3 Long Islands (I can't explain why either), nonetheless threw in a card and brought home the $9 drink bill.
Sunday back at it: two minute waffles and coffee providing the ammunition, the desire for glory the impetus. Unfortunately, I awoke to excruciating pain in a heavily bloated calf - my leg blew up over night, extending from my ankle to my knee with gross distension and serious pain with every step. Did not bode well for Ultimate. I skipped most of the warmups while snorting Ibuprofen and hoping that adrenaline would carry me through... hard to jump when it hurts to flex my jumping leg. Nonetheless, I took to the field with the O line and hoped for the best.
First up: Rhino. Usual give-and-go wide open West Coast offense, but they struggled. Missing some guys (including Eli Janin) for a wedding (what kind of self-respecting Ultimate player gets married the Sunday of ECC? Honestly?), but not sure that would have made enough difference. Truck could do no wrong, producing layout Ds and huge skies all over the place en route to an 8-1 halftime lead. The game was over when Calvin came down with the disc in a 5-person Wolfpack on a hospital throw... and a whiny Rhino guy called foul, claiming "he violated my verticality." Yes, yes he did. After he caught the disc. That imprint on your neck? That's from Calvin's balls. Get over it. When I tried to bring this fact to his attention (from my vantage point on the sideline) I was informed: "You! You're not helping!" Just trying to tell it like it is...
Anyway, we closed the game out 15-7 after trading points for much of the second half. Next up: Wolf. Michael's good friend Shy played for them (and again staked a proud claim in a heated battle vs Frankie as owner of the much-coveted "hairiest ass in Ultimate") and it was good to see them. Unfortunately, he'd injured himself early Saturday and didn't play this game. Wolf was an unknown quantity - 2nd team out of the Bay Area and new to us. We came out flat, had some uncharacteristic turfs, and they took advantage. Down 7-4. This situation prompted my second-angriest rant of the tournament (the first being after I thought our D against Streetgang lacked passion and heart). While I can't claim credit, we did promptly pick up two breaks on a massive layout D from Siegs on a swing pass and a clutch footblock from Jammin' on Tad before they took half 8-6.
The tide had turned and the defense heaped the pressure on. At this point - having I guess not seen the scouting report? - Wolf opted for the controversial "huck it to Stout" offense. I had recommended to Shy that they try just such a strategy, but I didn't expect them to take it seriously. 0 for 3, leading to three breaks. We finished the game with an 11-3 run, prevailing 15-10.
At this point we were 5-1, with a loss only to Revolver. Same as Ring. Ironside was 6-0. For the West Coast, Revolver retained the best record at 4-2, with losses against Boston and Sockeye. Because of the East-West format, this meant the final would be a showcase rematch, while we would play a cross-over against the remaining West Coast team: Emerald City Ultimate, nominally from Seattle. I was actually okay with this arrangement. Nice to get exposure to new teams, and we'll have ample opportunity to see Boston and Ring again. Plus, I always love a matchup against Chase - he's a good guy and a great athlete, and always makes me a better player.
They are an extremely talented group of individuals... but not quite a team. And they clearly didn't have the same legs that we did; they resorted to a lot of zone and generally seemed tired (understandable, after six games of elite Ultimate). Back and forth from the start, trading points. But despite the close score, the momentum felt like it was on our side. Huge sky from young Kolick to take half, and a big double D (big sky D, called back on a foul, then repeated) by Wodatch to set up a crucial break.
ECU also provided occasion for one of the most aesthetically pleasing throws of the tournament, when rookie Jake Christian launched a 70 yard backhand bomb that hit me in stride for an easy goal. OK, young lad. Siegs also had a couple clutch flick bombs to another Pitt rookie Rob Dulabon for upwind breaks. But the real backbreaker came after Keven caught a long huck just short of the endzone. I was the first one down and cut into the endzone, drawing both defenders... leaving Calvin trailing behind me alone in the endzone. Keven launched a short range hammer that instead became a blade heading over Calvin's head. Calvin turned and lunged, and as the disc shot past him perpendicular to the ground he reached out and snagged it by the trailing edge to take half: 8-7, good guys.
My friend Ashley braved the drive north from Mill Creek to provide support. And she wasn't disappointed (or maybe she was, but from an Ultimate perspective...) the game went down to double game point. Started the tourney with a DGP win... and ended the same way. This time on offense. Worked it down smoothly, before another punch shot into the end zone found Andrew Berry laying out for the win. Game over: 16-15 Truck Stop.
Cleats off, we all reported to the Skagit River for a richly deserved float/icing session. So good. Dozens of disrobed Ultimate players - men and women alike - enjoying the water after a weekend of sun and sweat. There is a god. And hence a team photo, sans uniforms (sweet though our new uniforms clearly are).
Awesome weekend of Ultimate. 6-1 on the weekend, 14-1 since Colorado, 19-3 on the season. Strong season so far for the Truck. I love ECC for the location, for the competition, but especially for the chance to play against the best in the country. And it didn't disappoint, with matchups against some of the best deeps in the game in the form of Chase and Beau, some of the young guns (Rehder), fellow height (Hibbert), and the chance to play D against all of the above and more. Fun to be back on the O line, to create space and force the D to react and to get the chance to handle the disc more. Throws still recovering from two years of torn ligaments and a surgery, but good to at least be able to rip it... if not quite as accurately or consistently as I'd like. Glad my leg didn't unduly hamper me, even if now four days later it looks like Clinton's cankles (no disrespect intended).
Really exciting to see the Truck coming together as a team and winning close games. Strong play all around this weekend from Berry, Calvin in his 2010 tournament debut, Siegs in his second tourney with the Truck, and Agan as a reliable shutdown defender. And another predictably big weekend for Bobby Gordon, who continues to impress with big plays in the clutch.
I left the fields with Ashley as Boston was pulling away from Revolver in the final. Nas looked really good - exciting for them. I'd played against him in Boston years ago and with him in Geneva back in 2008; he seems to have fully recovered from last year's ACL surgery and was flying around the field. Danny Clark looked the best I've seen him in years: consistently open by a good ten yards, consistently getting the reset and threatening deep, and pulling down some big ones in traffic. Defensively, the handler/deep mix of Cricket/Crockford/Muffin and Neff/Mahoney is a brutal combo for opposing offenses. Forces teams to rely on the unders where the ever-present Paul Batten is lurking and gives a quick deep option off the turn. Great to see them pull out a big tournament win. East Coast emerged the clear victor in Burlington: all 5 teams finishing with a winning record, compared to just one of the seven West Coast teams. Good Nationals preview... can't wait til October.
For full tournament results, click here: http://scores.usaultimate.org/scores/#open/tournament/7568