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2008 Olympia Co-Ed Traveling Team |
This was the first year O went to Log Jam in a very long time (if ever, maybe). And boy, are we glad we went! The Log Jam TD's really make sure you get your money's worth: 6 frisbee games, wickets, disc golf, Southern Style BBQ, Sunday breakfast, strawberries, margarita contests, music, and more!
Game 1 vs. Orkshack! We knew a game against the top-level Portland team would be rough, so we figured we'd play our best, stick with our strategy, and put everyone out there for great experience. We usually have the "first-game-jitters", but I think it was our best first game in a long time. Our team strategy this year focuses on the give-n-go, which was exemplified nicely by Jared and Shannon during this game. Defensive props go to Paul for his handsome layout D and Andrew for his handblock near the end zone. Albeit, the one and only handblock for Andrew at Log Jam ... booo!! I would also like to mention that I laid out during this game!! Alright, apparently it's a point of contention. No one on the team saw the "layout" except for Will and because Will loves to lay out gratuitously that somehow invalidates my layout. What the?!? Okay, moving on. For those of you Old, Old School frisbee players out there, Olympian Alumni Merm, still plays with Orkshack. If you want details on Merm, talk to Andrew because he always tells stories about her quick handler cuts. The final score was 5-15 and the best thing about this game was our cheer at the end to "The Gambler" thanks to Todd's rockin' leadership.
Game 2 vs. Triceratops! Apparently all the old, retired players of Whoreshack transitioned to Orcshack and all the fast, lively players formed their own team: Triceratops. Again, our focus was to keep our composure and simply execute our strategy. This was displayed by a perfect play, I repeat, perfect play, where after a give-n-go, Lisa set Ian up with an unmarked huck to Jon in the end zone.
Game 3 vs. Freezer Jam! In year's past, we've gone back and forth with teams like Wasabi 7 and Swizzle ... this year, our rival is Freezer Jam. At THAT, we squeaked off a win at universal point so our goal for this weekend was to beat them again. Andrew made a sweet interception right before we took the first half, which brought our lead to 5 points. Will had a sweet, low-release, break mark to Shannon for a score. Paul skied Sam Brown in the endzone. Lisa shut down an entire side of the field with her awesome poaching. Jon busted out some serious Michael Jackson moves in the endzone and now he's signed up for "So You Think You Can Dance." After a bit of nervousness in the second half while Freezer hit a point streak, we finished out the game at 14-12.
Game 4 vs. Peepshow! It was about this time of the day that our Game Day Captain finally put himself in the game. And boy were we glad because it turned out to be the longest point ever ... ever, and Santana pulled the disc out of the sky in the endzone with his guy hot on his heels. I believe Peepshow is the former Swizzle and they still use that funny spread offense that we don't know exactly how to deal with. We hit the time cap and Peepshow pulled off a win a 7-9. What a heartbreaker.
That marked the end of Saturday's games, but merely marked the beginning of the fun we had at Logjam. On Saturday night, we all attended the Southern style party wearing our Southern style attire right down to the banjo in Eric's hands and the harmonica in Jake's mouth. Our musical trio began rockin' it, which drew a crowd of other musicians including Steve the banjo player from Moonshine and some dude with an accordion. The musicians played some impromptu songs while Todd's melodic voice belted out the words from "This Land is Your Land" (which, for those of you who don't know, includes a Canadian chorus). This wasn't the end of Todd that night ...
Todd decided to enter the margarita mixoff by showing off a Jon-inspired invention called the Oly-rita. Although the exact recipe is guarded day and night by CIA-O agents, it roughly contains a half of an Olympia beer, 1 .5 shots tequila, a few teaspoons of lime juice/mix, and a lotta love from Todd as displayed by his beautiful garnishes. In the end, Todd made O proud by bringing home the winning prize of a bottle of Hornitos fine tequila.
I would like to blame the Oly-ritas for the events that followed on Sunday morning, but that wouldn't give Coltrane enough credit for a game well-deserved. Coltrane won because they simply out-played us. Once again, for those of you Old School players out there, this is the team of Olympian Alumni, Jacey Dunaway. Jacey was the inspiring female frisbee player behind many of the women who still play with Oly today; myself included. Contrane went to the disc each and every time. I don't think I've ever seen O get D-ed from behind so much in my life. Seriously O, we gotta do better about that even if only so we don't have to hear Andrew make another Go To speech!
And lest we forget these two people ...
Broc had about 2 practices to learn the team strategies and step in as our main lady-handler during Pam and Kathy's absence. She accepted the challenge with ease. It is nice to see how much she's grown since she first began playing with us last year. She capitalizes on her height well for breaking the mark with her pretty backhand and she's not shy about pulling the hammer out of her repertoire! It's this level of play that earned Broc the Captain's Award.
Jon won the Log Jam Captain's Award because he is dependable, he gets the job done, and he's a great team player. Any captain would want Jon on their team for these reasons alone and that's not even to mention he has awesome defense and spectacular catches. But really, Jon won the Captain's Award because we love his humor ... someone needs to make fun of Bill and Bill's mom!
Although we didn't go 5 and 0 in games, our spirit level was undefeated. This was by far the most fun tournament in a long time. Let's keep it up for Potlatch!!
Thanks to: Everyone for stepping up the spirit in lieu of Kathy and Matt's absence - the cheers and treats were phenomenal and it was so uplifting to see that level of spirit. Santana for winning the flip all day long. Todd for entertaining us at the party. Bill for not scaring off Broc before Potlatch. Jon for giving birth to the idea of Oly-ritas (seriously, do you get royalties for that or is HRT taking all the glory??). Our female cutters (Shannon, Andrea, and Lisa) for being marathon/triathlete/crazy runner people! Troy Bussey just because I know Andrew would want to get that in there somewhere. And, Paul for calling Bill "Biel".
Will, Ian, Eric, Jake, Jared, Mike, Phil, Andrea
Beth (hanging), Shannon (hanging), Jon, Todd (upside down), Andrew, Broc (hanging), Lisa (hanging)
Bill, Paul
"Put your entire team in the spotlight. Thanks to them, you're able to experience a level of success that you wouldn't have been able to achieve on your own. Remember that when it's your turn to help one of them out."