Falltimate!

"You don't know what you've got, til it's gone."
Cinderella (bad 80s hair band)

One of the 'Zip Tips' is that if you ever feel like ultimate is becoming a burden, take a few days away from it and it's inevitable you'll come back with a renewed passion for the game. After suffering through two ultimate-less weeks, strapping on a new pair of cleats and playing with Employee of the Month (EotM) last Saturday felt amazing! Below is an abbreviated ultimate recap from the last week.

- Friday night was the BigFish season end party. Mr. Two Pointer offered his house for the occasion, which included a pool, pool table, ping pong table, and a fully stocked beer fridge. Even though everyone couldn't make it, it's safe to say that a good time was had by all in attendance.
- As part of the party, G & I worked on the "top secret" surprise project of creating a Go Fish deck of playing cards (Berry's awesome idea) with everyone represented. G's artwork, design, and layout were exceptional. Her creativity and attention to detail is inspiring. All I had to do was draft some text, which G, Pete and Julie supplemented with their fantastic ideas. Everyone seemed very impressed with the decks that will serve as a great keepsake to commemorate a fun summer.
- What's on my card? I'll try to scan it at some point, but I was thrilled to find out that Julie considered me the Most Improved Player with Fish this year. A summer of hard work paid off.
- Saturday morning's game against Shut Up and Run (love the name) was a blast. Granted, we only had four guys and four ladies for most of the game (Gav played the first few points before heading out), but we came from behind (10 – 13 ) to win 15 – 13.
- High-light of the game for me was getting a chance to handle on a STACKED team that included Tron, Ariel, Terry, Sandra, and D. Low-light is equally easy, as I was the main reason our team fell behind, after dropping 3 points in the early going. Not to make excuses, but it rained throughout the game, and the disc was quite slippery. Still, I can't drop points (especially ones thrown by Gav) if I plan to make Fish next year.
- The captains plan to get some EotM shirts made this fall. I'm totally down for this, as the front of the brown shirt has a picture of a "Fart Factory" and the team name is on the rear. Gavin takes the EotM name and concept quiet seriously, and insisted that I parked in the "management lot" at Potvin on Saturday, and should have moved my car down the road with the other entry level employees.
- Saturday afternoon and evening was Urban Sprawl's year end party at Paul's place. Big props to Paul for hosting the shindig. It was nice to see a few team-mates loosen up and enjoy themselves. Hopefully a good time was had by all.
- EotM's game Monday ended up getting cancelled when the gate to the diamond we were supposed to play on was locked. It's crazy how we managed to get OCUA's Executive Director on the line in about a minute. It pays to have a couple of Board members on the team!
- One last ultimate thing: I love my new Under Armor football cleats. They are "mid" cut, which provides excellent ankle support. They have that middle toe peg that I can't do without after playing with Gaias. Lastly, for a pair of heavier cleats, I can still run pretty quickly in them.

Since BigFish plays our last tournament of the year this coming weekend, expect a recap of Spirit next week. Personally, I'm looking forward to playing BFC and Lunchbox (or whatever Manny calls his squad this year). If Reza happens to reformulate Practice, I wouldn't mind a chance at redemption against them either. Until next time, happy hucking!