Top 10 Memories from Nationals...err... Would you believe top 40?!!
Straight set victory over Electric Doublewide Pig, 15-3, 15-3
Shep's block on Seth
Brandon's Hammer Catch
Taylor's catch and throw, Game-Set-Match
All throws by James and Taro
Ryan's skying grab in the Final
The Captain's meeting with Brent
Nation's block in the Final
Beating Seattle
Greg skying the two DoG guys in the Semi
Brandon skying Tommy in the Semi
Taro's layout catch in the semi
Corey scores!
The Convertible Mustang
JD's hammers
James catching JD's hammer
Andy and Greg's Leadership
Blake making a pretzel out of Brandon (Man-Boobs!)
Joe and Marcia
Jimmy in the open field, goal, goal, goal...
Mike's hair
Warming up throws with Gav in the upwind endzone
Drinking out of the Cup with Gav
Dan Dewey vs the squirrels of Sub Zero
Dewey's Hammer in the final (I liked it!)
Throwing the forehand upwind to Ted in the final
The Condo
Greg holding grey shorts for ransom
The note from Greff
Beating Jam
Jimmy's block of the first throw at 14-10 over Boston
Mike's gomer to score and give "Death" to Boston
Brent "Yoda" Russell guiding my throwing decisions
Greg playing in the qtrs, semis and finals
Marcia's headstand
Jason's words of reassurance during the finals
Winning another title with JD
Shep's buddy gifts
Jimmy's focus and intensity
Brandon skying everyone in the Furious game
Jason covering Mickey of Bravo
The Condor Banner
The Condor Nest
Repeating
and the top memory from Nationals...
The focus, desire, and togetherness of every member of the 2001 Condors.
Congratulations.
I am fortunate to be a member of our team. Thanks for an epic season.
Steve
Birds,
Thank you for another incredible season. The power of our collective ability is what separates us from the rest. I feel lucky to be part of such an incredible group of athletes and individuals who put the team before themselves. Commitment is obviously a trait we all share. I remember here some of the big things and some of the little things that each of us did that showed commitment and dedication to this years effort.
Andy bought the van, Jimmy flew to practice, Adam made us laugh and he made stew too, Blake taped and kept us focused, Brandon made us do forward jumping jacks in public, Taylor cut class, Brent reminded us what we are about when we needed to hear it, TK taught us to trust, Rob showed us what 100% means, Greg showed us how to focus, Steve never stops thinking about frisbee or his teammates, Tommy he's Big and committed to catching goals, Taro is too and he played through the pain, James taught us the plays, Dewy overcame injury, Gav always shows his heart even if he misses practice once in awhile, Mike showed us the eyes, Murf turned up the heat, Radar ran off injury, Yarbrough did too, Jason has parents and always brings the positivity, Shep fits us into his work schedule and pushed the LA guys to work out harder, Corey gets us some exposure (LA times, film students, motor mouth), JD always brings the Frankensense and mad game, and I bring the Patagucci.
All these things that happen off the field make us that much stronger when the time comes to kick ass on the ultimate field. We have created a world where our rookies get the block (Shep) and throw the goal (Taylor) on game point, where each person is free to rise up and show their talent because we all know they can.
Thanks for showing me how it feels to be a champion and teaching me what it means to be a team mate. I will be back in the springtime to focus on the world title and the threepeat.
#22
Birds,
There is so much to say, and even though words can not truly express the way I feel, I find myself having to try. We work together better than any team I've ever been a part of. I've played on many excellent sports teams as well as other teams; played with some great talent, but in reality, our commitment to and reliance upon each other is incomparable to anything I have ever been involved.
When I read over all the messages we are receiving, I can't help but smile. I think about all those things Ted says he remembers each of us doing for each other on and off the field, and I bet for every one of us, he can think of three to five other things, as well. I bet you can think of many, too. That is the reason we succeed. Sure we have to work on our ability; be in great shape; and focus on making the right choices; but the fact that each of us knows so much about each other and trusts that each of us will provide and commit to each other in our unique roll makes those things that seem so difficult to others seem that much easier for us to do. We are the best TEAM because we do those things. We make it a duty to be involved in and with our teammates. We get to know them so that they get to know us. We are interested in their lives, because they are a part of ours. I don't think I'll ever want to stop playing this game if individuals like you and yours take such an interest in me as a player as well as a person. My body can last. The Condors are a part of my family, and I thank you for being there for me.
A band is a lot like a team in that each person in the band has a part; a role. Each musician is talented in his/her own right, and works hard to be better, but it is the collaboration of each of those parts that creates a unique sound - a synergistic energy that creates excellence. Some bands have it, and some bands, well, they just keep searching for it. We, my fellow birds, have it. The music we play when we're together creates excellence. It soars up and down the coast and finds its way to the place that we all call home.... each others trust and success.
I am going to continue to think about working hard in just about every thing I do. With a couple of championships under our belts, and a chest that is rising to the stars, because of our hard work, I realize that we are the best and there isn't anything we can't conquer when we work hard together.
When's practice?
JD - Proud to be a Condor
CONDORS,
I have been playing this game we all love so much longer than some of you have been alive. I have gone from being in total awe of the Condor ('79-'81) to being a Condor killer ('82) to being a Condor ('97). Now I have come full circle to being in total awe of the Condors again. I have played against most of the best teams in the relatively short history of ultimate. Many will say that you need to win 5 more (which I have no doubt you will) to be the best ever ( NY & DoG won 6 each), but I know that you guys are the best, most talented, and best spirited team to ever lace them up. Your obvious and genuine concern and love for each other is a major contributing factor in being 2 time champs. I have come close but never gotten the chance to drink the sweet nectar from the championship cup. However, in the past 2 years I have won it all vicariously through you guys. I wish I could have been there this year to see you repeat. Last year I really was psyched to watch it happen. Thanks!!! War Condors, War 3-peat!!! I think what I am supposed to say is I'm out. Jeff in Altadena.
Jeff Landesman
Hey Champs,
Still thinking about the championship. Spent some time yesterday reviewing my favorite plays of the weekend. Can't wait for the video to come out to see how wrong I have it all in my head. It's great...don't forget it.
One thing I was thinking about that maybe wasn't explicitly pointed out was how our depth was a huge factor in our victory... especially in elimination rounds. We wore our opponents down, and when they had to keep going to the well we kept sending fresh waves of people at them. I think about Ted working his ass off on Subzeros main guy, shutting him down, both of them dog tired after the point and that guy having to stay in and work against fresh legs while Ted was able to freshen up and shut him down again later. I think about Jimmy's block on the last point of the semis and realize that he was able to sprint down that hard because he was able to rely on his teammates earlier in the game, while the guy who threw that first pass had played too many points to make the right throw. I think about Shep's block on Seth in the finals and realize that as much as that was Shep's hard work paying off, it was also the fact that Seth had to run against Jimmy, Andy, Dewey, Jason, Nation, JD and Shep and his legs finally wore out. I'm sure Furious wore out sooner, and that's why they didn't make the finals.
It was a team effort, and the fact that we relied on one another and won makes it that much more special. I'm still feeling it.
Gosh, these emails are so much more fun to write than "be at practice on time and bring a disc and ....".
gh
National Champion
Personal highlight #24863: After winning semis, Nation, Blake, Brent and I took the cruisers and rode a few miles along the beach. We got to the Palm Bay Club and were greeted by all the losers yelling encouraging words like "yeah Condors" and "good luck tomorrow" to us. As we continued to ride I couldn't help but feel two things...1: disdain for our "competitors"...2: that I was fortunate to be on the best team in the fucking universe.
gh
National Champion
Condor Brothers,
Here's some reflection...
The funniest thing that happened that weekend was when Brandon was asking Blake about man boobs. Blake didn't blink or change his expression... he just thoughtfully listened to Brandon. Then Blake got up, sat on top of Brandon, and proceeded to asked everyone else in the room in a very matter of fact way, "you guys wanna see some wrestling moves?" Then proceeded to show us about four or five moves in succession, never even looking down at Brandon, not struggling in the slightest, describing how each move worked. It was like he was a sculptor, shaping his ball of clay in different ways and educating us about how it all happens. You could also hear gasps of air and "this sucks" over and over again. That was some funny shit.
I think all that loosening up was what helped Brandon go off in the finals.
That was funny too when Brandon was drunk and would randomly blurt out at the top of his lungs "YEAH ETC!"
I'm psyched we won. We dominated in the quarters and semis.
The quarters: notable is how we stayed composed and focused in the face of shitty calls. I mean, James had to score like five times on one point. And it went on all game. We didn't get into a call fest, we didn't stoop to their level. We played our game, and won with our dominance over them, pure and simple. We rose above them.
The semis: same deal. We were so focused and confident that we'd win and crush that we did. We knew that when we're on, not one team can hang with us.
The finals: first of all, the fact that Taylor threw the winning goal is sweet. And yet not unexpected. And even more so was the fact that he didn't know it was game point. I heard that there was one other person who didn't know that, and I applaud you guys. When we're down by two, it's never game point. And Shep's block was huge. Everyone played awesome D.
I believe that throughout that game, everyone knew we'd win, and it was just a matter of time. The wind was strong, yes, but not that strong. We all know, as Corey said, we should have won that game by at least a few upwinders. That bothers me. Does that bother anyone else? I mean, I can put it out of my mind and be happy that we won. We did our job well enough, but in that final game, I don't think we lived up to our own expectations of ourselves. I really did expect to crush Jam, and we know that we had the ability to. How many opportunities did they give us to squash them? I mean, we could smell the blood from the very beginning of the game! I think it's important that we learn from that game. What did we do wrong, and what can we do to ensure that we crush when we need to crush? I would propose that you think back to that game and reflect on what was going on. There was a long period of time in that game when we all knew that Jam was folding... why didn't we go for the jugular vein? What was going on in your head? Also think about the semi. What was going on in your head during that game? How was it different? I don't have clear answers... but in order to learn from it we need to reflect on it. Why we didn't dominate them has a lot to do with our mental state during the game.
That final was surreal... the fact that we were having problems scoring upwind could have unraveled us. But we stayed focused on getting the job done, despite our troubles. We execute--and when we weren't executing in that game, we were able to keep ourselves in check, were able to put the past behind us, and keep the confidence that we were just about to really put the hurt on them. Other teams don't have the mental strength to fight through that. So, well done boys.
In my opinion, we beat Jam because we are a stronger team--both physically and mentally. But we won that game by only two because our mental strength was lacking something. As happy as I am that we won, I can't shake the strange feeling of dissatisfaction.
That's what's stoking my fire for next season. We have the capability to have our way with teams. We know we're the best. I just want us to show to ourselves how damn good we can be. We've already taken the game to a new level. Let's raise the bar.
I've already set a goal for myself: be the best defender Jeff Cruikshank has ever seen. If any of you have a picture of him, save it for me. I want to put it on my wall so I can be constantly reminded.
Looking forward to the banquet,
m
I couldn't agree with Corey and Mike more about not winning that game by enough. I wouldn't say I'm satisfied with the outcome of that game, but I would say that we met our objectives. We worked awful hard, and we met our goal. We need to take a little time to appreciate what was done, even if it's just a few weeks. We set a goal where anything but being the absolute best was disappointment. That is bold of us, and we set ourselves up for failure because there were many capable teams there. However, we knew something that no one else did.. that we played with the best individual players, on the best team in the world, and because of that it doesn't seem like such a risky proposition (actually, maybe some of the other teams did know that we were so great...15-3 over a quarterfinalist?). Did you see how well Boston took losing? Much better than last year. They hadn't set such lofty goals. The same for Jam. We set out to be the best, and achieved it, and although maybe it wasn't done in the fashion we would have liked, we have to enjoy it briefly.
Great Nationals memory #6895: back at the condo after winning, Glimme - well on his way to drunkendom - begins singing the Crosby Stills Nash & Young lyric "it's getting to the point, where I'm no fun anymore....and I am sorry."
gh
National Champion