[as posted to RSD during July, 2006]
My opinions from the Potlatch/MLU weekend...(please excuse my butchering
of the English language)
1) MLU is a very different sport than Ultimate. And it is awesome.
Biggest Pros:
Game moves much more quickly.
Zero spurious travel/pick/stall calls.
Silent stall makes marking more fun, and high-stall situations
more exciting
2-point line plus strategic fouling makes for a more
strategy-intensive game
Rules are designed for fan-friendly play
Short end zones + longer playing field proper makes for a better
game
Biggest Cons:
If you don't like refs, you obviously won't like MLU
This is NOT a good game for beginning players....the level of
physicality and possibility of being injured goes up in
the course of normal play.
Lack of self-refereeing (and the intrinsic benefits of SOTG)
Cost of good referees is high
I loved the game. Much less downtime, a small percentage of the arguments
(and almost none between players) and more gametime pressure make for what
could be a much more marketable sport....which is exactly what it was
designed to be, so that isn't suprising.
It's a different game, and probably not one that most ultimate players
want to play recreationally. In the same way that most city-league
basketball players don't want to be called for illegal defense, most
ultimate players would probably not like someone like me pulling their
jersey, intentionally fouling them, or being forced to play at a very high
game pace. Ultimate was designed for players, MLU for the spectators, and
there are some big tradeoffs between the two.
MLU is NOT a replacement for Ultimate....I think they are different
sports, and both have a ton of value. Going back and forth between my MLU
team and my Potlatch team was really fun....each time I did I was excited
for aspects of that game.
2) Potlatch and the MLU were a good mix.
It seemed like the two independent events made each other better. MLU
without Potlatch is elitist and probably doesn't have a fan base yet. I
think the MLU added to Potlatch, was hopefully interesting for the fans,
but didn't detract from the scene, IMO. No one skipped their games to
watch MLU. The crowds depended much more on the schedule than on who was
playing (ie the Potlatch final was by far the biggest crowd). I think this
goes to show that people want to watch good ultimate, and maybe co-ed v.
elite men is not that big of a difference....as long as the players are
playing well.
3) 'Allstar teams'
Pros: Really, really fun to play with some guys that I normally play
against. The athleticism and talent on our team was
incredible, and the Furious/Rhino guys were really fun
to play with.
Hopefully fun for the fans to see a lot of the best players in one
place
Athletic matchups were top-notch (Beau vs. Nord, anyone?)
Geometry of the field changes with so many great throwers...it was
more difficult to poach, and teams were not constrained
to rigid offenses that allow the weak-link throwers to
survive.
Cons: Lack of coordination was the biggest downside. Teams with players
from a bunch of different UPA teams had troubles getting flow
going....and flow proved more valuable than just having a bunch
of great players, since athleticism mostly cancelled out. In
other words...DoG would probably have done pretty well in
the MLU tournament as a cohesive team that doesn't turn the
disc over.
MLU won't be an unqualified success until the refereed system
works for cohesive teams at intermediate skill in a
game with something real on the line. It was a success, just
not an unqualified success...I have faith that Ian, Toad, et
all will get it there.
4) Refereeing is the toughest job in sports
The Refs for MLU were much, much better than I think we could have hoped
for, given that this was most people's first time. I would not have had
any faith in first-time basketball refs, and I had faith in these refs.
They deserve a ton of praise for the job they did.
In general, these referees kept the whistle hidden, a set a precedent
early on that they were not going to call very much. I'm going to review a
set of calls (or non-calls) that I was involved in...I feel like very few
players were trying to push the envelope of the rules but I think that I
got a pretty good feel for what would be acceptable in a refereed game
with experienced observers.
I'm not trying to show how smart I am, or how sneaky....but I really felt
like we wouldn't know the limits of the MLU rules unless we tested them,
so pushing the limits was definitely one of my lower-priority goals for
the weekend.
Game 2: NW v NE (I wasn't at game 1 vs. the SE until the very end)
The faster pace of the game was amazing. If you pulled out of bounds, you
still had to run down hard on D, because a new disc came into play
immediately at the brick. Similarly, a new disc came in after
out-of-bounds turnovers....minimizing downtime. Awesome...I have always
thought that pulling was the most boring part of the game for this
reason....it can be up to a minute of downtime. Great change.
Early on, I found myself trying to get my teammates to foul more, since it
seemed like the refs were calling few fouls. Even small fouls on the mark,
especially before the throw is started, made a big difference in the game
(if you could grab an arm, and stop a pivot to an open throw, that
wouldn't be called....but a big advantage for the D). I found out once I
got on the field that fouling is tough...first you have to catch up to the
guy, then you have to know a throw is coming, then you have to do
something about it. Not as easy as I thought.
My first "brilliant" idea was to try and intentional pick play. At this
point, the refs had called maybe 1 pick over 3 games....maybe we could get
an open 2-pointer out of it. Our guy rolled off the back of the stack and
I gave his defender some friction (ok, a lot of friction...kind of a
clumsy attempt). I was immediately called for the pick...good call by the
refs, who were right on top of it. If I had been more subtle, I think they
still would have seen it. Refs 1, blw 0.
(By the way, the new pick rule (D player can't be picked off of another D
player) is sweet for game-play, though the obvious tradeoff is that the
game is slightly more dangerous.)
My next "brilliant" idea was on D. FM caught a swing about 8 yards out of
the end zone, and I could see in his eyes that he had an open hammer...as
he started to cock the hammer I tackled him. Grabbed both arms, wrapped
him up, fell down on top of him.
I was whistled for the foul. Should I have been given a tech? (a Tech = 2
personal fouls). Yeah, probably. The result of the play was that Forch had
the disc at stall 0, looking at essentially the same formation as before
(O can reset on a D foul, but they were already pretty well stacked up).
He didn't have any motion, though....I call this a win for the D. They
scored several throws later...but I think professional fouling will, as
reffed games keep going on...become much more commonplace.
I hope, of course, that I would never do this in an Ultimate game. Like I
said, very different sports, and I felt no guilt at all, since fouling is
a part of MLU. Me tackling FM increases the chance that one of us gets
hurt, for sure.
In general, we (the NW) did not foul as much as we should have. On a
couple of 2-point throws we allowed huckers to throw unimpeded....and in a
serious MLU game, I think that extra point makes it worthwhile to tackle
that hucker.
Last note....If a big guy went deep on me for a 2-pointer, I was resolved
to drag him down. Give them the disc on the goalline for 1 point, prevent
the 2, swallow my pride and make the team-first-play. In the next rule
edition, I would suggest that a technical foul called on a 2-point
receiver should give the receiver the disc on the goalline, with the first
throw being worth 2 points....
Game 3: NW v SW
I spent most of this game as a cup player in our transition zone, designed
to stop the 2 point bomb. As such, I got to know Parker Krug really
well....I fouled him probably 5-6 times that would have gotten called in
an ultimate game, and maybe 4 of those probably should have been called by
the refs, and only two were. The two that were called were called quickly
and I'd say overall good refereeing. Maybe I should have gotten a tech for
the bearhug....but like I said, I really didn't want that 80-yard Krugbomb
coming out.
All in all, the 2-pointer changed on-field strategies more than the
refereeing, it seemed to me...
Al, if you're listening, he did throw that huge thumber on a meaningful
point.
I also threw a turnover in this game...I was the 2 in a 4-person string
play. MN came and put a mark on me, and as I went to throw my backhand, he
grabbed my throwing arm as I pivoted. I tried to pivot through the 'foul'
and get the throw off anyway (Ultimate based instinct) and my throw missed
the receiver. The word foul was on my lips...but there was no whistle, so
I ran back to cover on D.
Missed call? Yeah, but it happens both ways. If you want all the good
things about refs, you have to accept that this play might happen and be
out of your control. Also...no telling that I don't call this foul in and
Ultimate game, MN goes to the observer, and I lose the disc anyways....
At two points in this game, a referee came up to me and gave me a
technical foul warning. Once was for a hard foul (the bearhug) and once
was for 'excessive celebration'. On both occasions, I would not have been
surprised to have been T'd up, and I think the warning told me that I
could get away with that stuff, rather than its intended goal. Gotta
remember, I think, that in the MLU I expect to be reprimanded by a call,
not by my own conscience...blow that whistle. Was my celebration poor
sportsmanship? Yeah, probably....but T'ing me up there would have been a
strong message to everyone else, and as it was, no one heard the warning
but me.
Aside: This excessive celebrating was for a play against a guy I think is
one of the best defenders in the country....it was an outpouring of my own
surprise/elation, and I hope he isn't pissed that I ran around like a damn
fool afterwards. Definitely not premeditated. Looking back, I regret that.
There were several stalls in this game....I LOVE the silent count. First
off, the 7-second count feels like forever, and I would be is longer on
average than the 10-second count in big Ultimate games. When I observed
college Nats one year I was asked to rule on a contested stall...the irate
marker calmed down real quick when I showed him my stopwatch that said
"5.3". wow.
Anyway, the 2 seconds at the end of the count....you can feel both teams
fan's edging toward the field to see whats...gonna....happen....
It's sweet.
Game 4: Final vs. SE
Two big points stand out in this game.
Early in the game, I was guarding TG...he cut breakside for a high
inside-out backhand. He went up with two hands, I went up with 1, and used
my other hand to rake down his right arm. In an Ultimate game he would
definitely call it, here it was a good physical play, evidently. While he
stood and argued I took off for a 2-point bomb from one of our
handlers....just goes to show, if you want to argue, you might get beat
(although, in this case, TG just ran me down and skied me....damn.).
Around halftime, I got locked in on one of the SE dump handlers, CS. I
found that if I waited until stalling 2-3, when I was sure both backfield
referees were looking at the thrower/marker, I could grab CS's jersey and
drag him down. At 4-5 then, when he should have been getting open, he was
trying to regain his balance...their O ground to a halt and they had to
call a TO.
CS complained to the ref during the TO, and had I tried it again right
then I would have likely been called. But, if I were being crafty, I would
have waited to use that trick again later. More coordinated refs might
call this, or they might not (I remember similar stuff going uncalled on
my HS basketball team). Maybe CS would learn to handfight me away, so I
couldn't do this....either way, the game gets more physical. More like
basketball physicality, for sure.
As it was, I subbed off during the TO....another sweet rule that we used
well, bringing in our two subs on every timeout possible.
At the end of the final game...we went up 15-12 with about a minute of
game time left. We concentrated on the 2-pointer, and they scored the 1 in
about 10 seconds. Then we threw a quick turn and they scored again
quickly....now it was 15-14 with 9 seconds left. Had we worked those 9
seconds off of the clock before the turn, it would have been game
over...someone on RSD said that down by 4 with a minute left would be
impossible, and I think that is wrong. Especially with the 2-point line,
you can come back quick against the clock. Still harder to come back vs.
the clock than versus the score, though.
Of the four teams, I think the SE used the MLU strategies the best,
playing the 2-point line particularly well on fastbreaks.
If anyone actually read all this....banana banana banana. Go Cradle
Robbers. A big ThankYou to Gavin Sing, Andy Lovseth, all the refs, Ian
McClellan, the NUA crew, and Sammy CK for putting this one.
blw
