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Best Game
by Toad Leber
I have seen some pretty good games in my day, some of them are ones I've actually played in. But when I think of the best game I ever watched I would have to say that the 1996 NUA All-Star Showcase game, held at UNCW’s College Easterns spring tournament, would be the “Best Ever.” The game pitted top club players from the east coast from Boston to Miami featuring such Ultimate legends as Ken Dobyns, John Barr, Stu Downs and Tully Beatty. Of course this was no ordinary game; this was the first time that the game of Ultimate had featured a fully active 6-man referee crew. There was much excitement and anticipation from the players as they had gathered together that afternoon and ran a practice game with the new rules. Equally there was some skepticism from the fans. My parents happen to attend and were sitting amongst a crew of naysayers. Well, as the game rolled along the fans became pleasantly surprised at the high level of entertainment and continuity that the referee enhancement enabled. The game stayed tight as the two-point line allowed for quick comebacks. The stopped timed periods (three of them at ten minutes long) allowed for strategic time outs and last second hucks as fans counted down,...three,...two,...one. In the end the northern all-stars beat the southern all-stars 21 to 18. The fans walked away from the game with a sense of satisfaction and the players and organizers with a sense of pride. The thing that was the most crucial in this game being the best ever is that it didn’t showcase any particular players or team and there was not a trace of any festive, dogmatic, recreational socialism. Ultimate, as a pure sport, was showcased on that day in a way that has not occurred since.
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