Nationals Recap - Day Four
Sunday morning arrived quickly. We slept until mid-morning - not so late as to still be waking up at gametime, not too early lose any precious sleep. We gathered everything we would need for the big game, and then headed off to breakfast at a chain restaurant on the way to the field. Cautious of repeating an excessive meal from the morning before (which certainly did not help me in a mediocre personal performance vs. Zen Asylum), I chose a light breakfast, high on carbs and skipping the breakfast meat. (As an aside, never - ever - choose the 'all sausage' option for your pre-tournament meal... you will pay for it one way or another. Anyway...)
We pulled out and found our way to the fields. Quite literally this time... although our billet was driving and a few of us had a general idea where the stadium was, we never actually bothered to look it up. We stopped and asked a student with an SMU sweater on for directions, which proved to be not to be very helpful. We spotted a cyclist wearing a CUC 2006 short and followed him instead. Sure enough, we soon found ourselves headed into the parking lot at Saint Mary University's Huskies Stadium.
Walking through the parking lot into the gate, a few of us realised we didn't have our player cards to gain entrance - but no matter, we weren't just spectators for this one, they had to let us in. We breezed through the gate with an air of "we're on the list...". Once in, we found ourselves opposite the stands, across the field where the Open Final was taking place (GOAT from Toronto was in the process of cruising to victory over Montreal's Mephisto). None of the other carloads had yet arrived and we had time to kill. Some pre-game washroom visits and scoping out the GAIA merch tent helped pass the time. We eventually found our way to the stands but did not last long there; the rest of our team had shown up. We filed down to a spot opposite the field and started a warmup.
The stadium setting made things a bit difficult for us during the warmup, with limited space. Some cramped warmup running drills and stretching, followed by close-in throwing drills. No room for the usual box drill or Seattle (or for this tournamnet, 'Sackville', naturally) as the other field was being used... first for the remainder of the Open Final (GOAT won, 17-?), then for a poorly conceived hucking contest that pushed back our start time several minutes. Finally the field cleared and we launched into a short Seattle drill. Even from the warmup, it was clear the intensity was there for the final. The game itself would start shortly.
Game Nine - The Final. Well, pull out all the cliches, because this was the big one. The game we were here for. Last of the tournament, and as fara as Chaos went, the season. Many of our players had played in games this big, or bigger - those on the team who had won Nationals in '03 went on to Worlds, where the played in the finals there - bu for a substantial part of the tea, this was the biggest game by far we had ever played. The national championship on the line, and a few thousand spectators there to watch. I tried to put the magnitude of the game aside and just play it - a quiet acknowledgement to the Winnipeg fans as our name and city was announced, and then back to focusing on the game.
We started receiving on offense, and worked it patiently for a number of passes before giving up a turn. Camelot capitalised and we were already down a break. Wecame back and scored next possession on O. I was in on D, and we got a turn while I was focused on my mark. On offence, I made a cut... got open... caught it for a gain. Looking around, a handler was making a berkelely cut. My nerves caught up with me and I floated a tentative pass behind her, which was easily D'd. Nevertheless, we got the D back and had the disc. I made a virtually cut and catch but this time delived the following pass perfectly. We worked it up and scored, now leading 2-1. Now back on serve, we played more disciplined offence but could not convert breaks on defence, as the teams traded points. The specifics of the game are a blur to me now, save for a few personal notes - a botched D on a long huck to a player who did not look like he should be so fast for his age; a successful strike to the goalline, followed by my panicking for 8 stalls, finally finding an open dump who then threw for the score; a weird foul where I kicked a player in the hand on a huck, then pretty much convinced him to call a foul after the fact. We kept battling until we were at 8-7; half would be at 9 due to the game to 17 for the final. Camelot came back to score on a huge layout by one of their women which the whole crowd applauded. Next point would be half, whoever scored... our offence held on and we took half, 9-8.
As always we gathered at our sideline for a huddle. We were playing well to this point, aside from a few early game jitters. The intensity was high, and this was something we wantred to maintain. We knew that Camelot would keep coming second half. They had been down in games before and came to play when it counted. We ended the huddle with a cheer - double loud! - and turned to the field to play the second half. Unfortunately the field was still in use, for another huck competition (this time the women... the men had gone before the game) so again we had to wait for the game to get going. The decision to hold the competition during halftime - during games at all, realy - was one of the poorer ones of the tourney organisers.
Eventually we got to the line for a pull to start the half. We started on D with the disc going to Camelot. They worked it up and scored that possession. 9-9. We were still on serve and receiving... but turned it over the next point and found ourselves down 10-9, first time trailing since early in the game. Our O got a clutch point to tie it at 10's. After this, though, something went awry. Camelot scored on their next point - no big deal, to be expected. But then we blew our next chance on O, now were trailing 12-10. And one more time, we failed to convert starting with the disc, and trailed 13-10. Cap went on, game to 15. Finally we snapped the streak and scored to cut the gap to two. Then another turnover and a score on a weird point where the scoring player didn't realise until several seconds later the observer was signalling her in... no matter, we were now just down one. The next point saw Camelot methodically work the disc downfield to the goalline and then a score as my player threw a breakforce hammer over my head, pulled down for a goal. 14-12, game point. As cap was on, we would need three in a row to win. Our O line received the disc and worked it up from our end... but then a heartbreaking drop on a routine pass, and it was Camelot's disc. We scrambled back on defence to prevent the quick conversion... but the kill was not to be had. A pass up the line into the endzone to a receiver with a few steps on our player... Camelot pulled it in, and with it, the national championship. Our hearts sank with the realisation it was over, and not in our favour. Earlier in the tournament we would have been ecstatic with a second place finish, but we had already had at least that wrapped up since Saturday evening, and the loss was disappointing no matter what our finish. We shook hands and returned to the sidelien to mull over the game and wrap up the season. We accepted our second place medals (no fancy ceremony... we had to convice the medal bearer to place them around our necks individually rather than just leaving them for us in a bag on the grounds) and then sort of dispersed... A few stuck around for a bit of the women's final, which was by all acounts a great game, but we ended up leaving early for one final team activity - dinner and drinks at the billets, which we had planned to do, win or lose, since the day before. Dinner was great and the team partied long into the night, a last hurrah before we would return to Winnipeg on Monday. Partying was never a weak point for Chaos, one of the things I love about the team.
In the weeks since the final I've had a chance to reflect on what went wrong, and why it slipped away. Certainly the poorly planned halftime show didn't help, it let halftime drag on way too long and helped our momentum and intensity fizzle out. But the other team had to deal with that too, so we can't really blame that for failing to bring it in the second half. Perhaps a larger factor was our smalling roster and short bench. After eight and a half games, many of our key players were hurting from fatigue, cramping and rough play by certain opposing players and teams. While the will was there to storm back and reclaim the game, the physical ability to do so was not quite there. We were not at our best on Sunday, period. With a few better choices and making a few plays we didn't, the win still might have been there, though. Perhaps it is best to look back on it as a learning experience, the same way our initial loss to MHUC refocused us for the rest of the tournament. And second place is nothing to be ashamed of. Something that can be improved on, for sure, and something I'll keep in mind for next year. Just eight months till spring practices start. Looking forward to playing with the team next year. If it's anything like this summer, it'll be a blast.
We pulled out and found our way to the fields. Quite literally this time... although our billet was driving and a few of us had a general idea where the stadium was, we never actually bothered to look it up. We stopped and asked a student with an SMU sweater on for directions, which proved to be not to be very helpful. We spotted a cyclist wearing a CUC 2006 short and followed him instead. Sure enough, we soon found ourselves headed into the parking lot at Saint Mary University's Huskies Stadium.
Walking through the parking lot into the gate, a few of us realised we didn't have our player cards to gain entrance - but no matter, we weren't just spectators for this one, they had to let us in. We breezed through the gate with an air of "we're on the list...". Once in, we found ourselves opposite the stands, across the field where the Open Final was taking place (GOAT from Toronto was in the process of cruising to victory over Montreal's Mephisto). None of the other carloads had yet arrived and we had time to kill. Some pre-game washroom visits and scoping out the GAIA merch tent helped pass the time. We eventually found our way to the stands but did not last long there; the rest of our team had shown up. We filed down to a spot opposite the field and started a warmup.
The stadium setting made things a bit difficult for us during the warmup, with limited space. Some cramped warmup running drills and stretching, followed by close-in throwing drills. No room for the usual box drill or Seattle (or for this tournamnet, 'Sackville', naturally) as the other field was being used... first for the remainder of the Open Final (GOAT won, 17-?), then for a poorly conceived hucking contest that pushed back our start time several minutes. Finally the field cleared and we launched into a short Seattle drill. Even from the warmup, it was clear the intensity was there for the final. The game itself would start shortly.
Game Nine - The Final. Well, pull out all the cliches, because this was the big one. The game we were here for. Last of the tournament, and as fara as Chaos went, the season. Many of our players had played in games this big, or bigger - those on the team who had won Nationals in '03 went on to Worlds, where the played in the finals there - bu for a substantial part of the tea, this was the biggest game by far we had ever played. The national championship on the line, and a few thousand spectators there to watch. I tried to put the magnitude of the game aside and just play it - a quiet acknowledgement to the Winnipeg fans as our name and city was announced, and then back to focusing on the game.
We started receiving on offense, and worked it patiently for a number of passes before giving up a turn. Camelot capitalised and we were already down a break. Wecame back and scored next possession on O. I was in on D, and we got a turn while I was focused on my mark. On offence, I made a cut... got open... caught it for a gain. Looking around, a handler was making a berkelely cut. My nerves caught up with me and I floated a tentative pass behind her, which was easily D'd. Nevertheless, we got the D back and had the disc. I made a virtually cut and catch but this time delived the following pass perfectly. We worked it up and scored, now leading 2-1. Now back on serve, we played more disciplined offence but could not convert breaks on defence, as the teams traded points. The specifics of the game are a blur to me now, save for a few personal notes - a botched D on a long huck to a player who did not look like he should be so fast for his age; a successful strike to the goalline, followed by my panicking for 8 stalls, finally finding an open dump who then threw for the score; a weird foul where I kicked a player in the hand on a huck, then pretty much convinced him to call a foul after the fact. We kept battling until we were at 8-7; half would be at 9 due to the game to 17 for the final. Camelot came back to score on a huge layout by one of their women which the whole crowd applauded. Next point would be half, whoever scored... our offence held on and we took half, 9-8.
As always we gathered at our sideline for a huddle. We were playing well to this point, aside from a few early game jitters. The intensity was high, and this was something we wantred to maintain. We knew that Camelot would keep coming second half. They had been down in games before and came to play when it counted. We ended the huddle with a cheer - double loud! - and turned to the field to play the second half. Unfortunately the field was still in use, for another huck competition (this time the women... the men had gone before the game) so again we had to wait for the game to get going. The decision to hold the competition during halftime - during games at all, realy - was one of the poorer ones of the tourney organisers.
Eventually we got to the line for a pull to start the half. We started on D with the disc going to Camelot. They worked it up and scored that possession. 9-9. We were still on serve and receiving... but turned it over the next point and found ourselves down 10-9, first time trailing since early in the game. Our O got a clutch point to tie it at 10's. After this, though, something went awry. Camelot scored on their next point - no big deal, to be expected. But then we blew our next chance on O, now were trailing 12-10. And one more time, we failed to convert starting with the disc, and trailed 13-10. Cap went on, game to 15. Finally we snapped the streak and scored to cut the gap to two. Then another turnover and a score on a weird point where the scoring player didn't realise until several seconds later the observer was signalling her in... no matter, we were now just down one. The next point saw Camelot methodically work the disc downfield to the goalline and then a score as my player threw a breakforce hammer over my head, pulled down for a goal. 14-12, game point. As cap was on, we would need three in a row to win. Our O line received the disc and worked it up from our end... but then a heartbreaking drop on a routine pass, and it was Camelot's disc. We scrambled back on defence to prevent the quick conversion... but the kill was not to be had. A pass up the line into the endzone to a receiver with a few steps on our player... Camelot pulled it in, and with it, the national championship. Our hearts sank with the realisation it was over, and not in our favour. Earlier in the tournament we would have been ecstatic with a second place finish, but we had already had at least that wrapped up since Saturday evening, and the loss was disappointing no matter what our finish. We shook hands and returned to the sidelien to mull over the game and wrap up the season. We accepted our second place medals (no fancy ceremony... we had to convice the medal bearer to place them around our necks individually rather than just leaving them for us in a bag on the grounds) and then sort of dispersed... A few stuck around for a bit of the women's final, which was by all acounts a great game, but we ended up leaving early for one final team activity - dinner and drinks at the billets, which we had planned to do, win or lose, since the day before. Dinner was great and the team partied long into the night, a last hurrah before we would return to Winnipeg on Monday. Partying was never a weak point for Chaos, one of the things I love about the team.
In the weeks since the final I've had a chance to reflect on what went wrong, and why it slipped away. Certainly the poorly planned halftime show didn't help, it let halftime drag on way too long and helped our momentum and intensity fizzle out. But the other team had to deal with that too, so we can't really blame that for failing to bring it in the second half. Perhaps a larger factor was our smalling roster and short bench. After eight and a half games, many of our key players were hurting from fatigue, cramping and rough play by certain opposing players and teams. While the will was there to storm back and reclaim the game, the physical ability to do so was not quite there. We were not at our best on Sunday, period. With a few better choices and making a few plays we didn't, the win still might have been there, though. Perhaps it is best to look back on it as a learning experience, the same way our initial loss to MHUC refocused us for the rest of the tournament. And second place is nothing to be ashamed of. Something that can be improved on, for sure, and something I'll keep in mind for next year. Just eight months till spring practices start. Looking forward to playing with the team next year. If it's anything like this summer, it'll be a blast.
posted by Druski at 9:49 p.m.
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