At college nationals, in the program guide, there's a little
blurb in the daily directing athletes and their families to
something interesting after the action at the fields
concludes. It reads:
Quote:
> After the action concludes at Reddan, head down to the
> World's Largest Brat Fest, an annual tradition in Madison.
> Enjoy some great brats, hot dogs and veggie brats, and if
> you have a few extra bucks, you can get a beverage, local
> ice cream or a funnel cake. Proceeds go to local
> charities! To get to the Brat Fest take the Beltline
> (Highway 12/18) east and exit at John Nolan Drive. You
> can't miss it.
So on Friday night, when a great AUDL game between Madison
and Minnesota was being played in a very cool stadium
downtown, USA Ultimate, the presumed governing body for the
sport in the country and an organization charged with
helping to grow the sport and expose new eyeballs to it,
decided to publicize a fat-ass Sconny sausage fest
(literally, a sausage fest).
I spotted some of the USAU honchos surveying the fields on
Friday. Wow, they're a grim lot. With their walkie-talkies
and official-looking lanyards, they crossed their arms and
were likely proud of the collection of fields full of
athletes in front of them. Nowhere to be found, however,
were basic sporting essentials such as electronic
scoreboards, bleachers (save for the so-called showcase
field) or even an indication of which teams were playing on
those fields. Casual fans have no idea who Mamabird is. Why
is college nationals essentially the same in terms of
organization and ammenities as any other big tournament (if
not falling behind)?
I know the politics of ultimate is discussed ad nauseum on
this board, and it's done mostly by lifer disc heads with
little or no grasp on how a fan might encounter the game.
But I can tell you that the AUDL has, in a very short time,
overcome many of the obstacles the USAU is creating for
itself every day. But apparently the USAU can't admit to
themselves that they're literally not the only game in town.
Wouldn't want to let college players know that there's an
elite game happening... they might end up going! And
enjoying it! And buying merchandise! Or worse... they might
want to start teams of their own and help grow a league that
doesn't rely on the players paying for every damn thing
themselves! And wouldn't that be a tragedy?
--
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