If real men wear pink, then I am most definitely a real man.
Not only do I own a pink button-down shirt and a pink polka-dotted necktie, but I also own, and wear every Sunday afternoon, a pair of bright pink running shorts, which I purchased for 25 cents at a local thrift store. This garment, which bears the name Ohio University in all caps on the left leg, represents my uniform for the weekly meetings of one of my favorite OU student organizations - STUF.
STUF, which stands for Sunday-Thursday Ultimate Frisbee, was formed last year by juniors Paul Kesig and Brandon Long and became an official student group last summer. Despite its relatively recent beginnings, the group has already attracted more than 30 members - including this humble sportswriter - though that number has dwindled some as the temperature continues to plummet and the wind begins to bite faces and toes.
There are no official dues required for membership to this elite group (though $10 will nab you a nifty STUF t-shirt), and the monthly attendance requirement is only three games. You don't even have to know how to play Ultimate to come out for a Sunday afternoon game (or, during Fall and Spring Quarters, Thursdays at midnight).
Last Sunday, for example, while too many Bobcats gazed bleary-eyed at Bill Belichick leading the New England Patriots to a second Super Bowl in three seasons (and I speak for all Clevelanders when I ask why he couldn't have coached the Browns to such achievements), 16 hearty members of STUF, including Kesig, pounded across the South Green rugby fields, chasing 175 grams of molded plastic for more than an hour.
Though no score was kept, there were frequent shouts of top ten
denoting plays that might have been STUFCenter Top Ten nominees, if, indeed, such a television program existed. After the conclusion of the match, more than half of the competitors, obviously dissatisfied with the amount of muck their clothes had already accumulated, dove into mud slicks to increase their griminess factor.
The mud-diving is more emblematic of the organization, though, than are the games, where no score is kept.
It's a way to get together with a group of kids and just play with a positive attitude and live a good life Kesig said.
Kesig, who started playing Ultimate as a high school sophomore, said he and Long formed STUF more to build camaraderie and relationships among players than to provide a competitive league. The lack of emphasis on winning and losing has provided for a number of memorable situations, including the final game of Fall Quarter, which Kesig called the best moment in STUF history.
People came up and they were like 'These teams aren't fair.' I was like
'No
they'll be fine
' Kesig said. I remember playing that game - I think we played for about two and a half hours
because it was abnormally warm - and everybody just connected.
There are plans to possibly build a league among MAC or Ohio schools - Kesig has talked with a number of people from other campuses - though, for now, at least, STUF games will be limited to the rugby fields.
Right now
it's just (good) to be able get people to come out and play
and getting our numbers up so people can enjoy the sport
Kesig said.
The next official STUF meeting will commence 3 p.m. Sunday at the South Green rugby fields, though, as Kesig said, If it snows one day
you might find us out there
