The other day I found myself lucky enough to talk with a friend I have not seen since she chose Purdue and I went with Ohio University.
Since we had spoken last, my friend had found a new love in life, one that has almost become life, as she put it. Before you turn away thinking you have mistaken the sports section for the latest teenybopper magazine, let me clarify that my friend's new-found love is ultimate Frisbee.
I smiled through my Instant Messenger as my friend told me of her obsession with the sport, the scoring of her first not-in-practice point at recent sectional play and how much ultimate means to her now.
Then she told me I had no idea how good it felt to score a point, which shocked me - a guy like myself has found himself on the scoring side of a few possessions of ultimate, even if it was with a group of friends at a field in front of my old high school where trees marked goals and where the term hammer-throw had no meaning.
After I replied I had played before and scored my share of points, my friend told me it was not the same, and I found myself staring blankly at the screen.
When I asked her why there was a difference she told me I had played only pickup
and the version of ultimate I had enjoyed with my buddies in high school was not real ultimate since the rules are not all intact, and it was not a true game situation.
I countered, defending myself and every kid who has played hockey in the street, used anything as a basket for some hoops and any other cliché I could pull from those Without Sports ESPN commercials. Surely scoring a touchdown in a flag-football game with some friends creates the same euphoria as the pros feel, right?
My friend still told me the feeling was different, and it really got me thinking - have I been living a lie when I play sports?
Did the goals I scored playing high school hockey produce a different feeling than those I scored in trash cans and makeshift nets made of plastic pipes in the street? When I scored on a fast break during a soccer game with friends over on a recreational field the other day, can I truly say I felt what David Beckham does when he nets one?
Did my friend's single goal in a regional ultimate Frisbee game produce a feeling that 22 of my goals together would barely match?
After much thought I came to one simple and amazing conclusion - no, the feeling is not different, or at least I would like to think it is not.
That is the beauty of sports. Kids playing stickball in the street can experience the thrill of a Barry Bonds home run, while a kid shooting at the back of his garage in some unheard suburban city can pretend he is Wayne Gretzky.
Best of all, I can pretend that my goals scored playing ultimate produced the same feeling my friend's did. 17
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Mark Shugar
