The Culture of Ultimate Frisbee

I have two sports that I really love to play, and one way more than the other. I play competitive Ultimate Frisbee more than I play any other sport. In the winter months it becomes a little more difficult to play, but I do still play a bit at indoor soccer complexes. I really play a lot more basketball in the winter time given that it is difficult to play indoor ultimate regularly. I know that there might be a lot of criticism about whether or not ultimate is a 'real' sport. I hope that this video puts that criticism to rest.

There is a huge difference in the culture of ultimate and basketball. Basketball is a sport that is officiated, so it becomes a sport where people believe that they can get away with whatever the refs don't see. I mostly just play pickup basketball, where there is no referees. It makes it so you have to call your own fouls, but the culture of the sport is so competitive that there are constant arguments and disagreements. 

Ultimate is a self officiated game at all levels except for the AUDL (American Ultimate Disc League. That's right. There is professional ultimate, and we have our own team that plays in the Pontiac Silver Dome. The Detroit Mechanix.) This means that players must take on a certain amount of sportsmanship in order to make the game fun to play. It truly is a remarkable sport because people are always able to solve their disputes without getting into fights or lengthened disagreements. 

Ultimate has really taken on the importance of sportsmanship and respect for others. The game is still played at a high level, but the players still recognize that treating each other with respect is more important than the outcome of any particular play. Basketball is focused on the outcome of the game, and it doesn't really matter how you get there as long as you come out on top in the end. If you were to act out of this mindset in the ultimate world, then no one would ever want to play against you and especially with you. 

No matter what sport you play, try to adopt the ultimate mindset. Be much more concerned about treating each other well than with winning the game. Tomorrow nobody will remember who won your pickup game at the gym, but they will remember how they were treated and what kind of person you are. This is how we are able to be Christians on the court/field. We go against the way that our culture is telling us to treat each other and become much more sensitive to God's command to love our neighbor as ourselves even in the midst of intense competition. Competition does not need to equal cheating, poor sportsmanship, and disrespect.