I had the chance to do commentary for the open, mi
xed and womens finals at CUC 2009 and I was extremely pleased to have the privilege to do so. Not only will a DVD be available for all three games, but the local host society was able to arrange for high quality coverage with replays shown on the jumbo tron during the games. Tushar Singh and Iamultimate was also able to stream the local feed live to hundreds of people, which is a exciting first step towards Canadian ultimate exploring quality webcasting.It was my first time commentating, and my main goals were as follows
- Be positive
- Be fair to all players, teams and cities
- Make it interesting for the listener but not take away from the game
Looking at the results on the CUC 2009 site, it was easy to see that parity made for an extremely exciting week in all divisions but one. (GLUM was a dominant force in the Masters divisions, and used their unbeleivable D line play to win Nationals and allow no more than 6 points in any game).
Open- Mephisto of Montreal vs Phoenix of Ottawa
Naturally, the commentator booth of Mike Wronski, Rahil Suleman and myself were excited to commentate on two teams with such a rich history and such familiarity with one another. Both teams also had one other thing in common- They had been on the doorstep of a national title for over 7 years and had never been able to win it all.
This was Mephisto's 14th Nationals. Their first Nationals was in Toronto in 1996. They have made it to the quarters all 14 times, the semis ten times and to the finals four times in that stretch. They easily vanquished Calgary's Invictus 15-3 in the semis to make it to the finals.
This was Mephisto's 14th Nationals. Their first Nationals was in Toronto in 1996. They have made it to the quarters all 14 times, the semis ten times and to the finals four times in that stretch. They easily vanquished Calgary's Invictus 15-3 in the semis to make it to the finals.
Phoenix was in their 8th nationals. They had two third place finishes and had never made the finals before. Their win over local team General Strike was by the narrowest of margins (11-9) but they survived a very good Strike team and an emerging superstar player (Mark Lloyd). Phoenix had a 2 games to 1 advantage over Mephisto in head to head play this year and that had to help team confidence leading into the final.
Translation: A very deserving teams was going to win, and I'm not sure if any open final was ever this even heading into the match.
It should be noted that Phoenix captain Jamie Craig predicted this very same final weeks before the tournament.
The game was amazing to watch from start to finish. From the very first pull, both teams gave a complete non stop ('balls out') performance. The
y knew their opponents as much as their own rosters, so the matchups and strategy was easily visible as they traded points.Back and forth the action went. Despite many bids on each play, the offence for Phoenix and Mephisto were playing relative turn free ultimate in the face of good defence, stadium winds and wet weather.
As the half neared, the defensive intensity from both teams were now creating turns. Players were starting to show some fatigue. Mephisto's man defence looked suffocating from the commentator booth (it really looked like great team defence that forced lots of small bail passes and seemed to shut down the Phoenix huck game) while Phoenix was winning individual battles (Loose ball d's, great o catches and shutdown marks).
Mephisto takes half by a slim margin and it's really time to Phoenix to show their mettle. Are they going to adjust and keep fighting?
No one in the booth thinks this is over. Even when Mephisto gets a three point lead in the second half we just can't see Phoenix as down and out. The talent is there, the body language is good, and the strategy makes sense. If they keep plugging, they can get back in this.
They do get back into the game and even take a one point lead. It starts with big d's from a number of great players. Luke Phelan, Jamie Craig and Ewan Reid are the usual suspects, but players like teenager Robert Schmidt step in for points and create turns. Now Phoenix has altered their O strategy and it's working. Break passes underneath to either Andy Corey, Luke Phelan and Kielan Way translate into great hucks to John Haig, Ken Alexander and several others.
Kielan Way is simply dominating the game with underneath cutting. His ability to get open at will is causing major problems for Mephisto. The fans are in shock watching his replays, seeing him layout around Eric St Amant and snatch the disc on the other side of his opponents body.
Meanwhile, the game is slipping away for Mephisto. Phoenix is a very short team but they're winning fights for the disc and creating turns. Mephisto's offence is looking tight and a time out is needed to regroup and rest. Dan Fassina and Mark "Shaggy" Zimmeral are carrying the load with Christan Mathieu, Eric St Amant, and Jean Levy Champagne. But they know Phoenix is scoring on three throws, and Mephisto is being forced to make many more.
Mephisto scores to tie it again and then gets a big break. Back and forth the teams score and we're getting into universe point territory. At 16-15, Mephisto pulls to Phoenix and both teams take turns moving it up and down the field, but can't punch in it. Great d here, throwing gaffe there.. nothing is coming easy in the second half.
Finally, Mephisto gets what they need. A beautiful inside out flick hits the chest of Jean-Levy Champagne, and the star cutter becomes thrower as he quickly hucks to star Eric St Amant streaking towards the endzone. St Amant looks up to see the disc directly over his head and knows he must make up time to catch the sailing disc in the endzone. He accerlates and lays out into the endzone and catches the disc, completely horizontal. He maintains possesion landing and Mephisto has won the game 17-15.
Mephisto has finally won a national championship after 14 years, and it could not happen to a classier team or a more supportive city and local league than Montreal. Dan Fassina and Mark "Shaggy" Zimmeral, two of the greatest leaders in Montreal ultimate history, were able to help deliver a championship with exceptional offensive play. It seemed like they were part of every scoring play in the second half, and Shaggy served as the dominant handler for his team when they needed him most.
Ottawa's Phoenix is crushed with the result, as seen below is not taken well. The loss overides the fact that this young team played an AMAZING final, and it really took Mephisto's best to win by a narrow margin.
There you have it, one of the greatest open finals in CUC finals. Fans of both teams are just glad they got to witness it.
