Last week we played Ultimate Frisbee in a fierce wind that was pushed ahead of a giant storm. The storm was coming south and had poured enough rain and lightning strikes in the Traverse City to knock the power out at our friends’ parents’ house. Some of the crowd were worried about the possibility of nasty precipitation and kept a wary eye on the clouds. Fortunately the rain held off until our stopping time = dark.

Wind does strange things to Frisbees in flight. Up, down, all around; short throws blow overhead or crash to the ground; longer throws end up in the street or the neighboring fields. Several times a teammate well behind the intended target would catch the errant disk.

We made a concession right at the beginning of the match – we played East-West rather than the traditional longer North-South because the wind from the North would cause trouble equally to both teams.

The wackiest play I recall was a five foot throw from Richie to me. I was standing in the end zone with no defenders around and a simple toss would score a goal. The wind caught the thing just as Richie let it go and smashed it right to the ground at my feet. I sort of tried to dive for it but mostly just doubled over and fell down in laughter; it was too crazy to believe. Fortunately all the young guys were quick to help me up off the ground; no injuries this time!