Copy/Pasted from the Truck Stop Ultimate Site

In the week or two leading up to last week’s game against NexGen Ultimate, there was definitely a lot of talk via team email and at practice about how we were going to destroy the “kids” on the field. They might be young and athletic, but Truck’s experience, skill and overall craftiness would (we hoped) win the day in a decisive fashion.

In the midst of this, I went to their website to check out the players (celebrities!) I was going to be throwing down layout Ds against, and I realized something: as a 22-year-old recent college grad, I’m actually younger than more than half of NexGen’s players. What? These “kids” that we were about to play are not kids at all; they are mostly college grads who have been playing top-level club Ultimate for years.

When I got to the stadium, it was a little weird to see the faces from the videos in person (note: Ollie Gordon looks taller than I expected, and Nicky Spiva shorter. And George Stubbs has a little earring?). But Truck concentrated on our own warm-ups, focusing on our game rather than the crowd, cameras, and pseudo-celebrities we were about to play.

That focus translated into the game, but not immediately. NexGen came out and capitalized on an early offensive miscue to break for the first point. Both O-lines then held serve for a couple of points, with quick and accurate NexGen hucks and some more sustained play from our side. After that point, though, it was all Truck, all the time. After adjusting our early sets to prevent quick points off pull plays, the D-line rolled out three breaks in a row, resulting in a NexGen timeout and waves of cheering from the crowd. The momentum held through the rest of the game, giving us a 15-11 victory.

This was the most publicized game I’ve played by a long shot, with around 700 fans in attendance and significantly more watching the high-def videos online, and I think it’s a great step forward for our sport. The NexGen guys were classy and spirited opponents, and joined us in giving our fans a big hand after the game. Good luck with the rest of the tour!

Seth Buchsbaum, #82