by Denise Dowling
(Page 2)
by Denise Dowling
(Page 2)
The two students who invented Ultimate in their high school parking lot during the late '60s might have hoped it would be a mellow game. It was an era of peace, love, and granola. The founders didn't want Ultimate to be corrupted by 'winner takes all' competiton, so they established some democratic guidelines, such as having the captains or team players meet before each game to discuss rules of play. Any rule could be waived if both sides agreed. They also declared no referees, leaving individuals responsible for their own foul and line calls.
''Players are required by the rules to adhere to the highest standards of sportsmanship and to respect their opponents,'' gushes the Ultimate Players Association brochure. This code of ethics, called 'the Spirit of the Game,' ''is greatly valued by players because it creates an etiquette and camaraderie not typically found in other sports.''
''Some days the Spirit is really with you,'' says Nat Taylor, one of the Cojones' thoroughbreds. ''And other times you want to cheat so bad you can't stand it.''
''We thought they cheated their fuckin' asses off,'' Boston's Justin White says of New York New York.
Jay Cobe, who plays on a different Manhattan team, explains that it's "not a matter of cheating. It's a matter of seeing what you want to see.''
What do the Cojones think of Boston's diagnosis? Are some New Yorkers a bit nearsighted?
They shrug at the accusation, saying it's the cross they've had to shoulder for being the best.
''In every game we've played against Boston, they've never said, 'Those guys are just better than us,'" Dobyns says. "It's this revisionist history. They say we cheat when the fact is we kicked their asses."
