By Ray Illan, Jr.
March 26th, 2008 -- Two weeks ago, Seattle Sockeye and many Fish families traveled across the Pacific to Fuji City, Japan for the 10th annual Dream Cup (March 14-16), sponsored by Club Jr. Sockeye plowed through the 64-team single-elimination tournament until meeting defeat at double-game-point in the Finals, versus the 2006 WUCC Champion Buzz Bullets. Sockeye's trip to Japan was an incredible experience for all, but memory of the finals loss will be grist for the mill as Sockeye prepares for the World and UPA Championships.

Each morning of the tournament we were greeted by Mt. Fuji. The locals acknowledge its impressive presence daily and were quick to take our picture with the mountain in the background. The field site was enormous and was broken into multiple sections about half a kilometer apart from each other. Fury and Sockeye's field and private tents were right in front of Frisbee Central which allowed us to meet and interact with many players.

The girls giggled when we said hi to them after they said hi to us first. The guys were shy at first approach, but then very friendly after a few words were exchanged. Some of them hopped into a game of flyer's up with us. We were having fun when a particular hanging disc came in. We all went up and Alex Nord (who hadn't been in the group prior) skied like 10 people and came down with a roar. The Japanese guys were quietly chanting "Alex Nord! Alex Nord!". Alex is also featured on the Dream Cup poster and tournament packet.

The tournament structure consisted of two parts: a college play-in bracket and a 64 team single elimination bracket. Friday was the college play-in bracket, so Sockeye, Fury, the Buzz Bullets and many others didn't have to play. Saturday featured the 64 team bracket, with Sockeye playing one of the teams that had battled through the play-in brackets.

Due to the extraordinary field (over 130 teams) the rounds were short. Each game was played to 50 minutes (no halves), with one of our games actually ending midpoint. Most teams had multiple byes in between games. We kept our games to around 15-5 for Saturday play. Teams would come out hard against us (in our second game we were broken first point) and deflate later in the game. They were very quick to have their hands raised 15-20 seconds after each point was finished.

But against the Buzz Bullets, these teams folded from the very beginning. The Buzz Bullets were putting up 21 points or so per 50 minute round. They did a good job of whittling down impatient offenses with smart team defense. We had approached defense with the same team mindedness, but also produced our D's and goals through brute force. We continued our winning fashion into quarters and semi finals, easily defeating our competition. All the while we knew however, that the Buzz Bullets were doing just the same.

In Japan, the Buzz Bullets are in a class of their own. In recent years the spectator attendance during the finals of the Dream Cup has been low, because the Buzz Bullets would crush the other finalist. On the world stage they are also #1, boasting a 2006 WFDF World Ultimate Club Championship. And to add to their accolades, in 2007 they attended the Emerald City Classic (ECC), a tournament outside of Seattle which offers the best competition Canada and the US have to offer, and lost in the finals by 1 point to Sockeye. To say they are world class is an understatement.

The finals were played to 15 (halftime at 8) with a 90 minute soft cap. The fields were lined with spectators and a nearby tsunami barrier offered a great vantage point for fans as well. Sockeye started off on defense, pulling to the Buzz Bullets. Both teams were a little impatient in this point, with multiple turnovers by each team before the Buzz Bullets made a close toe-dragging play to score on the sideline.

Sockeye answered with a huck play, in which the receiver (Illian) initially misread the huck, but adjusted and pulled the disc down for an equally exciting play. The game progressed with both teams combining a mixture of zone and man defense to fluster the offense. The Buzz Bullets were able to force turns on Sockeye's mainly patient offense, but the Fish didn't give up and got them all back in the first half. Sockeye used their height and speed (i.e. hucking to Nord) to convert precious turns by the Buzz offense and find themselves up 8-6 going into the second half.

During half our spirits were high. We were moving around on the field fairly well for March (usually our off season). We had their zone/team defense fairly figured out. Our defense was generating goals against one of the best teams in the world. And to top it off, we were starting the second half on offense.

Our offense came out a little flat and the Buzz Bullets took advantage of a miscue to make it a 1 point game, 8-7. During the course of the second half, the Buzz Bullets mixed it up between a zone and a man defense that appeared very similar. The switches were good enough to confuse Sockeye's offense; at times the handlers thought it was man defense while the down fielders thought it was zone, resulting in a couple more turn-overs that the Fish couldn't get back. In addition, Sockeye's defense stopped generating turns. A couple transition miscues led to easy Buzz goals. The Buzz Bullets were very good at taking what was available on offense and not rushing their throws. Their pin-point hucks didn't hurt either.

Before we knew it, it was 11-12, game to 14. Then it was 13-13, double game point with Sockeye pulling. At ECC last year we found ourselves in the same position, pulling at 16-16 on double game point. This time our defense wasn't enough and the Buzz Bullets scored to capture another Dream Cup title. The tears in their eyes weren't from winning another title - they were from besting one of the best. They had held on to the loss we handed them at ECC, and had worked incredibly hard so that the next time they faced us, they wouldn't make the same mistakes. Kudos to the Buzz Bullets, well done.

The next four months leading into Worlds will be interesting. Gone are the days where USA and Canada stroll into the finals. With new forces rising like Japan and Australia, and not to mention the usual European competition from England and Sweden, Worlds will be no walk in the park. And now, with this recent loss close to our hearts, we have all the motivation we need to prepare for the big dance.

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Seattle Sockeye would like to extend a generous thank you to Club Jr. and everyone else who helped make our stay in the Japan such a memorable experience.