O v D

The Illini have very defined roles for their players. These roles do not necessarily limit a player to only that role, but each player on our team finds a comfortable playing style that serves the team best. This inevitably leads to comradery among the different lines. Now, our team is pretty tight nit. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to help a fellow teammate regardless of whether they played on the o-line or d-line. That being said, a little competition never hurt anybody. (full disclosure: I’m a d-line player to the core).

Player type: D-line

You are insane. Perhaps you function normally in non-ultimate settings, but once you smell the field, animal instincts take over and you’re out for blood. Without regard for life or limb, you fly around the field laying out for every disc that flies within five feet of you. Nothing makes you happier than stealing your opponent’s pride along with their right to the disc. You can smell the fear that you strike in your opponents. D-line players are murderers.

Player type: O-line

You are suave as hell. Your ability to keep your cool in high pressure situations differentiates you from your animalistic counterparts. You value smoothness and flow over grinding out a point to the bitter end. You bury the corpses that the D-line leaves at your door.

Depending on your individual preference, you may think one is better than the other. The truth is, you need both to win a game. In fact, you need both traits within the same line. When the d generates a turn, they need to calm down and score. Even fast breaks require a cool head to see the openings develop. When the offense looses the disc, they need to cast away their inhibitions and develop a blood lust in order to get that disc back.