Friday, August 1, 2008

Worlds, or as Lamp Would Say, “Worls!!!”

For those teammates who don’t know, World’s is next week. Like the Olympics, this event only happens once every four years. I didn’t really catch wind of this event until very recently. Reading RSD everyday has become one of my favorite things to do since I started working.

Here’s a quick rundown from what I’ve read.

Canada, USA, Japan, Australia, and Germany are attracting all the attention. These are the guys to watch. Canada, the US, and Japan are sending their top teams while the Australian and German teams are made up of the nations’ best individuals (I’m actually not too sure about Germany). This leads to an interesting discussion, “Which is better, the top team in the league or an all-star team?” There really isn’t a definitive way to prove this. If such a game were played, the all-stars from the top team would have to choose a side and therefore bias the results.

The top team in a league has the advantage of being a team. They’ve played together for a long time and know how to win as a team. They’re less likely to throw the disc away and less likely to second guess themselves or their teammates. Also, there aren’t any egos banging against one another. Everyone knows their role and does their job.

All-stars possess pure talent. Everyone can make every play, throw every throw and look good doing it. They don’t have to wait for their best thrower to get the disc before they go deep. They don’t have to alter their strategy when their top receiver gets shut down. Everyone is their best thrower. Everyone is their top receiver. How can you beat that?

My favorite team coming into this World Tournament is Japan’s Buzzed Bullets. First or all, alliterations are tight. Second, I bet that looks pretty sick when written in Japanese. What I find most appealing about this team is their corporate sponsorship. All, or at least a majority, of these guys work for the same company. This company pays for their training, gives them field and practice time on company property, and pays for their travel. (McLain, as fundraising chair, this is your new goal: find us a company that will pay for everything and give all of us jobs.)

In a way, this team personifies the combination of a top team and all-star team. With all their corporation support, they can’t help but attract the best talent in Japan. All the Japanese all-stars come together and then play as a team. Wow.

They do have one weakness: lack of height. This team doesn’t have the 6’ 4” and taller monsters to match the US and Canada. Luckily, they’re fast, really, really fast, and since they are also a team that practices almost everyday, they have and can successfully implement a strategy that forces opponents to play to their quickness. I’m picking them to win.

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