Things to note thus far at Worlds:

Sockeye is staying in the dorms. Some teams worried about the comfort and noise level of the dorms, but it hasn’t been an issue. There are mutliple “blocks”(1 through 10, I believe), and many have a small bar or convenience store attached. Bar 10 has been a fantastic place to watch the World Cup games (projection screen in the bar), and I must say that watching the WC surrounded by teams of all nations is a special treat.

The weather has been hot (it’s getting very hot today), and hasn’t had much effect except for Tuesday, when the rains ended our Revolver game early. At 13-10 we had certainly put ourselves in a tough position, but it was quite unfortunate it ended when it did, as we had just scored a loooong O-point and felt a good momentum push on our side. It could have turned into a closer game, but again, we failed to put ourselves in that position early and paid the price.

While earlier days were certainly exciting, now is when it really gets interesting. The biggest game yet has to be Doublewide’s loss this morning to Viksjofors, not only an upset, but slightly controversial. Double-game point, Viks with the disc, they bomb a huck to a receiver who catches the goal and spikes it. But wait, DW calls not in. 20 minute conversation ensues, which I’ve been told included a phone call to the TD for resolution. The debate as I understand it (I wasn’t there) being that under USAU rules, an observer would’ve called him in or out and that would make the difference. However, without observers, it becomes an instant debate, and therefore causes a stoppage of play and the disc becomes dead, without a turnover being possible. If I’m not mistaken, this was the final resolution, and Viks punched it in to send Ddub to the ninals and themselves into quarters this afternoon against Buzz Bullets.

Tonight we face Ironside and are excited. This should definitely be a winnable game for either side, making it a good showcase game. It’s too bad for us that the other showcase features Riot (against Huck from Japan), but oh well.

Thus far our road has been strong, and has certainly tested us. Our initial pool climaxed with a game against Heads of State that I’m sure they wish they could play again, going down 8-1 early and certainly not showing their true level of play. In power pools, the Swiss team Flying Angels proved a difficult team to topple and gave us a great match in the heat of yesterday, and Revolver was our hardest test yet of the tourney, making our offense work very, very hard to move the disc and giving our D all they could handle. They were by no means flawless, and our defense was getting looks, but we had a tough time keeping our defense on the field early on and this proved to be our demise as lightning called this one before any comeback could be mounted.

Finally, time has been hard to come by, surprisingly. Even with just two rounds a day (save for yesterday’s 3 due to the rain the day previous), I find myself constantly searching for time to get to the computer lab; with team meetings, team dinners, world cup games, and generally enjoying the tourney and the atmosphere (while trying to keep an eye on how I am feeling and what I need to do to prepare for each next game or next day), it’s quite busy. The sheer number of players here is astounding, and watching and listening to the interactions alone is enough to keep one entertained. This is a truly special experience for everyone here.