Ultimate Frisbee: The Open-Source Sport

I've got it now.

The paradigm for understanding ultimate. It took a while, but I've got it. I've bypassed things like "Laim-assed hippy shindig," "The Greatest Sport Invented By Man," and "The Kool Aid" for a much more accurate and informative moniker:

"The Open-Source Sport"

Because that's what ultimate is.

Created by people who didn't want to play the games everyone else was playing. The ruels are all variable based on what the people playing want. There's a base set of rules and a general sense of cohesiveness, but regional variations dominate, new wrinkles and adjustments to the rules always crop up and the only people involved in the discussion are the people involved in playing. With the exception of Mr. Seidler.

Unlike other sports where sponsors have their say, or advertisements rule, we're just the sport. No more, no less. In certain areas there are people trying to make it a business (And that's not Bad! If you can profit doing what you love, more power to you!) but even those people are involved directly in the sport as well. There is something pure about that. Maybe even ideal.

Then again, all can change in a matter of days. Or not. Either way, at this moment, we're still shaping what ultimate is. We're all in charge. Even Frank, if he'd stop being such a damn overbearing extremist, can make this game better from the inside.

It's like Linux. And just like Linux, we need to constantly tune it up to make it run efficiently. Let's keep up the good work!