CAMAS — If you were on the field at Doc Harris Stadium on Saturday, hopefully you kept your eyes up and head on a swivel.
My brief lapse of focus ended when a flying plastic disc whizzed by my neck.
My mind flashed to that scene from James Bond “Goldfinger,” where henchman Oddjob decapitates a statue with his flying derby.
But the setting was much more jovial Saturday before a Major League Ultimate game between the Portland Stags and Vancouver (B.C.) Nighthawks. Lean players, many in their mid-20s, stretched, sprinted and flicked Frisbees.
Deep in this niche of organized American sports, the semi-pro Portland Stags opened their season with a 23-21 win before a couple hundred fans.
Ultimate Frisbee brings to mind bed-headed college kids out for a good time on the intramural fields.
Major League Ultimate takes itself a little more seriously. The uniforms are adorned with a sponsor’s logo.
The league’s website has pregame injury reports, webcasts and even a fantasy league. The official MLU rulebook is 44 pages long.
But it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is refreshing in this sports culture that often forgets games are supposed to be fun.
There are teachers, attorneys and medical students on Portland’s roster, which was trimmed to 25 from about 60 who tried out. There’s also a carpenter and a guy who was the Beaver mascot at Oregon State University a few years ago.
It’s a motley mix indeed. The chance to travel and help grow their favorite sport is more of an attraction than the small stipend many receive.
They’re also great athletes. The game involves sprinting, endurance, and leaping ability. On several occasions Saturday, players made sprawling, diving catches. Kinetic tape, foam rollers and sports drinks littered the turf near the team benches.
A game consists of four 10-minute quarters. Teams of seven try to advance the disc into the end zone by passing it — you can’t run with it. A turnover occurs when the disc touches the ground or is intercepted.
Major League Ultimate is in its second season, with four teams in the West (Portland, Seattle, Vancouver B.C. and San Francisco) and four in the East (Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Washington).
Portland finished its first season 1-9. The team is living a nomadic existence this season, playing it first two home games at Doc Harris, its next two at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore., and its season finale in Eugene.
That finale will be a homecoming for the Stags’ Breeze Strout, who has played ultimate for more than half of his 29-year life. He’s seen the perception of his sport evolve.
“It’s getting a lot better,” Strout said. “About four or five years ago people would ask ‘so do you play in bare feet?’ No, we actually have cleats and everything.”
The sports landscape is crowded, to say the least. I’m skeptical of many lower-level professional leagues, especially those that tweak a sport’s rules and use it as a selling point. That’s merely a gimmick meant to distract from the inferior product on the field or court.
But there’s always room for athletes, teams and leagues that play for the right reasons.
Micah Rice is The Columbian’s sports editor. Reach him at 360-735-4548, micah.rice@columbian.com or on Twitter ?@col_mrice.
