The Rumors are true.......

So, the buzz flying around Boston this week was a reported merge between DOG and Metal. It is true. A note was sent to the Boston Ultimate community confirming that a new team is being formed, and it generally outlined the process by which the team will be formed (open tryouts/pickup) as well as some of the goals of the team ("play championship Ultimate"). No real surprises there. I probably overstated the case a few posts ago that many of these changes might be spurred by the fact that it is a WUC year. While I don't think it is a total coincidence that the old DOG guys picked this year to get the band back together for Masters(see Jim'sblog), I'm sure that WUC's is just one small part of the picture in terms of decisions like the DOG-Metal merger. So, what does this mean for Boston Ultimate? Probably good things. The Metal-Dog divide seemed to me to go deeper than the Dog-Blackjack/Boss Hogg/Snapple, etc dichotomy. Metal took pride in clearly defining their aesthetic with a different set of criteria than Dog. Add in the UMASS vs Brown dynamic plus the establishment vs anti-establishment nuances and the result was two different cultures....a house divided.

The letter indicates that Ted Munter, Greg Connelly, Josh McCarthy, Jeff Graham, and Forch will be at the helm for this new venture. Clearly, that is a potent brain trust and, from my outside perspective, indicates that Dog has been coveting JG for some time. It makes sense that with Jim and Al stepping down from the longest tenure with a single team that DOG is put to bed and that Twisted Puppy arises from the ashes. I think it was pretty clear that a new guard was taken the reigns of the DOG offense last year, but, at times during Nats, the O looked shaky and the D will have to find ways to cope with the obvious challenges that lurk on the horizon. It is clealy overly simplistic to view Metal as "raw, athletic, frenetic" and Dog as "cool and disciplined". That is pretty much just a convenient way for us spectators to try to set up a story. The good part is that both sides are ripe for the taking. Ted was in attendence for much of UCPC and I know he was quite taken with what Goldberg had to say. Perhaps this team will display the athleticism, discipline, and mental toughness to play "championship Ultimate". I hope so and I think this is a good time to recharge. I can't wait to see the results.