An Anti-Legitimacy Argument
Play more games in parks!
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Let’s Be Less Legitimate! Play More Games in Parks!
A few weekends ago, on April 20, I watched the Raleigh Radiance play their PUL home opener against the Atlanta Soul. It was a very fun game, especially for fans of the Radiance, as they cruised to a 23-16 victory against their local (ish) rivals. It was a ton of fun to see such a talented collection of players, some of whom I have worked and played with (or been coached by) in the past, and call friends, play so well, and represent our community in such a wonderful way. It was a fun game, with the Raleigh O-line humming and looking unstoppable at times, Atlanta coming down with some incredible plays in the air to stay close, before the Radiance D-line sealed the game in the second half.
But I’m not here to write a detailed recap of the game today. Instead, I’d like to share my favorite part of the experience a few weeks ago: the venue.
For the first time since I’ve been back in the area, there was a professional ultimate game at C. M. Herndon Park, a local Durham park that features pickup, club, and youth team practices, and even goaltie pickup every week. Typically, the Radiance will play at Durham County Memorial Stadium. It’s where the UFA’s Carolina Flyers normally play, too, and seats 8,500 people.
It’s a gorgeous stadium that adds an air of legitimacy to the pro ultimate leagues that play there. However, as far as fan experience goes, it is light years behind the environment from the April 20 game at the park. I think it’s fair to say no team in any professional ultimate league remotely touches a number close to 8,500 for weekly attendance. So it feels a little empty when you see any game being streamed in a stadium five or ten times bigger than the capacity ultimate leagues can sell out right now.
And it’s missing the best angle from which to watch any ultimate game: the sideline. Nothing beats getting a front row view to high-level ultimate. It was my favorite thing about going to club regionals and nationals last year, my favorite thing about this Radiance game. Many of you know what I’m talking about. You get access to the game's inner workings in a way you can’t from a bleacher or on stream. Given the self-officiated nature of ultimate, how verbal and communicative it is, getting to hear snippets of the game you are watching adds so much extra context to what’s happening. Not to mention, there are interactions between fans and players throughout the game, especially when there is a large and loud crowd. The best moment of the game was at the end of the first quarter when the Radiance’s Julia Hoffmann scored on the final possession of the first quarter and ran down the sideline, celebrating with and hyping up the crowd.
It fosters a sense of togetherness between the team and fans that’s harder to get in a larger, emptier stadium. There are several special things about watching a pro ultimate game at Herndon Park, too. One thing is just how much of the local ultimate community spends time there at various points of the season. For kids, even adults aspiring to play higher levels of ultimate, seeing the best players in the area play on the same field you do is inspiring. It lets you see yourself reaching all those lofty goals incredibly clearly in your mind’s eye, and inspires you to push yourself more.
Additionally, go back and watch the stream. Look at how packed the sideline looks. In every sense of the word, it is so much more communal to be together watching ultimate in that way, as a connected crowd rather than a group spread out across a stadium. Additionally, what you can’t see on the stream is a group of people watching from the shade behind the right-hand side end zone, playing spikeball, getting ice cream from a food truck, and just taking a break from the sun. Yes, being able to play spikeball or get food from a food truck so close to the game is maybe a dent in the “legitimacy” of the whole operation, but it is much more of a unique environment than you can get at most other sporting events.
Having spoken to Raleigh Radiance Executive Director Jenny Wei at the game, I know for a fact that it is harder to put on a game at the park. From transporting everything from signs, tents, field pylons, and everything else needed to set up the gameday experience to setting up streaming equipment in an area not designed for it, there are numerous extra challenges to making games happen at a park. Not to mention that many of the forces behind pro ultimate make decisions both consciously and unconsciously to appear as “legitimate” and like other pro sports as possible. From the venues chosen to play in, the rule changes from USAU’s, to the production decisions made on broadcasts. And playing pro games in a park does not always align with those desires that pro ultimate has.
But would it really be so bad to compromise on that every once in a while? Ultimate as a sport breaking into the forefront of the mind of an American sports fan, let alone an international one, is not something that will happen in a year, or two, or five, or even ten. That feels pretty well established given how efforts over the past decade and a half have gone to get ultimate into the Olympics and the positive but incremental year-to-year growth of pro ultimate leagues. So with that in mind, why not focus a little more on growing the audience within the community, making games must-attend events for everyone who knows anything about ultimate in the area?
Another aspect of my conversation with Jenny Wei was how the ultimate community is just about stretched to capacity regarding what we can give with our time and money. But if pro teams can turn games into full community events, it’s possible that one extra event in the ultimate community will feel rejuvenating and energizing for the community, rather than draining. And at the same time, maybe it takes a little pressure off teams and leagues to fill big stadiums that no one in the sport can yet.
I really do believe that if we all continue to put the time and effort we are putting into this sport now, it’ll get to a point of more “legitimacy” in the broader sports landscape. I guess my main question is, what’s the rush? Why not enjoy the stage of growth we are in now, invest in the community that’s already with the sport, and trust that that’ll lead to more people wanting to be a part of ultimate? Let’s play more games in parks.
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About the Author
My name is Noam Gumerman (he/him). I am from Chapel Hill, NC, and studied Journalism and American Studies at Brandeis University. I am a journalist by trade and have been playing ultimate for over half my life. I love nothing more than combining those two interests. Contact me for discussions, feedback, story suggestions, and more on Twitter or Bluesky (@noamgum/@breaksideulti now too!) or email (noamgumerman@gmail.com).
I've been thinking about this since the first semi-pro game I attended. It was cool to see ultimate in a traditional stadium environment. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that the stadium was too big for us, that we were just ~pretending~ to be a traditional pro sport. Recently, I went to a PUL game in my city. Much-much smaller venue... but the bleachers were packed! There were plenty of people standing along the fences around the field for a view. This felt like a game the people really wanted to watch. I think you've made a good argument for choosing venues that give fans a sense of community, rather than looking only for venues that feel "legitimate"
This is my biggest frustration with ultimate players. If you are trying to grow the sport, you can't just cater to the current player base. Let's look at the WUL and PUL. Why aren't there more fans at the games? Social media engagement is high. All the top men's players are hyping up the leagues and players. Both leagues cater to the ultimate community in avoiding the club season. Problem is, that means the games are played in months where the weather sucks, cold, windy, and rainy. Not ideal for fans, but die hards will go. It's also college season, so you're losing out on those fans. It's also the start of club tryouts. By catering to the club season, bother leagues are losing on the ultimate community fan base to start. Also add in not really pushing to grow outside of the community, that's a ton of missed fans.
I will say though, that Carolina stadium is one of the worst setups for fans currently in the leagues. If you look at the UFA stadiums, the majority are soccer/rugby fields with stands right up on the sideline, so players could go give high fives mid game. A decent amount also have sideline/endzone beer gardens/fan zones that are yards off the sideline.
All this to say, the sport needs to get bigger outside the sport before trying to go back to a park for a pro game. Look how big the MLB is, but one of the best games for fans is the Field of Dreams game every year. Gotta get big before going back home