RecapWinter 2019Rooks vs. Boost It!

This game needs no introduction, because most of the things I would say, Colin’s going to say them already.  So let’s get right to Colin Whitman of the Rooks:

Historic moments often come and pass without much acknowledgement, but with time, the significance of the moment reveals itself. Last night was not one of those nights. Mark your calendars and circle 2/5/2019, the Rooks first win streak officially began.

A cold night whipped around the rancho of cienega, few Rooks took to the fields still damp from fording the parking lot river. As the game began, old, injured stalwarts warmed up just in case “fresh legs” were needed, but fortunately the spry Rooks looked like a team that had been playing together for years. Early in the game, Rooks lost and traded points with Whiskey but with wily cuts and keen defense slowly pulled ahead and never looked back (tied or only a point or two ahead, until the game broke open in the second half). Boost It showed A LOT of promise and potential but suffered from unfortunate drops and missed throws, but otherwise put together a strong game that never felt too lopsided. But experience proved to be too much, when the Rooks took advantage of situations and cut into deep space or double moved for unders. It was enough to make a broken captain tear up. Highlights include: Jordan with 3 D’s in a row in a single point (plus scoring multiple goals and assists), Butters with the Shoeless Joe Jackson award when she played a point and scored the point before remembering she didn’t put on her cleats yet, Eok shredding the mids and hucking beautifully, and Hamilton and Aaron taking care of the deep space and racking up points served up with beautiful hucks from Radka and of course, Luigi leading the team in throwaways (thank you, Ultianalytics). Also, fun fact, this is the first time in Rooks history where we have a positive point differential. A season of firsts!!

But a bigger more important milestone happened this year, and I feel like I can finally mention it now that we’ve played both teams… but there are TWO brand new rookie teams!!! How incredible is that?? It’s been amazing for the past two weeks to get a glimpse of each team, and in a way, get a glimpse of where we were 7 years ago, and hopefully give inspiration and a warm welcome to the rookie teams Boost It and Whiskey Discs. And it’s bizarre to think about it, but 7 years ago a Rookie team was a golden unicorn of Winter League. No one knew what to do with us. They wouldn’t know we were beginners who didn’t quite know the rules or they would use the games to stack their point differential or maybe quietly grumble that it was a “bye week” for them or maybe run up the score and then practice their zone for the rest of the game…on a team that struggled to complete 3 consecutive passes against a regular defense.  I hope the environment has changed in the past 7 years and I hope that in some small way Rooks played a part of it, but beyond that, I hope Boost and Whiskey continue to play and stick around season after season. They both have a lot of potential and stellar athletes, and Rooks is proof that it gets better. So, hang in there! Losses are tough, but focus on fun and developing throwing and catching and everything else will come with time!! But in the immediate future, I’m excited for the game where they play for the first time… I’m hoping it’s the marquee match up of Week 9 when they’ve gotten the hang of the league and built their chemistry. Good luck, and welcome!!

And of course, the Betz Gif Tax:

So Boost It and Whiskey Discs are the new Rooks.  I like it.

Let’s throw out some facts, shall we?

• Rooks’ two wins this season equals the sum total of their regular season wins combined in their previous 6 seasons.
• Rooks’ current -334 point diff in their history is the lowest of any team.  How long will it take them to no longer have the lowest point diff?  The next closest is The Swingers at -206.  That team lasted from 2004 to 2008 and went 5-26 overall in the regular season.  But Rooks have a positive point diff this year, so slowly but surely they can chip away at that record.
• Rooks have finished in last place in 5 of their 6 years.  The only time they didn’t, they finished 12th of 13 teams in 2016.  But that streak clearly seems to be coming to an end.  They’re on pace to finish far from the bottom this year.
• Let’s look back at the first Rooks roster in 2013.  To see how they’ve changed.  Here’s the first team of Rooks:  I highlighted the current players in Red
  

  M	Ben Leathers
  M	Colin Whitman
  M	Daniel Dotterer
  M	Derek Cheng
  M	Eddie Williams
  M	Hamilton Lewis
  M	Henry Funk
  M	James Furlan
  M	Jared Marshall
  M	Jon Hill
  M	Justin Low
  M	Kale Bittner
  M	Kyle O’Neal
  M	Mike Pycher
  M	Ryan Causey
  M	Santiago Gonzalez
  M	Sean Cook
  M	Zack Price
  F	Ally Marks
  F	Jen King
  F	Jennifer Huber
  F	Kathleen Hatcher
  F	KC Brandenstein
  F	Shannon Gibson
  F	Simona Petrutiu
  F	Taylor Karp