Fifth day at Worlds, and, well, we're out of the running.

Part of me is disappointed, but another part of me is relieved. We as a team originally said we came here to have fun, but, in reality, we were playing to win: subbing in our top roster, getting snippy when we didn't play well, the usual.

We lost in the round of 16 to the Bombing Mad Fatties who, as a team, has pretty bad spirit (independently confirmed by teams that play the team on a regular basis). We didn't figure out how to defend against their big players until late in the game (the top receiver is one of their worst throwers, and their women were universally non-stellar), so forcing to the women and their top guy under (instead of allowing him to score in the endzone) worked effectively. Tragically, we didn't figure this out until the gusty game was too close to overcome, losing 16-17.

The worst moment of the game was 14-14, when Mark went out of the game with a level 3 separated shoulder, requiring x-rays, an MRI and most certainly surgery.

Then losing to another team nearly immediately after that, a team that was clearly inferior, but we lacked heart.

We're on our way to 13th at the rate we're going. We'll meet Joyride again tomorrow morning at 8:30, and play our final game at 12:30. I'm uncertain to play, having rolled my ankle (the "healthy" one) in the second game of the day.

Can't say this has been one of my best tournaments.

Or vacations.

Fourth day at Worlds and I'm remarkably stressed, but not from playing. We won our first game, against the Chad Larson Experience fairly handily, though I don't recall the score at the moment.

Our second game was against Whorshack, from Portland, and was interestingly less closer than the final score of 17-16 would suggest. We were up 15-11, when Foss and Adam adamantly suggested we throw the game to end up on the opposite side of the 16 teams bracket from Brass Monkey. I think it was less the Brass Monkey and more the playing three US teams that we've played before on the way to the finals.

Assuming we make the finals.

Part of me is hoping we don't make it, as that would mean the disasterous room situation would be more dire. But that part is the hestiant, fearful part. The other part of me is gearin' to go.

I'm playing okay at this tournament, but not great. I'm not playing much, trying to get back into playing in the first place. This season has been pretty awful in terms of fitness, skills and confidence. I think I'm ready for the season to be over, actually.

Two, maybe three days left.

Can't wait to be home again.

Third day of play at Worlds and the flies are relentless. They're buzzing all over the place, landing on every body part, exposed or not, and staying there. Kris says they're biting him, which thrills me not at all. Mark discovered the flies will move if a fast moving object, say, a hand, is coming towards them, but not if a slow moving object is coming toweards them. He also learned how to squish the flies moving his hands slowly together, the fly trapped between.

Mark is brilliant.

We won our first game of day three against Joyride, a practicing mixed team from Vancouver, Canada. They were at Regionals, also, and played Family Style to a close win, finishing fifth in the Region, I think. We won 17-8, though, which was surprising for us, actually.

We have the retarded 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM schedule today, so most of the team has gone on a lunch cruise. Kria and I are, as usual, here at the fields, watching games. Kris is anyway. I'm writing this.

We're so predictable.

Second day at Worlds, and Mark is angry at me. What a sucky suck day, when Mark is mad at me.

We beat the China/South Korea team, 17-5, in an incredibly blustery, windy day. We're undefeated in pool play, and will play Joyride, a Vancouver, Canada, team, and I think Osaka Natto from Japan tomorrow, with the retarted 8:30 AM / 4:30 PM schedule.

Won our second game against the German team Endzonis 17-10 Good game in general, I dropped two discs in the endzone, fortunately on the same point. The wind grabbed the first one and pushed it down. I don't know why I missed the second one.

With the win, we secured the A pool win. Tragically, this means we have an 8:30 am game and a 4:30 PM game on Tuesday. The schedule for this tournament has been remarkably retarded. We're tourists in this city, it would be nice to actually spend our dollars with a schedule that permits us to travel outside the tournament. Though, admittedly, in later days, playing means we're doing well, and I'd prefer playing a crappy schedule to being knocked out early in the tournament.

Tomorrow is a game against Zhong, a China/South Korea team of expats similar to the Hong Kong team I played with at Worlds in 2002. I wonder if I'll recognize anyone.