Kim Winheim
Radical Matt Weber, #15, revolts against Pittsburgh last month.
In the American Ultimate Disc League’s short history, four different cities have hosted Championship Weekend, which brings together the sport’s top four teams. Only once has the host city’s team won the league title, and it happened last year, when the San Jose Spiders defeated the Madison Radicals in San Jose.
Tim DeByl, Radicals owner and head coach, hopes that in that sense, history repeats itself this coming weekend when Madison hosts the 2016 AUDL Championship Weekend V at Breese Stevens Field.
“The crowd helped to make the difference in that championship game [last season],” DeByl says. “We feel like our great crowd is a big reason we have won 31 games in row in Madison. So we sure hope it helps.”
Kim Winheim
The Madison Radicals huddle at their final regular season game.
Tickets for Championship Weekend were selling briskly long before the Radicals locked up a berth in the final four with an undefeated season, including a 20-16 victory over rugged rival Pittsburgh Thunderbirds in the Midwest Championship Game on July 23. Team officials are expecting large, loud crowds for both of Saturday’s semifinal matchups (Dallas Roughnecks vs. Toronto Rush at 4 p.m. and the Radicals vs. Seattle Cascades at 7 p.m.), as well as Sunday’s title game (slated to begin at noon). Single-day passes cost $10 each, with weekend passes available for $15.
Breese Stevens also will host ultimate clinics for kids on Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Each clinic costs $5 with the purchase of a weekend pass.
“These games will be the best games we have ever played,” DeByl says. “The top players in the U.S. and Canada play on the teams coming in, and this is our chance to measure ourselves versus those players.”
The Radicals have represented the AUDL’s seven-team Midwest Division at Championship Weekend all four seasons of their existence but have never won the league title. This weekend, DeByl says, the Radicals will need to generate greater offensive productivity than Madison did against San Jose in last year’s championship game. Once you fall behind in ultimate, it’s tough to come back, because of the sport’s high-scoring nature.
Falling behind is not something the Radicals have experienced for a long time, and they don’t intend to start now. As DeByl reminded me, “It’s also been a long time since a Madison team in any sport has won a championship.”
