Process of Illumination

I have friends on two women's club teams. Let's call these teams Fox Munch and Bear Hair. I love individuals on both teams. They're good people.

Now this year is a watershed year for both teams. One was created as a thumb-biting gesture to the other: the miscreants who were cut and unhappy and wanted to prove that they, too, are worthy. The other, a team with a story and tradition that had, by many accounts, carried the same weathered philosophy and thinking for far too long. They'd been rivals since the former's creation and had always had a big sister/little sister relationship.

But here, this year, was an opportunity for some unity, a forward and new philosophy, and maybe some reconciliation. Fox was returning only 8 players from last year; Bear was returning only 7. Members from either team began talking: there was talk of combining, joining powers Captain Planet-style and creating something new in Colorado women's ultimate. It sounded like a great idea.

But like most things that look great on paper and then disappoint, the union never happened. At the off-season meetings they voted to remain apart. And so, one with 8 players and the other with 7, they set themselves with eyes on Nationals, but with many questions left unanswered.

It's been the talk of the town here lately, and many people are weighing in, with or without knowledge of what's happening. I don't know any more than the next person, but I've listened to what many people on both sides have to say, and I know that were I on either team, I'd have voted to unite and combine efforts and talent.

Now, it's said that Bear told Fox that any combination of teams would involve foxes trying out to be bears, and there would no changing of Bear's team name. In a year when both teams, combined, are returning 15 players total, it seems like a bit of stretch to claim the upper hand and ask the other team to absorb themselves into your fold. It would seem like the perfect time to bury hatchets and unite the clans.

But it's not to be, and they head in opposite directions. There is more here that I don't feel at liberty to discuss yet, but tryouts for both teams are going to be interesting. How it all shakes out in the end remains to be seen, but for now, for me anyway, it doesn't seem like there are any winners.