May 10, 2023
By Daniel Cohen
“Player Chatter” is a new series consisting entirely of player quotes, thoughts, and feelings from around the league. All current AUDL players were sent a handful of prompts earlier this week designed to be as open-ended as possible. Additionally, players were asked to vote in a single-question, multiple choice survey.
Week 3 Survey Results
Who's winning the Week 3 Game of the Week, the New York Empire or DC Breeze?
New York Empire: 74.2 percent of votes
DC Breeze: 25.8 percent of votes
Week 2 Reactions
“Noah Coolman puts the contact in non-contact sport.” Aaron Weaver, Los Angeles Aviators
“The amount Colorado backpacks people and then complains about contact is odd.” Sean McDougall, Los Angeles Aviators
“Pawel [Janas] looks funky in red [...] A true hodgepodge of players, hope they can do something with it.” Anonymous AUDL player (verified)
“Growlers and Aviators let the Summit off easy this weekend. Unforced errors were the dominant theme of each game. Credit to the Summit for taking advantage. I expect a major rebound for both teams now that the game one jitters are done with.” Aaron Weaver, Los Angeles Aviators
“Two incredible collapses by Indy and Portland. Dallas had two very different halves. Philly and DC seemed much closer than you’d expect after Week 1.” Anson Reppermund, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“Big comeback win by Minnesota. What a wild Austin/Dallas game. Philly held DC to a very tight game. Carolina 0-2! Portland up on Shred in fourth!” Anonymous AUDL player (verified)
“Austin Sol’s off-field style: They say looks can kill, but it seems like their attire before games never goes out of style. Week 1 was floral, and this week some of them showed up in long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt with blue jeans. A classic grease look. Aside from that, Sol played well against a Legion team that was missing some key personnel.” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
“Part of what makes Carolina so good at handler defense is that they are just constantly fouling.” Jacob Blackman, Atlanta Hustle
“Loved the Justin Burnett vs. Jacob Fairfax matchup. Two super explosive athletes battling it out.” Anson Reppermund, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
"Phil Turner for the Rush was pretty impressive.” Anson Reppermund, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“Dallas….. Yikes.” Jacob Blackman, Atlanta Hustle
“Respect to Jason Hustad for going for the nutmeg late in the fourth quarter vs. Sol. I screamed for whatever it's worth, ‘Meg!’ from the stands just to see if he did it, and he did. Incomplete, but still. I remember it all too well. Wind in my hair, I was there. Down the stairs, I was there.” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
“Toronto has assembled the avengers of throwaways and we can’t wait to play them.” Montreal Royal player (verified)
Early Season Impressions
“Max Trifillis is the best Max on the Philadelphia Phoenix.” Max Charles, Philadelphia Phoenix
“West coast is overrated. Sincerely, a west coast player.” Sean McDougall, Los Angeles Aviators
“Haven’t really seen any major surprises, kind of surprised how not dominant DC has looked considering their depth and buy in. No shade, and they have a long runway till playoffs, they have the coaching staff and personnel to be great. But two relatively lukewarm performances in my opinion, other than the end of the fourth quarter in Week 1 vs. Carolina.” Anson Reppermund, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“The Hustle look like the opposite of a white horse, a dark horse in the league if you will” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
“Atlanta beating Carolina, despite missing both Max Thorne and Jeremy Langdon, shows their depth. It'll be interesting to see [Mischa] Freystaetter slot in later in the season as well.” Jonathan Mast, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“Liam Haberfield was a stand out last week! He showcased his cannon while still being poised and not taking unnecessary shots. Lethal combination.” Jonathan Mast, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“South Division: Please stop throwing jump balls to [Brett] Hulsmeyer. He’s gonna get the disc.” Anson Reppermund, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“Chris Bartoli with five blocks for Boston Glory!” Anonymous AUDL player (verified)
“*Insert Bernie Sanders meme* I am once again asking players to remember they can overturn missed calls with integrity.” Aaron Weaver, Los Angeles Aviators
“Mark Henke is tied for the fourth-most goals in the league right now. Saw some young fans ask for his autograph with his older brother sitting right there next to him—they walked away without asking for his. Probably didn't even know who he was.” Anonymous AUDL player (verified)
Thoughts on the Game of the Week: New York vs. DC
“Will DC dethrone New York? God I hope so.” Sean McDougall, Los Angeles Aviators
“Last week the Breeze had good pressure on defense but lacked consistent dominance in the air. It'll be interesting to see their adjustments. My prediction is DC bounces back after a rough offensive outing and wins by one at home.” Jonathan Mast, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“I can hope that DC takes one from NY, but boy was it a close one vs. Philly. I don't think DC will be within three honestly.” Anonymous AUDL player (verified)
“DC’s sub-40 huck percentage will not be good enough to beat New York.” Jacob Blackman, Atlanta Hustle
“[This game] will be a battle of the defenses.” Anonymous AUDL player (verified)
“New York Empire has a big reputation. New York just looks like the team to beat. A close one, but a New York dub.” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
Week 3 Predictions
“Parlay of the week: Hustle, Aviators, Phoenix, Rush, Thunderbirds, Flyers, Havoc, Empire, Alleycats, Shred, Summit, Nitro.” Anonymous AUDL player (verified)
“After all the trash talk directed at us by Detroit, we’re excited to get to play them this weekend. I hope and believe we can win by six or more.” Anson Reppermund, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“Houston beats Dallas handily. 5-plus goal game.” Anonymous AUDL player (verified)
“Dallas had a rough showing this past weekend vs. Austin, but it's a new week. We still have black space in the win column for the season and franchise. Hoping this week to change that vs. Dallas. Whoever Griffin Miller guards will be a good matchup to watch. Kevin Richardson and Ben Lewis should also be a good matchup. Let the games begin—are you ready for it?” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
Water Cooler
“Not AUDL-related, but Taylor Swift announced Speak Now (Taylor's Version) this weekend so that was cool. July 7 it comes out, so put it on your calendars.” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
“Looking forward to seeing the Sol vs. Hustle matchup Friday night!!” Jonathan Mast, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“Thankful for the high level of competition and all the sacrifices that players and coaches make personally and professionally to put their highest standard of play out on the field. We want your best so we can play at our best.” Max Trifillis, Philadelphia Phoenix
“To all those writing shade or trying to say something funny across the league, put your name on it. If you don’t think it’s funny with your name on it, it’s not funny without your name. This isn’t a space to be an internet troll. Be an adult. Alright, cool, and don’t forget, nerds: Frisbee is pretty stupid when you sit down to really think about it.” Chris Mazur, Los Angeles Aviators
“The fact that people were lying about who they were on the AUDL chatter is so funny. League was headed in a great direction until the google form got taken down by Big Ultimate. We need more shitposters in ultimate, like that guy Jack Kelly on one of the central teams—I forget which one, maybe Detroit? I know he played Hybrid last year. Overall disappointed by the decision, but what can you do. I will stand by this comment with my name, Pawel Janas, Windy City Wildfire.” Jake Rubin-Miller, Madison Radicals
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