Flutterby™! : Jon Ossoff & Ultimate Frisbee

What Ultimate Frisbee can teach us about Jon Ossoff.

At every level, from elementary school to professional, ultimate is almost entirely self-officiated. Players point out violations that they see, experience or even cause, and both sides have to agree the violation occurred for it to fully count. If they don’t, play resorts to a sort of half-penalty. The disagreement is incorporated into the game, not punted to arbiters on the sidelines. “The grace that allows us to exhibit, if we buy in, is transformative,” Baccarini said.

If you don’t take the responsibility of self-officiation seriously — if you’re inclined to lie, fight, or act the victim — people notice, and stop giving you chances to show off those instincts. It doesn’t matter what other skills you bring: Violate that cardinal value, and you’re on the sidelines. In ultimate, you’re either successful at owning your mistakes, or you’re genuinely bad at the game.