For The Green Cup - 1b

Chaos #3 (PT Lovern) and Emmanuel Bouchard (Oakland, CA and Montreal, QE respectively) VS JF Lemiux and Benjamin Rochon (both from Montreal, QE) in the Open Doubles Championship Match at The Green Cup presented by Chaos Footbag, 2009 edition.

Post Green Cup Blues

The Green Cup will now have the names of 6 different teams etched on it

It was quite a weekend and now another epic Green Cup is history.  Some quick results.  I hope to post more about the weekend later.

Emmanuel and PT Lovern (Choas #3) took game one of the Green Cup final 15-12.  JF Lemieux and Ben Rochon took game 2 15-12.  At 3-0 (JF and Ben) in game 3 and after using up all their time-outs PT Lovern and Emmanuel had to scratch out due Emmanuel’s cramps.  It’s really too bad because the players were putting on a defensive clinic and the match was on it’s way to meeting expectations set by last years final.

Alexis Deschenes/Francios Pelletier won the bronze over Yves Archambault and Luc Legault in straight sets.

The highlights of finals day was the semi-final between Lus/Yves and Emmanuel/PT which went the distance with many epic exchanges.

The Singles championship is JF Lemieux’s over Greg Lima in straight sets.  The mixed title goes to PT Lovern/Jody Welch over JF Lemieux/Lisa Monti Vu in straight sets.

Championship Monday at The Green Cup - 2009

Stella Leys is feelin the Chaos Love

Welcome to San Francisco and Championship Monday at The Green Cup 2009.  There are 5 matches on the schedule for today starting at high noon with an open doubles semi-final match, the 2 VS 3, followed by the other open doubles semi final, the 1 and 4 seeds.  We’ll be serving up some grill, brew, and the best margaritas in the world along with music during the downtime in and around the matches.

It was another cold but exciting afternoon in Oakland - day 2 at The Green Cup.

Who’s going to the show?  The matches are set and you can check out the schedule for details.

Greg Lima defeated Francios Pelletier in 3 sets to reach his first final in open singles and he is also the first player outside North America to reach a gold medal match at The Green Cup.  JF Lemieux (Montreal) defeated Chris Siebert in strait sets.

Chaos #5 (PT Lovern) and Emmanuel Bouchard defeated Gilles Demers (Montreal, QE) and Chaos #7 (Tuan Vu) in straight sets.

JF Lemieux nd Ben Rochon of Montreal, defeated Chaos #2 (Jack Harris) and Chaos #25 (Jeremy Mirken) in straight sets.

Francois Pelletier and Alexis Deschenes defeated Chris Siebert and David Bernard in 3 sets.

Luc Legault and Yves Archambault (both from Montreal) defeaed Chaos #4 (John Leys) and Chaos #5(Eric Wulff) in 3 sets.

The weather forecast for Monday calls for somewhat warmer temperature and maybe even some sun come time for The Green Cup Match.

See you there.

Sura '08 MIX I

2008 South American Footbag Net Championship
(Campeanato Sudamericano)
Open doubles net quarterfinal
Jack Harris & Jeremy Mirken (Chaos) vs. Roberto ‘Portu’ Abel & Oscar Loreto (Venezuela)

Filmed by Jack Harris and Miguel ‘Pepe’
Edited by Jack Harris
Music: Control Machete—‘Me Comprendes Mendes’

Notes:
This is the first video I posted back in January. Facebook removed it, so now it’s on YouTube, in “HD” (not really HD). Enjoy!
Special thanks to Miguel ‘Pepe’ (does anyone know his full name?). 

The Green Cup - What It's All About

Happy New Year to all from Chaos!

Do you have a resolution?  Does it include getting to The Green Cup this year?  Do you have your tickets yet?  Mark your calendar May 24th through the 26th and get your ass on a plane, train, automobile to join us.  I guarantee you won’t regret it.  You may wear it harsh but you won’t regret it.

Here’s a collection of highlights from last year’s event.  You can download a high resolution version here (right click and save/download target)

Thx for sharing this Manu!  Check out more footbag vids edited by Manu at footbagnet.com.

Gringos Storm Sur America!

Nelson and Jairo

Upon arrival in Caracas, Jack and Jeremy were given a true Venezuelan welcome: After Jeremy`s flight was delayed, Chino and Diego waited for hours at the airport, then drove the gringos to Nelson and Paulo`s house.  Nelson cooked us a late-night supper and late-morning breakfast the next day.  Paolo gave us his bed.  Before our evening departure, we walked around their neighborhood with the Castro brothers.  Highlights: Unbelievably oversized bottle-rockets and mortars for sale on the street; a skate park with ambulance parked on-site; fresh coconut juice; and, of course, Mirckosoft. 

After a 13 hour bus ride from Caracas to San Cristobal and a very warm welcome from Mr. Carlos Marquez himself, we were ready to to see how how South American players do.  It`s a good thing that footbag skills are not measured by circle hack ability. We have nothing on these coños locos. Scissor behind-the-back sole digs, crazy diving saves, circle jousts, and multiple injuries are part of the game: Circle is a contact sport--fortunately (according to some) Net is not.

We were surprised by the number of net players in VZ, and especially by the fact that 9 out of every 10 footbag players prefers net over freestyle!  In fact, there were only 2 freestylers from VZ at the championships, and about 40 net players.  As you might expect, the potential is tremendous down here, though most of these guys need more disciplined training: The desire for spectacular spikes and stylish saves clearly precedes learning the basic kicks.  Yves and Jeremy spent a good deal of time teaching outside-kick technique.  These guys learn fast...look out!

Carlos arranged for some very nice venues for the tournament.  In particular, the indoor stadium for the last two days was awesome.  Unlike last year in Colombia, he decided to let the gringos compete in the tournament.  Uh-oh.  Like Euro Championships of years past, the IFPA results were to be separated from the South American results.  Translation: Jack and Jer were not going to take a trophy home. 

In Venezuela ``ahora`` (literally translated as ``now``) actually means ``later``, and ``ya`` (already) means ``now``.  Net events were chronically ahora.  Finals day went from 10am to past midnight...and the complete results for open doubles are still undetermined.  We can tell you this much: Two gringos played in the singles final, and only one was under 40.  Despite having a cold and severely chapped (mouth) lips, Jeremy mounted a serious challenge against Yves.  Fufa upset Jairo in an epic battle for the South American trophy.  In doubles, Jack and Jer handled their shit, but Nelson and Panchito (Ronaldo) put up a good fight in the final. 

One final note:  Christmas, i.e. the month of December, in Venezuela is not complete without 24-7 fireworks.  Literally.  At times, we thought Chavistas were shelling the stadium.  Nothing like an ear-shattering boom to keep your mind focused during a match.

(written by Jack, with Jeremy complaining about the lack of `epicness` of the post over his shoulder--Jeremy will post a supplement shortly)