5 years ago, New Year’s Day was a snowy day in Derby, KS. My parent’s had their annual New Year’s Eve party the night before, and it was a miserably cold night outside but fun was had by all. Several friends spent the night and in the morning, we were all trying to figure out what to do. Eventually, we decided.

8 people or so piled into vehicles and drove over to a local park and we played ultimate frisbee in 8 inches of snow. We called/messaged other friends who like to play too, and in the end had about 14 people who all came out to enjoy sports with friends, freezing in the snow.

We decided afterward that this must become a tradition. While the weather was miserable, the company and the fun far outweighed this, and we wanted to always have this chance to ring in the new year with fun, sports, friends, and the great outdoors; no matter the weather.

This year, after five years of tradition, I posted on our ultimate frisbee Facebook page a week ahead of time to let people know that the tradition must live on. People were in full support! However, as the day came closer, people began looking at the weather channel instead of the spirit of tradition. Unacceptable, especially when involving Ultimate.

Because of the weather, people became skeptical of whether we were actually playing.

I, of course, assured them that the weather had no bearing on our tradition.

I even started getting hate from members of the group.

I was unsure if there would be enough people to carry on the tradition. Would the weather scare too many people from living in the glory of a tradition held dear for many years?

12 O’clock came. This would be the test. When I showed up to the field, would the single digit weather have kept everyone inside their houses, or would they have loved what is good and showed up?…

 

…By 12:45, we had over 21 people.

The tradition was alive. The members were strong. The morale started low with grumbles of cold weather, but quickly grew into laughs and joy felt by all. Though we couldn’t feel our fingers, we felt the spirit of tradition and our hearts were full.

As I look around and see so many people enjoying something many would label as insanity, I couldn’t help but realize,

“these are the good ol’ days”