Downtown Brown brought me into the fold for Potlatch 2006, in I think one of the first coed iterations of the team. For me, Ultimate had been about playing, training, team-ing, partying, competing, but after getting to know Michael Namkung and Jody Dozono sometime in 2005, I started to understand that there could be more meaningful levels. Friends and allies in Ultimate could co-create space to discuss how normalization of things like whiteness and heterosexuality impacts us, on the personal and cultural levels, in Ultimate and beyond.
I was nervous and excited to join DTB. I’ve referred to the Circle as a magical place, and if you haven’t experienced it, that may not make sense at all. I entered the Circle for the first time feeling somewhat uncertain, but Frankus started things off with some history and some reassuring words about inclusivity and family … and pretty soon it was clear how similar some of my personal experiences and feelings were to those of each person sharing. The Circle often brings laughter, heartwarming stories, rage-producing stories, connection, tears, and hugs, and suddenly you realize that you and your brown sisters and brothers—of the past, present, and future—are family forever.
Even having not played on DTB for many years at this point, part of me is with DTB Nation always.
Unity. Knowledge. Justice. Together. Too brown, too strong.
