Ultimate Glory

Frisbee, Obsession, and My Wild Youth

By: David Gessner

Narrated by: David Gessner

A story of obsession, glory, and the wild early days of Ultimate Frisbee.

David Gessner devoted his twenties to a cultish sport called Ultimate Frisbee. Like his teammates and rivals, he trained for countless hours, sacrificing his body and potential career for a chance at fleeting glory without fortune or fame. His only goal: to win Nationals and go down in Ultimate history as one of the greatest athletes no one has ever heard of.

With humor and raw honesty, Gessner explores what it means to devote one’s life to something that many consider ridiculous. Today, Ultimate is played by millions, but in the 1980s, it was an obscure sport with a (mostly) undeserved stoner reputation. Its early heroes were as scrappy as the sport they loved, driven by fierce competition, intense rivalries, epic parties, and the noble ideals of the Spirit of the Game.

Ultimate Glory is a portrait of the artist as a young ruffian. Gessner shares the field and his seemingly insane obsession with a cast of closely knit, larger-than-life characters. As his sport grows up, so does he, and eventually he gives up chasing flying discs to pursue a career as a writer. But he never forgets his love for this misunderstood sport and the rare sense of purpose he attained as a member of its priesthood.

Wonderful!

I wanted to read this due to my love for disc sports, specifically disc golf. The love of the game comes through every word. He tells the story of how it came about and inserts personal struggles and struggles of other players as they committed their lives to a sport few knew about. I love how the story is drenched with an explanation of how personal sacrifices for an unknown sport can provide a man with a life worth living. Even in the face of family and friends questioning and belittling your decisions, a passion such as Ultimate, or in my case Disc Golf, can provide a person a life of joy. The authors love for the game is certain, but his love for the fellowship of people that surround the game may be even more prominent. I recently attended a funeral for a man in my disc golf community. He was not good . . . At all. But he was passionate and loved the game. At his funeral I saw a decade of friends show up to say their goodbyes. Like Gessner, especially at the time of his cancer scare, the companions made never let him down. This story is far more than a memoir of a pastime, it is a story of a life passionately lived.

Ultimate Glory Indeed

This book is so relatable even to this day. I am not a reader but I throughly enjoyed this book. Highly recommend it.