The Game of Ultimate: A Quick Rant

 Let me get this off my chest real quick: how in the world is “Frisbee” a trademarked word? Seriously, we are out here on college quads, sweating through cheap intramurals, calling it “ultimate frisbee” because that is literally what everyone knows it as, and apparently that is illegal? No one that I know refers to the frisbee as a "disc", but I guess that's what we are supposed to say?

The fact that Wham-O, the toy company that made the original plastic disc, somehow has the legal authority to gatekeep an entire sport’s vocabulary is ridiculous. Imagine trying to trademark the word “ball.” Playing soccer, basketball, and baseball would not let that happen. That is the exact energy this situation has. It feels absurd that a single company can try to own a word that has clearly evolved far beyond its original product. I think its definitely time for a change.

The best part is that nobody outside of official organizations even cares. Every single person I have ever met calls it a frisbee. My mom, my roommate, the random guy who recruited me to play frisbee in the first place, they all say frisbee. If you start correcting people with “actually, it is disc,” you have just declared yourself the Fun Police. Congratulations.

So yes, I will keep calling it ultimate frisbee, because at the end of the day, language belongs to the players, not the trademark lawyers. The culture of the game is built on community, competition, and fun, not corporate ownership of a word. I can't wait for the day I will finally be able to call it a frisbee, because at the end of the day that's what it is.