The Hard Corps of the Big Apple extends our hearty congratulations to all of the winners, competitors, Sideline Jammers, and especially the organizers, of the FPA World Championships in Prague. The stills and videos posted made us feel a part of an incredibly wonderful extended family. The rebirth of our sport in Europe has energized us all, so please keep Spreading the Jam!

The weather forecast was kind of bleak for NYC. While the sun was shining, there was a severe thunderstorm warning in effect until 9pm as I wandered onto a virtually deserted Sheep’s Meadow. There was a solitary figure lazily brushing a disc. Do my eyes deceive me…could that be Flash, again? Sure enough, Mr. Flood had come back for more, which was great news for us all. Joey, Susan, JB, Roger (back from Praha), Fresh, Jill, BenJAMin and Claire, The Ageless Trevor Brown, Kevin, Mojito Jay, Jimmy D. and Ann Marie, Ivan-TJH, Ben Heaver, TedShred and TLC, Quinn-O with his whole family in tow(?!), and Chuck were all out to join the fun.

It is highly unusual for Jam of the Day honors to be bestowed on the very first folks to dive in the deep end, but on this afternoon, there was no question in my mind. Flash and The Oracle got up while most folks were still getting nailed up. As Fresh phrased it so eloquently when Roger posted our group picture on FB: “That Jam was Butter.” This was actually the first time they ever Jammed together, though you would never have know it from the high level of disc dexterity displayed right from the start. Plenty of Flow with an extraordinary array of high difficulty moves on both parts. As previously mentined, Flash is ambiDISCerous throwing, and Joey has that ‘insta-throw’ thing completely down, so the disc was in constant motion. UD, vertical, standard, both spins, rolls, brushes, deflections, Laerbs kicks, Phlash Phlauds, matching roll combinations, everything you could think of was in there. Great stuff. And that was just the opening Jam!

Next up was Fresh and Roger, who looked quite relaxed after his trip(s). I snatched up Ivan for some Jammin’/Heavin’, ‘cause that’s the way (uh huh, uh huh) I like it. Ben Heaver, with his unparalleled overhand, jumped into the fray with us, so it was really on. I was able to keep one eye on the Jams since we were throwing at distance. I saw that when Flash took a break, Joey shifted over to join the Fresh Roger combination. Sir Tedley enticed Flash back into action almost immediately, and then Quinn-O slid in seamlessly once they got a rhythm. Both of those Jams looked great. In fact, after I had broke a good sweat, I noticed Flash sauntering over to TLC for a beverage and conversation. This opened up the door for me.

For the last couple of years, the combination of TedShred and Quinn-O has brought out the best in me. I don’t even bother to try quantifying why it works, it just does. We always Flow right from the start, and today we were in perfect sync. We hit an O’Malachy right off the bat, and never looked back. Quinn’s Southpaw Mac-throws went for strikes, while Teddy was just ablaze. At one point TO hit back to back Phlaud seals, one lefty, and one righty, after wild flow-filled combinations. That was worth “One Dollah”, and then “a Buck Fifty” to be sure.

Right around this time is when we heard thunder in the distance. No big deal…until we saw the lightning cracking across the sky over Central Park South. Those thunderheads were massive, threatening to scatter our gathering to the wind. Except, we don’t need no stinkin’ conditions to have fun, we just kept it going. Trevor, Kevin, and Ivan got up and at ‘em, and The Oracle said “I’m comin’ down” joining me, TO and Quinn-O. These jams were all kinds of fun, especially as the lightning bolts kept arcing across the sky to the south and east, but the rain stayed in Brooklyn and Queens. Jimmy D. and the Reliable One paired off and were having a blast. At one point while Chuck, our Ace videographer and King of Speed Flow, was about to move on from their Jam, when Jim said “Wait a minute. Watch This…” They then went for and hit back-to-back Gitis on cue.

Folks kept things moving as the sun dipped below the buidings of Central Park West. There was one massive Mob-Op when Trevor and Ivan hopped into our 4-man, then I slid over to get a bit of Roger and Fresh, who snuck in their last licks. Overall, it was really a great way to prep for… prep for…

Prep for SIR RANDETH OF SILVEY, our next All*Star Thursday Guest Jammer Initiative Invitee! If you are within a 500 mile radius of the Manhole on August 25th, you better make your way to NYC, ‘cuz it’s gonna be ON like Donkey Kong!!!!

Peace Out, Yo!

TP-TJH