Beach Finals

I just saw the Beach volley finals on DK 4 and I wanted to share some thoughts.  I don't know if everyone will think I'm crazy or not, but watching the men's final kind of changed my perspective on beach volleyball in general.  Even though I've played in most of the tournaments this year, this was actually the first time I saw the finals and after seeing them, one thing is really obvious.  Bo and Anders and Lars and Teis are playing at a different level than all the other teams.  For lack of a better word, it's really cool to see them play each other.  Not necessarily because the level is so high (even if it is) but more because the style they play against each other is extremely fun to watch.  There are few shots.  I don't know if that is because they are so fast in defense that it is hard to put the ball away without putting pace on it or if they just feel more comfortable hitting the ball.  But what that means for the viewer is that there is a lot of defense and a lot of scrambling.  It seems to me (and this is where I might just be losing my mind) that the game has kind of evolved past just a straight side out game.  Both sides seemed to be able to consistently pick up, or at least touch, most of the balls in defense.  Put another way, the problem for the two teams didn't seem so much to be able to pick up the other team's shots, the problem seemed to be able to pick up the other team's shots and then put the ball away themselves.  It's kind of the next evolution of the game and it's intriguing. 

I started thinking: maybe this is the future of the game.  Maybe the new beach volleyball isn't just about siding out every time because the defense is so good.  Maybe the new game is about being able to play defense against the other team and then turn that defense into a point.

Now, you're all going to say that this is what volleyball has always been about.  True.  But, the difference is that the defense was so consistent, there were so balls that just didn't get to touch the sand on both sides that it was almost more normal to see a rally where the ball went over the net two or three times before it was over than it was to see a straight sideout.  I think I can count on one hand the amount of shots that hit the sand without someone at least getting a touch on it.  I mean, even when Teis got blocked straight down the ball ended up bouncing off of his knee and almost getting played over again.  In the end it was Lars and Teis that ended up winning the long rallies and that was a huge reason why they won the championship.  The defense has been missing for a long time and it seemed like this final brought it back. 

So congratulations to both teams.  I feel like I saw the future today and if the development continues it is going to be really fun to follow along with.