In Part 1 of our interview series we learned about Ken Dobyns and his beginnings with the sport of Ultimate along with the early elements that would come together to create NYNY. In Part 2 we delved into the dynasty that was NYNY and their culture of winning and find out what it meant to be perhaps the greatest team of all time.
Now, in Part 3, our final section, Ken discusses the struggle of maintaining championship form, the end of the NYNY dynasty and his involvement in the inception of the DiscNY, an organization meant to act as a centralized administration for Ultimate in New York.
After having the opportunity to speak with Ken and many of his colleagues, one thing is absolutely clear. Ken Dobyns had a massive impact on the game. Without him there would be no NYNY dynasty. Without him many wouldn’t never have seen the sport in such a competitive light. He brought innovative levels of intensity and dedication to a sport that wasn’t recognized as legitimate – even more so than today. Did he make people angry? Yes. Did he find every edge he could to win? Yes. Did he cross the line? No. I don’t believe so. What mattered to Ken was the sport of Ultimate. It was, and still is, in his blood.
Another NYNY title. Ken Dobyns holds the wooden plaque.
Beyond the trophies and the medals and the honor and the victories, there’s one piece in Ken Dobyn’s legacy that has yet to be claimed. An honor both earned and owed to Ken for his leadership, his ethics and for his impact on our sport. That piece is the Ultimate Hall of Fame. After years of confusing exclusions, Ken Dobyns is for the first time once again a candidate for the Hall of Fame. After December 11th, the subcommittee will determine who is to be entered for 2011 by December 20th. In January the new Hall of Fame class will be announced. You can help urge the subcommittee to include Ken Dobyns in this year’s class by filling out a survey by Dec, 11th.
Regardless if it is this year, or next, or thirty years down the line, or never when he is accepted into the HoF, Ken Dobyns has changed the game and deserves the utmost respect and honor. That name will forever ring in every cleat that touches the field to charge the line of a first pull.
“It’s not a game out here. This is your life.” – Ken Dobyns
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