Chicago’s Ultimate Frisbee team builds fan base while holding down day jobs

CHICAGO (CBS) – The Chicago Union has been flinging the frisbee around for over a decade, first known as the Wildfire before changing its name after COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 season.

Now, the Union has a new home, a growing fanbase, and for the players, a big passion for the game.

“Some kids, they have soccer balls. Some kids, they have swim lanes, right?” said player Sam Kaminsky. “And for me, it was a piece of plastic.”

Kaminsky has a love for that piece of plastic, playing for the Chicago Union in the Ultimate Frisbee Association.

Playing on the team takes love and dedication for the sport. All of the team members have a day job, or in the case of teammate Joel Willison, day jobs.

“I am a director, primarily,” Willison said. “I also started a theater company in 2020, just built out of necessity from the pandemic, and then also I have a day job at a nonprofit called Girls in the Game.”

For Willison, going through such a grind usually means a lack of sleep for him, he said.

Meanwhile, Kaminsky works at LinkedIn, which, of course, may beg the question: What’s on top of his LinkedIn profile?

“It definitely says I work at LinkedIn first,” Kaminsky said. “However, if you do scroll, it does say I am a professional athlete with Chicago Union, contract though, of course with a contract.”

CBS News Chicago asked the players what exactly it was that they love about playing ultimate frisbee that makes the grind worth it.

“There are some really inventive throwers, and sort of similar to how Patrick Mahomes is reinventing American football and breaking the game, there are some throwers in ultimate frisbee that, they’re doing throws that no one either sees or envisions,” Willison said.

Kaminsky added, “It’s fun to be out here with your friends and compete in front of fans, too. I always say what’s so fun about playing in this league, at least, it’s also like a product, right? And my family can watch via live stream from home in Minnesota, which is great, and then also I have my brother and friends here in Chicago and they can come and sit in the stands and watch me too.”

It’s been more than just friends and family watching the Union play. The team moved its home games to Evanston this season, which has the players believing they’re building something.

CBS News Chicago visited the team’s practice at their old home field on the city’s South Side.

“We were getting, you know, like 200 fans a game,” Kaminsky said. “Not bad, and then we’re now up in Evanston [at] Martin Stadium up on Northwestern’s campus. It’s gorgeous.”

He added that for the first two home games in Evanston, the Union drew about 1,000 fans at each contest.

“To me, that just shows the growth of the sport,” Kaminsky said.

They hope the new attention will bring more awareness to the sport.

“When you hear the word frisbee, almost everyone thinks ‘Like, oh you mean with the chains?'” Kaminsky said. “Yeah, I think just exposure is important.”

He also pointed out that the Ultimate Frisbee Association has a large following on social media, including more than 448,000 on TikTok, which they hope leads to more followers in real life.

The Union qualified for the UFA playoffs and will play its first playoff game on Sunday in Madison.

Matt Zahn

Matt Zahn joined CBS2 Chicago in October 2016 as a sports reporter and fill-in sports anchor, and what a time to come to Chicago. Matt arrived just as the Cubs won the World Series.