Lansing, MI - On Sunday, May 11th at 5:30PM EDT, the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds (1-0) will travel to the Hope Sports Complex in Lansing, Michigan to face off against the Detroit Mechanix (0-0). The Thunderbirds won their first UFA match-up of the year in Pittsburgh against the Indianapolis AlleyCats (0-1) by a score of 25-21.
The Mechanix have had a rough go of things on the field since 2017. For nearly 2,600 consecutive days, the Mechanix failed to tally a single win in the Ultimate Frisbee Association. The Thunderbirds joined the League in 2015, and the two teams have met a total of 22 times in their history. The Thunderbirds had a perfect 22-0 against their divisional foes from Michigan - until Saturday, June 22nd, 2024 when the Mechanix snapped their 81-game, multi-year long losing streak with a 25-14 drubbing over the playoff hopeful Thunderbirds. It was a shocking loss, and one that would ultimately derail the Thunderbirds season.
Nearly a year later, the Thunderbirds are in a position they’ve never taken on in their organizational history: seeking redemption against the Mechanix. Last year's result though will still have little to no impact on how this current version of the Thunderbirds prepares to get ready for Sunday's game. When asked about how last year's result impacts the game preparation for the weekend, Head Coach Max Barowski says it's going to be business as usual.
"Regardless of an outcome from previous games there are always going to be positives and negatives to take away from what was working or what wasn't," Barowski writes. "That is what we are focusing on when we go into our game prep. Learn from the good and learn even more from the bad."
Of the twenty Thunderbirds active for the upcoming contest on Sunday, zero of them are rookies. Additionally, only seven Thunderbirds traveling to Michigan will have also played in the game the Thunderbirds lost back on Saturday, June 22nd. Despite the opportunity to 'exact revenge', it seems as though the new look Thunderbirds (literally) are treating the upcoming match-up like any other game.
"We like to approach every game with the same amount of preparation and effort for every opponent we are facing." Barowski writes.
The narrative outside the team though will no doubt be focused on this theme. As the UFO Newsletter wrote on Instagram (@theufonewsletter), "Pittsburgh will be looking for revenge, Detroit will be looking to prove it was no fluke."
Internally for Pittsburgh, it's next game mentality.
To watch this upcoming match-up between Pittsburgh and Detroit, fans can go to WatchUFA.tv
