Joe Giampino
 1962-2011

All our time together was precious 
Joe was a shooting star and a gift to us all

Mike Glass


It is a fine time to recall all things Joey in the context of this great thing we've had. The spirit of our little community makes such events cut a little deeper yet, also allows us to share our collective burden among us. Please add our support to any who may need it.
JC, Angie, and family


Shocked and speechless.  Prayers with all.

Nob

I perhaps have in this group, the unique honor of having played against Joey for many years and then being teammates with him for a few years in Boston.

He was quite simply, the most amazing, gifted player I have ever seen.  He was the Michael Jordan or Lebron James of Ultimate.  It was like he was a different species at times on the field.   The hang time in the air was unearthly, like can that dude actually fly?  I saw him get to discs on offense and defense that I swear would have been physically impossible for anyone else that has EVER played this game.  I also thought it was really cool how he always caught the disc on defense too, never just knocking it away.  I asked him once why he did this and he said “because that way I know it’s MINE!”

I will never forget him and am very saddened he is gone.  Life is so fragile and fleeting, I wish we could all be happy and live forever.  My condolences to his family.

Jeff Williams



Go long Joey.  Just this one last time, and dude, make it last forever like only you can....................I have dreams of flying and so sad when I wake
up.... you flew on Earth and now in Heaven.... we all see your smiles... it makes us sad.... and happy all at the same time......we will miss you and feel
closer... all at the same time... forever....

Kevin Cox


I wish you Godspeed as you travel. May the strength of friendship carry you through and the love from all of us be evident in your presence there. I'm so glad you will be there, and I'm so sorry for his passing. Heartfelt and heart breaking sympathies,

Lynne Nolan


big puddle in the middle of the spirit circle. can't believe, just saw him what seems like yesterday. wtf. we live but once forever. keep it lit.

Elliot Fu


I'm very sorry for the loss to the Giampino and Windy City families. When I started playing you guys were rock stars to me and none bigger than Joey.
Brent


Unbelievable. Iron you were not his only bitch. I think we all enjoyed getting saddled up by Joe, you don't know how hot the fire is until you stick your hand
into it and with Joe, it was white hot.  I'm also pretty sure that Joe is now making sure that Dean is coughing up a few of those heavenly hienes. 
Love and peace to all. 

Dave Buchholz


I can't imagine how sad and stunned you guys are. It doesn't seem real. But I want to just offer my condolences for the loss of Joey. He was with you from the beginning and it's just not right to have lost Dean and now him, too. Please know that all of the Tunas are saying prayers for Joey's family, the Windy City family and especially for you guy, Dean and Joey were part of "the core" in our view and now two of "the core" are gone.

Joey. There is love for you and your family and friends, teammates and opponents, at this moment being spread all over the globe. Great stories being told and tears being shed. They broke the mold when they made you. Just last week I saw these great pics of you entertaining the crowd with your voice and piano. You made more circus catches in Ultimate per point played than anyone. Have a Heineken with Deano up there. He's been needing some company. Thanks for yelling my name over and over again at Tune Up that year to join you and JC on stage. Great, great memories! Much love always,

Randy Ricks


so sorry to hear of this .. good god...

reading this little email chain brings me nothing but smiles of old memories .. Joey was a beast of an athlete, and that grin sticks firmly in my memory bank. He made the single best catch of a piece of crap deep throw I made when I played with you guys in Chicago one summer many moons ago .. I could feel the body thud about 70 yards away .. he comes back to me, with the smile and a giggle .. 'see Bert, throw it towards the lake .. I'll catch it' ... great stuff...

good memories to all of you.

Robert A. Sick


Joy came to teach Ultimate to Japan in 1991.
We do not forget about him .

He was always give us lots of love and fun. 

Masa Honda


When I first met Joey (he was with Spin-Itch at the time, and not to return to rookie status, but it was long after I met him that I knew of any attachment to City), he was like a Super Hero, flying through the air with a seemingly magic power to run and fly to the exactly perfect place in the end zone for an impossible catch. He was an amazing human, and it seems impossible to comprehend right now. Love to all

Barrett


Feared and revered. Had the good fortune of spending an evening with him a couple of months ago. 
Keep the fire burning guys. Cherish every fucking moment.

Love to all, 
Billy Jacobs
 


Chris  Being an ECF like Ironman, I brought to Windy a certain level of expectation regarding my teammates. But Joey was larger than life. He
stole my memories, overlaying them with images of himself.

Before Windy City, I had been to April Fools in Virginia many times. I should have a montage of meaningful recollections but I don't. Joey
placed his indelible stamp on top of all those black and white experiences with a full color picture of himself:

We were sitting in a small circle under a tree after a satisfying pool game when Joey flashed by about two feet off the ground. He was fully
horizontal, but his arms were by his side and his head was tilted up. He exuded power and grace, combined with a shit-eating grin. Though he went
by in a flash, in my mind he is suspended there for minutes, a lifetime in fact, looking each of us in the eye as if to say "Can you do this?".
He landed, eventually, smooth as silk, and sauntered back to the circle with his signature swagger.

Now, whenever I think of April Fools, I don't remember beating the Rude Boys in the Finals as the captain of Cornell or playing in a spring
flood. I don't know that I can remember a single game from that weekend with Windy. The first, biggest and most important thing that comes to
mind is Joey Giampino, flying through the air, not even in a game, not even with a disc, showing us what was possible.

For that, and for everything else he gave us, I love him. He will be missed in our hearts but remains forever in our minds.

Chris Van Holmes


Like probably most people writing or looking at this wall, I have many great memories of Joe. Chief among them is in the good old college days playing against or watching Windy City, it seemed that if anybody on that team ever got beat deep, somebody (probably MOD) would yell “JOEY”, and he would come out of nowhere to get the long D. Joey truly had peoples’ back!!! He was a truly gifted and special person!

Phil Lawrence


  For you Joe. You were way more than a ripple.
Dave Buchholz

|


I would not be who I am today, with all the amazing friends and experiences, without it all starting with you, Joe. Thinking of Laura, Scott, Carol, and Joe...

Mary Prassa


Thanks to all my pals for the family embrace all these years. You are all still in my heart and my smile thinking about y'all is large. Joey was one fun, passionate, friend for life kind of dude. Knowing he is not among us makes me feel sad and at the same time makes each one of you more important to me and hopefully to each other. This unique bond we share and honor in life will never go away. Thanks brothers! Joey. RIP and best to our other amigos you are now sipping cold ones with.

Gene Treacy


My condolences to the Windy family for all of your loss. Joey was an amazing receiver of passes and goals. I only saw a little sliver of the magic. My thoughts are with you...have a heiny for me...for Dean and Joey. Irwin


I hope you're at peace Joe. Despite ups and downs, you'll always hold a place in my heart. Joe, Carol, Laura & Scotty, my warmest thoughts are with you.

Sheryl Hirschbein


 I loved you before I realized it was possible. Your friendship meant much. When I was asked to keep am eye on you, it helped me realize what your parents thought of me and you. We will never forget. You are alive in my heart and head.

Carey Goldenberg


I remember playing Windy City Ultimate team, alot!!! they always pounced our KC teams... Joey was always the force behind Chicago Frisbee over the years!!!!! Then one year while playing w/ the Tuna's for St. Louis I got too play on the same team with Joe !!! one I'll never forget.. He was one tough dude on the field. Such a nice guy Off the field. Miss you friend.

Patrick Ahern


RIP pal. My head and heart will keep the memories of our battles together in younger years.

Dee Rambeau


RIP Joe Giampino. you're the first person I remember laying out for a disc. we'll miss you.

Steven Boortz


Rest in Peace, Joey.  Your star was so brilliant in our time together, when you then told me more than once you were going to live NOW, because you had no idea what the future would bring.  I will remember the star light.  Rest in Peace. 

Paul Berg


I'm at a loss for what to say. I was fortunate to be around for some of Joey's greatest moments on the ultimate field...every moment Joe was on the ultimate field was a great moment, a thing of beauty. He painted his masterpieces there.  It was a privilege to see him take place. 
Dan Hyslop


When I opened the email, the news made me cry. Even though we’d seen each other only a few times in the last twenty some years, there was always a connection when we met, one established first on the field and then off. Joey was a gifted talent on the field and a special person off the field. Joey could catch anything I could throw, and that puts him in a class by himself. I will always be able to picture him flying through the air.

John Connelly


I think he was the greatest defender to ever play the game. He will always be remembered.

Marty Wollner


Joe was an awesome friend and he had a gifted talent for making everyone feel special. He was always smiling. I played poker with Joe on many occasions and he will always be remembered in all our hearts as the one who announced a raise followed by a “PLEASE” some loved it some hated it but suffice to say we love it now and we will miss it. I will miss him dearly.

Peggy Timmons


shocking indeed
been going through a rollercoaster of emotions on this one
WTF? is this how it's going to be? each of us
checking out - one at a time?
damn
the heart hurts!
so many jokes told!
so many punch lines
so many memories:
it was a bitter cold night at Paul Revere
the ground had frozen HARD - but not nice and smooth.
while it was mud, football players or something
had mangled the earth into a twisted mess
of frozen divots. It was my first weeknight
practice with windy and I was
a bit shocked at the turf conditions. the
disc went up the sidelines and I went for it
with an eye on the turf to make sure my footing
was solid. that's when he hit me. out of nowhere
at a million miles an hour Joey came flying
through me to grab the disc.
full layout knocking me over
we went flying bodies into the frozen tundra
and almost hit the goal posts
"out of the way iron!" I was like "damn dude"
guess he didn't like me going to the disc on his watch
and we were on the same squad! I'd never been
more impressed with that disc desire. I was joeys
bitch from then on... f-n day 1
though after a while,
I was able to force him to share the end zone with me
"on occasion" - but it was far from easy.
it was total full tilt grrrr

and how the hell did he catch that disc in Miami
with a friggin cast laying out on the troll?
oh wait he didn't catch it
it got stuck in it!
took two people to pry it out
totally sick

Tom Coffin


I played against Joey from 1981-85 as part of the HorrorZontals. To get to nationals we had to go through Joey and the Windy crew or through the Tunas. Never happened. Third in the region at best. But each year we tried as hard as we could and "enjoyed" lessons in the type of physical ultimate I now am told is no longer acceptable. And Joey was the biggest and the baddest of them all. I think Brad Westmoreland from our team drew him every game. Our beast against The Beast.

Ten years later, I'm captaining a team out of Washington DC and meet Joey, also captaining, in the semis at Clambake. At 14-10 (or so) in a game to 15, we throw a score for the win. A foul is called on my receiver. Argument ensues. Joey and I step out to make a decision as captains. I didn't think it was a foul, but I didn't want to win on a contested call. Joey was right there on the line and saw the play. "Nope," he said, "Your point, your game. That's how it's done." He then went back to his sideline and ripped the bad call, lecturing on the meaning of "winning from strength". I was stunned. Having been on the receiving end of so many Windy City beatdowns, I'd never had the chance to see that his power, aggression and physicality were matched by a clear code of honor. Win the right way, or lose. As much as I'd respected him as an athlete; my respect for him as a man grew that day in Maine. You are missed Joey.

David Christy


Hey All, Nice to read your words though I would rather see your faces and give you a hug. "Born ready" was what Joey always said. And he was. The garbage that boy could catch defies description, you literally had to see it to believe it. I remember trying to talk him out of diving on the tennis court so he could save his body for the frisbee field, at least it was grass. He didn't seem to notice that much difference. What a joy it was to watch him play. He would bounce into view, stride up and down saying hey to everyone, pull out the hacky sack, constant motion. It is hard for me to imagine him still.

I haven't seen him for way too long and am sorry to have missed the chance to tell him how much I loved him. I know he would be glad, however, for me to use this opportunity to say it to all of you. I miss each of you and love you guys. Those were great times and all the water under the bridge can't change what a blast it was to play, eat, drink, travel, win, mill, and generally hang with you. Thank you. He was an extraordinary person and it was a privilege to have played with him. If you convene in Chicago to remember him, please count me in.

Edith Thurber


I think it was the spring of ’84 when I meet  Joey at N.I.U. after I ran an ad asking ‘anyone interested in Ultimate can meet us at this certain park at a certain time’.  Joey came out to join our swillie 4 on 4 game.  I over- threw him and just as I was yelling “sorry’’ he made a chest high launch literally flying some 15 feet across the end zone for a goal.  I stood there in awe.  He came back to my apartment for beers.  I asked him if he was the best player on his team. He thought about it for a minute and humbly said “No”.  He offered to take us to some tournament.  We never went.  It wasn’t until years later that I realized what a selfless offer it was.  A player of his stature taking a bunch of new-bees to a tournament!  None of us had cleats or even knew people played this game wearing them – motivated only by his love for playing and teaching the game.

The last time I saw Joey was at one of the ‘Tune-up’ tournaments when John Conway, recently learning Joey could play the keyboard, put together a band. John invited me to play bass and sent me the set list.  All covers, not my forte.  With our schedules there was no time for a proper rehearsal.  Needless to say I was a bit nervous before the show.  As soon as Joey hit the first cords I could feel his power and confidence.  All I had to do was go along for the ride.  Half way through the first song there was no doubt that he was the best musician on the stage that evening.

My best wishes to his friends and family,

John Santoro

 

   

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