The Boston Glory are the 2025 UFA Champions.
August 26, 2025 by Alex Rubin in Recap
MADISON — Buoyed by a well-rounded and hard-fought Championship Weekend performance, the Boston Glory left Madison with the first championship trophy in franchise history. Led by two-time MVP Jeff Babbitt, ascending superstar Tobe Decraene, and a deep roster of contributors, the Glory took home the 2025 UFA title with a 17-15 win over the Minnesota Wind Chill.
Boston’s performance in this final was emblematic of their entire season. The Glory won their first eight contests this spring before dropping three of their final four regular season games. But once the playoffs rolled around, Boston proved that they earned their first place finish. After holding the DC Breeze to single-digit scoring in the East Division Championship and knocking off an experienced Salt Lake Shred team in the semifinal, Boston had already overcome a season worth of adversity before the final. On Saturday night, the Glory spent much of the game looking like the best team in the league, stumbled for just a bit, and recovered in time to call themselves champions.
A first-half showcase that left the contestants deadlocked at 11-11 set up an incredible final 24 minutes of the season. The Boston D-line rampaged through Breese Stevens Field during the third quarter. For 11 minutes and 56 seconds, the Glory held Minnesota scoreless as Boston scored five straight goals to build an insurmountable lead. D-line handlers Oscar Graff, Tannor Johnson-Go, Ethan Fortin, Noah Backer, and Turner Allen combined for just two turnovers in the quarter as they capably kept possession and inched their way up the field drive after drive after drive. “Eleven and a half minutes without them scoring,” Boston’s Head Coach Sam Rosenthal said, “that’ll win most games, right?”
Just as the Glory could have run away with the game, Minnesota mounted a comeback that was both improbable and somehow expected for a team that consistently proves their doubters wrong. Fueled by sideline trap double teams and adrenaline, the Wind Chill’s D-line took over to turn the game into a helter-skelter slopfest that can only be described as delightfully chaotic. Noah Hanson blocked passes on each of Boston’s first two possessions of the fourth quarter as Minnesota inched back within two goals. The Wind Chill showed off their championship pedigree and grit as they never gave up despite a significant fourth quarter deficit.
Though the crowd could sense another comeback in the works–the Wind Chill did score four straight goals to start the fourth quarter in Friday’s semifinal win–Boston’s triumph was inevitable. The Glory defense closed the game, as the Wind Chill O-line could not find enough easy shots to take as time wound down.
As the clock neared zeroes, Minnesota forced hucks and scoobers in an effort to get around the defense with enough time to try to do it again, but Boston held up when it mattered most. The Glory D-line offense was able to burn chunks of time off the clock with patient resetting to stifle Minnesota’s comeback potential. “I didn’t know if we were capable of this,” Rosenthal said. “We have the talent, but things have got to fall your way.”
Tobe Decraene earned Championship Weekend MVP with a seven assist performance in the final while leading both teams in yards, and he’ll certainly be in contention for UFA MVP when awards are decided in the coming weeks.
“It’s surreal,” he said on the trophy presentation stage after the game. “I’m so happy. The whole team played amazing. The only reason we’re here is because of every single one of them.”
Jeff Babbitt cemented his place as a legend of the UFA with his fourth championship and his first outside of New York. Aside from the accolades, the growth in his game was on full display. Babbitt spent a lot of time in the offensive backfield this game, finishing 36/36 with 101 throwing yards. Those are not flashy numbers, but for someone known mostly for posterizing skies and punishing defense, his ability to get open for late-stall resets and his positioning within the offensive system were enough to keep the Glory offense humming without much problem.
“It was chaotic, but I wasn’t worried,” Babbitt said, reflecting on the end of the game. “I knew that when the offense came out we were going to get back to playing calm, cool, and collected. I was just going to reset the disc and help make sure that clock ran out.”
Babbitt’s value to this Glory team is hard to overstate. Aside from his MVP-level play, composure with the disc, and on-field gravity, his leadership and wisdom proved invaluable in helping the Glory find their identity as a team. Before Babbitt joined the team ahead of the 2024 season, the Glory were a talented bunch of players who never seemed to match their on-paper talent with on-field results.
With several seasons of championship experience under his belt from his time in New York, Babbitt’s presence on the team helped foster the kind of buy-in needed to put together a title-winning season. Bringing in talent from around the New England area, the first inkling of Boston’s improved commitment came last season with the team’s first East Division championship appearance; the result this season with a well-deserved title indicates there might even be more to come.
In his post-game interview with Evan Lepler, Babbitt acquiesced to returning to the Glory next season to chase his fifth title. With a full roster of contributors seemingly aligned and already ready to give it another shot, the Glory could soon join the long list of Boston sports dynasties as they chase even more glory.
