Why Not Make the Switch?

A few of you that know me might have already heard parts of this speech from me, but I wanted to share it with the whole Bloglog now.

There are many things that I love about the great sport of lacrosse. Lacrosse is like a combination of soccer and hockey. Guys wear helmets and padding from the crotch on up and shorts from the waist down. They catch a little rubber ball that is the same consistency  as a puck and the size of a navel orange, in a little basket typed apparatus at the end of an elongated pole.

It is not easy to catch or pass using this shaft and head combination, especially for a kid raised on stickball like me. So it took me a good long time to instead of catching it and passing it back, I sort of bunted the return to my son and his teammates.

But with practice, I am much better now. Lacrosse is more steeped in tradition than any other sport on the planet and it is native to our country! I love the honor, dedication, camraderie and work ethic associated with this team sport.

This sport is different from most others because of its heritage, being started by native American Indians, but also because it is one of the only pro sports where players still shake hands after the game. Although you get to whack your opponent like a pinyata, after the game everyone is cool about it.

There are no bench clearing brawls, shooting or beating of referees, or fans running naked across the field. Unlike outdoor lacrosse, indoor lacrosse (also known a box lacrosse) has players brawling like NHL players, except many refs still don’t break it up when they fall to the ground. But still there is sportsmanship to the fisticuffs.

Some of the guys I know are closet lacrosse fans, because it is not as popular as the Big Four, but it is the fastest growing sport in centuries.

One of the things I love most about lacrosse is the individual nature of the equipment. In no other sport was the primary piece of equipment handmade or adjusted by hand. I know that I am going to get all kinds of flack and narishkeit (a Yiddish word meaning -foolish comments from a foolish source) for this as guys are going to regale me with stories involving perfect pockets on their baseball gloves and amazing hooks on their hockey sticks. Rubbish and balderdash!

Lacrosse is the only sport where you use the exact same main piece of equipment to catch, pass and throw both lefty and righty AND behind your back on many of the exact motions in changing sides, like chewing a tough steak before swallowing.

Now I know there is going to be some brainiac who will tell me about tennis or hockey and to you I say Pffffft!! (insert the sound of a tongue laced-raspberry) I was not talking about backhanding, I am talking about same muscle motion on either side without hand removal, dude.

Also extremely unique is the pocket of the head. No two are the same and each is tailored to its owner, like the well sharpened skate blade. The lacrosse pocket is completely unique to all other sports because as long as the pocket is attached to the head, essentially you have strung it properly and no one strings your baseball glove except the factory.

Some heads have many holes for different stringing options (these I prefer) and none are made in China like with other sporting goods. There is no wrong way to string a head and this leads to an infinite amount of possibilities in creativity.

Lacrosse is unique because to do it properly  you can't just buy a head off of the shelf and use it in a game with any success. It is more like a ninja warrior setting their arsenal of weapons personally. And many heads are dyed prior to stringing to make them more unique still.

Now considering all these great American things and hometown links and Long Island traditions, maybe we can get all the Nassau residents who voted No to the Coliseum referendum to come see the only other Nassau County Professional Sports team in action. I’m talking about two-time champions- the Long Island Lizards. Check out their website at  http://www.longislandlizards.com/

And maybe we can convince the “down in the dumps” Islander fans to root for a great team, that doesn’t charge for parking, still serves hot dogs and beer for an affordable price, and where tickets for a family of four to attend costs about the same as seeing the Smurfs in 3D, not your monthly car lease payment.

You will get to see many local guys that grew up and still live on Long Island (not Canada) with a passion for the game and the place they live, who have second jobs and do not have contracts with five or six zeros following a prime number in it.

An ESPN broadcasted team that after each game will shake the hands of the opposing team and stand shoulder to shoulder with them and spend time signing autographs for those in attendance. Now THAT is the way a pro sports team should act!