Like my previous blog, I want to continue to show other people (most likely my fellow interns completing their blog responses) about my love for sports! While most people I know enjoy football or basketball the most, my favorite sport is lacrosse. There are a plethora of reasons why lacrosse is my favorite sport and unfortunately for you non-sports fans, I’m about to go on a long-winded rant. 

The first thing that came to my mind was the energy and emotion it fills me with. Our first game is weeks away but the anticipation that has been building in me has made me jittery and light-headed. Throughout the day, I think about suiting up in my bulky pads, lacing my white cleats, and dragging the thick, pasty, eye black under my eyes. Also, there are so, so many moments where your adrenaline is just pumping and you can’t hold in your excitement. This includes invigorating pre-game speeches from coaches and captains, wild goal celebrations where the roar of the team is heard across the turf, and the moment at the end of the game when the time runs out and the whole team dog-piles the goalie in celebration. 

Specifically, I play LSM (Long Stick Midfielder) and Close Defense, so although I am not often assisting teammates or getting the glory of scoring, I get to be an enforcer. I run around with a six-foot carbon fiber stick and a hard plastic head where I whack my opponents in the arms with the hopes that they lose the lacrosse ball. I definitely recommend this as a way to relieve stress! I know how amazing this sounds, but this isn’t even my favorite part. The thing I enjoy most is throwing a can opener, or overhead check. A can opener involves putting the head of your stick between the gap where your opponent’s hands lie on their stick and lifting up. The consequence of this is usually a stick flying in the air and a ball rolling around on the turf.  An overhead check involves the defender leaping up in the air bringing their pole over the head of their opponent and violently throwing the shaft down on the head of their opponent’s stick to dislodge the ball. I know these explanations are confusing so here are some highlights of pro players throwing those checks.

Lacrosse Can Opener Check

Over the Head Checks Pt. 2 – Men’s Lacrosse Defense

I also forgot to mention how fun it is to beat your rivals. Last season we played our rival school US (University School) at home while it was raining. Also, some of our recent alumni were there to support us and chirp the Preppers, the name of US’s mascot. While we hadn’t beaten them in over 20 years, we knew this year was our year. This also includes my coaches who played D1 lacrosse at Fairfield and Binghamton. Everyone wanted their payback. Looking back at the game, I believe this was the hardest we played all season. We cleaned up all of our sloppy mistakes and never took our foot off the gas. While the game was extremely low-scoring and we won by a small margin, it was the most exciting game I have ever played and witnessed. Every goal for us was an eruption of crowd noise I had never heard before and the hairs on my arms were standing up. Yes, I know how cliche this sounds, but I am not exaggerating. Even when our opponents dropped a pass or lost a fight in a ground ball, we were all cheering. When the game was over we rushed our goalie and all jumped into a pile. I remember screaming until my voice hurt, shoving teammates, and slamming helmets.

While some people find pleasure in flipping pages, others relaxing under the rays of the sun, I love to have my arms covered in bruises and my knees with scabs.