It's Time to Start Paying Attention to Lacrosse

This essay was written for the Makers of Sport® newsletter in June 2015. Monday Musings and Weekend Reads were the written editions of the newsletter that accompanied the podcast; the archived email is on Mailchimp. The newsletter's links and announcements are trimmed here.

It's Time to Start Paying Attention to Lacrosse

I grew up and reside in the SEC, a high school and college football-crazed haven where sport primarily involves hitting folks in pads and helmets whilst trying to score 6 points by passing or running for 10 yard increments. For most in the South, there are two sports seasons – football season and recruiting season.[](http://secsports.com)

In my particular state however, basketball was our first love of choice as the Commonwealth of Kentucky lives and dies with its beloved Kentucky Wildcats or Louisville Cardinals. Perhaps this comes from the Midwestern cultural influence of Indiana, Ohio and Illinois blending with our northernmost southern state. Even the smaller schools in Kentucky tend to have successful and passionate hoops fan bases and history such as mid-major NCAA DI programs Eastern Kentucky Colonels, Morehead State Eagles, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, Murray State Thoroughbreds; or the NCAA DII Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers and NAIA Georgetown College Tigers.

In the spring and summers, we in the South tend to spend our time at baseball parks, football spring practices/games, training camps and AAU basketball tournaments. Sport tends to be our lifeblood and we passionately consume The Big 3 (football, basketball and baseball) at all ages or skill levels.

ENTER LACROSSE

The History and the Stereotype

Early 2014, due to a serendipitous client relationship being struck up from my design business, I became inundated with the sport of lacrosse. As an American Southerner who went to public school in a small town, I have begun to develop a love for this northeastern game. A game that combines characteristics of my other favorite sports such as football hits, hockey checks and basketball screens. A game that according to most stereotypes is not for me; the small-town Appalachian public school kid who is not of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant descent.

Historically, lacrosse was a game created by Native Americans; something I can identify with somewhat as my father's maternal grandmother was a full-blooded Native American. Additionally my Montaigne (later changed name to Martin upon U.S. arrival) ancestors, French Huguenots who were dark-complected with black hair were often confused for and referred to as Native Americans when they came to the foothills of Eastern Kentucky from Halifax County, Virginia.

Sometimes referred to as "stickball", the Eastern Cherokee referred to the game as da-nah-wah'uwsdi (little war) as it was used to settle disputes between tribes and games could last days with hundreds of men playing. Just as Native Americans would have rituals before war – painting their faces, decorating their bodies and weapons – the same rituals applied for the "little brother of war".

Lacrosse even got its name (allegedly) from 2 French Jesuit missionaries, which I take as another serendipitous thread to my own non-WASPY ancestry.

Moving West

Recently I returned home to Kentucky from Denver, CO where I attended the Denver Shootout, a 10-year old lacrosse tournament highlighting 1000s of high school and youth talent from around the country. In the modern era of lacrosse, east coast states have ruled the game with NCAA powerhouses such as Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, Syracuse University, University of Virginia, Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill ruling the roost. In fact, the furthest school west to ever win an NCAA Men's Division I National Championship was UNC Chapel Hill, a school east of the Appalachian Mountains...until this year. The University of Denver Pioneers won the 2015 Men's DI Lacrosse National Championship this past May coached by Bill Tierney, a man that had won 6 national titles at Princeton before coming to Colorado in 2009. Today he is the only lacrosse coach to ever have won at more than one school.

I think that Lacrosse will be a big sport in this country in about a decade as it moves west. It's fast-paced and exciting.. – Jim Cramer, Mad Money

The former Denver coach of 11 years, Jamie Munro, launched a lacrosse training company shortly after resigning called 3d Lacrosse, LLC. Five years in, 3d Lacrosse has raised more than $5 million in venture capital, launched field offices in 14 cities and has grown from $1 million in revenue a year to $11 million even inking a deal with Nike on apparel.

Mainstream Personalities

[](http://paulrabil99.com)Perhaps lacrosse's biggest current spokesman to the mainstream public is Paul Rabil, a 30-year old midfielder for Major Lacrosse League's New York Lizards and an avid marketer of the game and conversationalist with his fans. Paul is the first lacrosse athlete to land million dollar endorsements from brands like Red Bull and New Balance's Warrior line of products through his representation with Octagon Sports.

New faces are appearing in recent years as well tying the game even more into its past as Native American and former Albany (NY) athlete, Lyle Thompson, along with his 2 brothers signed an endorsement deal with Nike.

Inner City Growth

The game for the most part suffers from lack of diversity and cultural exposure. Many of the nation's best athletes who often come from large cities, tend to play the mainstream sports such as football or basketball. Oftentimes, basketball is a cheaper game to expose kids to as there doesn't take much financially other than setting up a hoop and giving kids a ball to shoot. This is changing however as organizations such as Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership are working to expose and educate about the game to inner cities and lower income areas. Founded by Simon Cataldo, a special education math teacher that joined Frederick Douglas Academy (FDA) through Teach For America, the results of Harlem Lacrosse are astounding academically as well as kids that partake in the non-profit have achieved numerous point increases in average GPA and the graduation rate for FDA lacrosse alumni is 100%.

Give it a Chance

With athletes such as the Thompsons and Rabil getting more mainstream recognition, as well the growth of the game in inner cities and out west, not to mention the investment dollars being spent on the game from VCs, now is no better time to begin watching and paying attention to – from both a business perspective and entertainment perspective – North America's oldest team sport. A sport that gives fans of hockey, basketball, football, baseball and more a recognizable experience all mixed into one.

Mad Money's Jim Cramer is even getting into the action. So give the game a chance. If a small-town Appalachian kid who cut his teeth on Kentucky basketball and SEC football has grown to love the game of lacrosse, I'm quite positive "stickball" will grow on you other sports fans as well.