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| Syracuse University's Carrier Dome is home to lacrosse, basketball and football. |
I live in New
York meaning Native American influence is heavy everywhere you go. The
influence is clear in CNY – most out-of-staters cannot pronounce the names of
cities and towns and lacrosse is amongst the most popular sports in majors cities
like Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester and beyond.
Syracuse
University men's lacrosse has won 15 national titles and is a member of the
Athlantic Coast Conference as well as the NCAA. The team and the sport itself
are also completely underrated. During any given basketball game,
midweek or weekend game, the Carrier Dome would be filled, the bars in the area
and beyond would be packed and parking would be impossible anywhere. Not
so much during lacrosse season. Want to go to a sports bar during a basketball game
on a Monday night? Think again.
You have to
really be a true fan of sports to like lacrosse. My uncle, who only follows
Syracuse basketball and the Yankees, said that he would have liked to watch
Syracuse lacrosse on TV but since there isn't really a following for the sport
it's nearly impossible to find on regular TV without expensive sports packages.
The Carrier Dome is never filled to capacity and you can really sit
wherever you want when going to a lacrosse game, when that would be unheard of
at a basketball game.
A famous college lacrosse player came into the restaurant I work at a few months ago and I didn't share the same excitement as my coworker. "Aren't you from Syracuse? I'm not even from here and I know who he is," he said defensively. "It's a Syracuse thing," said my friend Jenna who knows a lot about lacrosse and certain players. There are magazines and massive followings of these players. The sport takes an insane amount of talent and dedication that everyone should admire.
Where are my
lacrosse movies? I'm not a huge follower of sports but I love a good sports
movie. They are inspiring in a way that's never inspirational, can make me cry
and always have a killer soundtrack. I've seen one lacrosse movie. And it was
just filled with stereotypes of Native Americans. Don't get me wrong, I
love a movie about an underdog basketball team winning their state
championships but I would like to see something different.
Although I haven't played lacrosse since the beginning of high school, I often find myself at Lasell and Syracuse games enjoying every second. It does not matter the intensity (Lasell is DIII and Syracuse is DI) it is just being around the fans of the same sports watching the first, true American game. Sitting up high in the bleachers, with a near-quiet crowd, listening to the muffled shouting and direction that they players act upon on the field is what every lacrosse fan looks forward to every year.