Wednesday, March 9, 2011

"Lacrosse Roads"

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, back when math was math and there was no such thing as "new math." But it seemed to work because I even remember The Transitive Property of Equality... If A = B and B = C, then A = C.

the daughter of a friend in full Cascadian lacrosse regalia
So let me posit the following: Preppy = Lacrosse and Lacrosse = a sport Cascadian kids now play, then Preppy = Cascadian kids . 

If lacrosse is like other preppy sports popularized in the Northeastern states, e.g., rowing, it will be adopted, played and improved upon by the Cascadian. (Side note: some of the best collegiate rowing teams in North America hail from the Pacific Northwest and the west coast of British Columbia. More to come on that later.)

Yet lacrosse is different from other preppy sports in that its origins can be traced to Native American and Canadian beginnings from over 1000 years ago. The sport was exported to Europe, where it picked up preppy style points, and then it was imported back to the US and Canada.

Lacrosse, like all sports, loses preppitude as it graduates to the semi-pro and professional level. One only has to take a gander at the National Lacrosse League website to see what I mean. (Jeez, I felt like I wandered onto a "Horrors of Rhinoplasty" website when I was there.) Therefore, Cascadian lacrosse should only be played in middle school thru college, and no higher.

Excitingly enough, lacrosse is more than a means for the Cascadian to become endoctrinated into prepdom.  Since it is played in Spring and early Summer it precludes the player from playing other "sports" such as "baseball." And there is nothing wrong with that!

3 comments:

  1. Exactly right. I played lacrosse as a young boy in New Canaan, CT and environs. I played a forward position; but I secretly envied the defense with their larger build and bigger stick. Which, of course, I eventually grew into.

    Even here in SoCal I see young people playing lacrosse. Weirdly enough I see a lot of young girls playing it, right up the street. I think American boys here haven't been pushed out of other sports such as football and basketball like they have in other parts of the country, propbably due to demographics. But as the population changes, I expect Americans kids to gravitate to more American sports, such as lacrosse.

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  2. She a fine looking young lady who will no doubt succeed in her LAX pursuits. However, why the disdain for such a fine American sport such as baseball Mr. Warren?

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  3. Dear SteelieD,
    My "disdain" is probably more for the baseball player at the professional level, than for kid out at the local park. (It could also stem from the fact that I was terrible at baseball as a child.)

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