How I learned to love lacrosse - Placebo Effect

Despite my best intentions, I came to lacrosse somewhat by accident. I knew, of course, that it was the sport to watch around these parts, and my roommate and I had made plans to catch the home games, but it was while flipping channels one afternoon that we came across the season-opening Princeton game by chance. Nowadays, it sounds bizarre to describe myself as coming on something like the Princeton game "by chance," but those were different days, and I was young and inexperienced.

Nevertheless, I soon realized the scope of what I was dealing with as I watched that glorious game. That afternoon, the Jays broke Princeton's 41-game home winning streak, taking the Tigers down on their own turf. What's more, they exacted a measure of revenge for defeats in their two previous encounters a feat I am hopeful they will replicate on Saturday. I remember the powerful tension in that tiny AMR room as Hopkins came back from a four-point deficit at the end of the first half, narrowing Princeton's lead and finally coming out on top. The last three minutes were the tensest, as we prayed that the JHU defense and Brian Carcaterra (this was before his reputation was tarnished by allegations of rape and when he was in his prime as one of the country's best goalies) could keep Princeton away from the net. Neighbors were drawn in by our cheering, and gathered around our tiny set to catch their first glimpse of the game that has brought tour school so much glory in the past. Finally, the clock expired, with Hopkins still ahead. We exploded. It was the birth of at least two lacrosse fans.

I've told this story a hundred times. The point, however, remains the same: for whatever reason, despite my being a non-player and, to a large extent, a non-watcher of sports, lacrosse has been an integral part of my Hopkins experience.

Why is that? I could answer this in paragraph form, but I'm feeling epigrammatic today, so here, in no particular order, are some theories on why I get into the game.

It's something we're good at*

It's all well and good when our researchers come up with a new prosthetic or artificial sweetener or what have you, but let's be honest: it's not the sort of thing that has us out there tearing down the goal posts. Lacrosse, on the other hand, is right out there in front of you, and there's testosterone and nets and hitting people, which makes for a lot more excitement than lab work. Unless they get Vince McMahon to start putting lab work in the ring on pay-per-view.

*No offense to members of our other sports teams. You're all great, but lax gets all the press. It's unfair, but that's the way of things. Blame the NCAA.

It's played by normal looking people

Sure, the lax team are big guys, but it's not like we're talking seven-foot-tall basketball players or seven-foot-wide football players. All in all, the people playing lax look more like normal people than many of the other D-I athletes out there. Of course, I'm sort of using myself as a yardstick here, so maybe this particular reason isn't as valid as some of the others.

It's fast

No offense to baseball fans here, but unless I'm in the stadium with a beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other, I have some trouble getting into America's pastime. I understand that it has its appeal in a scientific, statistical manner, and I understand its storied place in American culture, and what's more, I don't ask that it be made into something that it isn't. I just don't see it as much other than an excuse to spend a pleasantly warm evening in Camden Yards eating overpriced hot dogs and glancing at the field once in a while. And to be perfectly honest, in football they stop the clock a bit too often for me. And basketball and hockey are indoors, which is a waste of a nice spring afternoon (well, not the case with hockey). Lacrosse is fast-paced enough to hold my attention and it's outdoors in the spring, which, particularly in Baltimore, is a good place to be.

The ground floor factor

This may sound lame, but I feel good having started to watch lacrosse as a freshman. Of course, I can't equate myself to those kids who skirt the edges of the field during games, the 10-year-olds with their lacrosse sticks, watching the big boys with awe and envy. It's not like I was exposed to lax in the womb, as these kids clearly were. Nonetheless, having gotten into it my first year here, I don't feel those twinges that I get sometimes when I'm cheering for the Ravens, who I only started to follow as they approached the Super Bowl in 2001.

It's a chance to show some school spirit

I like it here most of the time. I can honestly say that I've had, by and large, a pretty good time at the ol' Johnny Hop. Met some great people, learned some great stuff, drank some great gin. But when I'm sitting in Homewood Field watching the Jays put a pounding on some hapless lax wannabes, I love it here. With the University's emphasis on finding your own way through college, we aren't always encouraged to show much interest in the University as a whole. Lacrosse, for me anyway, gives an outlet for those not-so-negative feeling we have towards our alma mater.