I rarely check in on lacrosse these days, and it’s on Memorial Day weekend that I’m especially kicking myself that I don’t. During my college years in upstate New York, it was arguably bigger than even baseball, and the closer one gets to either the Canadian border or the Delmarva metroplex that’s even more the case. But venture beyond those enclaves–perhaps with the exception of the Carolinas and now, it would appear, Chicagoland as well–and the sport is simply as big of an afterthought and regional outlier as candlepin bowling. In this city, and without a significant professional league to drive even a smattering of interest, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who could even spell it correctly.
Which I suppose is a shame, because when it’s played on the level that will be on display at the respective college Final Fours that begin tonight, it’s a damn exciting and engaging thrill. “Hockey on grass” is an overly simplistic way to describe it, but it should suffice for the neophytes. Beyond that, I can merely add that sitting down to watch a game with something at stake will likely change your mind as mine was lo so many decades ago.
And when one has a rooting interest as I do with the Syracuse Orangemen, it becomes all the more desirable to check in–especially after the marginal seasons their football and basketball teams endured. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Brad Bierman reminded us of that track record earlier this week:
Following defeats in the regular season to both North Carolina and Notre Dame, Syracuse coach Gary Gait alluded to the fact that his team was likely to see one, if not both, of his ACC rivals somewhere later in the season, meaning the NCAA Tournament. When the 2026 Tourney bracket was first revealed May 3, sure enough, the scenarios were in place by the seeding to have the ‘Cuse meet Carolina in the quarterfinals, then with a victory, Notre Dame in the semifinals. That is exactly what will transpire at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. this Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET / ESPN2), where rainy weather and cool temerpatures are forecast on what is a grass field surface.
In the current format to play for a national title, SU has made the second most semifinal appearances of any NCAA program, and no other program has double-digit NCAA titles (Johns Hopkins has nine). This season becomes the first with back-to-back ‘Cuse teams making the Final Four since the consecutive national titles in 2008-09 (Syracuse played four straight years in the championship game between 1999-2002). “We were fat and happy last year, (just to make the semifinals), to be honest,” Joey Spallina said Saturday after his 3-and-3 performance in the 13-11 comeback win over Carolina. “it’s night and day now. We have a great leadership group, it’s a different year.”
Getting the Syracuse lacrosse name brand back on the national stage is also the culmination of the five-year rebuild Gait has put together since moving down the hallway from leading the SU women’s lax program. As he stated succinctly last Saturday the program is, “relevant again.”
They’re still chasing the number one seed Princeton Tigers, who remain the lone non-ACC team in the hunt on the men’s side. That’s the inverse of what is transpiring among the distaff laxers, as USA TODAY’s most noted JEOPARDY! alumnus Eddie Timanus reported this morning:
While it’s been a rough postseason for the Big Ten in men’s lacrosse, it’s a far different story on the women’s side. Three of the four semifinalists gathered in Evanston, Illinois, for championship weekend are members of the conference, including top seed and predetermined host institution Northwestern.
Conference officials probably shouldn’t count on hoisting the championship trophy just yet though, as the fourth team that will be in action on the shores of Lake Michigan is defending champion North Carolina, and the Tar Heels also feature the reigning Tewaaraton Award recipient as the top player in the college game.
Are these the most important sporting events transpiring this weekend? Heck, no. The NBA and NHL Final Fours are under way, and crucial college baseball and softball games are occupying more linear ESPN real estate than not. There’s something to be said about sports that actually have appeal beyond some very defined areas.
But as a highly respected sports media executive once schooled me, sports are tribal, and one’s fandom moves with one regardless of where one winds up. So I may be one of the only people in the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area who will be tuned in–even on a secondary screen–to what transpires on the respective campuses of UVA and NU this weekend. And I won’t even be measurable by Nielsen.
Maybe you have the capacity to be slightly more significant. I’ll offer you could do worse than to at least try and check this out. It’s a lazy holiday weekend. What better time would there be to do so?
Courage…