Lacrosse is one of the, if not the oldest team sports in North America and possibly the world. The game of lacrosse was played by Native Americans throughout Canada and the United States, but was most popular near the great lakes. Today, box lacrosse as we call it, is played with 5 players and a goalie on each opposing side. Traditionally, lacrosse games were major events and as many as 100 to 1000 men from opposing villages would play on fields that could reach from 500 yards to 15 miles in length. It was not uncommon for the games to last many days at a time. Pre-game rituals were not uncommon and were similar to rituals associated with war, players would decorate their bodies with paint and charcoal, some players would even decorate their sticks with objects representing qualities of the game. Before the game begun, player were required to place wagers, items such as handkerchiefs, knives, trinkets, horses, and even wives and children would be at stake. One thing is for certain, they did not have referees at this day and age. Thing got pretty rough out there. The medicine-man acted as umpires or coaches to the players and is said that a lot of men died throughout the process of a single game, it is also told that it was a honour for the losing teams captain to be sacrificed at the end of the game. The game today has changed very much, but the originators of the sport will never be forgotten as we continue to play our very own version of the sport of lacrosse. We have changed the game significantly since its original airs but never will we lose drive and the passion that our ancestors fought with in each and every match.
Alex Renaud
www.feenixgear.com
No comments:
Post a Comment