Lacrosse ...

Pushing with the stick

Did you know that lacrosse is Canada's national sport?  I didn't before last night - I had, wrongly, assumed it was ice hockey.  My reason for going to the lacrosse game was to meet the Australian expat social group based in Calgary.  We were an interesting group - some Aussies in their AFL tops, some in lacrosse tops, a couple of Canadians (C was in the minority for once!) and a German guy who I suspect thought he was joining the Austrian expat group.  We had tickets for the play offs for the National Lacrosse League, so it was a pretty important game for the Calgary Roughnecks (roughneck meaning someone who works on the oil and gas rigs here in Alberta) and the Colorado Mammoths.    

Passing ... to the opposition?

A Calgary Roughnecks goal is celebrated

The  game was held in the same arena in which I've seen the cattle penning and the ice hockey, however the crowd at the lacrosse was totally different.  Tickets were only $22, which meant that the crowd was more family friendly.  However, the locals behaved in quite an un-sportsman-like manner towards the other team, with the announcer making a loud cry of 'What's he got?' when the opposing team missed a goal, to which the crowd roared 'Nothing!'  If the aim was to demoralise the other team, it certainly worked as more than once I noticed the goalie with his head down and the home team ended up winning by quite a significant margin.

In trouble with the refs

More cowbell!

The fans are a major component of the lacrosse game, with many opportunities for them to get involved during the game.  In fact, it seemed that the game was just as much about the entertainment as it was about the sport.  Loud rock music played for most of the game and the crowd was encouraged to support their team loudly and proudly.

Interchange bench

Winners

 

It's a rough game too - hacking and hitting with your lacrosse stick is encouraged and throughout the game, and many players were sent off for being too aggressive.  According the lacrosse fanatics, the Calgary Roughnecks may not be appearing in the NLL next year ... apparently they have run out of money.  Which is a sad state for Canada's national sport.

Finally, some sportsmanship ... shaking hands at the end of the game