Text
“So before lacrosse games I’ll always close my eyes and visualize what I want the game to look like for me. And I always, um, listen to like classical music. Kinda like, movies, like I listen to Interstellar sound tracks and like classical music like orchestra stuff or anything by Hans Zimmer to calm down. I don’t really like listening to loud music, I feel like calming down is helpful. And I always drink a lot of water and pray before games, just to help with calming down and like getting in the zone too.”
Context
HL says that unlike many of his friends, or many athletes of this generation, he dislikes loud (often rap) music and prefers calm classical instruments and soundtracks. He used to just go with the flow before games and mess around with friends, but for the past year or 2 he sets aside 5 minutes on the bus or in the locker room to close his eyes, tune everything out, and visualize and calm himself down. He will also pray to honor his faith of Christianity and keep him connected to God and have a strong mind during games.
Analysis
HL’s pregame routine is an example of a personal spin on a very common ritual for athletes to calm down and get in the zone before games. In his routine, he includes specific music choice, his Christian faith through prayer, and embodiment/performance through sitting with his eyes closed before every game. HL’s routine embodies Kaptchuk’s description of rituals, as his structured ritual is meant to transform him into a game ready mental state through sensory actions and attention to emotions. The embodiment/performance aspect of the ritual also shows that belief is more than just an idea of the mind, and can be present throughout one’s body. The act of getting mentally ready pregame was something that HL learned from his family as well as other athletes, but the specifics of his routine were created on his own, showing how even as folk lore is transferred, people put their own spins and interpretations of it. I think it’s really cool that everybody has their own ways and methods (multiplicity and variations) to achieving the same goal, which is being mentally ready and calm before a big moment like a performance, game, or interview.
Tag Archives: lacrosse
Lacrosse slang
“Yardsale” – slang term in lacrosse which refers to a stick check that knocks an opponent’s stick out of their hands.
First encountered by informant in childhood – taught to them by elder siblings who played lacrosse.
A yardsale will almost always result in a loose ball and high potential for a turnover. The event is noted for its aesthetic appeal – a yardsale sees the checked stick become airborne, often flipping vertically several times before coming back to earth. The stick’s air time, overall height acquired, and distance travelled can vary depending on the force and angle of the check. Some particularly ridiculous yardsales can see a stick go flying many, many feet into the air and/or traveling a great distance of the field before gravity intervenes.
FOGO
Nationality: American
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Text: FOGO
Context: The informant’s family has played lacrosse for generations, and eventually heard the position of face off specialists being referred to as the FOGO (pronounced foe go). FOGO stands for face off get off, referring to how the faceoff specialist does the faceoff and then immediately subs themselves out of the game. Coaches and referees never would refer to the position as a FOGO, only other players would use the term.
Analysis: The name FOGO is used by lacrosse players to tease their face off specialist teammates. Face off specialists are generally the worst on a team at the fundamental skills required for lacrosse, such as passing, shooting, and defending. During a practice, face off specialists are usually off to the side doing their own drills away from the team, furthering the idea that they lack the skills of “real” lacrosse players. With lacrosse being a very physically demanding sport, the limited role of the face off is seen as making the position easy, which leads to other players teasing the position by calling it the FOGO.
Lacrosse Prayer
“Dear lord. The battles we go through life, we ask for a chance that’s fair. A chance to equal our stride, a chance to do or dare. If we should win, let it be by the code, with faith and honor held high. If we should lose, we’ll stand by the road, and cheer as the winners go by. Day by day. We get better and better. Until we can’t be beat. Won’t be beat. Ruthless”
This is a prayer the informant would say before every home lacrosse game with his team. He did not attend a religious school, but it was a tradition passed down from the upperclassman to perform this prayer. One player would say each line and the team would then repeat the line after them. The final portion, “Until we can’t be beat. Won’t be beat. Ruthless,” is screamed at full volume. The point of the prayer is to focus the players’ minds and get them hyped up for the upcoming game. It was only performed in home games and done so in the locker room, removed from any fans or the opposing team.
I did further research into the origins of this prayer. It was initially a prayer used by the University of Nebraska football team, dubbed the Husker prayer after their mascot, the cornhusker. It is unclear when this change originated but it has spread across high schools around the country.
Lacrosse Flow
This informant is my roommate who plays on USC’s lacrosse team. I asked him if there was any folk superstitions or traditions widely accepted amongst the sport or team and this is what he told me.
There’s totally two huge beliefs in lax [the “x” looks like a cross, making it la-“cross,” but it is still pronounced like “lax” in “relax”]. Players always try to have the longest “flow” and the most eye-black on their face. Flow refers to the length of someone’s hair and it gained its popularity when a player made a Youtube video about his “flow” making him a better player. I’m not really sure where the eye-black trend started, but lax was first played by the Native Americans against rival tribes, so maybe players think the eye black makes them look more like warriors. Obviously these are just superstitions but they everyone acknowledges their importance so it has become a part of the game.
Obviously these are two folk superstitions that have become popular belief in the sport of lacrosse, even though players know they aren’t true. I’m not entirely true what these beliefs say about the sport itself or the players who participate but I think my informant touched on an important topic regarding the sport’s origin. He said lacrosse was played as a game amongst rival tribes, almost like battle. In some cultures, such as the Norse, hair length was tied to manliness, so maybe the eye-black and flow became popular because it symbolizes masculinity.