MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2019 12:08 pm
The discussion about 'chirping' and other unsportsmanlike conduct within the Ivy League is indeed an interesting one, though certainly not an exclusively Yale issue. Not by a long shot!
But, yes, the Yale lacrosse team has had a reputation with this issue for some time, well preceding its recent success at the national level.
There's a huge amount to like about the program that Shay has built, but sportsmanship has not been, pretty darn apparently, a priority. Which means it's an opportunity for improvement, as I agree, there are other aspects of the culture which are quite good.
Anyone who thinks otherwise, I'd suggest is either not well informed or is in willful denial.
Calling it 'swagger' (I'm not referring to any specific posters) is to miss the endemic lack of sportsmanship. Swagger's not a valid excuse.
Here's my view as a former Ivy player and colored a bit by my son's perspective, which he shared with me after his recent Ivy college career:
There's lots of chatter on the field, back and forth, as guys battle both physically and emotionally to gain an edge. My son and I were both goalies and the frequent target of such chatter. Instead of letting it bother us, we gave it back and we used the intensity as motivation. I think my son handled it even more intensely than did I. He liked it, loved playing when the intensity was highest. I remember feeling the same way.
But it was between players. Not for the audience. And we left it on the field. There was mutual respect post-game. Grace in both victory and defeat. The guys who didn't handle it that way, others knew and disliked.
Anyone who took a cheap shot to truly hurt someone, and was not immediately sorry, shunned. I'm not talking about a whack to the elbow or back of the leg, I'm talking about big hits of defenseless players. This was not
as big a deal in my day as we didn't really understand brain injury risks, but there's a reason why a great player Franz Wittlesberger (Hopkins) has had difficulty getting into the Hall of Fame; interestingly I hear that Rodney Rullman (UVA goalie Franz put out of a game) has written a letter of support for Franz...an act of sportsmanship and grace IMO.
Chirping to a sideline or at a coach, definitely not ok. But between players, all part of the game.
As to fans, sounds like we all agree that the expletives reflect very poorly on those hurling them, especially when they can be heard by 'kids and grandmas'. It doesn't matter whether these are students or some jerk dads, it reflects poorly upon them...and the team/school they support. It's incumbent upon their fellow fans who support that team to tell them to knock it off, and if that's not working, for the AD to step in. If they don't, they're providing tacit support for the behavior.
It's an especially poor reflection on a program when recent team alumni participate in ugly taunting. They are not just any alumni, they represent that specific program. The head coach needs to have been clear before they graduated as to what was appropriate, and post graduation he still should have an influence.
But, again, from a players' perspective, the taunts should be turned to motivation by those who are the targets. Not to lose one's cool, but to sharpen one's intensity and focus.
Back to playing ball...