The Lax bro culture 2020

[Drcthru]

https://www.outsports.com/comingout/201 ... coming-out

[oldbartman]

Good for him! Finally some cracks in this IL inspired "culture"...

[Typical Lax Dad]

https://www.outsports.com/comingout/201 ... coming-out

Thanks for posting. Good for him and his teammates.

[MDlaxfan76]

https://www.outsports.com/comingout/201 ... coming-out

Thanks for posting. Good for him and his teammates.

Good article, thanks!

I recall the stir Andrew Goldstein created at Dartmouth. Was proud of him and the team for their embrace of him.

Heck of a goalie too!

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

https://www.theringer.com/sports/2019/6 ... -rabil-nbc

“Bring it!” Rabil yells. “We need that!” In college lacrosse, he says, players are conditioned to be too respectful, to swallow their competitive bile. But he would rather “reengineer the mind of the athlete” back toward having no filter and no fear, both to showcase the rough, rugged glories of lacrosse, and because mercenaries make for good memes. “That’s how you build modern rivalry,” says Rabil, who in his ambitious new role at the center of lacrosse’s biggest schism stands to become an expert in the field.

He hates to be known as a “laxer”; he prefers “athlete” or “player.” When he appeared on the tech writer Kara Swisher’s podcast in 2018, he bonded with her son, Louie, over their shared distaste of the canonical “lax bro.” When he was profiled by The New York Times in 2010, it was on the cover of the Styles section, not the sports page.

Rabil retweets the Barstool account, and later, when he goes to a wrestling match, tweets: “Fighting. Love it.” When the league releases a slow-mo, mic’d-up edit of the whole thing, featuring combatants, coaches, and officials alike, it is brutal and funny and insider-y and unique, the very viewing experience the league is going for. Still, in a post-CTE world where even the NHL has tried to downplay fighting, it feels more like a cool new spin on an outdated concept and less like a true testament to the sport of the future.

Lacrosse’s default image as a bunch of “Chads and Brads” has yet to be effectively overwritten: When college lacrosse remains the de facto peak of the profession, after all, maybe it’s not much of a surprise that the sport maintains its fratastic vibe.

[LaxPundit07]

I have said it before and I will say it again:

When the premier media outlet for your sport (Inside Lacrosse) has headline articles about “Gear Swag Awards” and the “All Name Team”, the sport will continue to carry the brotastic torch.

It is embarrassing.

[admin]

Businesses, schools...sports. It's hard to change a culture. And, undeniably, lacrosse has a culture. With this said... Why not embrace the culture? Chad doesn't need to be homophobic. Gays, blacks, the-non-wealthy, etc. can also like swag and funny names.

[HooDat]

From where I sit, the Lax Bro culture has mellowed tremendously. We aren't seeing those ridiculous Warrior ads from the early 2000's anymore. Between the Duke debacle and the UVA tragedy, there has been a lot less tolerance for that mode of marketing than there was 10-15 years ago.

and good riddance....

but you have to admit, laxchilbro (or whatever his name was) was pretty dang funny. But then again that was parody.

[LaxManiax]

Lax Bro Culture needs to hit the road and for the most part it has. College and HS coaches have done an amazing job of changing the perception of our sport. However, the PLL is bringing it back and its embarrassing. Those guys in the league grew up in that culture and you can tell most of them have not changed. We are progressing the style of play, opening new doors marketing wise, yet showcasing ourselves like its Monday Night Raw. Its a joke! Funny thing about the PLL is if you look at the stat leaders its the quite guys, the guys who didn't grow up in that "lax bro era" those guys need to take control of the pro leagues and be professionals.

Its easy to see why the PLL is called the premier lacrosse league and not the professional lacrosse league. Not much professionalism going on.

[HooDat]

Let us not forget that Rabil was THE FACE of LaxBro lacrosse.It is what he knows. He is the king in exile of LaxBro Lacrosse; and the PLL is his Forty-Five uprising.

He has cleaned himself up some, but the guy is going to need to find some other way to make a living pretty soon....my 17 year old (who's had a stick since he was born) couldn't care less about Rabil - barely knows who he is.

[LaxManiax]

Let us not forget that Rabil was THE FACE of LaxBro lacrosse.It is what he knows. He is the king in exile of LaxBro Lacrosse; and the PLL is his Forty-Five uprising.

He has cleaned himself up some, but the guy is going to need to find some other way to make a living pretty soon....my 17 year old (who's had a stick since he was born) couldn't care less about Rabil - barely knows who he is.

Spot on!!! The kids today don't care about those guys. My worry is the "Lax bros" wanting to make a living off playing pro lacrosse have hurt the game with the PLL. We would all love for pro lacrosse players to just be pros. News flash.....There isn't enough money for it. Weather that be from sponsors, ticket sales, or tv deals. The demand and money just isn't there.

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

Let us not forget that Rabil was THE FACE of LaxBro lacrosse.It is what he knows. He is the king in exile of LaxBro Lacrosse; and the PLL is his Forty-Five uprising.

He has cleaned himself up some, but the guy is going to need to find some other way to make a living pretty soon....my 17 year old (who's had a stick since he was born) couldn't care less about Rabil - barely knows who he is.

EXACTLY why i posted this.

[hooligan88]

I feel like the term Lax bro is and can be used as a + and -. My observation is that lax bros are guys who are consumed with Lacrosse and its culture. Nothing wrong with that. In fact the sport is in need of kids who live the sport. Lax bros and not wanting to have a lacrosse sub culture is the kind of things that kill sports. I guess its because its the younger culture of the sport. I do not hear people openly talking we need to rid the sport of Native culture. (at which point i would be making some noise) I do realize that some lax bro stereotypes people do not want be stuck in. Am i missing something? I would love to see some other lacrosse sub cultures started maybe a opposite to the lax bro? IDK, But i do like the lacrosse culture. What would surfing be without the surf culture?

[johnnyonthegunpowder]

I feel like the term Lax bro is and can be used as a + and -. My observation is that lax bros are guys who are consumed with Lacrosse and its culture. Nothing wrong with that. In fact the sport is in need of kids who live the sport. Lax bros and not wanting to have a lacrosse sub culture is the kind of things that kill sports. I guess its because its the younger culture of the sport. I do not hear people openly talking we need to rid the sport of Native culture. (at which point i would be making some noise) I do realize that some lax bro stereotypes people do not want be stuck in. Am i missing something? I would love to see some other lacrosse sub cultures started maybe a opposite to the lax bro? IDK, But i do like the lacrosse culture. What would surfing be without the surf culture?

+1 Hooligan and Hoodat. Isn't it odd that Rabil has such distaste for his own consumers? I guess that's how most corporations are though. You make a good stab at a definition of laxbro, but for such a controversial term I'm at a loss as to what its other distinguishing characteristics are?

[seriously?]

Don't see the draw to these "professional" teams. From what I understand, guys, if they have a real job, have to use vacation days to travel. There is no money in it. It just seems to be an extension of their childhoods. I get playing for a year for yucks but other than that... And who is in the stands? The parents? Let it go people, let it go. AND, talk about the playing ground of the wealthy or just an outright lax bum. What was college for again?

[PeteStreet]

If there ever is to be a solid professional lacrosse league that pays lucrative salaries, doesn’t it need to start somewhere, even if it’s small? Telling players to grow up and get a real job and give up on professional lacrosse doesn’t help. With that mindset nothing will ever get accomplished.

[faircornell]

I might travel in the wrong circles, but it seems like the overtly obnoxious Lax Bro sub culture is on the wane. I see kids I coach and teams we compete against being much more focused on athletic performance, equipment and more serious aspects of the sport than loud shorts and unusual hair styles. Players like Lyle Thomas, and, generally, the younger Team USA players from 2018 address the game more straightforwardly.

I also think that the NLL and more integration between the Canadian game and the US game has focused players on the breadth of skill sets that they can acquire, and may have reduced the level of cockiness that existed a decade ago.

[co2519]

This goes for the youth level (HS and below) - Correlation doesn't equal causation, but it seems as if the more "free spirited" lacrosse culture has been tamped down at the same time as the club scene has risen, and the game has become much more coach-controlled. Less improvisation and decision making in the hands of the players, more of it dictated by the coaches...during almost every moment of games, from what I see...

[flyerfan17]

This goes for the youth level (HS and below) - Correlation doesn't equal causation, but it seems as if the more "free spirited" lacrosse culture has been tamped down at the same time as the club scene has risen, and the game has become much more coach-controlled. Less improvisation and decision making in the hands of the players, more of it dictated by the coaches...during almost every moment of games, from what I see...

It's not just lacrosse, it's all sports and it's been going on a long time. Coaches coach but players play still wins

[River Donkey]

Why are all of you guys so concerned with how somebody else acts??? Or feel the need to control peoples personalities based on a sport that they play. That’s meat head football culture. My favorite part of lacrosse and the reason I chose it over other sports was the individualism, the characters I met, no stereotypes. All that mattered was if you could play or not. It used to be a “put up or shut up” kind of game.