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  • Lacrosse at BMO Field


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    For what it’s worth, the bagpipers outnumbered the cheerleaders. Until last night, I’d never before seen cheerleaders shaking their pom-poms to bagpipe music.

    Some colourfully dressed native smoke dancers from down in Six Nations cavorted briefly in the centre circle, and it was time to play something other than soccer at Toronto’s BMO Field.

    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    Friday night was opening night for the Toronto Nationals of Major Lacrosse League, which is a six-team outdoor field lacrosse loop very few people know anything about.

    The announced crowd of just over 5,000 was confined entirely to the lower level of the west grandstand, and the beer tent area behind the north goal. They were loud, happy, and seemed to have a fine time.

    The game wasn’t bad at all, with Toronto topping the visiting Chicago Machine 15-11. The field game doesn’t have the big hits and concentrated frenzy of the more-Canadian indoor box version, but the speed, passing and in-close stick work sent the patrons home happy.

    As for the vexed issue of non-soccer lines on the sacred-yet-hated BMO Field plastic, they were minimal, yellow, faint, and should be easily washed away before Toronto FC takes the pitch this afternoon against New England.

    As long as we’re here – and since I got my sportswriting start in lacrosse – let me introduce you to a couple of these guys:

    Colin Doyle: Winner of five National Lacrosse League championships with the Toronto Rock, Doyle still has perhaps the fastest and strongest wrists in the game. A fast, elusive and very dangerous scorer.

    Gary Gait: Acclaimed by most as the greatest lacrosse player of all time, he has an identical twin brother – Paul – who was 95-per-cent as good as him. Top that, Wayne Gretzky. Gait is deep into playing out the string now, but still managed to score two goals against Chicago last night.

    Geoff Snider: Young, ferocious, bulldog tough, Snider is ridiculous on faceoffs. He won 19 out of 30 last night – including his first seven in a row. Maybe that doesn’t sound like much, but in a sport with a 60-second shot clock, if you get the ball eleven more times that the other guys, you win. Wrestling fans (the real stuff, not the pro stuff) would really appreciate this guy.

    A decent enough night out. It was good to see new fans discovering BMO Field. As long as they’re not Argo fans, that’s always fine with me.

    Onward!



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