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Best of 2009
Male
Player | Female
Player | Male
Performance | Female
Performance | Male
Coach | Female
Coach| Game
| Comeback
| Breakthrough
| Look | Mainstream
Moment | Fan
'09 Rewind: Look, Mainstream Moment, Fan of Year
LOOK OF THE YEAR
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Custom eye black, such as Ken Clausen's "WB 23" in honor of former teammate Will Barrow, has become a trend in lacrosse and other sports. © Kevin P. Tucker |
Eye black has been used for centuries to reduce the glare of the
sun. An old-school Pop Warner coach might take a Zippo to a cork
and rub the resulting char under a young lad’s eyes. It
doesn’t hurt to smear a little “warrior paint”
for that glare into your opponent’s facemask.
But when did eye black become a fashion statement? Mainstream
sports fans could point to Reggie Bush rocking “619”
(his home area code) and “S-E” (for southeast San
Diego) on national TV while at USC.
We, of course, have Mikey Powell, who popularized upside-down
triangles — a trend transferred to women’s lacrosse by
Kelly Kasper.
In time, char gave way to grease and grease gave way to black
tape. Athletes have turned their faces into bumper stickers for
their teams, causes, memorials and beliefs. With eye black’s
adhesive evolution, we’ve sworn off all functionality.
According to the Archives of Ophthamalogy, the grease sticks help
reduce glare. The stickers? Not so much.
Perhaps we should have seen it coming. (Or was the sun in our
eyes?) In a 2007 interview with CNBC, Peter Beveridge, the CEO and
president of eyeblack.com, cited lacrosse as a potential growth
sport for his business. Visit the site and search for
“lacrosse,” and you’ll find over 30 templates for
lax-themed eye black — including specific teams and
manufacturers.
Some numbers bear deeper meaning.
Virginia defenseman Ken Clausen wears the initials
“WB” and the number “23” under his right
and left eyes, respectively, in memory of former teammate and
Cavaliers captain Will Barrow — whose suicidal death in
November 2008 shocked and saddened the Charlottesville and lacrosse
communities.
No matter how you stick it, looks like custom eye black is here to
stay.
HONORABLE MENTION
Flow (a.k.a. Lettuce)
Here’s an excerpt from “90% of Lax is in the
Flow,” a 14,000-plus Facebook fan page: “Ask anyone
that is anyone, and they will tell you a laxer's abilities are
directly correlated to his hair's flow. There is a fine line
between a player's hair being too short and neat and a player that
has entered into the dreaded realm of overflow. This group was made
to celebrate those that find the perfect middle ground and allow
their hair to be great.”
You didn’t think Paul Rabil won Player of the Year based on
skill alone, did you?
High Socks
The retro-style, athletic-socks-pulled-over-calves look is no
longer reserved for your gym teacher. While its resurgence has
receded somewhat in the men’s game, Team USA and former
Northwestern star Kristen Kjellman has all the girls rocking
it.
Crazy Shorts
Granted, the kilts have become sleeker, but they’re still
kilts. Girls are finding new ways to individualize this old look.
Wave One’s “Crazy Shorts” have turned athletic
undergarments into an optical illusion with their magic eye-like
designs.
MAINSTREAM MOMENT OF THE YEAR
We’ve gone from “where in the world is Matt Lauer” to “what in the world is Matt Lauer doing.”
Credit Nicky Polanco with the assist.
Polanco and several of his teammates on the Long Island Lizards joined “The Today Show” on Rockefeller Plaza for a segment with anchors Lauer and Meredith Vieira, weatherman Al Roker, and news anchor Ann Curry on Aug. 4. Polanco talked up the sport to the NBC viewing audience (largest among on-air morning shows), then split up the crew for a shooting contest before a spirited crowd of kids and cheerleaders.
The best moment may have been Lauer’s playful stick check of an unsuspecting Vieira. If only it had been a live game.
HONORABLE MENTION
“Toe to Toe”
The feature film by director and screenwriter Emily Abt, about two
D.C.-area high school teammates, earned praise at the 2009 Sundance
Film Festival.
LXM Pro
Scott Hochstadt, who US Weekly photographed teaching lax to Lo
from “The Hills,” helped engineer this
lax-meets-concert festival scheduled for SoCal on Nov. 21.
College Lacrosse 2010
Some delays pushed back its targeted September release date, but
it also allowed the clamor for lacrosse first Xbox Live Indie game
to grow — more than 48,000 fans on the game’s Facebook
page.
FAN OF THE YEAR
There’s no mute button for Taylor Muto.
No matter where you go on today’s lax-loaded Web of social
media, you’ll find this 16-year-old attackman from Huntington
Beach, Calif.
He lists lacrosse as his occupation on MySpace.
His Twitter handle? TaylorPlaysLax.
You can see videos of him going top shelf on a game-winning goal
from the wing on his YouTube channel, wclax41.
Check out Lacrosse Magazine’s Facebook page —
Muto’s all over it.
You might even recognize Muto’s mug as a repeat appearance
right here in our print rag. He told the story of an attackman who
scored with his shorts around his ankles and won a prize from
adidas for his winning response in June’s edition of our
“Sideline Chatter” question-of-the-month series. (The
question that month: What’s the most bizarre thing
you’ve seen at a lacrosse game?
LM made it a point in 2009 to engage its readers more. Be on the
lookout for more such features in 2010.
Meantime, here’s to you, Taylor Muto — keep it up.
HONORABLE MENTION
Joey Myers, Stephenville, Texas
What major college should add lacrosse as a varsity sport? All of
them. What feature must a lacrosse video game have? Tons of
unlockables, customizable elements, simple controls and, maybe, a
storyline about a bullied kid who turns into a lax star. A regular
in our “Sideline Chatter” series, we always look
forward to Joey Myers’ insight.
Alan Miranda, Alexandria, Va.
Men’s lacrosse or women’s lacrosse? Why can’t it
be both. No matter where the lax lies, Alan Miranda is following us
on Facebook, LaxMagazine.com and Twitter. He waited with bated
breath for updates on the U.S. women’s team in Prague. When
we broke news on the U.S. men’s team in November, he
commented, “23 checking out of heartbreak hotel.”
Looking forward to keeping Alan posted from Manchester next
summer.
Jenny Wirth, Pittsburgh, Pa.
We wound up calling Syracuse’s miraculous goal in the NCAA
championship game the Foxboro Flip. Jenny Wirth chimed in with
another gem for this wild play: the Orange Dreamsicle. Wirth is
also a frequent entrant to our “Gear Up” series. Keep
trying Jenny, and thanks for contributing.
