Every great play needs a name.
The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers had the Immaculate Reception. Argentinean soccer star Diego Maradona had the Hand of God Goal in the 1986 World Cup.
Not a fan of divine intervention? Muhammed Ali and George Foreman had the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. The University of Nebraska football team made the Fumblerooski famous in the 1984 Orange Bowl. The Little Giants renamed it the Annexation of Puerto Rico in a 1994 comedy starring Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill.
Prefer simplicity? Willie Mays of baseball's Giants and David Tyree of football's Giants made The Catch in the 1954 World Series and 2008 Super Bowl, respectively. So did San Francisco 49ers' receiver Dwight Clark in the 1982 NFC championship game.
Perhaps the greatest play in sports history -- a last-second kickoff return in which the University of California used five laterals and trampled Stanford's band on the field en route to the game-winning touchdown in the 1982 installment of the historic college football rivalry -- is known simply as The Play.
Lacrosse has had a few ringers along the way -- the Armadillo, the Air Gait, the Mikey Powell Flip, the Hidden Ball Trick (perfected by Loyola's Gavin Prout and Bobby Horsey in the 2001 NCAA quarterfinals), Tom Marechek's Fake Celebration.
So what do we dub Kenny Nims' game-tying goal -- the one off desperation feeds from Matt Abbott and Stephen Keogh -- in this year's NCAA championship game? Will next-generation lacrosse fans hear about the Flea Sticker? The Hot Potato? The Foxboro Frenzy? The Dirty Dish?
It deserves a name. It deserves its place in lacrosse lore.
Here's your chance to make it happen. LM wants to know:
What would you name the wild play at the end of regulation of the Cornell-Syracuse NCAA men’s championship game?
Fill in your answer below, and yours could wind up in the next issue LM. While you're at it, leave a comment.
Each month's top featured responder wins a prize from adidas!
Previous Chatter
June 2009: What's the most bizarre thing you've seen at a lacrosse game?
Winning Response: Taylor Muto, Huntington Beach, Calif. | All Responses
While I was watching a local rec league game, an attackman on the opposing team had shorts that were too big that were giving him trouble throughout the entire game. Finally the inevitable happened, and when he iso'd to the net, his pants fell around his ankles. Stunned, the goalie on the opposing team didn't happen to realize that the kid was still going to shoot and didn't see the ball go into the net.
May 2009: Where would you put the NCAA championships?
Winning Response: Frank Amtann, Baltimore, Md. (via Facebook) | All Responses "Hawaii. Why? Because you're in Hawaii. I'll take my prize please." April 2009: Why is lacrosse better than baseball? Winning Response: Dan Martinetion, Commack, N.Y. | All Responses
"Exhibit A: Sammy Sosa. Muscular homerun hitter misses games because he hurt his back sneezing. Exhibit B: Wade Boggs. Hall-of-Famer misses games because he strained his back while putting cowboy boots on. Exhibit C: Kevin Mitchell was late reporting to spring training because he hurt himself eating a microwavable donut. (I'm not making this up.) Exhibit D: MVP Jeff Kent broke his wrist while washing a car at a self-serve car wash. Exhibit E: Marty Cordova burned his face in a tanning bed and had to miss a game. Seriously."
March 2009: What game do you have circled on your calendar and why?Winning Response: Patrick Winters, Highlands Ranch, Colo. | All Responses "Rochester Knighthawks at Colorado Mammoth on April 3. The return of Gary Gait to the home of the Mammoth, where his jersey hangs in the rafters." February 2009: What's the worst weather you've ever played in?Winning Response: Kim Imbesi, Durham, N.C. | All Responses "Oh man. We played Northwestern my sophomore year in Evanston and it was right on the lake. I had layers upon layers on, and Under Armour gloves underneath my goalie gloves. They had heaters on the sidelines, and somehow [Duke head coach] Kerstin [Kimel] went to warm her hands and set her gloves on fire. So in the timeouts, we couldn't take her seriously because she was trying to coach and gesture with these burnt gloves on. By far, that was the worst. I think they scored about 17 on me that day. But three hours later it was funny."
