Family ties, idol worship and simple circumstance all play roles, as NLL stars share stories about the
digits stitched to their sweaters
By Neil Stevens
What’s in a N
ational Lacrosse League
players are a curious
breed. As so- called weekend warriors, their travel and playing obligations between January and May take them away from all that is familiar to them.
TRIBUTES TO DAD MATT VINC
# 48 #24 GOALIE, ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS
“It’s a tribute to my dad. He died when he was 48 and he was born in 1948. I switched in Junior the year [St. Catharines] we went to the Ontario final.
JOHN GRANT JR. FORWARD, COLORADO MAMMOTH
“I was a rookie in Junior A, 15 or 16 years old, and I’d always worn 12 because it was my dad’s number. But it was taken by a
guy named Paul Wannamaker. There were a few numbers left, and 24 was available. It was twice 12, and my goal was to be as good or better than my dad, so I took it. That number is retired now in Junior A, so it means a lot to me and I still wear it.”
32 LACROSSE MAGAZINE April 2013>>
“It just seemed fitting to kind of have him with me at every game since my family has been so supportive. It’s just a way for me to have him in the building.’’
But after the long bus trip or cross-country flight, the chaotic Friday walkthrough and the awkward night’s sleep at the hotel, they get to the arena on game day, pull that jersey over their well-padded bodies and know all is right in their world. These are the stories behind those jerseys.
#66 NICK ROSE GOALIE, TORONTO ROCK
Rose lost his father in an auto mishap when he was two years old. His dad, Tony, wore 6 as a prominent player in Orangeville, Ontario. Nick took his father’s 6 and added a 6 for himself to come up with 66 — him and his father together on his sweater during games.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
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