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An Open Letter to the U.S. Men’s Team
Morgan Crutchfield CELEBRATION, FLA.
As the publisher of an e-magazine about Disney trip planning, I cover sporting events at ESPN Wide World of Sports. I had the privilege of press access to Champion Challenge, an event that in the past has been something of an exhibition, but this year was a career changer for all 51 of you.
I did not grow up with lacrosse, but instead was introduced to it by a friend who coaches and subsequently, my 10-year-old son, Ben, who has decided to become a lifetime devotee to “the flow.” It is for Ben (pictured below with Team USA attackman Steele Stanwick) that I am writing to you today.
As a single mother, I spend a lot of time monitoring. I watch talking oranges on YouTube, check for errant text messages on iPhones, eavesdrop on “SportsCenter” just in case, preview cable television shows, and in January I launched myself across the living room at the mute button when a football player went on a rant after an NFL playoff game. It’s not that I’m a helicopter parent, it’s just that much of today’s world needs to be explained in a context that my kid doesn’t understand yet. Until he can build those frames of reference, I work really hard to regulate what comes into his wheelhouse.
As the gatekeeper of what sometimes seems like an endless stream of junk, as a mom, and as a fan, I want to say thank you to each and every one of you.
Thank you for being classy on and off the field. Thank you for letting our children sneak into your practice to watch you work with each other and comport yourselves in the most respectable of manners.
Thank you for
coming to dinner on the eve of what would be one of the most
important games in your careers, and for leaving that at the door while you laughed and talked, took photos and signed posters for kids like Ben.
Thank you for going 110 percent during the entirety of the game and for being gracious afterward in signing autographs for the throng of young lacrosse players after what was surely an emotionally charged meeting.
Thank you also for the smallest of things that made the biggest of impressions: the constant support you audibly gave each other during the match, the table manners you used while you put away what my son characterized as “more food than he thought guys could eat,” and the language you did not use when you took a shot to the chest plate during the first minutes that rattled my kidneys halfway across the field.
Because while you were
locked in a battle that would see 21 of you getting cut from the national team, my 10-year-old kid was watching. And listening. And processing. While you and your coaches broadcasted positivity and excellent sportsmanship, my son was constructing an idea of what it means to be an elite athlete. To those of you who continue on with Team USA, we will cheer for you from wherever we are as you compete in Denver. You are truly representative of an America I want to raise children in.
For those of you who did not make the cut, continue playing admirably. Your time is coming, and no matter your status on this team, we will be lifelong fans.
(Editor’s note: The author is the editor of The Source, an e-magazine. A version of this letter originally appeared on
DVCCentral.com.)
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12 LACROSSE MAGAZINE March 2014 >> A Publication of US Lacrosse
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