>>CROSSE CULTURE
it. I take no greater pride than when I see him working out in the Marriott workout room at the Senior Bowl, or at the NFL Combine, and he’s wearing a Rutgers Lacrosse Dri-FIT, or a Hopkins Lacrosse sweatshirt. That’s cool. He truly loves the game.
How did you decide to run with the bulls in Pamplona? My wife handles the marketing, PR, concierge for my company. Russell [Okung, the Seattle Seahawks’ tackle] called her and said he wanted to run with the bulls. She asked him, “Who is going with you?” Eventually he asked me. They run every morning at 8 o’clock.
[New York Jets coach] Rex Ryan had gone that week and we had seen the video of him jumping over the fence. We go on the course the night before and say, “If it gets hairy, let’s try to have some strategy and some plans to where we can bail out.” My job is not only for me to survive, but I have to protect Russell. That was sort of the tail wagging the dog. His job is to protect quarterbacks. He’s 6-foot-6, 320 pounds and yet me, at 6-foot, 195 pounds, I have to protect him. We go on the course the night before, and it’s right through the streets of Pamplona. It’s like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. We have it all mapped out. “We can bail out here and here. Here’s a door.” But as soon as those bulls start coming, you throw strategy right out the window. At that point, it’s straight adrenaline and instinct. It was straight “Omaha,” straight audible. It was exhilarating, though. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
How are you involved in lacrosse now? My son plays for the Denver Lacrosse club, which is run by Rob Gormley. He and I actually played together in Ocean City summer lacrosse in 1981-83. On our masters team here, our entire defense grew up in Cortland, N.Y. We’ve been playing together for a combined 160 years. There are fi ve of us who grew up in Cortland. We’ve been playing since we were 7 and 8 years old. We’re all 50 now. We all play for the Elder Statesmen in the national tournaments. — Corey McLaughlin
Schaffer ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, with one of his clients, Seahawks offensive tackle Russell Okung.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
May the Fourth Be With You Major League Lacrosse’s Ohio Machine
and Denver Outlaws will sport “Star Wars” themed jerseys on May 4 during the Outlaws’ home-opener. The Machine will wear white jerseys representing the Imperial Storm Troopers while Denver, whose normal colors include orange, will wear X-Wing Pilot jerseys of the Rebel Alliance. All the jerseys will be signed and auctioned off after the game with all proceeds benefi ting the Wounded Warrior Project. The game coincides with “May the Fourth Be With You” day, which celebrates the iconic movie.
FROM HOOKY TO HEROES More good news, with a twist. This from California, where Peter Kravariotis, a senior at California High in San Ramon and goalie on the boys’ lacrosse team, was one of three students to rescue a 94-year-old woman, her daughter and a dog from a burning home as the trio was busy sneaking out of school and headed to grab breakfast at a local McDonald’s. Having fi nished an assignment early during a morning class, they went off campus and were
in Kravariotis’ car when they saw smoke and fl ames shooting from windows and vents. They found a woman in the backyard talking to the fi re department and started fi ghting the blaze with a garden hose until they learned someone else was inside. Then they entered, found the elderly woman sitting in a chair and pulled her and her 18-year-old dog from danger. “In a situation like this, the true caliber of your character comes through. I’m not surprised — they are good guys,” their teacher, Kathleen Seabury, told the San Jose Mercury News. “They cut class, but at the end of the day things happened for a reason.”
Ennis Has Boxla Background Tyler Ennis, a projected fi rst-round NBA draft choice in June, played box lacrosse growing up, as well as basketball. The former Syracuse guard, who this spring announced his intentions to turn pro after his freshman season with the Orange, played indoors in Brampton, Ontario, throughout most of middle school, according to USA Today. He was a defender, but also scored a lot of goals, he said. Lacrosse skills and familiarity with pick-and-rolls, reading zone defense and moving in transition instantly helped him when Ennis chose to focus only on hoops, he added.
LYNN PLAYER FIGHTS CRIME Brandon Rothstein caused one heck of a turnover. The senior defenseman
for the fi rst-year Lynn University NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse team on March 19 tackled and detained a suspected hit-and-run driver for Boca Raton (Fla.) police, according to a report by NBC affi liate WPTV. The driver reportedly fl ed from a collision under pursuit, turned into the university, crashed into a trailer and tried to fl ee by foot near the Knights’ stadium — where players were boarding a bus for a game at Rollins. Rothstein spotted the suspect and dropped his belongings. Rothstein, a criminal justice major, holds a master ranking in the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) and the United States Practical Shooter Association (USPSA) as a competitive shooter. He needed only his bare hands for this takedown.
Going Pro in Something Else Wondering who that guy was holding the lacrosse stick in
the Enterprise Rent-A-Car commercial during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament? It’s Erich Smith, a 2007 Christian Brothers (Mo.) High graduate who played NCAA Division I lacrosse at Manhattan. Enterprise in its ad was featuring former college athletes who worked for the St. Louis-based company. Smith played at Manhattan from 2008 to 2011 and was a three-year starting midfi elder. He runs One on 1 Lacrosse Clinic, an instructional company.
May 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 31
©MANHATTAN; ©LYNN; ©CHAD COOPER; ©NBC BAY AREA; ©EVA RINALDI
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