Thanks to a virtuoso performance by John Grant Jr. and the Willis Reed-like guts of Anthony Kelly, the Denver Outlaws’ playoff purgatory is over BY THERESA SMITH
W
alt Whitman’s love of the American worker epitomized his epic poem, “I Hear America Singing.’’ Nearly 200 years later, Major
League Lacrosse’s hardest-working team set its labors to song. Denver Outlaws superstar John Grant Jr. called it the “soundtrack of our summer.” Thanks to an eclectic mix and an omnipresent set of speakers, music accompanied all of the Outlaws’ routines. They had songs for stretching, songs for practice, songs on the bus and songs at the hotel. “Rather Be,” by the British electronic group Clean Bandit, Jose Gonzalez’ “Stay Alive” from the movie soundtrack for “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,’’ and “Walk on By,’’ by Sound Remedy Remix and Noosa, became their anthems. “The music was on all the time, like a movie,’’ Grant said.
The Rochester Rattlers
were a complete afterthought.
SNAKE EYES
Rattlers
revived by new leaders
laxmagazine.com
Since rejoining MLL in 2011, the Rattlers had yet to make the playoffs
and widely were considered the next franchise likely to relocate — perhaps even to Atlanta, the site of this year’s championship game.
“Music does different things for different
people,” goalie Jesse Schwartzman said. “It really brought us together.” After wins, the well-tuned players
blended their voices into songs of triumph, none more heartfelt than the melody that accompanied their MLL championship celebration. A nine-year-old franchise that bore the burden of being the best team never to win a title — including an 0-4 record in championship game appearances — finally lifted the Steinfeld Trophy in the wake of a gritty, come-from-behind 12-11 win over the Rochester Rattlers. The refrain was always the same: Stay
positive, never accept losing, don’t do too much or too little, according to Grant, who carried Denver in the second half of the championship game much as he did in the second half of the season. Grant, 39, finished with three goals and an assist and improved to 5-0 in MLL finals. His previous four championships were with Rochester (2008), Toronto (2009) and Chesapeake (2012 and 2013). “I got there a little bit late into the
season, missed the first game, but I know from playing against these guys that they are a close-knit bunch,” Grant said. “They welcomed me in with open arms. The team that wins is the team that is unified — unified in music, unified in going for team lunches and team dinners. We all got along and when you’re battling for each
other, there’s generally a camaraderie there that makes it a lot easier.” Denver’s solidarity was tested in a taut semifinal against New York, a game that was tied six times before Jeremy Sieverts scored with just over a minute left in regulation to give the Outlaws a 14-13 victory. Denver demonstrated its resolve again in the championship game, trailing 5-1 after the first quarter and 10-6 after the third quarter before Junior scored two momentum-shifting goals and assisted Eric Law across the crease to pull the Outlaws within one. Rochester scored once more, but a two-point blast by Sieverts tied the game and Drew Snider won it with a goal with just 56 seconds left. “We battled through jitters at both
ends and we were pretty sloppy early in the game, but we were able to overcome that,” Grant said. “We learned how to battle through adversity throughout the year, and it obviously paid back with a comeback in the fourth quarter.” Denver’s acquisition of Grant and the
Willis Reed-like inspiration provided by hobbled faceoff man Anthony Kelly were significant amid a multitude of factors that merged to form the Outlaws’ championship DNA. To some, it was a controversial move by
general manager Tony Seaman to trade a young superstar, 30-year-old Brendan Mundorf, the fifth-leading scorer in MLL
“The team that wins is the team that is unified.” But thanks to an
infusion of young talent (attackmen Miles Thompson, Jordan Wolf and Mark Cockerton and long- stick midfielder John LoCascio), a regular- season title, a heap of postseason awards and a berth in the final, the Rattlers have regained momentum in Rochester. A new owner, MLL co-founder and New
Balance chairman Jim Davis, and a new chief operating officer, Brad Ford, a long-time staple on the Rochester-area sports scene, gave the Rattlers hope. Ford’s emergence allowed coach and general manager Tim Soudan to focus on the field and not the marketing or the other duties associated with running a team.
Soudan was
MLL Coach of the Year, joining John Galloway (Goalie of the Year), Mike Manley (Defensive Player of the Year) and Justin Turri (Most Improved) in earning postseason accolades. “To take over a
franchise from scratch, where we had no data, we had no offices, no phone numbers, it’s a huge undertaking,” Ford
— Grant
said. “I had a roster, a head coach, coaching staff, and a logo.” The Rattlers
received assurance from commissioner David Gross that they will remain in Rochester for at least the 2015 season. “We have every
intention that the team is going to be in the Rochester area long term,” Gross said.
— Will Cleveland october 2014 » LACROSSE MAGAZINE 43
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