Welcome to Friday Franswers. You ask me questions, I answer them on Fridays. Franswers.
All new #FridayFranswers. You ask #lacrosse questions, I answer them on Fridays on @LaxAllStars
— Connor Wilson (@ConnorWilsonLAS) July 5, 2016
Now you can actually find me on Twitter. Be forewarned, I spew a lot of nonsense and you will like 34% of it at most. That’s a promise I can keep.
Friday Franswers – Round 1
Kris:
You know that #Franswers isn’t really a word, don’t you? I think you should call it #FirstDegreeFriday so you get the tough questions like the one i just asked you.
I’ll tell you what, Kris… I do know that, and I’m sticking with Franswers. You know why? Because I’m a jerk, and #FirstDegreeFriday sounds like a social media campaign for an under arm deodorant, or how closely one is related to Kevin Bacon. Why you would need a social media campaign for being related to Kevin Bacon is beyond me, but hey, the internet.
Ryan:
What’s your go-to dodge? #AskConnorLAS
Clearly I’m doing something wrong with my hashtag because I’m 2 for 2 with questions including suggestions for a new title. That actually tells me I’m doing something right.
Franswers, it GROWS on you.
My favorite dodge… like to watch other people do, right? Split dodge, no question. When done right, it’s just stupidly debilitating, not only for the guy on-ball, but the whole defense.
When it comes to me and my personal go-to dodge… I’ll be honest with you here, I’m more of an “off ball” guy. I stand off ball and LOOK dangerous, while you dodge and score. Then we all get hot dogs and sodas. It’s when I’m at my best. But if I do have to “take it to the rack” I am partial to the “put my head down and run to the left” dodge. When MLL guys do it, it’s called a speed dodge. When I do it, it’s called “PASS THE BALL, CONNOR”.
Andrew:
What is the airspeed of a diving sparrow?
At first I was asking myself why I would ever need to know this, and then I remembered Willy the Sparrow, and Andrew’s question started making a lot of sense. You see, WTS is a Hungarian movie about Willy, a 10 year old boy, who is mean to sparrows and subsequently turned into a sparrow by a local witch. He goes through some sparrow life stuff, then becomes a boy again. Since I am going to Hungary for the European Lacrosse Championships in late July and early August, there is a very good chance that I could indeed be turned into a sparrow myself. Andrew was clearly looking out for me here.
Now if he were to ask about my favorite color, my quest, or the air speed velocity of a swallow (laden, unladen, European, or African), that would be an entirely different issue. But that’s not what Andrew asked, was it? WAS IT?
A house sparrow can fly about 28mph, according to google.
Andrew:
What are your opinions/analysis re. D1 lax programs being added in Texas /South and West regions?
Thanks for another question Andrew, and for making it a real one. Or a real lacrosse question at least. Do I want to see D1 lacrosse added at any school in Texas, the South, or the West? Is that even a question? Definitely, I want to see that. Will it happen any time soon? It’s unlikely, but possible. Hey, that’s better than im-possible.
The fact is that lacrosse is NOT a revenue sport. It’s not even close. Schools are spending WAY more than they could ever possibly rake in. People will argue that point by pointing to ONE school, and they will be wrong. Yes, there are exceptions, but most schools lose money on lacrosse. So that’s not good for growth. Could a smaller school, perhaps one without football, add men’s lacrosse in the region and find a way to pay for it? Sure! We’ve seen that happen with many of the SoCon teams. But what about the big boys? We all know that’s what you’re really asking about.
If a hypothetical school, like I don’t know… Yexas, Lebraska, or Palabama, decided to add men’s lacrosse, they would need wealthy alums to fund it. ALL OF IT. It’s as simple as that. Title IX is not a problem when you have money (see Michigan), nor should it be viewed as a problem anyway. Title IX a good thing. So in that regard, yes, I actually do think we’ll see D1 expansion in the Texas/South/West areas soon… and it will come on the women’s side well before it comes on the men’s side. Heck, that’s happened already. I’m saying it will continue to happen. Where football is king, men’s lacrosse needs money. A whole lot of spending money. Find the money, and D1 lacrosse can grow at big sports schools.
Tom:
Best and worst moment you’ve had as part of lacrosse. Be it Playing/coaching/covering…
My worst moment, hands down, was in high school. Shocker, right? We were playing as a club team (on our way to varsity the next year), and we were playing away against a town with a really famous rock. They were also club, and none of us were very good. Our ref for the day was brand new, and reffing his first game ever, by himself. That poor man. He tried, but we were total massholes, and the game got chippy quickly. That was all pretty par for the course actually. Of course I found a way to make it worse.
When I was running down the field side by side with an opponent, we both fell down after some unathletic and needless jostling, and he punched/pushed my face mask as we got up. Worried that the 2 people watching might think I was a wimp, I responded in kind. What resulted was a full field brawl, which I had started, and it quickly became my most embarrassing moment on a lacrosse field. My coach’s expression of shame as I eventually ran off the field shook me to my core.
You see, I was one of the main drivers to bring lacrosse to my high school. Even back then I wanted to Grow the Game. I had cajoled friends to sign petitions, chewed the AD’s ear off about adding lacrosse, and pushed, pushed, pushed until I got my way. And in a single instant, I almost threw it all away. If it had happened today, there would be a viral video on Barstool, and our club would have been dead in the water. We were simply lucky no one cared about making fun of high school club lacrosse back then.
The ref handed out some penalties, and I wasn’t even kicked out of the game. I think I got 2 minutes. The kid I punched got 1. Everyone else somehow stayed in the game. I sheepishly apologized during the game (on the sidelines) to the kid I punched, their coach, and their whole team, and we all moved on. I grew a lot as a result, but in that flash of a moment I was at my worst. I almost killed my own lacrosse program. The enormity of what I got away with is still with me today. It’s a big part of why I’m so anti-fighting in lacrosse. I’ve made this mistake, I can only hope others can learn from it.
My best moment came as a coach, winning a PSAL B Championship as a volunteer in 2014 with Eagle Academy. It’s a small school in a rough area of East Brooklyn, and the team went 13-0 in its first year as a varsity program. Seeing all the hard work the kids had put in the two years prior, as we built the program, it was amazing to watch them earn an unblemished season for themselves in year 1 of varsity play. The kids all pulled together, even if they weren’t all friends off the field, and many of these players are still playing today in college. Each kid was the first ever in their families to play lacrosse. When we rode the ferry to Staten Island, it was some of the kids’ first time on a boat. Winning was great, but helping kids positively embrace a larger world was so much better.
Andrew:
Hardest interview you had to do… player and coach?
I’d have to say it’s Jake Steinfeld. He’s not really a player or coach at this point, but he’s involved with lacrosse heavily, and he’s a really tough interview, but not in a standard way, because Jake will talk… and he will talk, and talk, and talk. The problem is, he knows his talking points, and he sticks to them like super glue. If you ask him a question about something he deems off of his chosen topic, he quickly transitions back to his points, which he will make again and again, with unbridled passion.
Another thing that makes Jake a tough interview is that he simply won’t answer questions he doesn’t want to answer. He will compliment you for asking the question, and “plays dumb” with the best of them (even though he’s smart, sharp, and very much on the ball), but he will also deflect or tell you to contact someone else about it. His ability to be personable, relatable, and cordial all come into play here as well in denying you anything but the most positive PR spin available. You hop on a call with Jake and it’s like he’s known you for years. He’s disarming, charismatic, practiced, and patient.
All of the above is to say that Jake Steinfeld is a MASTER of positive interviews. He knows why he is there, and what he wants to promote or accomplish. He also knows why YOU, the interviewer, are there. He speaks in glowing terms, hits his points multiple times, and won’t go off on tangents, or explore risky hypotheticals. Because he is SO good at what he does (business and promotion), he is a hard man to interview. He’s like a hyper-excited human press release, and if you start getting an edge on him, he’ll challenge you to a push up contest. While you are suffering from a near run-in with cardiac arrest, Jake will be repping out and barely sweating. Good luck with that!
Graeme:
(a) likelihood of Rabil suiting up for the Rock, and (b) will it affect attendance or TV numbers if he does?
So much is at play here it’s not even funny, but for me, it will really come down to one thing, and one thing only – Will Paul Rabil feel challenged or doubted enough to get back into the box game? Will enough people say “Rabil can’t do it” to inspire Paul to do it? Paul is the kind of guy who makes BUSINESS decisions about his career 99% of the time, but when he feels attacked he will do whatever it takes to prove the doubters wrong.
So I can’t be sure if he would come back because of his career or business, but if enough people say he “can’t” do it… he’ll definitely do it. And then he’ll make some videos about it. The videos will reach 100k people and Rabil will be a league All-Star. This only happens if enough people say he could never do that. So let’s make it happen. Paul, you’ll never be good at box ever. Now prove me wrong and vlog it!
Ok, so now that we are collectively and publicly goading Paul back into the NLL, will it have an impact on attendance or TV numbers?
No.
One player does not make or break attendance or TV records in a noticeable way. Rabil will increase exposure for the NLL (he has more social media followers than the league does after all) and he may bring some new fans over, but what would impact attendance and TV ratings more than just Paul Rabil would be a better league. If Paul makes the league a little better, attendance will likely be a little better. If the league gets a lot better in general, that’s where attendance booms. People follow great players in great leagues. They don’t follow great players in OK leagues.
I love the NLL personally, and the guys playing go as hard as anyone in pro sports, but it’s not on the level it can be, or that other sports are on. When players are paid full-time, practice 3-5 times per week, and can play both NLL and MLL, the on-field product will be good enough to start talking about a boom in attendance. Until then, pro lacrosse will struggle to go big time.
Here is the rub: selling full-time fans on a part-time league is not an easy sale to make. I understand the burdens for both NLL and MLL, but this is the reality of pro lacrosse right now.
Jeff:
are we going to work with ULAXers to set up proper creases, rules, etc. this winter?
YESSIR, you complaining and biased goalie! My scoring will continue to plummet, but the league will continue to improve. There is a correlation. But watch out for LAS this season, we’re bringing in international recruits from Germany and Japan. Not quite Canada (thanks Dodgers!), but whatever. #NYCBoxLacrosseForLife
James:
Which FILacrosse World Championships was the best and why? #AskConnorLAS
You guys are really pushing this #AskConnorLAS thing, huh? Here’s your Franswer –
I should totally cop out here and just say “all of them”, as there have been so many good FIL World Championships, and many are memorable for different reasons. 1998 in Baltimore was amazing and had some truly fantastic games and talent on display. The 2015 WILC was fantastic for many reasons, and playing on Onondaga land was truly special. You can also look to the women’s side for some unreal events, but for me, the best FIL Games were Denver’s in 2014.
All the games were played in one sprawling, beautiful place, it was really well organized, and it was HUGE. We saw more international teams participate than ever before, the Iroquois played and won a medal, the level of play was excellent from top to bottom, and the University of Denver was an amazing spot to host the teams. It was professional, top notch, and extremely exciting from start to finish. We saw teams rise and fall in the world rankings, and it was the closest to a true “World Cup” atmosphere that lacrosse has ever seen.
Danish Lacrosse:
Best uniform ever?
Was this a trick question or what? Did you see how they didn’t include “lacrosse” in their question?
These are the best uniforms ever:
Next Friday I’m back with more Franswers. Tweet questions to me at @ConnorWilsonLAS.
