declaration of interdependence
this morning, jackson and i watched the national lacrosse championship game between umass and uva. i can define my lacrosse knowledge in two statements: "you have to run around too much, just like in soccer" and "jim brown was the greatest lacrosse player, ever."
unlike soccer, lacrosse players are frequently rewarded with goals. i think the score of this game(match?) was 17-5. it would take a month and a half for the average soccer team to score 17 times. although i know very little about the game, it was fun to be a spectator for a little while.
the most interesting things about the match were observations made by the commentators. they were comparing the two teams...the nature of their teams cultures, their program histories, and their paths to the championship game. massachusetts and virginia. being a history nerd, the first thing that came to my mind was adams and jefferson. the longer the commentators spoke, the deeper i slid into the metaphor.
the university of massachusetts is a public university available to all those who desire to attend. the university of virginia is also a public university; but, it is widely regarded as the finest public university in the united states and is correspondingly selective in its acceptance of applicants.
the players on the virginia team are elite student athletes. they are attending one of the prestigious universities in the nation, living lives of leisure on scholarship, while preparing for lives as attorneys and doctors. surely, some of these descriptions apply to the players at umass, but they consider themselves to be "blue collar" guys. i'm sure the cavaliers have never worn blue collars.
the umass team were huge underdogs, and unknowns in the championship this year. uva is one of the storied lacrosse programs in the nation with a long history of preeminence. this year, they are undefeated, and have been ranked # 1 all year.
following suit- as the allegory goes-the privileged boys from virginia demolished the upstart workers from massachusetts. some things remain the same.
p.s. yes, i know adams defeated jefferson in '96; but, from then on it has been all jefferson...even when it was not true or deserved. from friends to rivals and back, the two of them have been forever linked in history.
unlike soccer, lacrosse players are frequently rewarded with goals. i think the score of this game(match?) was 17-5. it would take a month and a half for the average soccer team to score 17 times. although i know very little about the game, it was fun to be a spectator for a little while.
the most interesting things about the match were observations made by the commentators. they were comparing the two teams...the nature of their teams cultures, their program histories, and their paths to the championship game. massachusetts and virginia. being a history nerd, the first thing that came to my mind was adams and jefferson. the longer the commentators spoke, the deeper i slid into the metaphor.
the university of massachusetts is a public university available to all those who desire to attend. the university of virginia is also a public university; but, it is widely regarded as the finest public university in the united states and is correspondingly selective in its acceptance of applicants.
the players on the virginia team are elite student athletes. they are attending one of the prestigious universities in the nation, living lives of leisure on scholarship, while preparing for lives as attorneys and doctors. surely, some of these descriptions apply to the players at umass, but they consider themselves to be "blue collar" guys. i'm sure the cavaliers have never worn blue collars.
the umass team were huge underdogs, and unknowns in the championship this year. uva is one of the storied lacrosse programs in the nation with a long history of preeminence. this year, they are undefeated, and have been ranked # 1 all year.
following suit- as the allegory goes-the privileged boys from virginia demolished the upstart workers from massachusetts. some things remain the same.
p.s. yes, i know adams defeated jefferson in '96; but, from then on it has been all jefferson...even when it was not true or deserved. from friends to rivals and back, the two of them have been forever linked in history.
posted by cm at 5/29/2006
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