DENVER, CO – I got a logical question today from back in Jersey: “What does the GL stand for on the hats you guys are wearing out there?” It’s a good question, and one that I should really answer here.
This trip is all about (other than the lax of course) meeting and making friends with folks from other countries and areas of the United States. I am sad that there’s one man I never had the chance to meet, and that’s Graham Lester. Graham, by all accounts, is basically the godfather of International Lacrosse Officiating. In the States we joke “that guy practically wrote the rulebook” when we are trying to compliment our legends. Well Graham literally wrote the rule book of International Lacrosse.
Tragically, he passed away on December 31, 2013.
There are a lot of officials here (most I would say) who knew Graham at least peripherally, and others who knew him quite well. In tribute we all are wearing white GL patches with “Swing Low” written on them, which as you saw from Kei’s leading us in singing, is basically the international officials’ theme song. We sang it at the bar just before President Obama arrived the other day.
That’s why we wear the GL patches and we also have a moment of silence between the crew on each game to honor him out on the pitch.
I’ve referred to some people on this trip in passing, and others in more depth. So let’s take you inside some of the other more colorful and quite frankly fun personalities that I’ve met this week. Let’s start with my fellow flag bearer, Nathan Allen.
Nate is just a young pup. He just graduated University (the Canadian term for college) this past year with an accounting degree. Everyone here calls him McLovin, named after the hilarious character from the Seth Rogan movie, Superbad. He’s got a lot of McLovin in him for sure. He’s outgoing, funny and really wants to do a good job.
He lumbers up the field, but has good judgment and knows the international game well. He did a great job as the crew chief on the Spain/Columbia game.
Another person I’ve really enjoyed meeting and working with is Mikko Red Arrow. Mikko is a lawyer who is based out of Charlotte, but he’s a Long Island transplant. He was a heck of a player in his day, and is now a heck of an official. There are guys who you work with who you can tell are nervous or quirky or standoffish.
Mikko is none of those things.
He’s incredibly intelligent and has an awesome sense of understanding what we need to do to get it right on the field. There’s a balance to his personality that really resonates with me. He’s the kind of guy you can walk with from the locker room toward the field and be joking and loose, but the moment he crosses that sideline, you just have the confidence that he’s going to get it done.
He’s the kind of guy from a personality, lacrosse IQ, intelligence and quick-thinking standpoint that I want on the field with me in a big game.
Mikko is also a big-time NCAA Official, and worked the Division III National Championship this year down in Baltimore on Memorial Day Weekend. It’s a good thing (from my perspective) that he lives in the Carolinas. With the growth of the sport in that region of the country, we are going to need more guys like Mikko to keep things moving in the right direction.
I am really fond of the German contingent here as well. Andreas Maertens and Johannes Kaschke are both young officials (a few years younger than I am) and their excitement for officiating is written all over their faces. We had all gone out for dinner on Thursday night and then out to a place called The Thirsty Lion afterwards. Hannes and Andreas caught up with us there and we were talking about the system by which they officiate, and it’s MUCH different than ours. They often have to drive hours away just to officiate a game, and they only have but a handful of games to go around.
Here’s the thing that really struck me, though, and what made me realize just how much this pair loves doing what we do: they get paid “Seven Euro Fifty” for a game, as they put it. You heard that right folks, essentially $7.50. Think about what you would do (or more importantly wouldn’t do) for $7.50. These guys love lacrosse, they’re funny and respectful. Hannes and I are working a game together tomorrow, and I am really excited about it.
I could go on and on like this for another long while, but I’ll be sure to share some more stories and people as the week goes on.
On the field, today was my easiest day of the tournament. I was the Bench Manager for Finland vs Spain. The duty of the bench manager is basically just to relay the penalties from the on field officials to the official scorers, help the penalty timekeepers and to count down the final 30 seconds out on the field and blow a whistle when the quarter expires. Piece of cake.
After today the group stage is complete and we move into what is essentially a modified version of knockout rounds. There is a full slate of games Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday is the crossover day, where the teams that keep winning from the Red Division will go play the teams from the Blue Division. There are only 10 games Wednesday.
Thursday we are back to a full slate with consolation games, before an abbreviated schedule Friday and then only four games Saturday. We are right in the thick of it!
