Monday, November 19, 2012
The Game Then
Back in the day when Native Americans first
started the game of lacrosse, they played very differently than how they do
now. The games that they played could last several days between two tribes. The
playing field could range from 500 yards to several miles or have no out of
bounds at all. Also unlike today there could be from 100 men to 1,000 men from
each tribe participating in the game. Plus, the thing most different is the
fact that to pass the ball was considered a trick and to dodge which is thought
of as extremely necessary today was thought of as cowardly back then. During the
game the medicine man acted as the coach and the women gave out water and other
things to keep the players going. The reason these games were played was not because
they were fun but to settle tribal disputes, to toughen young men and get them
ready for combat and “for the pleasure of the Creator”. Before the game, the
rituals were very close to the ones for war. Also before the game, each player
was required to place a wager on what the outcome would be. The ball they
played with was either wooden or made out of deerskin stuffed with hair.
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2 comments:
This is very interesting. I did not know this much about this sport in the early days. I can't believe there used to be 100 to 1000 men on a team. This makes me want to learn more about the sport.
Wow, I had no idea that the natives played so intensely. I had always heard that the fields were significantly larger than they are now, but I had no idea they could be as long as a mile. I also think that it would be interesting to watch thousands of people play a game, I have never heard of any sport like that. I also thought it was interesting that they didn’t dodge because now, especially in high school lacrosse, the offensive plays all start with dodges. These were really interesting facts, good research.
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