Crab Cakes and Lacrosse, That’s What Maryland Does!

Crabcakes and Lacrosse, that’s what Maryland does. A saying that everyone, no matter where you’re from, can feel once you cross the state lines. It is only natural that the NCAA Lacrosse Championship would be a big hit and attract an abundance of fans.

These fanatics poured in from all across the country to watch their beloved teams compete for the title of 2011 National Champion. Even before the games began, school spirit could be seen for miles across the parking lots of tailgaters and intertwined throughout the whole stadium.

Weekend Events at a Glance

This weekend proves to be an exciting one in the state of Maryland. Not only are there a plethora of events going on throughout the state (see list below) but the International Canoe Federation has traveled across the pond for a technical site visit out at ASCI in Garrett County for the 2014 Canoe Slalom World Championships. Fearless leader Terry will be on site helping to guide the visit and ensure Maryland is ready for Worlds in 2014!!!  Terry will provide us with insights on the visit and the ICF’s feedback on ASCI early next week, so be sure to check back!!

Check out these upcoming events in your area:

• NCAA DI Women’s Lacrosse Championship- 1st Round (Loyola)
• Poolesville Road Race
• Leonardtown Criterium
• Tri-Rock Annapolis
• NCAA DI Men’s Lacrosse Championships- 1st Round (Johns Hopkins)
• NCAA DI Women’s Lax Championships-1st Round (University of Maryland)
• NCAA DIII Men’s Lacrosse Championship 2nd Round (Stevenson)
• NCAA DIII Men’s Lacrosse Championship 2nd Round (Salisbury)
• NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship Round 2 (Salisbury)

So get out there and enjoy all the great sporting events happening around Maryland this weekend!

For more information on each event as well as other events in the area visit: www.marylandsports.us/events

Face-Off Classic Underway!

Yes, it’s still winter with a few grimy slush piles to prove it, but for the hearty souls assembled around M&T it is time for the first tailgate of the season.

The sun is shining and there is a steady stream of young fans working their way through the activities on the stadium perimeter.  There are also clusters of collegiates manning grills and coolers while waiting for their event to begin.

Maryland and Duke were evenly exchanging goals when I left a few minutes ago, but the Princeton crowd was just getting warmed up.  They have a sizable contingent in the parking lot (although I doubt they’ll outnumber the Hopkins faithful since the Blue Jays enjoy hometown advantage.)

Today’s tripleheader represents a value added element to the series.  While the past three years have featured four top ranked teams competing for early season honors, this year’s event has six — including Notre Dame (their fans are everywhere) and another hometown power, Loyola.    And the price is the same!  The last game won’t begin until 4:00 PM, so there will be an all day influx of fans taking advantage of this opportunity.

Scads of youngsters are here with their rec teams.  They come from throughout the region to see the best of the best college play.  They’re also having a good time playing along Ravens Walk.    The layout of Camden Yards lends itself to family picnics and games of catch.   More than likely, they’ll be back in May when the championship is decided.

For that matter, we’ll probably see one or more of the teams playing today at the end of the season.  We know at least two of them — Maryland and Hopkins — will return for the Day of Rivals next month.  Along with Army-Navy, that was a big hit last year.

So today marks the beginning of spring, at least in my book.  And it couldn’t be a prettier day.

Stix and Sunshine on Saturday

I’m going out on a limb here in weather-weary Maryland, but trust me –it will be sunny and bright when six of the top NCAA lacrosse programs visit M&T Bank Stadium for the 4th Annual Face-off Classic.

That’s right.  There’s still a mountain of slush in the outer parking lots (think of it as refrigeration for your tailgate beverages) but ample room for your first outdoor entertaining of the 2010 season. 

Lots open at 8:00 AM, which gives you plenty of time to fire up your grills before the 11:00 AM face-off between Maryland and Duke.  Princeton takes on Hopkins at 1:30 and, for the first time, Loyola and Notre Dame bring their traditional meeting to M&T at 4:00.

Inside Lacrosse promises lots of activities, giveaways, and attractions.  All I can offer is the sunshine. 

So bring your sticks and see how many snowmen you can level on Lot G.  It’s going to be a great day to celebrate spring — whether or not the groundhog agrees.

A Look at Lacrosse

We are barely a week from the Minolta Face-Off Classic, a triple-header competition of top ranked NCAA teams   (including a match up between Notre Dame and Loyola, who surprised Duke and Navy respectively earlier in the season.)  The celebration of our state sport will take place at M&T Bank Stadium on March 6th.  You can read more about it (and buy your tickets) here.

US Lacrosse, the Maryland-based governing body, just issued a recent study of the sport’s growth, and it is very relevant to the popularity it enjoys (and the $$$$ it returns to our state.)

Among the interesting points is the overall growth of lacrosse participants, by 8.4% in 2009.  In the youth category (a favorite Terry target,) the annual growth was 12.1%, with colleges showing a 6% increase.

(You’ve got to love that growth in youth sports.  That’s where Maryland really shines as a destination for regional and national tournaments because we have so many top notch facilities and home grown competitors.)

Since 2001, organized lacrosse play has increased by an astonishing 120%.  They anticipate that in the next ten years, participation will again double as lacrosse is one of the fastest growing team sports in the country.

Geographically, the sport is experiencing growth outside of its traditional Mid-Atlantic, Long Island base.  New England, San Francisco, Denver and Minnesota are mentioned as specific areas where lacrosse enjoys popularity and greater participation.

Contributing to the growth is the number of states now sanctioning the sport, the increased number of varsity lacrosse programs, the expanded coverage of NCAA games on national television and the consistent growth in attendance at the NCAA championship tournaments.

(That’s where we come in, folks — we have to keep that growth going if we want to make Maryland the traditional site of the NCAA finals.  Buy your tickets here.)

Here is an excerpt from the report:

For the last decade, lacrosse has been one of the fastest-growing team sports in the country. US Lacrosse chapters have been established in 40 states and more than 560,000 people played on organized teams in 2009 compared to just over 250,000 in 2001.


The sport is growing at almost every level of the game.


Youth lacrosse is the fastest-growing segment of the sport with more than 30,000 additional players picking up the sport last year. High school lacrosse is now sanctioned in 21 states with the addition of North Carolina and South Carolina in 2010 and Illinois in 2011. A record 60 teams will compete in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse in 2010 and new college varsity programs are popping up in states like Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Wisconsin and more.


The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship routinely draws crowds in the neighborhood of 50,000 for games played in NFL stadiums. The pro lacrosse leagues stretch across the country and this summer’s men’s world championship is expected to feature a record 30 nations competing.


Lacrosse has become a regular feature on television with nearly 100 games scheduled to
air in 2010, primarily on ESPNU and CBS College Sports.


The sport also receives additional exposure through several sport-specific print and Internet-based publications, including Lacrosse Magazine, a monthly periodical that is mailed to each of the 300,000-plus US Lacrosse members; Lacrosse Magazine Online (www.laxmagazine.com), a news-based Web site; and the US Lacrosse Web site (www.uslacrosse.org), which provides extensive background information about the sport and the leadership provided by US Lacrosse to support the sport’s healthy growth.

You can read the complete press release (which includes a link to the full report) here.

As we’ve said before, Team Terry is fully committed to convincing the NCAA and other lacrosse advocates to make Baltimore the traditional home of the championship series.  We continue to compile evidence of why this is a good idea (the geographic growth and accessibility of our facilities as well as the critical fan base,) but the most convincing argument is always the bottom line.   So follow the link and get your tickets early.  This is going to be a breakout year for lacrosse festivities, and we want Maryland to drive the action.

Always in Season

I love this time of year.  After tomorrow, I can wear my holiday sweaters all the way through New Year’s.  It’s a short season, but a merry one.  When you’re in the sports biz, you tend to regard the calendar not by months, but seasons.  It’s something like being a mom, when you look at life through school schedules (or gestations periods.)

I mentioned our nine month countdown before birthing the NCAA Lacrosse Championships on Memorial Day. We’ve passed a relatively quiet first trimester but when I checked our Camden Yards calendar, I realized the triumphant weekend will actually be the third in a series of tournaments that carry Maryland’s team sport from winter into summer. That’s when it occurred to me:  in Maryland, it’s always lacrosse season.  (Why don’t they make garish sweaters so I can celebrate year-round?)

M&T Bank Stadium will host the first triple-header Face Off Classic in early (br-r-r-r-r-) March. Sponsored by Minolta and promoted by Inside Lacrosse magazine, the Face-Off Classic has paired top ranked college teams at the season’s start . While the first three years of competition attracted as many as 20,000 fans for a doubleheader, the addition of a third pair of contenders is almost guaranteed to up the ante.

Yes, the weather can be iffy in March (remember the ignominious departure of the Colts?) and last year it was pretty miserable. But lacrosse fans are a hardy bunch and always eager to see the best teams and look at the newest equipment at the beginning of the season.

Three local teams (Maryland, Hopkins, and Loyola) will take on three tough opponents (Duke, Princeton, and Notre Dame) in that order on March 6th. A full day of hard hitting action and indoor tailgating at Pickles.

On April 17th, the second annual Smartlink Day of Rivals (another Inside Lacrosse production) takes place. This double header features two classic grudge matches — Army-Navy and Maryland-Hopkins — and hopefully better spring weather.

By the time Memorial Day rolls around, local lacrosse fans should be familiar with at least some of the final four because they’ve likely already seen them at M&T (or Annapolis, where quarter finals will be held again in 2010.)

As lacrosse becomes a major sport around the country, Maryland is increasingly recognized as the go-to place for tournaments, conventions, camps and clinics. It isn’t just the top notch facilities and passionate fan base, it’s institutional memory, coaching talent, rec leagues and school programs providing infrastructure to nurture athletes and develop the sport’s popularity. The Lacrosse Hall of Fame is here, as is the sport’s governing body and major communications network (Inside Lacrosse magazine.)   Even lacrosse equipment is manufactured here.

Maryland is a four season lacrosse state. After the winter to spring season, we’ll be into professional lacrosse during the summer (finals in Annapolis again next year) and fall ball exhibitions and tourneys that continue to expand the program.

So the NCAA Championships aren’t the beginning, middle or end of the 2010 lacrosse frenzy in Maryland. But they are the marquee event for the sport, and they should be a regular part of Maryland lacrosse heritage (and yes, Terry’s working on that . . . .)