Baggataway

I'll probably always be a history buff. I especially appreciate the history of sport. That being said, before I got really into cycling, my first love was North America's oldest sport: Lacrosse. Just yesterday my old man gave me an issue of Sports Illustrated from earlier this year that had this great article about the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team. The Iroquois team is unique in all of sports, as they remain a sovereign nation in international sports competition. This summer they were held out of the World Lacrosse Championships in the UK due to their passports. Very unfortunate for everyone involved, as I think not having the originators of the sport be there was terrible for the sport.
As an aside, my favorite lacrosse story took place in the state of Michigan. On June 2, 1763, a group of Ojibwe used a game of lacrosse to over run the British garrison of Fort Michilimackinac. The people in the Fort were fond of watching the game, and the natives of the area played several matches near the fort. During this particular match, as several men played, the women that were with them sat on the ground outside the fort. During the game, one of the Ojibwe hurled the ball over the wall of the fort. Not wanting to interrupt the match, one of the guards opened the gates of the fort to allow one of the players to run in and grab the ball, as the Ojibwe hoped would happen. With that the Ojibwe rushed to the women gathered outside the fort where they dropped their sticks, and traded them for weapons the women had hidden in their blankets. They rushed into the fort, and massacred the garrison.