America's Oldest Sport May Become Its Most Popular Sport

Americans are sports obsessed.  We have sports both popular and obscure with professional leagues for many of them.  Did you know that the Professional Disc Golf Association, Major League Cricket, the American National Rugby League, and the Association of Surfing Professionals are all professional sports in America?  Of course, most everyone is familiar with Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the Professional Golf Association, Major League Soccer, the United States Tennis Association, and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.  These are big sports in our country, and most are uniquely American sports.

However, these sports were all invented in the last 150 years, with the exception of soccer which is an ancient European sport.  The oldest American sport is not basketball (1891), baseball (1845), or football (1869).  The sport that has been played the longest on the North American continent traces back to at least 1100 AD.  Native Americans invented the sport of lacrosse long before Europeans arrived in the New World.  My high school mascot was the Chiefs.  We affectionately and somewhat provocatively used to claim that lacrosse was invented by Indians, but perfected by Chiefs!  The game has grown and developed into the game it is today with Major League Lacrosse being the professional league that is the pinnacle of the sport.

Native Americans played lacrosse to build young warriors, settle disputes with neighboring tribes (occasionally the losing tribe lost their lives!), for religious reasons, and many times just for fun.  Early lacrosse games could involve 100-1000 players and last for one or more days.  Only men played, medicine men coached and refereed, and the women provided refreshments for the non-stop action.

I know that the sports that America loves are the Big Three (football, basketball, and baseball).  Look out though.  ESPN and CBS Sports Net are already devoting more and more broadcast time to college and Major League Lacrosse.  It may be that instead of being New York Giant fans, more Americans will pack the stadium as rabid followers of the New York Lizards.  Just watch.  That day is coming!