2022 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament Thread of DESTINY

[dbilmes]

We move up 8 spots to No. 2 in the final media poll of the season. Five Ivies ranked in top 10.

[Al DeFlorio]

We move up 8 spots to No. 2 in the final media poll of the season. Five Ivies ranked in top 10.

So four media giants didn't vote Cornell #2.  And Notre Dame is still #6.  Sigh.

[jtwcornell91]

We move up 8 spots to No. 2 in the final media poll of the season. Five Ivies ranked in top 10.

Wow, six "Northern" teams in the top ten, none of which is named S****use, plus one "Western".

[George64]

We move up 8 spots to No. 2 in the final media poll of the season. Five Ivies ranked in top 10.

But alas, Harvard drops 14 places to 16th.
.

[dag14]

Since we actually finished #2, it would take some nerve to rank us anywhere else.

[Al DeFlorio]

We move up 8 spots to No. 2 in the final media poll of the season. Five Ivies ranked in top 10.

But alas, Harvard drops 14 places to 16th.
.

No.  They dropped from #14 to #16.  Cornell went from #10 to #2.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

To quote Basil Fawlty, "What's the bloody point?"

[KenP]

Even if we won that last, all-important game I'd still say Maryland is the better team overall and deserving of #1 in the polls.

[Robb]

Even if we won that last, all-important game I'd still say Maryland is the better team overall and deserving of #1 in the polls.

Absolutely.  Check out MD's box scores for the season - ahead of PSU by 18-3 after 3, ahead of JHU by 22-4 after 3.  We didn't do that kind of damage to the likes of Hobart and Lehigh, not to mention our one-goal squeaker over that very same PSU team.

In the movie version, a much, much younger Kirk Douglas plays Conner Buczek in the Cornell locker room:  "Really nice moral victories are are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they'd blow us out nine times. But not this game. Not today. Today, we hang around with them. Today, we keep it within 5 goals!"  And then the team went out there and did it, which was definitely something of a Miracle.

[cth95]

I was confused at first, but then realized you probably mean Kurt Russell.

Unless you want to reference Spartacus.

[Robb]

I was confused at first, but then realized you probably mean Kurt Russell.

Unless you want to reference Spartacus.

doh.  Yes, that guy.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Even if we won that last, all-important game I'd still say Maryland is the better team overall and deserving of #1 in the polls.

Absolutely.  Check out MD's box scores for the season - ahead of PSU by 18-3 after 3, ahead of JHU by 22-4 after 3.  We didn't do that kind of damage to the likes of Hobart and Lehigh, not to mention our one-goal squeaker over that very same PSU team.

In the movie version, a much, much younger Kirk Douglas plays Conner Buczek in the Cornell locker room:  "Really nice moral victories are are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they'd blow us out nine times. But not this game. Not today. Today, we hang around with them. Today, we keep it within 5 goals!"  And then the team went out there and did it, which was definitely something of a Miracle.

Actually, before the final I was thinking about the other quote that he said before the game against Finland: If they lose that game nobody would remember them.

[Roy 82]

Even if we won that last, all-important game I'd still say Maryland is the better team overall and deserving of #1 in the polls.

Absolutely.  Check out MD's box scores for the season - ahead of PSU by 18-3 after 3, ahead of JHU by 22-4 after 3.  We didn't do that kind of damage to the likes of Hobart and Lehigh, not to mention our one-goal squeaker over that very same PSU team.

In the movie version, a much, much younger Kirk Douglas plays Conner Buczek in the Cornell locker room:  "Really nice moral victories are are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they'd blow us out nine times. But not this game. Not today. Today, we hang around with them. Today, we keep it within 5 goals!"  And then the team went out there and did it, which was definitely something of a Miracle.

Actually, before the final I was thinking about the other quote that he said before the game against Finland: If they lose that game nobody would remember them.

Are thinking of this quote that is far more memorable than either of the above?:
"If you lose this game, you'll take it to your f*&%#g graves. Your f*&%#g graves."

[dbilmes]

I don't recall if anyone has mentioned this before, but I highly recommend the recently published book, We Showed Baltimore: The Lacrosse Revolution of the 1970s and Richie Moran's Big Red. The author is Christian Swezey, who as best I can tell has no connection to Cornell. The book was published by Cornell University Press. The author did amazing research, interviewing dozens of former coaches, players from not just Cornell but also from Hopkins, Maryland, Hobart, etc. He was able to interview Richie as well.
This book also talks about the transition from wood to plastic lacrossse sticks during the early '70s, as well as the growth of lacrosse. But I especially loved reading about the rise of Cornell's program. For example, I never knew that Ned Harkness didn't take over the lacrosse program until Bob Cullen stepped down after a tragic plane crash in 1965. He was going to fly to scout Brown in a private plan flown by a Cornell  professor, but at the last minute ended up sending his two assistants instead. The plane crashed on the way back and everyone on it was killed. Cullen couldn't bring himself to coach the team after that.
On a lighter note, there are some wild stories about the great Cortland State team in 1972 which beat Cornell and made a run in the NCAA tournament. They even rescheduled their graduation in order to host an NCAA semifinal game. More than 500 alchohol-fueled Cortland fans travelled by bus to watch them upset Navy in the rain in the quarterfinals.
I also learned how Dan Mackesey was originally going to attend Brown, and his father, a Cornell professor, didn't want him to go to Cornell. A lot of the big lax stars in the '70s had to work as dishwashers at frat houses to help pay their expenses. Also, McEneaney was a wild man on the lacrosse field, and was nearly kicked off the team on the eve of the 1977 title game.I had forgotten that he was the starting receiver for the football team and had a tryout with the NY Jets.
(The author is not paying me to plug his book. I just think this is a must-read for Cornell lax fans, especially if, like me, you were at school in the mid-70s).

[Al DeFlorio]

I don't recall if anyone has mentioned this before, but I highly recommend the recently published book, We Showed Baltimore: The Lacrosse Revolution of the 1970s and Richie Moran's Big Red. The author is Christian Swezey, who as best I can tell has no connection to Cornell. The book was published by Cornell University Press. The author did amazing research, interviewing dozens of former coaches, players from not just Cornell but also from Hopkins, Maryland, Hobart, etc. He was able to interview Richie as well.
This book also talks about the transition from wood to plastic lacrossse sticks during the early '70s, as well as the growth of lacrosse. But I especially loved reading about the rise of Cornell's program. For example, I never knew that Ned Harkness didn't take over the lacrosse program until Bob Cullen stepped down after a tragic plane crash in 1965. He was going to fly to scout Brown in a private plan flown by a Cornell  professor, but at the last minute ended up sending his two assistants instead. The plane crashed on the way back and everyone on it was killed. Cullen couldn't bring himself to coach the team after that.
On a lighter note, there are some wild stories about the great Cortland State team in 1972 which beat Cornell and made a run in the NCAA tournament. They even rescheduled their graduation in order to host an NCAA semifinal game. More than 500 alchohol-fueled Cortland fans travelled by bus to watch them upset Navy in the rain in the quarterfinals.
I also learned how Dan Mackesey was originally going to attend Brown, and his father, a Cornell professor, didn't want him to go to Cornell. A lot of the big lax stars in the '70s had to work as dishwashers at frat houses to help pay their expenses. Also, McEneaney was a wild man on the lacrosse field, and was nearly kicked off the team on the eve of the 1977 title game.I had forgotten that he was the starting receiver for the football team and had a tryout with the NY Jets.
(The author is not paying me to plug his book. I just think this is a must-read for Cornell lax fans, especially if, like me, you were at school in the mid-70s).

Interview with Swezey discussing his book:  https://youtu.be/AUzFqoPCoAI