My 13yo son G- is a big fan of lacrosse. In fact, he’s been playing on a local league for three years and is very close to deciding that it’s the only sport he wants to play, which is quite a surprise given his devotion to basketball for as many years as I can remember. This has caused me to learn all about lacrosse, which has been fun. It’s not my prime choice for sports, but as a sort of combination of soccer and ice hockey, it’s definitely fast moving and entertaining.
That’s why when I connected with the Denver Outlaws Major League Lacrosse team and they offered us tickets to attend the last home game of the season, against the Chesapeake Bayhawks, we jumped at the chance. Even better, we had the opportunity to go down to the field and watch the teams warm up pre-game, as these photos attest:
Very cool, but being on the edge of the field put us just a few feet from the action:
That’s my boy in the striped tank top. He was impressed (and scored a lacrosse ball that flew into the chairs adjacent to us during the warmup period).
Unfortunately, while we had tickets from the team, they couldn’t let us seat in the VIP area for the actual game. Sooo… we moved up into the stands and had terrific seats anyway, about 30 rows up and exactly on the mid-line. Gave us a good view of the Outlaws Dance Squad (aka “cheerleaders”):
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems so retro to have cheerleaders. Then again, a friend of mine auditioned for the San Diego Chargers squad, so maybe I’m the one who is a bit unplugged. Mea culpa, if so.
We were ready for the game at that point. And so it began:
Outlaws heading towards a score in that pic. And then one where we do score:
Goal!
Nonetheless, end of the first quarter it was at 1:5, with the Bayhawks up. My fear: we were in the stadium to watch the home team be handed their heads on a platter.
A few action packed quarters later, the teams were still battling for the win…
I found that Mile High Stadium (oops, Sports Authority Field at Mile High, to be precise) had rather lackluster food options, just the typical pizza, burgers, brats, fries, etc. Still, food and sports. A good combo. So we dutifully lined up during the half for a couple of hot dogs, but the concession stand line was moving so darn slow we gave up and decided that sharing a bag of kettlecorn was at least as healthy and nutritious. Well, maybe not, but it was tasty and quick to purchase so we didn’t miss any of the game.
Did we enjoy ourselves? Here’s photographic proof of it!
The game ended close, but we pulled it off and the Denver Outlaws won 14:12 in the last minute or two of play, giving them the best win/loss record in Major League Lacrosse and the #1 seed for the league finals. Very exciting for the home team, and we agreed afterwards that the game was great fun and we’d be back again.
Disclaimer: The Denver Outlaws PR team supplied us with both tickets and VIP passes to the pre-game warm-up on the field. We both say “thanks!” to the team!