Lacrosse in pop culture

                Mean Girls. Teen Wolf. Modern Family. American Pie. What do these shows and movies have in common? Coming of age tales and ridiculously embarrassing parents, sure…but did you notice that lacrosse was played by at least one important character in each of the shows/movies? According to a US Lacrosse survey, lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the United States at the youth, high school, and college levels. Like I mentioned in my first post, even Target is trying to tap into this market with their Champion athletic wear posters:

Unfortunately that is a men’s lacrosse stick and not a women’s stick, but I give them an A for effort. Same goes to this episode of NCIS:

            The male high school lacrosse star character (and murder suspect) is carrying a women’s stick, but this was a valiant effort by the NCIS team to incorporate lacrosse. The show even spent a few minutes explaining the components of a stick in analyzing it as a potential murder weapon (the stick was later cleared). However, seeing as the show is set in Washington D.C. in close proximity to Johns Hopkins University, which is home to a men’s lacrosse team that has won the national championship an impressive 44 times, the prop buyers probably should have done more research.

                Statistics show that NCIS is the most popular TV show in most US demographics, especially with Gen X and Baby Boomer women. So between Target and NCIS, the “soccer mom” or family decision-maker population, my own mother included, has a higher chance of encountering the sport of lacrosse.  Parents may then be more likely to investigate youth lacrosse as an activity for their own children after being exposed to it. As for the teenaged target audiences of Mean Girls, Teen Wolf, and American Pie, they may be encouraged to try lacrosse as well after seeing it on TV every week, or they may even watch a couple lacrosse games at their high school or on TV. 

Teen Wolf is all about the Lax life.

Well, at least teenage girls might.

              But hey, there’s something for everyone, as Victoria’s Secret decided to bedazzle a lacrosse stick and walk it down the runway during their annual fashion show. No, I’m not kidding.

               So as you can see, lacrosse is slowly making its way into all aspects of pop culture. Unfortunately, current depictions in the popular media are skewed toward the aggressive (and some may say “douchebag”; see American Pie and Blue Mountain State for reference) nature of lacrosse. News stories about murder and rape cases involving college lacrosse players certainly don’t improve this image. Modern Family’s depiction of lacrosse is subtle but less focused on the violent element, as Alex Dunphy, the family “nerd”, is the one who plays lacrosse. The family comedy‘s positive depiction of lacrosse as an active extracurricular is much more accurate for youth lacrosse programs. Like in any of the major sports in the United States, there is an element of intense competition to lacrosse, but hopefully as the sport continues to grow, the media will shift toward this more family-friendly image and focus more on the athleticism and strategy of lacrosse. Take that, Steve Stifler!

My friends who have worked in public relations could probably debate the "no publicity is bad publicity" argument all day regarding these negative lacrosse representations, but the important point is that lacrosse is getting more exposure in the media because it is growing so quickly across the United States. In turn, the added exposure generates even more interest. Lacrosse has gone from a funny side note in Mean Girls to a crucial element in the Teen Wolf story line. Better yet? The original Teen Wolf  movie featured Michael J. Fox as a basketball star turned teen wolf. MTV evidently decided that lacrosse was more relevant and made the main character in their revamped version a lacrosse star instead. It's what's hip these days- werewolves and lacrosse.Even Superman is getting in on it; former Clark Kent Brandon Routh recently starred in a movie entirely about a Native American lacrosse team, entitled Crooked Arrows. If Superman approves, then it must be awesome.

Brace yourselves. Lacrosse is spreading.

Illegal contact in women's lacrosse? That is so NOT fetch.