I witnessed my first lacrosse game today. Other than knowing that lacrosse involved hitting sticks to try to knock the ball from the opponent, and scoring by launching a ball succesfully into a goal, I had no clue about any of the rules of the game. I am a curious person, always eager to experience something I've not yet learned.
One of the opponents cantered down the field, chasing our team's player. When he realized he'd been smoked, he raised the stick high above his head with one arm, ready to slam it down across our team's player. The entire cheering section gasped. Illegal! Foul! We were all thinking it, regardless of fealty. But the moment of intended violence passed as the opponent missed his target.
In reflecting, the player's posture in this illegal motion reminded me of sculptures I've seen that capture moments of suspended action. When successful, the response causes me to inhale suddenly in disbelief, seeing the moment frozen, using my heightened imagination, filling in what will happen next . Many have also experienced this in witnessing car accidents - there is that moment of suspended action when a witness sees the scene played out in slow motion, knowing the inevitable, yet hoping it doesn't happen.
I walked away from my first witness of lacrosse with two responses. Lacrosse... beautiful, violent.
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