burnspbesq
04-15-2015, 01:20 PM
In case you missed it, last night Albany's Lyle Thompson became the all-time leading scorer in men's D1 lacrosse. The record-breaking point was in many ways emblematic of his four years with the Great Danes; he drew a double-team and made a ridiculous, seeing-eye pass to a wide-open teammate for an easy finish.
I've been playing and watching lacrosse since the early 1970s, and in my mind there is no doubt that Lyle is the greatest to ever play the game. His combination of stick skills, vision, lax IQ, toughness, and unselfishness is unique and unparalleled. He doesn't run over people like Jim Brown. He doesn't shoot it at 100 mph, like Frank Urso or Paul Rabil. He's not flashy in the way that the Gait brothers were flashy. But there is nothing he can't do, and it is all in the service of making his teammates better and helping his team to win. He plays the game the way that, in the legends of his Mohawk and Onondaga ancestors, the Creator intends it to be played.
We are privileged to have had the opportunity to watch him play for the last four years, and if you haven't done so already, you owe it to yourself to watch him at least once before he moves on.
I've been playing and watching lacrosse since the early 1970s, and in my mind there is no doubt that Lyle is the greatest to ever play the game. His combination of stick skills, vision, lax IQ, toughness, and unselfishness is unique and unparalleled. He doesn't run over people like Jim Brown. He doesn't shoot it at 100 mph, like Frank Urso or Paul Rabil. He's not flashy in the way that the Gait brothers were flashy. But there is nothing he can't do, and it is all in the service of making his teammates better and helping his team to win. He plays the game the way that, in the legends of his Mohawk and Onondaga ancestors, the Creator intends it to be played.
We are privileged to have had the opportunity to watch him play for the last four years, and if you haven't done so already, you owe it to yourself to watch him at least once before he moves on.