2013 College Lacrosse Preview: College Crosse Frequently Asked Questions

Alright, college boy. What is this site all about?
The site has a single pursuit: Writing words about Division I men’s college lacrosse. That’s it. (Well, that and forewarning the world of the eventual domination of the human race by our future robot overlords.) It’s not that the site inherently believes that women’s, professional, or other levels of lacrosse are somehow unacceptable compared to Division I men’s college lacrosse, it’s just that the mission statement of the site is to cover its subject in the most comprehensive way possible. As a result, the focus remains only on Division I men’s college lacrosse. And Rob Pannell. There are lots of words about Rob Pannell.

If you’re writing about lacrosse, where’s all the stuff about gear, satiating my need to spend American currency on items that bloggers recognize as cool, thereby stimulating the economy?
College Crosse doesn’t do much about gear and equipment. There are two reasons for this: (1) Most sites dedicated to lacrosse write more than enough about gear, and this site’s management doesn’t believe that further saturating the market with more gear-oriented stuff is necessary (plus, other sites do it better than this site ever would); and (2) There’s too much awesome stuff to write about Division I men’s college lacrosse, which always keeps the content flowing. If you want to read about gear and stare at pictures of gloves, this isn’t going to be the place to see that. (Now, if you want to see a gear review wherein I test a new pair of gloves while playing with dry ice, this is the place to be.)

Dude, where’s the awesome laxbro culture stuff?
Kill yourself.

Is this quasi-journalism?
I don’t know. Here’s what I know: We’re fans, and College Crosse is affiliated with SB Nation, a network designed to empower fans to write about their favorite subjects. It’s kind of like citizen journalism meeting the writings of an oft-rejected New Yorker contributor. The bulk of the site is designed to appeal to fans of the game – that’s our underlying motivation for spending far too many hours typing at our Internet computing machines – and the tone of the site carries that purpose. There are standards to the site, but they’re different than what you’d come across in a journalism school lecture. The site does attend games on press credentials but doesn’t operate in the same capacity as the traditional press. It’s weird; sometimes it’s more of a feel than something tangible. Just laugh at the jokes and don’t question whether you’re reading a cockamamie iteration of The Economist.

You’re a Syracuse fan. You obviously have a bias against everything that isn’t Orange.
That’s not a question. Regardless, I don’t hide from the fact that I like to see the Orange stomp through its schedule, but everyone has a bias. If I write that Pierce Bassett was kind of a bag of farts down the stretch in 2012 it doesn’t mean that I want to piss on Hopkins because Syracuse shoved a degree in my mouth decade ago; it means that Pierce Bassett was kind of a bag of farts down the stretch in 2012. All I can say is this: Whether I’m a Syracuse fan doesn’t matter, just as your preferences for a school doesn’t matter to me. Have a martini and cool your jets.

What's with all this weird statistics stuff? It makes me nauseous.
The site has been spearheading advanced statistics for a while now, and it isn’t turning back on it any time soon. These statistics exist in a tempo-free environment, and your best bet to try and understand what is happening here to ask a question. It’s one of the calling cards for the site, and in my humble opinion the site remains a leading innovator and pioneer in the adoption, adaptation, and application of the principles. It’s not going away, and you should embrace that: You’ll eventually become a better and more informed fan in the end; a new kind of vision isn’t a bad thing.

Also, check out our sister site, put together with the help of our friends at Great Lax State: Tempo Free Lax. It is the database to which much of the statistical information discussed on College Crosse is culled.

Jokes, eh? And oftentimes abstract or high comedy targeted at cultured audiences?
Again: College Crosse exists in a different kind of way from other lacrosse sites. There’s a bunch of original humor on the site, and it is often featured heavily (especially early in the season). People either love or hate it – angry people tend to send the best emails – but it’s what makes the site more fan-oriented than others out there. There’s no “bro” humor, mostly because that stuff is terrible, pedantic, and brain-rottingly easy. There are no sacred cows in college lacrosse, and that drives a lot of the stuff. (In other words, don’t get offended, it's all underlined with respect; these are games after all, and taking things too seriously – as fans – is a one-way ticket to wanting to drink bleach.)

What can I expect from this high quality lacrosse site?
The weekly schedule shifts a bit as the season progresses, but this is a general outline of how things end up playing out:

• Daily: A roundup of links with important stories and commentary as necessary; game schedules that double as open threads to express all those feelings you have about what’s happening in the lacrosse world.
• Monday/Tuesday: Generally the heaviest days of the week. Depending on priority, the early part of the week features -- Reverse Survivor update; Weekend in Stick update on the big stories from the weekend; and a poll roundup that doubles as a valuation study called Acrosse the Lacrosse Polls.
• Wednesday/Thursday/Friday: Two to three features per day, usually comprised of jokes early in the year and generally stat-driven later in the season. Previews for mega-events also eat up a lot of these days.
• Saturday/Sunday: Open threads for that day’s games, with storystream updates on important developments.

Man, I love conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament. Do you do lots of tournament stuff?
Duh, like crazypants. Last year we did about 10 stories a day during conference tournament time and did so much NCAA Tournament stuff that my fingers still look like they’ve been abused at Guantanamo Bay. Basically, your face will melt with content if you love tournament material.

You seem to have an affection for writing about awful teams and/or teams that I don’t care about. What’s up with that?
First, awful teams are often the most interesting teams to write about. They have problems, and when you can write about those problems it helps define what makes a good team, well, good. Plus, awful teams are often ignored in other outlets, and College Crosse is dedicated to covering the entirety of Division I men’s lacrosse, warts and all.

Second, the more you know about those teams you don’t care about, the more you may learn that you should care about them. Division I lacrosse isn’t just the ACC, Johns Hopkins, and Syracuse; there’s all kinds of interesting stuff happening throughout the cohort and with the growth of the game, some of those teams that are historically ignored are now generating notable existences. Expand your horizons, son.

I’m cutting edge; I’m all about social media. Do you do social media?
Yes, mostly because I’m not your grandfather. There’s the Facebook page – College Crosse – and the Twitter account – @SexyTimeLax. The content there complements what you read here, so it’s probably worth a “liking” and/or a “follow.” Plus, it keeps you in the know about important things like when I post Keatsian verses dedicated to Rob Pannell.

There's stuff that I saw or want to write about that you haven't written about. How can that be written?
College Crosse isn’t currently looking official contributors right now, but there are two ways that you can contribute:

• Comments: This is your community. Let your voice be heard! Just register for a commenting account on the site and off you go!
• FanPosts/Fanshots: FanPosts are user-generated blog-like posts; FanShots are user-generated links to quotes or stories or videos. They’re basically blogs within the greater structure of College Crosse as a blog. Go ahead and contribute through these means, and if they’re good, I’ll promote them to the site proper.

I need to talk to you outside of this Internet computing page. How can I get in touch with you?
You should first check the masthead to find the contact information for the correct person. If you’re looking for Hoya Suxa (he’s the knucklehead in charge) you can reach him at: hoyasuxa44 at gmail dot com.

Any other questions? Leave 'em in the comments and we'll put 'em on the board.