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The College Crosse Party Platform.

With this platform, we the College Crosse Party, reaffirm the principles that unite us in a common purpose, as we strive to reach higher ground.

By Eri_Barrister
We believe in lacrosse exceptionalism and that we are stronger together.
We believe in lacrosse exceptionalism and that we are stronger together.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

(Ed. Note: Shout out to President Obama and Vice President Biden for tearing the roof off of Wells Fargo last night.)

As CollegeCrosseRuleNumber284 states: Aside from occasionally teasing the country's most off-putting politician (WHAT'S GOOD, SEN. CRUZ??!?), don't get too political. Haha, our OFFICIAL motto is, if you like college lacrosse and/or lacrosse in general, YOU'RE ALL WELCOME TO JOIN!!! Just go vote; that's our only political stance around here.

HOWEVER, the rule doesn't say we can't have a little politics crossover fun to express some views on how to make the college game a little better. Additionally, in light of the conventions, all the talk about change, the protesters, counter-protesters, speeches and Youtube videos out there right now, I thought this might be a fun exercise/conversation starter.

So first off, what's a platform? We're gonna keep this post pretty basic on the political science, but for the most part, a platform is nothing more than a set of ideals/goals that a group/party presents to the general public to garner favor and support regarding certain topics and issues. Whenever you hear someone refer to a party's "plank," they are merely referring to a specific idea within  the larger platform. (Ed. Note: CALL ME, C-SPAN!!!)

Below is our College Crosse Party Platform. This is a sampling of ideas I think will make the game a little better. If you love them, awesome! If you hate them, don't worry, this is just for fun and we don't have any real power (YET) anyway.  If you have a better idea, hit us up in the comments and share it with the rest of the class.

College Crosse Party Platform.

We think college lacrosse is pretty awesome. Here are some ideas we think will make the game a bit better.

1. Use the shot clock for every penalty.

Shot clocks at every stadium should also be used to record the amount of time left on penalties. School's may have to get bigger clocks, but that is a small sacrifice to pay for not having to force some poor SID intern to scream the waning seconds of a slashing penalty from the sideline.

2. One year of high school before you can commit.

While I am not an early recruiting proponent, I am definitely not in the camp that says it is the worst thing in the world. If the biggest crisis in college lacrosse is that a kid, his family, and a top 50 US News & World Report institution of higher learning decided to enter into a non-binding promise together, well, I think it's safe to say lacrosse's image as a sport played by a privileged few devoid of the many issues that plague the rest of collegiate athletics is safely secured for the next few decades.

Nevertheless, for the sake of the Nation, and so we don't have to read/hear/see another early recruiting Hot Take, the College Crosse Party believes no commitments before the fall of a recruit's sophomore year would be a sensible compromise.

3. Conference Challenge Weekends.

The Big Ten vs. ACC challenge works in basketball, why not for lacrosse? You say you want a Big East vs. Ivy League lacrosse weekend in March? I say, BANG, let's run that! We the College Crosse Party believe that the America East, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Ivy, & Patriot League, should all have at least one weekend wherein one conference goes up against one of the other five aforementioned conferences.

The weekends would be easy to market, as non-lax fans are more familiar with conferences than they are individual teams. Moreover, it would be a hit with people who are already fans of the sport, as it provides another avenue to compete over bragging rights. This type of format is highly successful in other sports and we the College Crosse Party believe it can also work in lacrosse. Our goal is for every conference to have a conference weekend against another conference, but for now, our main goal is to get the 6 major conferences to schedule at least 1 weekend against another major conference.

4. No more faceoffs after a team scores.

After a team scores, the other team starts out with the ball at midfield. Games would be more exciting and more balanced and less dependent on big runs. Removing the make it/take it aspect of the game would produce a better product as teams wouldn't fall into deep early deficits so easily, which should make games closer and more competitive.

Let us hear your ideas in the comments and help us make lacrosse a little bit better.

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