I had never watched women’s lacrosse until I watched Northwestern’s team beat Maryland in the Big Ten championship this year. I played lacrosse for two years in elementary and middle school because my parents encouraged me to try a bunch of sports and that was the one my friends were playing. I wasn’t particularly good at lacrosse, but I thought I would remember most of the rules and be able to follow along with the championship game.
I forgot, of course, that women’s lacrosse is a very different game than men’s lacrosse. I suppose the closest comparison is baseball and softball, but the differences between men’s and women’s lacrosse are larger in scope and size.