Swarm Defense: The Other, Other MSG Team

Madison Square Garden: the World’s Most Famous Arena.

Whether that tag-line is a true sign of the enduring power of New York sports or just a great marketing ploy by the Dolan family, the fourth incarnation of Madison Square Garden has certainly played host to a number of great teams and a plethora of high-profile events. And while one of the two main tenants of the Garden, hockey’s NY Rangers, is currently making noise in the Stanley Cup playoffs, another of the arena’s teams is in the midst of its own playoff push. Not the Knicks — thanks for nothing, Isiah — but rather the New York Titans, members of the National Lacrosse League.

For those unfamiliar with lacrosse, the game is played in two basic versions — the more traditional, outdoor game attributed to the Native Americans and played at a high level by many eastern U.S. colleges (e.g., Syracuse, Johns Hopkins), and the higher scoring, faster paced indoor game.

Played throughout the Northeast, indoor lacrosse (a.k.a., box lacrosse), is a hard-hitting cousin of the outdoor game, involving more sprinting, tougher pads, lots of checking, and almost always more scoring. Played with on-the-fly line changes, a la ice hockey, indoor lacrosse can often seem like a bizarre game to go watch, until one actually goes to watch it. Once in the building, with (normally) between five and ten thousand other fans, the energy and quick pace of shots can be extremely infectious. And if for some reason newcomers do not instantly take to the action, the quick passes, and the hitting of opponents into the boards, there is always beer around to help ease the conversion.

For their part, the Titans are 9-6 entering their final home game of the season, taking on the Rochester Knighthawks this Saturday at 8pm. Tickets to the Garden for the match are available for as little as $15 for seats in the 200-level — a view that costs about $85 for Rangers or Knicks games. If the Titans win this weekend, they will be guaranteed the fourth seed in the NLL play-offs, and even if they lose they are not dead.

Box lacrosse games often come with chants led by the die-hard fans and with more scoring chances than a Yankee out for a night at the 40-40 Club. So if you are looking for a fun and easy way to sneak into MSG and see a game, go check out the Titans and their brand of lacrosse this weekend. Saturday night probably won’t be their last game of the year, but even if it is, you might discover that hard hits, good seats, and the red goal-scoring light going off about 25 times a game is something that you can get behind, with or without help from the beer stand.