When I was a youngster and before I "discovered" lacrosse, I had the opportunity to go to baseball games at (the old) Fenway Park. It was an exciting place, full of people who seemed to know the "etiquette", the traditions and proper way of doing things. I remember the beauty of the park, the taste of the hot dogs (and the smell of the men’s room – which as any Bostonian would know, was an opportunity that real men have to experience).

One of the traditions that did surprise me was the act of “booing at the ump”. It seemed that tradition dictated that everyone in the park had the right and perhaps even the obligation to second guess the umpires. “Kill the ump!” was often heard and the rising sound of the crowd yelling “booooo” was, it seemed, a part of being a spectator.

Part of my discovery of lacrosse involved the Native American origin of the game. I remember traveling to “the reservation” to meet the men who would make our lacrosse sticks. This was long before plastic heads, and we would need three or more sticks to get through a season. We spent memorable days listening to men who made the sticks, but even more important, men who knew the uniqueness of the game.

The time spent understanding the spiritual nature of the game is something I have never forgotten. Lacrosse, I learned, was different than baseball or football or soccer or hockey. Our game was created to please “the Creator”, to exhibit joy in the playing of the game, to celebrate athleticism. It was easy, therefore to understand that unlike the baseball park, there was no place in our game for booing or sideline negativity. Oh, it did happen, on occasion, but the perpetrators were quickly admonished and the infraction was not repeated.

It has been a real joy, this season, to see so many really spectacular games. There have been wonderful moments of great athletic triumph and individual and team play that makes the spirit soar.

At a number of contests, however, the celebration of the game has been marred by parents and fans yelling all sorts of negative comments directed at the officials, the coaches and even the players. At one game this week, one such fan was removed from the stadium by order of the officials. At another game, where the play by both teams was terrific, the spectators took turns yelling foolishness as the lead kept changing sides. It was a sad distraction and I imagine that it would make “the Creator” sad as well. It sounded more like Fenway than a lacrosse field.

We need to take back our game. We need to let people know that there is no place in our game for these negative comments and that one of the things that is great about lacrosse is that it is different; that we are not like every other sports or group activity and that we honor the game by our conduct, as players, as coaches and officials and even as spectators.

Give us back our game.