Football, baseball, and basketball; the three most famous “American sports” have been in the spotlight for years. But now, another sport is slowly but surely taking the lead from these classic sports: lacrosse.

Lacrosse has a Native American origin, and uses a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a lacrosse stick. The objective of the game is to score by shooting the ball into an opponent’s goal, using the stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball to do so. Nowadays, lots of padding is used to protect the players from the metal sticks in case they get hit.

In the 1980s and 1990s, lacrosse was barely even known in the United States. However, over the past 10 years participation is up 218.1 percent. This makes lacrosse the fastest growing sport in the United States since soccer–and unlike many other sports, lacrosse is almost equally popular with men and women.

Sophomore and JV lacrosse player Karla Vazquez said, “It’s such an active sport and it’s easier now than it was to play. It’s kind of like a rumor, one person hears about it then another and it’s gotten to where it is today.”

Junior Alex Oh said, “If people like [lacrosse], then it should be deserving of its popularity and attention.”

Lacrosse has also developed a bit of its own culture, such as being called a “lax bro” if you play lacrosse. Being a lax bro consists of loving the equipment that you own, owning colorful board shorts, hats, and socks, and having a lot of confidence.

Beyond that, the culture of lacrosse even has its own  language. For example, “gear heads” are players who collects thousands of dollars’ worth of gear, such as sticks and clothes. Other terms include calling the stick a “spoon” and calling the players hair “the lettuce cut.”

Lacrosse has grown entirely over the country, but some people believe that it’s mostly only played in the southern states, because of the climate. Sophomore Coen Tisdell said, “It’s played all over the country, so not really [just in the south.]” He’s right, lacrosse is a nationwide phenomenon and is continuing to grow as a sport. If this trend continues, expect to see lacrosse coming to a field near you soon.