Mikey Powell: Print the Legend

MP is Both Historical and Hyperbolic Greatness

Last week Mikey Powell’s jersey was raised to the rafters at the Dome in Syracuse. There was an appropriate amount of fanfare over this finally going down across the interwebs.

But I have a confession to make before we get into that.

For a long time, I was mad at Mikey Powell.

For those of you that haven’t followed pro lacrosse before the PLL [re]invented it, there was a league called Major League Lacrosse. It was, in my estimation, underfunded, undervalued, and undercovered by the media. I tried my best to help the only part of that I could - the undercovered bit - because I truly loved the product and the concept of lacrosse being a professional sport.

The MLL helped me build a career out of basically nothing and I’m thankful for it. I’m sad that it’s gone. But part of me can’t let go of what could have been if lacrosse’s agent zero committed to the legacy of being the first true full-time pro lacrosse player. To me, Mikey Powell was the beacon shining in the darkness. The Northstar that pro lacrosse needed to guide itself into the mainstream. Until he wasn’t.

It’s hard to overstate the impact that Mikey Powell had on an entire generation of lacrosse players. You know how kids pretend to be their favorite players in their backyard? They replicate their movements and mannerisms building to a crescendo of hitting the game-winning shot and celebrate wildly. Well, thousands of kids tried to do that for MP, and now all of them are grown up. Some coach. Some play in men’s leagues. Others are raising their sons and daughters. All of them will light up when you mention Mikey Powell in casual conversation.

On the field this man was the most naturally electric and creative lacrosse player of his generation. Imagine Lyle Thompson about five inches shorter and two to three times quicker. Now add in a healthy dose of upstate-field-lacrosse-raised fundamentals. He didn’t throw a bad pass and then look at his stick. He didn’t yell at refs. He didn’t even slam his stick into the ground.

This is the thing people forget about MP - he didn’t overreach. He was technically sound at all times. He was a superb athlete in lacrosse the same way that Messi is a superb athlete in soccer; his brain directly powered his legs. And I used “athlete” in the sense it is intended - sometimes [lazy] people call someone “athletic” as a catch all term to describe a try hard that can run fast or hit hard. That’s not the case here - MP was always going somewhere. With the ball, to the ball, or away from the ball. There was always purpose and a vision to his movement.

His personal statistics are overwhelming - 307 points, four-time All-American, and leading scorer in Syracuse history. But for me, the most impressive one is this: in his final three seasons at Syracuse, Powell collected 142 groundballs, escalating his total each season from 40 to 45 to 57. Do you have any idea how hard that is to do as an attackman?

MP played lacrosse with so much joy and so much intensity that you expected that natural charisma to translate to all facets. And it did when it came to his other passion - music. But with the off field stuff? The media? Not so much.

And listen, no one is casting aspersions. I’m in the media. We are annoying. And we were just as annoying before social media. Me, especially.

So when Powell decided to leave pro lacrosse after a few seasons with the Cannons - I was upset. Part of me understood why he left. Who wants to get the crap beaten out of them by defensemen that made their swinging their stick like a weapon instead of a tool for six grand? Before taxes? No thanks.

However, I hated that he left this league that needed him so badly. But I was also young and dumb. I don’t think that anymore. I think Powell had had enough and wanted other things out of his life. It’s not like he was making millions of dollars. Sure, Brine made an entire equipment line around him - which is still held up as the pinnacle of design for a lot of gearheads - but I don’t think he found happiness on the field anymore. Syracuse was different. There was clearly a love there that was so genuine, so earned, and so cultivated.

So, hey Mikey. If you’re reading this - I’m sorry. You deserved better from me. You deserved better from the MLL. Thank you for empowering an entire generation of lacrosse players . We have all grown up to be lacrosse rats. Whether we are painting huge triangles of eyeblack in the mirror or working on our Finalizer after practice. Some of us will never stop trying to play like you did.

We appreciate you. We love you.

Thanks for everything.

This LacroCity post is sponsored by the Lacrosse Goalie Summit. Do you have a goalie in your life? Get them a spot in the Lacrosse Goalie Summit where they can learn from some of the best netminders in the sport. Click to link below for details.