Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
OK - let's try and make this easy to understand. Crush is currently the best 2020 team in the nation, bar none, period. No one can touch them - NO ONE. I don't care what kind of drugs you're on, you will NEVER EVER convince me or most others of anything other than that. However - besides Crush, who Crabs played in the Championship game in the World Series of Lacrosse, also went 3-0 as did Crush. Here is where I need you to stay with me - NONE of the other teams you're mentioning - not LI Express, not, Looneys, not Tomahawks and not Edge, were there. None. Not one. Nada. An age appropriate Crabs team not only cracked top 5, it leapfrogged over them all. Not opinions, facts. Did all of the other teams' invites get lost in the mail? I don't think so. I guarantee that Team 91 Crush would have beaten any of the teams you named by at least 20 if they had been in Denver - I'd bet $10K on it, not a question in my mind. Just in case you need a refresher, these are the final standings:

AMERICAN NATIONAL
Leading Edge - 4th Denver Elite - 3rd
Crabs - 1st Rising Sons - 2nd
3d Colorado - 2nd Team Carolina - 4th
Eclipse - 5th Team 91 Crush - 1st
Michigan Warriors-3rd C2C Dallas - 5th


Let's stay on topic. You are talking top 5 at a made for TV feel good event at which some of the teams there were not even the best teams in their respective regions.

I am talking about top 5 overall in the context of an age appropriate crabs team. In that scenario age appropriate crabs vs crush, express, edge, tomahawks, or looneys, crabs lose.

Fact - crabs needed normal allotment of holdback to beat Hawks in OT in NPYLL
Fact - crabs needed 2019s to beat breakers and 91 in OT at beach lax
Fact - presumably age appropriate Crabs did not make the semifinals at Hershey, they got beaten by edge 10-5!
Fact - age appropriate crabs got smoked in Denver by the same team they beat at beach lax.

Without holdbacks they are just another good team but not even second best.


Please don't get ridiculous and now say that it was a feel good event and the right teams weren't there, that's getting pathetic. None of those are facts, because "needed" is your opinion. The only "facts" were in the above post - Crabs and 91 were there, the others weren't. Crabs and 91 were undefeated and met in the finals. 91 won. 91 would have smoked Hawks (who got smoke by Looneys today 5-0). 91 would have smoked Breakers (who got beaten by Edge today in the semis). Bottom line is, you will never, ever convince me that any of those teams are more competitive than the Crabs. Never.

Oh, and I'm not even a Crabs parent. In fact, I'm not a fan of them at all. I am realistic, though, and I've watched every team you mention when my kids play against or with them. Sometimes they have flashes of brilliance, but none can even carry 91's bags...[/quote]

The point is not who can carry 91s bags. Think everyone agrees 91 is the dominant team in 2020 and has been for years. They work harder than most of the others and are not in the same league. The point is that the Crabs team without their holdbacks is no better than many other 2020 teams. Any of the teams mentioned above would have gone through the preliminary rounds the same way - there was no competition in Denver. The competition was at the Young Guns tournament that Crabs and 91 were signed up for before the Denver opportunity came up. And Denver was not an elite invite only tournament - other teams were invited and turned it down similar to the way they turn Dicks National down each year. Not all families are interested in the expenditure for 12 & 13 year old lacrosse and have other priorities. We are all sure it was a great experience for the boys who went but do not assume others were not invited.

No, the other teams mentioned would not have gone through it the same way - I was there at Young Guns this weekend, and I watched all of those 2020 teams mentioned while my son was playing, and they definitely are not the same caliber. The tourney was nothing special at the 2020 level, unfortunately. Sure as heck not even CLOSE to the level of play I saw on TV with those 2 teams. And those teams weren't invited - please don't imply that they were and declined.
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