BUFFALO, N.Y. — There is a lot of excitement around Banditland with the team on a tear. They are 13-2 right now as they host New York Saturday. But there is also excitement building around the possibility of lacrosse making a return to the Olympics. There is also a movement underway to make sure the originators of the game are there, if and when it does happen. That team being the Iroquois Nationals, who are now in the process of changing their official name to the more tradition Haudenosaunee Nationals.
Bandits rookie Tehoka Nanticoke also plays for the Nationals and explains that lacrosse is more than just a sport. He is hoping that is something the world will see very soon. "The game of lacrosse means medicine to us. So I think when the world gets to see that and truly understand the game, there are no limits to what the game of lacrosse can do world wide, especially at the Olympic level. It's game-changing."
While Nanticoke and his teammates are enjoying one of the best seasons in team history and eyeing an NLL championship, they are also looking down the road to 2028 and the possibility that lacrosse will be added as an Olympic showcase sport at the Los Angeles games. Nanticoke says a gesture from Ireland could go a long way in securing a spot for the Iroquois Nationals in the games. Ireland stepped down from the World Games this June in Birmingham, Alabama to open a spot for the Iroquois team. "For me it's huge, for all our people it means a lot. It's going to show, them doing that for us, it's going to show the Olympic board it (lacrosse) does come from us. It's a huge step to get us in there as a sovereign nation."
In fact, the Iroquois team and their supporters marched in the St. Patrick's Day parades in Syracuse and Buffalo this year to show their solidarity with Ireland. Nanticoke realizes there is still a long way to go to get lacrosse into the Los Angeles games. But he says if that day comes, it is only right that the Haiwatha belt flag is flying proudly amongst the other nations. "I don't see it going to the Olympics without Iroquois. You know, 2028 without Iroquois, that's not the Olympics."