SU ditches shorts, sticks with tradition

By: Anthony Mague

Posted: 4/23/04

At the beginning of the school year, while the weather is still hot, girls in high school are often faced with the administrators' "above-the-kneecap rule." In other words, if a female's shorts are above her kneecap, put on something else.

It's assumed college girls don't have to worry about this rule. Unless, of course, it's the Syracuse women's lacrosse team that plays Denver tonight in the Carrier Dome at 7:30.

The only difference for the No. 13 Orangewomen was they were implementing the rule, not the administration.

In the fall, Syracuse ordered shorts for its spring season to replace the traditional skirts - a piece of clothing that some might say draws attention to the women's sport for the wrong reasons.

The Orangewomen (8-3, 4-1 Big East) were set to make the switch to shorts, until they saw them.

"The shorts - Oh my gosh," junior Monica Joines said. "They looked like bathing suit bottoms. They were bad. Coach got blown out of the water when she saw those short shorts."

And so it was back on with the skirts - out with the Daizy Dukes.

Syracuse head coach Lisa Miller, who said she wouldn't mind seeing the Orangewomen switch from skirts to shorts, brought up the idea to Syracuse in the fall. But, Miller said, the Orangewomen didn't want to break the tradition of wearing the skirts.

"And my fashion sense is limited at best," Miller said, "so I go with the kids."

Miller speculates that the tradition behind women's lacrosse players wearing skirts stems back to the 1800s. Sometime then, when it became common to play lacrosse at prep schools, students most likely couldn't change out of their school clothes. Soon thereafter, wearing skirts just became a common practice, Miller said.

"I played two skirt sports (lacrosse and field hockey) growing up," Miller said. "They were plaid and they were the ugliest things on Earth. I thought as a kid (the skirts) were stupid."

Men in Europe play field hockey in kilts - still a common practice among American women field hockey teams. European women, who play either field hockey or lacrosse, also wear the traditional-looking kilt.

"In high school I went over to England and played," Joines said, "and they all had the actual kilt with a very English look. I just think (wearing skirts) is a neat tradition to carry on. I like them."

And so do most of the Orangewomen.

"I know a lot of girls that like it," midfielder Stephanie Walker said. "I personally do not. I'd rather wear my shorts any day over a skirt, but I don't think it really restricts you in any way."

Some, though, would argue it restricts women's equality. But with the lacrosse deeply embedded in tradition, Miller said that's probably not the case.

"Football players wear tight little pants and women may ogle over them," Miller said. "This is just a tradition that's always been done."

Walker said some men have told her they've come to Syracuse games to see the Orangewomen in skirts. But, she admits, they might have been joking. Walker sees wearing the skirts as both positive and negative.

"We can still be feminine and play sports and be tough (in skirts)," Walker said. "But at the same time, it does set that barrier between men and women's sports in that we are different - we have to wear skirts."

Joines, though, doesn't think the skirts are something that attracts the male audience.

"It's not that sexy, let's be honest," Joines said. "We're running around sweaty and hitting each other."

Miller, for the right reasons, wouldn't mind seeing an increase in attendance at the Orangewomen's games.

"My kids are watching the male athletes," Miller said. "They're watching the men's football, basketball, lacrosse and soccer teams. I wish we had more of the male athletes come to watch our games."