The man with the foam chainsaw was screaming at the top of his lungs, wildly waving it above his head and encouraging others to join him. His son and daughter, both carrying foam axes, followed suit. Soon, an entire imaginary forest was systematically being hacked away by an eager team of imaginary lumberjacks. Somewhere, imaginary environmentalists wept.
It was Friday, April 14th, 2006, and Portland's new National Lacrosse League expansion team, The Lumberjax, had just defeated the Edmonton Rush. Now, one win away from clinching the West Division crown, the Portland crowd of over 11,000 was ecstatic and begging for more.
In a town in search of a winner, with its beloved Blazers rapidly becoming the Portland Warriors, this group of hardworking Canadian imports sprinkled with East Coast transplants has become the perfect tonic. Beyond the wins and goals and crushing hits, the team's eager embrace of its supporters and refusal to give anything but the maximum effort had made a former outpost of lacrosse suddenly lacrosse crazy.
For one particular American on this team full of Canucks, the feeling was reciprocated. Ryan Powell, All-Everything attackman, Syracuse legend and lacrosse idol, had found Portland, a true hinterland of sport in many ways, and over 1000 miles away from any NCAA men's varsity lacrosse, to be as much to his liking as he was to theirs. Somewhere, foam chainsaws are piping up again.
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