The Ruling Class
I played in a broomball tournament last weekend. Just typing that sentence makes me feel good. In spite of the continuing scourge of COVID-19 in the United States, a dedicated grou
I played in a broomball tournament last weekend. Just typing that sentence makes me feel good. In spite of the continuing scourge of COVID-19 in the United States, a dedicated group of mask-wearing, social-distancing guys gathered at Augsburg Arena in Minneapolis to play the Twin Cities Open. All things considered, it was really well managed. Kudos to All Elite Broomball for putting on an event that felt safe and gave some very good players a chance to chip off the quarantine rust. Kelly Lake, loaded with their ten best, dusted the competition to win it all.
While sitting in the sweltering parking lot between games (we weren’t allowed in the arena unless we were playing), I started to think about all the other broomball players scattered around the globe. How are the Aussies faring? The Canadians? The Japanese? All of the kind European players I met in Angers, France this past November? I hope well.
From there, my thoughts drifted to the differences in rules between the International game and the American game. For the unfamiliar, here’s a breakdown of the most important differences:
As I sat there, melting into my collapsible chair, I reflected on my many experiences playing and coaching under international rules. I thought about past Worlds and Euros. I thought also about the great American tournaments that attract global talent: The Syracuse Can-Am and the International. About how those two tournaments show the Canadian players at full speed, running wild and free, like the big, happy Caribou they are no doubt descended from. And maybe it was the hot July sun, or the ongoing stress of living in a country with no discernible national leadership, or maybe just some old-fashioned, lizard-brained jingoism, but I came to a realization: THE AMERICAN RULES ARE BETTER.
The American rules promote all of the things the sport needs in order to be interesting: scoring, pace of play, and a truer evaluation of talent. To wit:
When you increase the size of the goals, you get more dazzling moments of quick-handedness, more bombs from outside of the dots and more truly spectacular saves. Scoring is fun to be a part of. It’s fun to watch. It’s just better.
When you play a “floating” onside/offside, you increase the pace of play. Faster players can make more dynamic runs, and the game never devolves into thirty boring minutes of defensemen flipping the ball over the top of the opposing team (I am looking at you, Canadian elite men.)
When you allow the ball to get played off the high netting behind the goals, you get fewer total whistles and more continuous gameplay. It keeps the game moving, which makes for an objectively better playing and viewing experience.
And finally, when you remove checking from the game, the skill players shine. Speed, hands and creativity become the dominant characteristics of a good broomball player. Athleticism trumps brute strength.
But who am I to say? I am but a lowly grinder. Slow-footed, ham-fisted and knuckle-dragging. I’m the guy who broadcasts more big games than I play in. My nickname is Golden Pipes, not Golden Hands. No matter how confident I was feeling in the parking lot, with condensation dripping down my Gatorade bottle and perspiration pouring off my forehead, I knew I needed to ask the sport’s luminaries what they think about the differences in the rules. I needed to consult the experts to determine once and for all: which broomball rules are better?
Enter Tony Sikich, the captain of Kelly Lake, multi-time Minnesota Men’s Class A state champion, and current Canada Cup winner.
“I like the American rules better,” Sikich wrote me in an email. “I’ve only played in two tournaments with the International rules [Author’s note: 2018 Worlds and 2019 Canada Cup]. It was fun trying something new, but I feel like those rules really slow down the game and limit offense.”