In the no-frills MLL, stars sacrifice to play the game

Long Island's Nicky Polanco (right) is a medical equipment salesman by day and a lacrosse star by night. Dana Kaplan

By Greg Beaton, SI.com

UNIONDALE, N.Y -- Tim Kelly, the general manager of Major League Lacrosse's Lizards, slumps down on a long metal bench on the sidelines of Long Island's Mitchell Stadium, takes a deep breath and stares into the sky, lit particularly bright by a full moon on this muggy Satuday evening in July. Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion is blaring over the loudspeakers in the background, but the song's title couldn't be further from the reality for Kelly and the Lizards, who have seen any hopes they had at earning a wildcard playoff bid vanish when the Denver Outlaws capped their dramatic comeback victory with a two-point goal in sudden-death overtime.

Eyes bloodshot and choking back tears, Kelly quietly reaches into his brown leather attaché case and removes a handful of black Sharpie markers. He quietly distributes them to the team's players, who, despite the pain of their loss, are signing autographs for the army of 10-year-old fans. A number of the kids are wearing green No. 41 jerseys, in honor of Long Island's hometown star, former Hofstra standout defenseman Nicky Polanco. Back in the locker room, Polanco takes the loss particularly hard. He angrily cuts the black tape off his ankles and cleats and says, "Usually I'm a better sport than this," which is somewhat of an unconvincing statement coming from one of the league's most intense competitors.

Whether or not that's true is completely beside the point. Polanco, like the other players and coaches in the MLL, aren't here because of the money or fame -- which is good, because there isn't much. They're here because they love to play lacrosse, and for one night a week -- two if you count practices -- they get paid, even if only a little bit, to be professional athletes. For the other five nights out of every week, they're just like everyone else.

"Most people on the weekends are drinking, hanging out, stressing about the week they had at work. I'm getting the chance to release all my energy, my frustration, on the field, playing the sport I love at the highest level," says Polanco, a medical sales representative by day who moonlights as the MLL's two-time Defenseman of the Year. "I don't care what sport you play, how much money you make -- you look up into the stands and see kids with your jersey on? It's the best feeling in the world."

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