With Messing defending the nets that were set into the hockey boards, the Arrows won the first four MISL championships in league history. When I think Riptide, I think dangerous and I think that sends a message to everyone that’s in the league that this is going to be a dangerous lacrosse team.” Lacrosse is trending in only one direction and that’s up. “There are so many kids playing on Long Island and much like hockey you have to have heroes. “I played box lacrosse as a kid so I know what kind of sport it is and it’s very similar to hockey,” said Goring. Goring is no stranger to indoor lacrosse and welcomes the Coliseum’s newest team with open arms. Butch Goring was a member of the Islanders’ Stanley Cup teams while goalkeeper Shep Messing led the New York Arrows to four Major Indoor Soccer League championships from 1979 to 1982. On hand for the ceremony on Sunday were two legendary athletes that helped their teams win a combined eight championships while playing at Nassau Coliseum. “We’re certainly going to find ways to honor the tradition here whether its throwback jersey night or just honoring the history because we feel very strongly about that.” “We certainly respect the history here but going out to the fans and seeing what they wanted, it was awesome,” said Thorpe. There were probably a few votes for “Saints” from some old school lacrosse fans on Long Island, but it’s clear that this new franchise needed it’s own identity.Īnd that’s not to say that somewhere down the road, the Riptide could be the Saints for a day. In determining the name of the franchise, the team asked the fans for their input on their website and the winning choice was the New York Riptide. We really want to be a team that the community can really wrap their arms around and we can feel a part of and they can feel a part of our team.” “We’re excited about it but the community is excited about it and that’s what we’re about. Thorpe was a busy man on Sunday conducting lacrosse clinics in the Coliseum’s Exhibition Hall and then was part of the ceremony to unveil the new team’s spectacular logo. The logo was revealed during a spectacular video that was shown on the Coliseum scoreboard and then young lacrosse players stepped onto the black courts to fire balls with the Riptide logo into the stands. With blue and orange in the logo, the Riptide form and immediate bond to the Islanders and the Saints but they have also created a look of their own. “I couldn’t be more happy with the name.” “It’s super exciting to have an opportunity to take the next step in the process with the team name,” said Riptide General Manager and Head Coach Regy Thorpe. The colors are navy blue and orange which is very familiar to Long Island sports fans but there is also the addition of sea foam green to add a signature Riptide feel. The New York Riptide will begin play at the Coliseum starting this coming December and the logo revealed on Sunday features a lacrosse stick with swirling water that reflects “the unrelenting power of the team”. In December, the National Lacrosse League awarded an expansion team for New York to GF Sports and on Sunday the name and colors of the team were revealed in a ceremony at NYCB Live, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum before the New York Open tennis finals. It’s been a while, but now indoor lacrosse is back at the barn. Those games were a lot of fun and the Coliseum was a great venue for a sport that is played by so many kids on Long Island. Lacrosse has also been a big part of the Coliseum’s history including the New York Saints who called Uniondale home from 1989 to 2003. The New York Dragons of the Arena Football League called the Nassau Coliseum home from 2001 to 2008 and had three Eastern Division championship banners hanging in the rafters. J was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers after the merger with the NBA. There would be tales of Julius Erving and the New York Nets winning two ABA Championships before Dr. The walls would tell the stories of the Islanders’ birth in 1972, the Stanley Cup dynasty from 1980 to 1983, the sadness of their departure in 2015 and the joy of their temporary part-time return this season. If the walls of the Nassau Coliseum could talk, they would tell the stories of the many professional sports teams that have called the building home over the years.
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