The next time you’re watching an NLL game at home, here’s a fun game to play while you watch. Grab yourself a frosty beverage, and whenever one of the following things happens, take a drink. If the frosty beverage in question contains alcohol, you may want to choose a game in which you don’t have a rooting interest, since you are unlikely to be conscious by the fourth quarter.

The NLL Drinking Game

Drink once whenever:

Players

• A player and his brother are both playing in the same game. Drink twice if they’re on the same team.
• A player is interviewed mid-game and says that they have to either start or continue “playing our game”.
• A player scores a goal that is immediately waved off for a crease violation. The player then runs towards the bench frantically signalling to the coach to throw the challenge flag, despite the fact that he couldn’t possibly have been watching his own feet when he scored the goal.

Coaches

• A player takes a penalty. When the camera shows his coach, he’s got a smirk on his face that shows he’s unhappy with it but it’s not clear whether he’s mad at the player who took it or the ref who called it.
• A coach yells at an official or opposing coach and even inexperienced lip-readers can tell exactly what he’s saying.

If it’s not too inconvenient, I would like very much for you to review that play, please

Refs

• A ref tries to announce something but his microphone doesn’t work.
• A ref turns his mic on to announce something but first yells at a player before making the announcement.

Announcers

• A player’s non-lacrosse job is mentioned. Drink twice if he’s a firefighter.
• Fights or scuffles are referred to as “extra-curricular activities”.
• “Lacrosse is a game of runs”
• “There’s a lotta lacrosse left to play”
• A goal is scored that the goalie wants back.
• “<player name> doing <player name> things”
• “Defense wins championships”
• Someone mentions how far or how close to the ref the challenge flag is thrown.
• An exceptionally good play (or the player that made it) is described as something bad: “disgusting”, “sick”, “filthy”.
• A player is described as “the pride of <whatever town they are from>”

Fans

Most of these are not specific to the NLL.

• A fan bangs his hands or fists on the glass right where a play is happening.
• A fan has a sign indicating it’s his or her first game.
• A fan has a sign asking a player for a signature or ball.
• A fan is wearing an NLL jersey but not from either team in the game.
• A group of young boys all take their shirts off and wave them over their heads.
• Someone realizes they are on camera and starts chugging their beer.