A lot of folks tend to hide from cameras. No, really. They do.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, as you know.
And so that was the unusual case Friday afternoon, as the sight of the Yorktown boys lacrosse team concluding practice on the softball field became that picture open to revisits and endless interpretation.
Yet there were the Huskers, a storied program on Section I/New York State lacrosse circuit, playing softball on a relaxed and sun-splashed Friday afternoon. Burying the burden of perennial power under a barrage of fly balls and chill time.
Digging ground balls up from the dirt, drilling doubles off the fence, and calling out pop-ups amongst eachother. The sight was almost as peculiar as it was one big pensive reminder of what this season has become.
A reminder that the Huskers' habit of surrendering third quarter runs, their tendency to wallow under the weight of out-of-section foes and second half scoring surges has made this season a forgettable one. A wistful reminder that Yorktown is no longer Section I's lacrosse's Tropical Topic. Right?
To the outside pundit and skeptic's perspective, this picture is a microcosm of the Huskers' left-for-dead season.
Yeah, right.
And night is day, winning is losing, and the Yankees/Mets rivalry hasn't lost an ounce of its luster since the days of Roger Clemens hoisting a broken bat at Mike Piazza's dome.
Fun is a term we quickly disassociate from Yorktown lacrosse, which has forever been given the torch to carry for Section I.
At Yorktown, expectations are higher than Cypress Hill during a performance in Amsterdam.
"It's the same goal every year," said All-American Kevin Interlicchio, a senior headed to Johns Hopkins, when asked to assess the team's grand aspirations.
"We want to win a state championship."
It happens every day, like clockwork. Interlicchio and his teammates saunter into the locker room and walk by a picture of the Lakeland-Panas Rebels hoisting up the 2010 Murphy Cup in unison and euphoria.
The game was played nearly a month ago, but everybody knows not to dare take that picture--or the shot of Lakeland-Panas coach Jim Lindsey receiving a Gatorade shower from his players--off the wall.
Have those pictures, along with moments of that type, proved to be sources of motivation for the post-season?
"Definitely," Interlicchio said.
"Just because we don't have five All-Americans on the team doesn't mean we're out. All of it is extra motivation for the playoffs. Every day we walk in (to that locker room), see that picture, and we have to live with it. You don't even have to think about it."
Think about this. Yorktown stayed on the field late and ran their @sses off following that store-selling loss, during which they letup a rapid-fire third quarter run and five unanswered goals in the third quarter.
Now, because of Mahopac's tight loss to Suffern at the tail-end of the regular season, Yorktown has the No.2 playoff seed instead of the No.1. The Huskers face a Wappingers Falls team that on paper, they are leaps-and-bounds better than, in the opening round of the playoffs.
"It's a chance to try and start with a new slate, a clean slate and try to get a positive spin on things," said Huskers coach Dave Marr, the former Johns Hopkins standout and a linchpin on the 1991-1992 Yorktown teams.
"The (Wappingers Falls) game is an opportunity to play at home again," explained Marr, who admitted he's reminded his seniors that this is the last dance.
"It's single elimination. You've got to leave it out there on the field and not have these letups."
When asked if the Lakeland-Panas Murphy Cup loss has given him some extra juice for the playoffs, Marr didn't flinch.
"It's always big when you lose to your arch-rival. We've learned a lot. If it (a potential rematch) does happen, we know we'll be prepared."
Some paltry scoring nights, some rarified losses. Neither has squelched the grit and grand determination of these players, all of whom are hellbent on hanging a banner.
Only because it's Yorktown, where the rich tradition of excellence is expected to re-emerge this post-season.
Maybe the picture of Marr's laX players playing softball after a light practice was misread after all. Maybe it was some serenity before the storm.
Yorktown is ready for the ruckus, even if they're not bedecked in the Team To Beat attire this season.