Culture of Canespa

Sports

Lacrosse

Canespa’s largest sport is Lacrosse as the nation has a national league and an international league. The Canespian Lacrosse League or the CLL is made up of 12 teams that play across the nation. These teams play 15 games across their season starting in January. The top 4 teams out of the 12 are put into a bracket following the 15 games and the winner of the bracket are proclaimed the sporting champion’s of Canespa, the entire team gets to enjoy a ceremonial feast with the Wasiexu and is given slightly more funding for next year's season.

Lacrosse has had a long and complex history in Canespa with the first evidence of the game being noted in 493. Before the 17th century the game was played as a peace game. It was either played as an alternative to war if two houses thought better then fighting but it was also used to heal. Ceremonial games would be called to heal the sick in a village. There were no referees and the wooden stick was made from a hickory tree. The stick was supposed to represent all plant life and the ball represented human desires. Furthermore the goal represented desires being fulfilled. The game was supposed to show the Earth that it was appreciated, and that its help has been recognized and respected. Some notable games include the game between House Kanchi and House Papa in 783 over a religious dispute between the tribes over the proper way to construct pyramids. The game was won by House Kanchi with a game winning shot at the end. The score was 19-18. Another game is the Extranjero game in which the natives of Extranjero challenged the Burgundii sailors who attempted to raise prices through a misleading use of language. Unsurprisingly the natives of Extranjero crushed the Burgundii sailors who had been given a quick tutorial on how to play. The final score was 25-0. Lacrosse was officially recognized by the Wasi King upon his ascension to the throne and lacrosse matches were used to settle disputes between unruly subjects. Lacrosse as a normal passtime started in 1389 with the addition of a new rule set for non- ceremonial games in order to recognize the importance of the ceremonial game. The next major addition to the history of lacrosse was the beginning of the CLL in 1878. The first league featured 3 teams, all of which were from the Cuenca river area. The league quickly spread and was endorsed by the Wasi King in 1897. The league was officially bought out by the Canasta Company in 1906 following a few boring seasons. After the Canasta Company purchased the league the sport grew quickly to 10 teams by 1940. The addition of a two point line was also made during this time. In 1989 two more teams were added to represent areas that were previously underpopulated. No teams have been added since then but there are proposals for new teams. One notable proposal is for a foreign team that would represent all Levantine minorities in Canespa. While picking up traction the proposal is currently being buried by other paperwork. Overall the sport of Lacrosse is greatly important to Canespuan society and it will likely continue to be for centuries to come. From being a tool for war and healing to being a common pastime to being a professional sport Lacrosse has gone through many eras.