Under the Arch: Dos and Don'ts of Team Travel
3/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 17, 2016
Brian Archer is a junior (time flies, huh?) faceoff man for the University of Michigan men's lacrosse team. In his third year of scribing excellence in 'Under the Arch,' with this very installment serving as his 'Blogiversary' for his 10th installment. Archer, a Brighton, Michigan, native, provides periodic commentary, musings and observations from an inside perspective on Team Five. The program can also neither confirm nor deny that he writes his installments under the actual arch in the Diag on campus, as moped parking can be tricky in the surrounding area.
The University of Michigan men's lacrosse team flew out to beautiful Southern California for a weekend bout with Delaware over Spring Break. When traveling a team of 60 people (including our amazing support staff) there's a pretty strict list of 'Dos and Dont's' that need to be followed in order to leave as few Wolverines in DTW as possible.
Do
• Bring your ID! Joe Hennessy, our director of operations, usually ends up sweet talking the TSA into allowing Ian King on the plane anyways, but we try and make his job as easy as possible. (Unacceptable forms of ID include your Mcard, MGoBlue bio picture and purchase receipts from Lululemon; regardless of how many... Charlie Keady).
• Make use of the free movies on the plane ride. Worst case scenario, you get stuck sitting next to Parker McKee on the bus ride from the airport to the hotel in California, and you'll have something to talk about other than how many Tinder matches he already has. He must have the algorithm figured out, eh, Andrew Roswell?
• Bring your SPF 300 sunscreen. I mean, I make this joke every year, but we hadn't even gotten off the plane yet, and I could see PJ Bogle thinking about the dreaded UV rays lying, waiting outside that terminal. Sorry Peej;)
Don't
• Maybe obvious but: eat gas-causing foods the night before an 8 a.m. flight. Just don't! Please see WebMD if this still seems unclear.
• Forget your lacrosse sticks in Ann Arbor. Again, obvious... but maybe not so much?
• Ask the owner and founder of one of the biggest talent agencies in LA "so how long have you worked here?"
As you may be able to tell, it was a great spring break. We traveled all the way out there for one reason, and that was to beat a very good Delaware team. Once we accomplished our sole reason for going to LA, we were able to relax and explore the area a little. This included a day at the beach, a kids clinic at a local high school for which we had a massive turnout, and an afternoon in the city of LA meeting with Peter Benedek; a passionate Michigan alum who runs United Talent Agency aaaand basically all of Los Angeles.
We were very fortunate to experience one of the greatest spring break trips yet and want to thank everyone who made it possible. One thing's for sure: Michigan lacrosse will be back. Well, at least Under the Arch will. Pretty sure Mr. Benedek was talking with Scott Kemps, our media relations liaison, on both "UTA"s joining forces and taking over the world. We'll have to see.
Come check us out Saturday in the Big House, as we play Tommy Heidt's brother.
-Arch
