BALTIMORE  – In joining beat writer Eric Detweiler and photographer Adam Fried on an expedition down to Johns Hopkins for today’s reenactment of “The Game,” the 104th time the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team has taken on their esteemed rivals, I got to experience something I really haven’t seen anything quite like.

Because The Diamondback was requesting two press credentials and Homewood Field has a too-cramped-to-move-in press box, I was told there were no seats for me and given the options of watching the game from the stands, where I would be joined by 8,626 screaming fan, or watching from the field.

So I made my way down with Adam onto the turf, and I experienced lacrosse from a completely new angle. From the press box, you can really watch plays develop. You can see the open cutters. You can tell who’s just standing around doing nothing. You get a balanced, wide screen view of the game.

From the field, the game becomes so much more real. The players become life-sized. The roar of the fans can really grip you.

I heard fans some members of “The Nest” – Hopkins’ revered student section – jeering the Terp attackmen. I watched closely while senior Max Ritz returned to his attack position looking a little less comfortable than last year. I experienced the roar of the Terrapin faithful when sophomore Brian Farrell took his long pole down field in a hurry for a transition goal that finally put the Terps on the board.

In the end, it’s not an ideal situation for a writer. I ended up caught up in the action a little too much, and sometimes confused by what was going on, especially on the opposite end of the field. I was certainly satisfied with taking an open seat for the second half.

But it’s quite the experience – one that everyone should get at least once. And it was even better that it happened at Homewood, during the greatest rivalry game in men’s lacrosse.

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