General Information about Item:

• Genre: Customary Folklore (superstition)

• Language: English

• Country of origin: USA

Informant Data: Mike Connolly is a member of the 2021 class from Wellesley, Massachusetts. He is a 19-year-old male on the Men’s Lacrosse team. Mike is a midfielder on the team and brother to two older boys who played lacrosse and football here at Dartmouth.

Contextual Data:

Social Context:  The Last Man Standing is a paintball game activity Men’s lacrosse team partakes in each preseason. This offsite bonding is central to be to expanding enhancing team bonds in an area that does not involve field play but still involves great agility and endurance.  This ritual of rugged, toughness and secret attacks is a social ice breaker especially for freshman players as they begin to bond within their new team.

Cultural Context: The Last Man Standing paintball competition allows for all players to place themselves in an equal and level setting without lacrosse gear or a field involved. It received its coined name from social media posts. This woods ritual represents we are one unit in all we do, but it also allows for individual quickness and mobility without being tested on performance. The culture is one hiding your best inner hunting and warrior talents. The Last Man Standing signifies the last man to not be hit with a paintball remains the ultimate winner, and is honored by the team for perhaps thirty seconds. When the fame is over, the laughter, back slapping in congratulatory manner brings the team to a new level of bonding that they may not had experienced in preseason. The added cultural experiences become an ice breaker for the season. The lacrosse team is a group that takes pride in rising to challenges wherever they may find themselves. The Last Man Standing paintball game experience it one that players form memories that stands out from the daily routine of field practice and weight room training.

Item: This image represents Men’s Lacrosse after team bonding ritual of paint ball competition at AG paint. It depicts camaraderie of the team off the field. The informant stated that he loves going paintballing and early on he would not be able to hit many people because his hands would be too sweaty from nerves. He then proceeded to rub dirt in his hands before every single time he went paintballing. This is a superstition that our informant has and he stated he does it before every single paintball game to help him have better control of his gun. If A then B, if our informant rubs dirt in his hands, the gun doesn’t slip and he shoots well.

Associated media:

Informant’s Comments: The informant’s experience in the paintball game coined, Last Man Standing was a great fall preseason bonding experience. It allowed new players to form a bond with all the members on the team, including the coaches at an off-campus environment and away from the lacrosse field.

Collector’s Comments:

• The paint ball game that has been given the name, Last Man Standing is customary in that each fall preseason it provides for new bonding experiences especially for the new players on the team to find inclusion.
• The informant found that this team bonding experience with players and coaches offered a form of performance that allowed for different skills sets to be displayed that was not measured by a unique skill set not found on a field.

Collector’s Name: Parker Joyce

Tags/Keywords: Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse, Paintball Game, Last Man Standing. Customary