America's First Sport (2013)

The first sporting event ever observed by Europeans in North America was a lacrosse game in 1637. Jesuit missionaries from France saw hundreds of native men playing a ball game with sticks that they thought resembled a bishop's crosier, so they called the game "lacrosse". That makes lacrosse the oldest sport in America, and in the 21st century it is also the fastest growing. This rapid growth in participation, domestically and globally, presents the sport with a new set of opportunities and several challenges.