He’s here to give fans a reason to cheer, he’s here to save the Calgary Roughnecks from the destructive pits of the Western Division. He is… Curtis Dickson! The Human Highlight Reel!
Okay, that was pretty lame – but I think the super hero reference is fitting considering the amount of DC and Marvel products being shoved in our faces these days (next week is the premiere of Batman vs Superman, followed by Marvel’s Civil War in May, then Suicide Squad.. . well, you get the picture). Without a doubt, though, Curtis Dickson is as close to superhuman as a lacrosse player can get – hence the reference. No, he’s not Clark Kent, but he is certainly the Roughnecks’ man of steel.
Dickson’s abilities were on full display last Saturday night, a game in which his Calgary Roughnecks beat the Toronto Rock 15-10 on tumultuous enemy territory. The Human Highlight Reel notched six tallies on the evening, his second on an incredible between-the-legs volley in the high slot.
“You know what, you put the ball in his stick and he continuously makes something out of nothing,” said Roughnecks head coach Curt Malawsky. “He’s a special, special player.”
Dickson crashed the net with his stick in one hand and eventually bounced off Rock defender Sandy Chapman–one of four Rock defenders to try to check him on the play–whose body shook backwards upon impact. Dickson, with his back turned, made one more move to his left before he swung his stick upside-down toward the opening between his legs. The ball bounced and flew to a tiny space over Rock goalie Nick Rose’s shoulder and into the back of the net. Listen, I’ve seen Batman do some incredible things, but this was sheer magic.
“I’ve played with a lot of great guys and great goal scorers, but Curtis, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Roughnecks goalie Mike Poulin. “It really is incredible. It’s something to clap your hands at and to be in awe of when you see the highlights he puts up.”
“I don’t care how they go in, as long as they go in,” said Dickson, whose modesty is only eclipsed by his ability. “I just want to help the team win.”
Is it just me, or can you totally hear Christian Bale’s Batman voice while reading that quote? Go ahead – read it again. Man of Steel, the Dark Knight, Dickson will never admit to being as such, but a true superhero never reveals his true identity. This kind of modesty is to be expected, I suppose.
The 27-year-old from Port Coquitlam, BC has been fending off NLL enemies since 2011 – it didn’t take long for the league to notice he was something special. The league awarded Dickson rookie of the year honors in light of his 33-goal campaign, an appropriate prologue to an increasingly storied figure in the NLL. Today, Dickson has 59 points under his wing and with seven games remaining, he is poised to post his second 90-point season in a row.
Dickson’s Roughnecks are 4.5 games behind the league leading Colorado Mammoth and he believes he and his allies can climb back. It would be an NLL story for the ages, but as the old adage goes, “every story needs a hero.”
