Goodbye, 5LSM

TigerBlog has no idea what the average person thinks when presented with the letters "LSM."

TB hopes, by the way, that "LSM" isn't some contemporary slang thing that actually means something awful or off-color or something of which he is completely unaware.

To be sure, TigerBlog did a search for "LSM" and found two things - the Living Stream Ministry at lsm.org and the Life Sciences and Management School at, of all places, the University of Pennsylvania. Website: lsm@upenn.edu.

Neither or those appears to be problematic. Nor, by the way, are they what TigerBlog has come to mind when he thinks of the letters.

First, as any men's lacrosse fan knows, "LSM" stands for "longstick midfielder."

It's evolved through the years from being a team's next-best defenseman to being an indispensable part of any good team and, as much as anything, a player counted on for offense.

This past year, Princeton got two goals from longsticks - both from Sam Gravitte, the longstick midfielder.

It's not an easy position at all. You're constantly running on and off the field as possession changes, and you find yourself with a never-ending diet of covering the other teams' best offensive midfielder.

And yet, it's become as big - or bigger - for an LSM to be able to turn defense into offense. Get the ball, get it out in transition, and make things happen.

It's actually one of the most exciting parts of lacrosse, when a really good, really fast pole comes sprinting into the box. Gravitte's second goal last year, against Yale in the Ivy League tournament final, was a thing of beauty.

But hey, TigerBlog isn't here today to talk about lacrosse. As much as you might want him to.

He'll talk about lacrosse again another time. He promises.

For the rest of today, he'd rather talk about the other LSM.

The 5LSM.

And what is the 5LSM?

Well, to be honest, TigerBlog has no idea what the LSM stands for. He does know that for years, the 5LSM was a cherished commodity in Jadwin Gym that only a few select people had.

It was a key. Today, it's an irrelevant key.

Yesterday was a big day in Jadwin, as the entire building was re-keyed. Still, it also marked the end of the era of the 5LSM.

The 5LSM key was a master key for the entire building. It could open almost any door in Jadwin, including almost anyone's office. Anyone who was locked out of his or her office had to find someone with a 5LSM.

TigerBlog was one of the lucky ones who had a 5LSM. The real benefit was that you didn't need a separate key to get into the building and then into your office. The 5LSM was good for both.

It was a status thing really, to have a 5LSM.

When TB first started here, he didn't get a 5LSM. He had two keys. Actually, he had a bunch of others, some of which are still in his desk drawer. He has no idea what these keys are for or every were for, to be exact.

Now everyone in Jadwin has new keys. There is no master key anymore, or at least not one that will be widely distributed. TB isn't sure what will happen when people get locked out of their offices.

The project, which has been under the more-than-capable direction of Greg Paczkowski, kicked into high gear this week. The giveaway that something was up came when the entire building was covered in pink Post-its, which were on every door with a lock, showing what key opened that particular door.

TigerBlog now has two keys. Many people have more than that. 

The 5LSM days are over.

And with it, TigerBlog supposes, ends the concern of whatever happened to the other Office of Athletic Communications 5LSM. Legend has it that Jeb Stuart, who used to volunteer in this office after he sold the weekly newspaper Town Topics, had it at some point, and nobody knew what happened to it after Jeb passed away.

Actually, the point of all this is that with the re-keying, TigerBlog thought about the 5LSM and then about his old friend Jeb, who has been gone for seven years now. It was at his funeral - in the chapel here - that one of his friends who was eulogizing him stopped and answered his cell phone and then pretended he was talking to Jeb. It was funny and touching at the same time.

Jeb was a character, that's for sure. His father was in the publishing business and was the longtime PA announcer at Palmer Stadium. His brother is a filmmaker. His mother was murdered in town in 1989 - a murder that remains unsolved.

As for Jeb, he was just a fun guy to have around. When he retired, he asked if he could volunteer here and do all the little tasks that nobody else wanted to do. For years, Jeb would clip newspapers, string credentials, all that kind of stuff.

And talk. And laugh. And make everyone here laugh. He loved Princeton Athletics and being a part of it.

And really,  that's what he wanted to say today. It wasn't really about the key at all.

TigerBlog liked Jeb a lot. He misses him.

He's been gone seven years already?