Before you met Ryan Curtis you’d have heard about his dad, Mike “Mad Dog” Curtis, four time NFL pro bowler and Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Colts. He’s infamous for the time a rowdy fan disrupted a game, running across the field, and Mad Dog levels him with a forearm shiver. It is worth the google. I played with Ryan’s older brother Clay at Duke. One time I was at their house in DC and I walked into the basement and Mad Dog was sprawled on the sofa watching Braveheart. He was a big, stoic intimidating guy. I was kind of nervously like “Cool. Braveheart. Great movie, you seen it before?” He slowly turned toward me, barely looks up and goes “about a hundred times.” Athletically both Ryan and Clay were on a different level. Size combined with insane strength and speed. Ryan Curtis vs Ryan Powell was the national match up everyone focused on for a couple years. A two-time First Team All-American and 1999 NCAA Defenseman of the Year at Virginia, he helped lead the Cavaliers to a national title before becoming a five-time MLL All-Star. Curtis earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2003, was a three-time Cannons MVP, and captained Boston for three seasons.

Michael Watson of the Boston Cannons was one of IL’s first MLL profiles.