Lacrosse Twitter blew up Sunday night during the AFC championship game, and for good reason.
Many remember New England Patriots' wide receiver Chris Hogan’s reference to Penn State lacrosse, where he scored 57 goals in three years, on "Sunday Night Football" on Nov. 13. The lacrosse community exploded with pride, seeing one of its own succeeding in the NFL.
But what he did Sunday (even before the game) made even more lacrosse fans proud. Hogan set a Patriots postseason record with 180 receiving yards to go along with nine catches and two touchdowns en route to a 36-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hogan snatched the world's attention with his performance, the most prolific by an undrafted player in NFL postseason history. Following his lacrosse exploits at Penn State, Hogan played one season of college football at Monmouth. He was originally signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2011, followed by stops in New York, Miami and Buffalo.
Hogan gained some notoriety during the 2012 season of HBO's "Hard Knocks," during which then-Dolphins running back Reggie Bush called him "7-Eleven," because he was "always open."
How he's one of the main reasons the New England Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Houston, Texas. Quickly, Hogan’s lacrosse back story started to reach the mainstream.