[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/joeycupido.jpg” caption=”Joey Cupido, a cornerback for the McMaster Marauders football team, was selected 38th overall by the Colorado Mammoth in the National Lacrosse League entry draft last week. Photo courtesy Joey Cupido.”]McMaster Marauders football cornerback Joey Cupido has been given the chance to play
pro – but on a different field.

Cupido, in his third year of kinesiology studies, was in the video room going over tape
of the football team's previous game last week when he got an email from Colorado
Mammoth assistant coach Ed Comeau: he had been drafted into the National Lacrosse
League (NLL).

Currently a member of the Marauders football squad, Cupido has played lacrosse
since childhood and only picked up organized football in high school, at St. Jean de
Brebeuf Catholic Secondary in Hamilton.

In his first year at McMaster he played lacrosse for the men's team while also practicing
as a member of the football team, with which he was named a second-team Ontario
University Athletics all-star in his second year.

Cupido has spent the last three years playing lacrosse for the junior B Six Nations
Arrows, with which he scored 57 goals and 55 assists in a total of 48 regular season
games.

“It's a really great opportunity,” said Cupido, who was selected 38th overall in the NLL
entry draft. “I'm looking forward to working as hard as I can to crack their lineup.”

Although it's common for hockey players also to play lacrosse (the list of NHLers to do
so includes stars like Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Joe Sakic and Brendan Shanahan), Cupido
points out there are also parallels between lacrosse and football.

“They actually have more in common than you'd think,” he said. “You have to be
fearless, you have to be tough, you have to be quick and you have to be agile. They
both have their own unique skill-sets, but they share some common things.”

Comeau, who until recently also served as head coach of McMaster's men's lacrosse
team, said Cupido has the abilities and work ethic necessary to prepare him for the
rigours of professional lacrosse.

“Joey is a very good athlete who has excelled in many sports,” he said. “We [the
Mammoth] picked him based on both his athletic ability and his willingness to adapt
and learn the skills needed to play pro lacrosse.”

Although excited at the prospects of playing professional lacrosse, Cupido said he is
currently focused on only one thing: helping the Marauders win the Vanier Cup.

“Football is my priority right now,” he said. “I just want to contribute to being the best
university football defence in Canada.”

Mammoth training camp opens in December and the 2012 season kicks off in Colorado
on January 14 against the Minnesota Swarm. Cupido plans to continue his studies at
McMaster.