What lacrosse ‘needs’ right now is its true ‘player(s)/fan(s)’ to understand; why box lacrosse goalies have massive pads, why there is fighting in the game, why it is called a power-play, and why box players wear hockey helmets. These questions and their logical explanations ‘authenticate’ the NLL and box lacrosse.

Truth be told, box lacrosse has vast and rich history. On the generous side, about 5% of the box lacrosse world knows of its history and origin. So, I can understand ignorance plays a part in most dismissals of the version.

Ignorance is bliss and everyone has a bellybutton. 

The mammoth game was great, the rookies they’ve got there are the real deal. Dan Coates made a couple great plays including stripping a swarm player that was alone on the crease on a 2 on 1.

Lincoln played real well alongside Jr., Prout and Adam Jones.

as for people who go for just fights? does that really affect anything? if anything that is a positive thing, more people watching, and hopefully transition into loving the game as much as you and I do. If it detracts people, from even watching a game (which i doubt since it is a lacrosse game with fights, rather than fights with lacrosse games) they have (hopefully) the option of NALL if they start up and expand (or even have live broadcasts). And if what you say is true , the NLL would correct that since ultimately it is a business trying to get as many viewers as possible. 

The only team that sent a message in that game was Rochester.  The message was: we just beat you by 10 goals.

If the sport needs brawls to grow, then I worry for our future.  It’s extraneous, and a remnant of a beer league mentality.  One on fighting, fine.  I can deal with that.  But brawls are a waste of time, and pure spectacle in my opinion. If I want to watch Slap Shot, I can rent it.

Thanks for commenting. Happy to keep the discussion going.  I know I’m in the minority here but go ahead, let’s have it anyway! 

and here are some of my thoughts from a past post: 
http://laxallstars.com/the-national-lacrosse-league-nll-needs-to-change/

The fighting has to be reined in as well, at least a little.  Personally, I’m of the school of thought that would like to see fighting go away completely, but I realize that may not be realistic.  The NHL makes it work more or less, so I’m sure the NLL could too.  But right now it doesn’t work.  Some people actually go to games to see the fights.  Fight highlights get more views than game highlights.  There are guys out there who basically just boxers in pads.  Listen, I love Slap Shot as much as the next guy, but it’s not professional by any standard, and if the NLL wants to truly be successful, they need to look at this issue a little closer.Maybe the refs should just call more penalties.  EMO is always good for some beautiful passing goals.  And that way all these “tough guys” might not feel so slighted all the time and end up fighting each other.  I mean, why have rules if you’re not going to enforce them?  Why even bother to pay the refs?  This self-regulation business is actually quite silly when you think about it.  And if you tighten up the calls a little bit, these more thuggish fighters will quickly find they have no place in the league anymore, and the game can get back to lax, and away from MMA.The attitude should be, “You want to wear an Affliction shirt?  Be my guest, but don’t come to a lacrosse game looking for a knock out“.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the direction in which the league is heading.  Personally, I’d be much more inclined to watch more NLL games if I just saw lacrosse players out there playing the game and trying to score goals.  Once in a while there might be a fight, and it would be news and then die down.  Some of the stuff that goes on now just looks like a baseball brawl, and those guys are as soft as they come.  Do we really want to emulate baseball?So tighten up the calls a bit, like hockey did, reduce fighting and increase scoring.  Increase the amount of lacrosse players out there, and reduce the number of pure thugs.  Suspend players who can’t seem to keep from fighting.  Send a message, and clean up the sport.  When the biggest news from 2010 was a pre-season brawl, a botched halftime show and a big trade for a team that eventually shut down for a year, you KNOW the product on the floor has to be improved.  I love boxla, but all this other stuff is really getting in the way.So IF the NLL were to make these changes, and started calling games a little tighter, they’d be ready to showcase their product to the wider lacrosse world. 

NHL had a lot more brawls than it does now, and when it was growing, it had A LOT of them, and now look, they are doing mighty fine. It’s to hard to say if it “helps” the game, but it sure as hell doesn’t hurt it. 

Why not do both? “1 fan at a time” along with fights, they are not mutually exclusive. if you feel so strongly about fighting, then write a specific article JUST about fighting, because the argument gets watered down when you add “helmets and some” 

-Hawk30