Editor’s Note: Although it wasn’t the first professional lacrosse game in the state of Texas, history was still made, as the Dallas Rattlers played their first game inside their new facility, since being relocated from Rochester. Nick Coyne brings us a great report, and some fantastic photos from that first-ever home game experience.
The legend now stands that Ty Thompson, Jordan Wolf, and the Rattlers brought the Lone Star State its first win since adopting pro lacrosse inside its repertoire of major league sports. Did I say “inside”? Yes, I did! The Dallas Rattlers have been treated to a world class venue, calling the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco their new place of residency, which also happens to be where the same spot that the Dallas Cowboys use as their practice facility.
While the team has only really seen the facility once before this, they’ve been shown Texas’ southern hospitality while here, and this group is pretty excited to call this place home. The Rattlers came off of a Friday night game in Charlotte, with most of the players arriving early in the morning on Saturday, and some later than that. They hopped into an 8:30pm practice, where the team really got to dial in and correct the things they needed to from the loss the night before.
In the MLL, with practices not being abundant, one might actually say this could be a good thing, playing games so close together, seeing that there’s a closer time-span within each other, keeping the lessons fresh. Needless to say, there was no way they were going to lose the home-opener without a fight!
Dallas Rattler Home Opener
Game-day started out with a pro-clinic involving a local Youth program (Bridge Lacrosse), and a tailgate party right outside the stadium, for fans to enjoy and participate in. This was then followed by an action-packed Major League Lacrosse game, between a dominant powerhouse in the Denver Outlaws, and Texas’ newly dubbed Dallas Rattlers. We don’t know the official count, but knowing the venue seating, we want to estimate roughly 6-7K in attendance – which is a HUGE step up from their attendance in Rochester.
Let’s hope Dallas can keep drawing in a consistent fan-base!
To sum up the game in a few sentences, it went down to the wire, as so many MLL games do. With both teams exchanging leads, they both found themselves in a tie by the end of regulation. The crowd was on the edge of their seats, as this was the first time they could claim and stand behind a team that they can call their own. Possession change couldn’t have been more of a common thing in this over-time, since both teams were trying vigorously to jam one into the back of the net and seize the day. In the end, it came from a speedy Jordan Wolf, dodging from “X” and drawing the double-team, finding an untouched Ty Thompson on the doorstep for the quick-stick dagger to the Denver Outlaws.
The stadium exploded with emotion, as the crowd just watched their first ever MLL team bring them a win! It was definitely a game to remember.
While you might be thinking this is a “new” team, they still have the same core group of guys,
with some power hitters still playing on NLL rosters currently, which is only going to add more depth to the roster. The team is only going to progress and continue to build chemistry off of this. It says a lot, bouncing back from an OT loss two nights prior to that, trying to make sure you get your physical and mental psyche back in-line. These guys do what it takes to get the job done, from eating right, to training & recovery, all while most of them have regular 9-5 jobs outside of this. It’s safe to say, they came together and fixed what was necessary, in order to come away victorious again.
Welcome to Texas!
