I have not seen enough fans talk about how much the PLL After Dark rocks. It surely is not something that is going to spark much conversation or debate, but I felt like it was worth noting my love for these late-night events, especially for lacrosse. With most of the United States residing in the Eastern Time Zone, most major televised events are tailored specifically to this time zone to pull in the most viewers. As someone who resides in this lucky time zone, I have never really had to deal with the time jump when it comes to streaming events firsthand. I could not imagine getting up at 9 a.m. to watch my favorite West Coast football team participate in a 12:00 p.m. Eastern kick-off. The closest I have ever gotten to experiencing such a gap was with the PAC-12 After Dark.
I would consider myself a committed college football fan, as I tune in for just about every major game on Saturday. College football Saturdays consist of flipping from Big 12 to SEC games, with the occasional Big Ten matchup thrown in there. Just when you think you’ve had enough football, the PAC-12 would grace you with one last slate for the day. There was something so magical about a PAC-12 football game kicking off at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Even on Saturdays when I could not rot away watching college football, I always knew I had some late-night football waiting for me when I got home.
That is exactly how I felt this past week with the late-night PLL slate in Denver. I was excited all Friday knowing that the Whipsnakes vs. Outlaws game didn’t start until 8:00 p.m. This gave me more than enough time to come home, unwind from work, make dinner, and handle my business before flipping on the PLL. Having this followed up with a 10:30 p.m. start time for the worst teams in the league going head-to-head? I was sold.
With the collapse of PAC-12 football, I knew this was one of the rare opportunities where I could engulf myself in American sports during the closing hours of the day, and that is exactly what I did. Having three teams out west means that we will be getting more PLL After Dark in the foreseeable future. This certainly is not something that should happen every week, as it then loses its charm. Having games this late really does create a fun atmosphere around watching the game from home, almost making it more of an event. I would love to hear more about what everyone thinks of these later PLL games, as I know I certainly am looking forward to more in the future.
