The National Lacrosse League has been around for quite some time now. Founded back in 1986, the league has been around for over 38 years. This is quite some history to have under a professional sports league’s belt. For those living under a rock, the National Lacrosse League is the oldest professional lacrosse league and consists of 14 box lacrosse teams. With a plethora of teams spanning all the way from Vancouver, Canada to Atlanta, Georgia, it begs the question why the league has not gained more popularity. If you were to walk up to any youth lacrosse player in the States right now and ask them what their favorite professional lacrosse team was, none of them would mention an NLL team. But why exactly is that?
This boggles my mind, especially considering that the National Lacrosse League is the oldest professional lacrosse league there is. It has been some of the most consistent and exciting lacrosse at the pro level for multiple decades now. Each team has dedicated fan bases and a plethora of talent. The Buffalo Bandits, for example, routinely sell out their 19,000-person stadium that they share with the Buffalo Sabres. They play more games than any other professional league and specifically play in the American offseason of the winter to late spring months. I myself am a pretty die-hard Buffalo Bandits fan and make sure that I’m tuning in to every game available, but why is this not translating to the youth or just more fans in general?
I hate to say it, but it pretty much is as simple as there’s not enough box lacrosse down here in the States. The game has become so hyper-fixated on the field equivalent of lacrosse that many players do not have an understanding of what box lacrosse is in general. Lacrosse already being an expensive sport as it is, try to factor in an ice rink with grass turf and even more equipment is a tall order here in America. In Canada, these factors aren’t as much of an issue as many of the players already have similar equipment from hockey, and there are plenty of ice rinks to go around. It is a real shame because the NLL is putting out a great product night in and night out. The games are very physical and intense from start to finish. Players can learn a thing or two just by watching the box game, as with a smaller field, goals are harder to come by with less space to work with. Many players could really grow their game just by watching box lacrosse and seeing how the players are generating ways to get shots on the net.
So how do we get more people invested in the National Lacrosse League? I’m not going to beat a dead horse, but we very much need to introduce box lacrosse more in the United States. It is certainly growing as I have attended multiple box tournaments in the Midwest, but it still is not where it needs to be. An even better starting point would just be coaches encouraging their players to watch more lacrosse. Putting in a valiant effort to get involved in hosting watch parties and ensuring that players are getting exposed to all different aspects of the sport. The game of box is beautiful, but there are not enough individuals being introduced to it. I promise you, if you take the time to introduce the youth to all of the great things coming out of the NLL and box lacrosse, you will have fans hooked for life.
I hate to seem like that’s the simple answer, but sometimes a simple answer is really all that needs to get done. It is very clear that not enough individuals in the United States know what box lacrosse even is. Those individuals that might have an idea of what it is might not have the opportunity to play in their area or have given the NLL a true shot. It is tough to get into a new professional sports league like the NLL if you do not have a team in your region or you do not have other individuals joining with you on this endeavor. I really would love to see an attempt from coaches and players across the country to truly grow the game and expose more individuals to the game of box lacrosse. The stream qualities are better than ever for the NLL and the player storylines are always fascinating year to year. There is no reason that the NLL shouldn’t be one of the most talked about things on a weekly basis in the lacrosse world. Are you doing your job and duty to grow the game by spreading your knowledge on the NLL?
