I'm more into the NLL. Not because I played in one league over the other. I practiced and done drills in lacrosse, but I never played it. The reason I prefer NLL over PLL is because I grew up with hockey. Street, ball, inline and ice. NLL is more of that hockey style and it's a faster and more physical style that I'm used to watching and playing. It doesn't mean I will never watch PLL. Because I have. And yes, I would like to see lacrosse including inline and ball hockey be an Olympic sport because I think it should.
Love the NLL. Back in the day, Portland had the Lumberjaxs, and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about em. I wish the NLL would come back to Portland. We have such a unique and home grown lax community here in Oregon.
It warms my heart to see Lacrosse flourishing. Growing up in Oregon, the Outlaws were the only team out west, and the only other teams i'd watch besides John Hopkins and Syracuse. They were really the first team I seriously followed in terms of pro lacrosse. And I'm so happy they were brought back. Thank you man for doing a video on them and helping to promote the game I played and loved.
The leagues fighting each other is just dumb since they are two distinctly different sports. Like arena football and the NFL, or soccer and whatever indoor league is trying to exist. We used to have a roller hockey team a few decades ago. I went to an indoor lacrosse game, but the team quickly folded. I've watched outdoor on tv. It would be nice if the two leagues worked together to further grow the sport. It wasn't an option in my area through school or as a club sport.
The biggest issue is the skill is just too high. Unless your name is Lee zink- you don't stand a chance on defense becuase there is just nothing they can do
This sport wont get away from being a rich preppy kid sport until until the common man can afford to play this sport. All talk about "growing the game" is just fluff that sounds nice until then. A few lax clinics in under priviledged areas isn't fixing that. The people that make gear are just like Hockey gear makers, in the sense that they're perfectly okay with the sport being a niche. Played by only those that can afford it.
If you don’t love sports as a kid you’re not gonna magically love them as an adult. I’ve never met a sports fan that didn’t grow up with their team. Youth leagues are the only way the pro leagues will grow.
I wasn’t a sport fan as a kid, I did kickboxing so team sports weren’t my thing until I got kids my boys play box lax and tackle football now I’m a big fan!
I played for 7 years growing up, then fell off in high school, then covid but I would love to find some decent pick-up or town league for 20-30 year old kids who just want to play the game again
6:20 What are you talking about? Denver Outlaws games were shown on local 20 KTVD for the first 2 seasons. All home games were on the RSN or Altitude. I have all the games recorded from broadcast on DVD. No mention of "The Rabil Paradox"
Box is so much more physical to me and at least in buffalo, the games are absolutely electric. Playoff games sell out keybank (full sized hockey arena). Would love to see more attention on it.
I understand that they needed to be more established as a league and not a touring side show, but I think it was a huge slap in the face to midwest and texas lacrosse fans when they annouced a team in the carolinas and a team in denver, 1400 miles of missed opportunity to "grow the game" and especially because they consider carolina to be in the western conference
Frankly until lacrosse is no longer a sport just for rich suburban kids there’s no way that it’s going to be mainstream. Hockey is getting to that point as well
Played in middle and high school from 2007-2017 the Paul rabil part about his vlogs and having a life was so crazy. Dude was the best player we’ve ever seen so far and was struggling to just live day to day.
the BS pity grift of Paul Rabil is epic. The guy bragged he was making a million dollars out of Hop yet he was soooooooooooooo poooooooooooooooooor. Did you forget his original rainmaker or his Red Bull aka Paul RedBull deal?
I'm going to have a different perspective than most on this topic because I grew up in Central Valley, California, which isn't exactly a hot bed for lacrosse and played in high school. The biggest issue is awareness, the funding will be a result of that awareness. Awareness means starting young, making entry fees really low so that all income levels can participate, organizing the community around the sport, and going to practice in areas that you normally wouldn't. In my senior year, the #2 football team in California came from a bottom 10 academic school, so what's the excuse? There's a stink of rich elitism in the sport that needs to be solved and quieted if the game ever wants to become a serious sport. Use the fact that this was how war was fought in pre European America.
Oddly enough, what I mean about the rich elitism is it's VERY white, and with the speed and athleticism to the game, it shouldn't be that way. Here's one way to market the sport to black inner city kids and their parents; in the summer, in between basketball and / or football season, you can give an athletic option that doesn't interfere with either sport's schedule, low injury risk comparatively, plus parents don't have to worry as much about what to do when either season is done and trust me, that's HUGE in the inner city, plus oddly enough, they can forge a path that few black athletes now get to, thanks to their predecessors, ever experience and that's being a trailblazer. Point guards, running backs, linebackers, wide receivers, and quarterbacks should be encouraged to play
As someone who has never seen an actual lacrosse game, it just doesn't seem like a big outside stadium sport, the ball is too small the players do not take enough space on the field. Similar to ice hockey where you wanna see the small stuff as closely as possible
as someone who personally prefers indoor lacrosse because that is the sport i've chosen to play, i still follow the PLL to the utmost extreme, especially now that the teams are linked to specific cities. being someone from philadelphia who got into lacrosse not too long ago and seeing the waterdogs come into our city to play for us helps me to link myself to a team which helps me to become more engrossed with the game. i think that both leagues need to do whats right for the sport and understand that NLL fans ARE PLL fans, theyre not 2 seperate people.
It’s such a bummer that PLL has moved on from the no-home-locations model for professional sports; tying teams to cities doesn’t make sense for athletes in contemporary sports and is a vestige from a time when players were from, and lived around, the location the team was in-part of the big issues in the NBA (“big vs. small markets” and player loyalty) stems from the stupidity of this antiquated model. Why would a highly touted draft pick from the west coast want to play/stay in a small, middle American market? I understand that, logistically, tying teams to locations means that they can generate local support because humans have a proclivity for caring about “us” (regardless of how erroneous the application of that term is); it’s why people root for their country in an Olympic sport they normally don’t gaf about. And I’m sure that the plan is to eventually garner “ownership” capital to support the league; right now, I imagine that trying to get investors without giving them control over teams is difficult, but it doesn’t change my opinion that the lack of locations was a move in the right direction for creating parity in professional sports, as infeasible of a concept as that is in America.
This was great era! But it seems every time it tries to change it gets worse not better... They should go back to focusing on their fan core and have faith the sport will keep growing on it's own merit... The more they make it a business the more it turns off real fans who actually care and follow and support the sport! Counterintuitive!
"Lacrosse isn't mainstream..." Says the voice on the Lacrosse RU-vid video we are all watching... Apparently that isn't mainstream enough for Lacrosse... LMFAO! I'm a lacrosse fan and i'm sick of fake fan channels like this who pretend to love a sport but are not supportive and bad mouth or apologize for it every change they get on a video...
I’ll say it- PLL is too white. I am a white guy with a college degree and can confidently say that no sports league will ever flourish if it’s dominated by white guys with college degrees.
I don’t know if Rugby is a good sport to take inspiration from but if it was treated similar to 15s versus 7s where people understood there’s different styles would be a good marketing strategy in my mind
in my opinion, the field game has to shift towards the box game, the outdoor sport where its 10v10 is too expensive to be inclusive. if we really want to grow the game, the outdoor game has to shrink to make it more affordable and more accessible across the US.
Only way we can improve is through criticism and changing what doesn’t work. This video is all about getting a discussion going. Thanks for the comment!
Almost every player is in the box league or has some sort of sponsorship. I’m pretty sure the average player earns about 40-50k with everything combined, while not good it’s about an average persons salary.
The majority of the country makes around that. Most of our politicians are losing their mind at the idea of $15/hr as a minimum wage. $35/k is more than fine to our corporate overlords.
You mentioned playing in the middle of the country… yet the PLL has completely neglected the entire central time zone. Outside of this upcoming weekend in Minny, not a single team or game for year in the entire central time zone.
Why would the PLL go to markets that have little interest in the product. sad fact: Denver and SLC are the bestselling markets the PLL has for tickets. You can go and look at the ticket sales. The viewership numbers are available too.
It will take twenty years for lacrosse to become mainstream. There needs to be more promotion for kids to play, and get there parents involved. It does not happen overnight. Also having a connection to all things lacrosse and making sure it’s fun to watch and participate in whether you’re younger or older. The more people involved the more the growth.
I have a brother I don't get along with the best, or at least haven't historically. He's not into sports, at all, but I managed to convince him to go to a seals game with me this past year (my first lax game too), and it was an amazing bonding experience and he got into it like crazy it was awesome
Would love a video covering the various stadiums used in the MLL. The home stadiums that each team used throughout their history, as well as All Star Game, Championship, and the neutral site venues. Some of these were brilliant and could have been great if the league continued on.
lacrosse ether needs to become full contact or there needs to be a boundary that attackers cant enter to shoot. there is a reason they make so little money. its boring to watch. geez the WNBA is doing way better.
PLL is a niche league and will not last. I love the game and played in college. PLL players (a lot of the best "star" players) have all gone to prestigious schools...they don't need to play more than a couple of years of pro lacrosse. For the most part, the "star" turnover is pretty quick as "the juice just ain't worth the squeeze". These guys are not leaving college early to go pro. They have legit degrees and have high paying jobs waiting for them due to their alumni networks. The players have no interesting back stories that players of the NBA or NFL have. There's no rags to riches vibe...a lot of these guys come from well do families. The human interest factor from the casual fan is non existent. It's not their fault they come from privilege. A lot of them have choices that don't include long term damage to their bodies. The NLL is a different game with different players.
