So, I just read somewhere that the National Lacrosse League will soon embark on its silver anniversary season. Congrats to the league and their fan base, wherever they may be. As a native Baltimoreian and a resident of one of the meccas of the lacrosse world, I can honestly say I had no idea this milestone was about to be be achieved. The NLL, which was founded in 1987 as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League, maintains the majority of its following these days far from the traditional field game and more in the land of Labbats Blue and Terrance and Phillipe.
I recall attending the very first game of the Eagle League way back in 1987. At that time it was the Baltimore Thunder and the Washington Wave playing at the old Washington Capitol Center. I was a strapping sixteen year old with dreams of lacrosse glory and I have to admit at that time indoor lacrosse was really cool and exciting. Lacrosse was hard to come by those days if you didn't live near a college campus. Lets face it, there was one lacrosse game on TV every year and that was usually broadcast on tape delay at 3:00 in the morning. Any new outlet for lacrosse, even a violent indoor version, was a step in the right direction in terms of expanding the sport. Television commercials for the Eagle League glorified the violence and promoted the object of the game as to "not only win, but survive". Worked for me. Guys with lax sticks on TV clubbing each other? I could get into that.
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| Rick Sowell in the early days of the Baltimore Thunder |
As the field game progressed and innovations in equipment made everyone a Stan Cockerton (if you are under 40 you will have no idea who I am talking about) the NLL was pushed off onto more and more cities with a spirited fan base (aka thirst for violence) and less admiration for the beauty of the field game. Indoor teams that had to compete with the growing outdoor market were relocated to new cities where lax was more of a novelty. Of course, most of the league now resides in Canada where the indoor game was created in 1931. I guess you can go home after all and I say good for the league and good for the Canadians. They are a good fit for one another. It gives hockey fans something to cheer about during the 3 month NHL off-season.
Unfortunately, I lost total interest in indoor lacrosse probably around 1989, when (ironically) a young Canadian chap decided that he could dunk a lacrosse ball from behind the goal. That was it for indoor as far as I, and most of the country was concerned. Field lacrosse had its Michael Jordan and the outdoor game would never be the same. At some point shortly after wards, all of the NLL teams moved out of the Baltimore -DC market for good, without anyone even noticing.
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| The NLL as it looks today |
So lets all raise an ice cold Elsinore to the NLL for keeping it gong for so long without a TV deal (VS Network doesn't count) or much of an American patronage. Any lacrosse league that can last for so long deserves as much.
Welcome to the blogosphere Woody. Great post, but don't act like you didn't miss the spandex shorts when the Thunder skipped town. Oh, I still remember trying to wrap my head around the Air Gait when someone described it to me. I remember the excitement surrounding that play. Bet you do too, eh.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom. The indoor league did everything it could to be flashy with their uni's those first few years. The spandex pants were definitely a sign of the times. Unfortunately, those times were the mid 90's.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching Gary Gaits dunk over and over on tape. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A few years later I was playing against a summer ball team that Paul Gait was running with and saw him do it in person.