Why the NALL is Good for Lacrosse

Hello everyone, I'd like to start off by introducing myself. I'm Jack Goods, the newest member of the InLax staff. I'll be the primary writer for the NALL as well as cover some NLL stories. I've been a Bandits season ticket holder since 2007, and have been going to games since about 2004. I was introduced to lacrosse at a young age by my god-father, and have been hooked to the sport ever since. Box lacrosse and writing are my passions, and fusing them together on a site like this is a dream of mine. After the jump I'll start off my lacrosse writing career with my reasoning for why the NALL is so good for lacrosse.

It seems these days that we are in a dark age in box lacrosse. We are back down to 9 teams in the NLL, games are no longer on ESPN, and each year we worry about losing another franchise. We hear about the growth of lacrosse all the time, but we ask ourselves, "When will it translate to professional lacrosse?" I believe the NALL is the first step towards the growth of professional lacrosse.

The NLL is currently in a situation were expansion is not their main priority. The NLL is focusing on building the fan bases for the teams they already have, and rightfully so. However, growth of box lacrosse has to come from somewhere. That's where the NALL steps in. The NALL can spread box lacrosse to new cities in a way the NLL can't.

Part of the attractiveness of the NALL is the costs of owning a team. Is this economy, it is very hard to start up an expansion franchise in the NLL. The NALL is on a much smaller scale, therefore teams will get a few years to dip their toes in the water. They won't just be around for 2 years and fail because they weren't able to get attendance numbers like the Bandits or Mammoth. This will give time for new markets to grow, as only Charlotte has any lacrosse history out of the five teams. This league has been called a developmental league so many times. It is just as much of a developmental league for cities as it is for players. If they can support lacrosse on this scale, can they support it in the NLL?

Another reason why the NALL is good for the growth of lacrosse has to do with the players. Before this year, there were 9 teams players could play lacrosse for professionally. Now, with the formation of the NALL and CLax, there are more opportunities for players. From the NALL side, outdoor players will get a chance to learn the sport of box lacrosse in a way they wouldn't have in the NLL. The player pool increases once more Americans join the box movement. This league may also lead to the development of American indoor goaltenders, which are incredibly hard to find these days. If lacrosse is going to get any bigger, we will need quality players to fill up more rosters, and Americans would be a vital part of a bigger player pool.

The biggest reason why the NALL is valuable may not be as easy to see as the previous two. It has to do with lacrosse in the South. I've always thought for indoor lacrosse to be successful, it has to gain popularity in the south. We need a compromise between outdoor and indoor lacrosse. For years outdoor lacrosse fans have thought of indoor lacrosse as full of thugs and not real pure lacrosse. The NALL implemented one small rule that may be the first step to bridging the gap: they eliminated fighting. I love a lacrosse fight just as much as the next guy, but to gain popularity among American lacrosse communities it cannot be a part of the game. By making the NALL look more like outdoor than the NLL, it draws in fans who may not like the idea of the NLL. From there fans could slowly become box fans as well.

What do you guys think of the NALL? Is it good for the sport, or will it just sabotage the NLL? Will it even survive past one season? Comment below with any opinions, I'd love to hear what other fans have to say about this newly formed league. Once again I'd like to thank Marisa and the rest of the staff for welcoming me to the fold. Follow me on twitter @GoodsOnSabres for any NALL, NLL, or hockey news.