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In 1978, Canada defeated the U.S. to win the World Games. That was a significant event in Canadian lacrosse history, but because it happened in England, the average Canadian never heard about it.

In the late ’80s, the Gaits revolutionized NCAA lacrosse, but back in Canada there was no significant media coverage of their exploits. Again, this didn’t register on the radar of the average Canadian.

But in the Champion’s Cup final on May 6, 2000, Kaleb Toth blasted the winning shot past Rochester goalie Pat O’Toole with 1.1 seconds remaining to give the Toronto Rock a 14-13 victory. It was the last professional goal at Maple Leaf Gardens. More importantly, it was seen by more Canadians than any goal in the history of lacrosse.

Television viewers across Canada saw the images and heard Joe Bowen, the 20-year play-by-play man of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, scream with excitement that we might not hear again unless the Leafs win the Stanley Cup. That goal has done more for Canadian lacrosse than anything in the last 50 years.

Last month, the Rock televised their eighth home opener on Rogers Sportsnet, one of Canada’s all-sports television networks. During these broadcasts, viewers are blasted with images of players, fans, goals, hits and saves from 14 different cameras angles. And while I would like to say that lacrosse has turned the TV world on its ear in Canada, the truth is that TV has turned lacrosse on its ear.

Lacrosse ratings are still small in comparison to hockey, but the important thing is that the television broadcasts have exposed children across Canada to our under-exposed national summer sport. Since the Rock came onto the scene in 1999, participation in lacrosse has exploded throughout Canada.

When Brad Watters bought the Hamilton-based Ontario Raiders and brought them to Toronto in 1999, not even the most optimistic lacrosse diehards could have imagined the success the Toronto Rock would have both on and off the floor.

Watters, who was the assistant general manager of the Maple Leafs, was very well-connected to the Toronto media and he used his position to promote the Rock whenever he could.

But I think the smartest thing he did was invest roughly $200,000 to guarantee high-quality television production of Toronto’s home games.

While many of us had seen the odd lacrosse game on local cable channels, the broadcasts usually looked second rate. From day one, the Rock’s television production was polished and professional. Watters brought in veteran Mark Askin, who had worked for “Hockey Night in Canada” for over 13 years and is one of the best in the business. Given player access like he had never seen in hockey, Askin brought cameras onto the bench, in the locker room and even sent reporters on the floor to interview goaltenders during play stoppages.

Bowen, the play-by-play man, constantly referred to the new professional lacrosse team during his Leafs’ broadcasts. His enthusiasm and passion for this “new” sport was genuine, and his stature brought instant credibility.

Seemingly overnight, Toronto became a lacrosse city. Ten years ago the average guy on the street didn’t know what lacrosse was. Now everyone had seen a game and many Minor hockey coaches encouraged their players to play lacrosse in the summer.

From 1999 to 2005 Ontario Lacrosse doubled its registration numbers. “TV exposure of lacrosse has had a significant impact on the growth of the sport nationally,” says Ron MacSpadyen, the marketing director of the Ontario Lacrosse Association. “Part of it has to do with reach, exposing the game to new markets and potential players, and the other part with presentation. Canadian television covers the NLL like NBC would the NFL, and that kind of quality is so powerful because it’s so authentic. That’s how kids judge sports on TV today.”

The impact has reached farther than Ontario. MacSpadyen says that national television exposure in Canada is directly responsible for the 170% growth in lacrosse throughout the country since ’99. He has visited a number of communities throughout Canada where lacrosse associations have been created in towns with no history of the sport, simply because children have watched the game on TV and pressured their parents to find them a place to play. There is also little doubt that NLL expansion throughout Canada was influenced by the Rock’s television broadcasts.

My 11-year-old son was four when the Rock started. He doesn’t care that the NFL television contract generates billions for the league while the NLL pays for production. As far as he’s concerned the NLL is “big league”, on a par or ahead of every other professional sport. High-quality TV coverage creates that image, and it sure helps when viewers see 17,000 spirited fans at games.

Most Canadians of my generation dreamed of making it to the NHL. For my son and many of his friends, professional lacrosse is the dream.

Last year the NLL paid top dollar to televise the All-Star and Championship games on NBC. The money was well spent. Like the Sportsnet games, the NBC broadcast was slick. And like Bowen in Toronto seven years ago, veteran hockey play-by-play man Mike Emerick was the perfect choice to introduce the game.

While many view ratings as the instant stamp of success or failure, it’s more important to look at the long-term growth of the sport as a result of increased television exposure. Payoffs don’t come quick but I’m convinced that both indoor and outdoor professional lacrosse will reap benefits down the road if the NLL continues to invest in quality TV broadcasts.

When Al Michaels shouted, “Do you believe in miracles?” as the U.S. beat the Russians in the greatest upset in hockey history, he helped create a generation of great American hockey players.

Maybe one day Mike Emerick will call a lacrosse goal that will create a similar lasting image.

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