NLL Insider

I can’t remember a busier off-season for the National Lacrosse League, and I’m not even talking about player moves. We’ve already had a dispersal draft and a bunch of player trades, but we’ve also had no fewer than three teams make major moves. The Portland LumberJax have sadly folded, the San Jose Stealth are looking for new life in Everett, Wash., and now the New York Titans are on the verge of moving to Orlando, Fla. Is this a good or bad thing? Well, it certainly isn’t great, but it doesn’t have to be all bad because today’s NLL has more than one success story of franchises that have indeed found greener grass on the other side of the fence. 

It’s easy to blame “the economy” these days, but the fact is our beloved game has always been challenged as teams look for successful markets. And sometimes, that can take a while. Some teams have moved once to find instant glory. But at least one other team endured three different moves before striking gold. The point here is that all this shuffling doesn’t necessarily mean bad things and I’ve got three examples to show why.

The Toronto Rock: Sure, things haven’t been so great there as of late, but the thing that you can’t take away from the Rock is their five NLL titles. By far, more than any team in the history of the NLL and despite the struggles of the last few seasons, Toronto fan still represents. According to the NLL, the Rock averaged 134,921 fans last season, third-best in the league. And before the Rock became the Rock in 1999? They were the Ontario Raiders.

The Minnesota Swarm: The Swarm joined the NLL in 2005 and in their five seasons, they’ve been in the playoffs three times. And although they were left out of the last playoff dance, Minnesotans love their Swarm as evidenced by their average attendance of 12,308. That’s good enough for fourth-best in the NLL and before the Swarm became the Swarm in 2005? They were the Montreal Express.

The Colorado Mammoth: We all know what’s up with this team. It’s been a playoff team every season since it joined the NLL in 2003 and that includes an NLL championship in 2006. The Mammoth enjoys incredible support from its fans, second only to Buffalo with an average attendance of 16,475. Whatever the Mammoth are doing, they’re doing it right and before they were the Mammoth? They were the Baltimore Thunder (1987-1999), the Pittsburgh Crossefire (2000) and the Washington Power (2001-2002).

So what’s the point? Just because a team is on the move doesn’t necessarily mean bad things overall for the NLL. Yeah, there are the teams where moves didn’t work out for them and they ended up shutting down completely. But just because a team “suspends operations” doesn’t mean all is lost. As the Rock, Swarm and Mammoth are proving, NLL teams don’t necessarily find wild succes in the cities they started in.

OK. Time to shift gears, but we’ll keep with the theme of wild success. Because that’s what Sean Morris is finding these days in his pro lacrosse career. Lots of fellas dream of playing pro ball when they grow up, but Morris is livin’ the dream. Not only is he playing pro lacrosse, but he’s doing it indoors and outdoors for his hometown teams.

There were a couple of stories out last week with Morris as the subject. Check out the quick Q&A with The Patriot-Ledger of Quincy, Mass, where he says David Hasselhoff is his favorite musician (yes, it’s a joke).  Then you can check the other story where he talks about being so blessed. “The ability to do that – playing both indoor and outdoor in the Boston area, and being from the South Shore – is truly special.”

Loose balls: Mike Hominuck Jr. talks with The Tribune of Welland, Ont., about his trade to the Rock after stops in Buffalo, Portland, Minnesota and Edmonton … Speaking of Boston, TD Banknorth Gardens has a new name, according to sportsofboston.com … Hey Bandits fan! Your team is now on the Facebook. Check it. …. Roughnecks fan has it easy if they wanna track their favorite players playing summer ball … Callum Crawford of the Rush is more than glad to help the youngsters in Ottawa, where he got his start in lacrosse, according to eastottawa.ca … Hey Mammoth fan. Did ya make it to Mammoth Happy Hour Thursday night? Check out the photo gallery … Knighthawks goalie Pat O’Toole is the latest to be interviewed at knighthawks.net … Spread the word of the Boston Blazers dance team auditions … Swarm fan! Follow your team on Twitter … Swarm fan can also see Sean Pollock throw out the first pitch at a baseball game on Monday (July 27) and you can also check out the Swarm booth at the state fair. … Mammoth fan gets the Summer Scoop from GM Steve Govett.

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