Why hasn't lacrosse REALLY blown up?

21,151
37
Joined
Mar 13, 2004
Let me say that first, I don't know much about the game. My only real exposure was watching some of the action (Cornell/SU) over Memorial Day weekend. IfI'm being ignorant towards the sport, my apologies...a couple of things...

*Do any schools in the inner-city play the game? It doesn't seem like it would be a very expensive sport, and it has a lot of cool elements (hitting,scoring, fast paced, etc) that IMO would be enticing to a lot of kids. You would think that kids who play contact sports would be enticed by lacrosse. Ithink that arguably one of if not THE best player was Jim Brown, who we all know is African-American (not to mention Jim Thorpe who was Native American). Iknow from watching some of the games that UVA has some black athletes on their lacrosse teams. It just seems like it would be a fun sport to play, and ifgiven the opportunity, more kids from the inner cities could excel at it. However, it's all about the exposure

*Speaking of exposure.....Hasn't the sport been around for 100 years or so? That being said, aren't most of the schools who have D1 programs in theNew England States, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, etc? I think there are a few schools out west that play, but I am not sure about states further south thanVA or in the mid-west...you would think more schools would have lacrosse...

*Where are the pro-leagues, and if there are some, are they successful?


I'm just a novice when it comes to watching lacrosse. Someone school me on this...it seems like a real cool sport to play....
 
^ NLL.. National Lacrosse League

I play hockey and most every sport.. but lacrosse is a MAN's game! lol Minimal padding and people hacking at you the whole time! Too intense for me..
I'm pretty sure Lacrosse is Canada's actual official sport and what inspired hockey.. Can't tell you much more than that but it is a pretty damnfun sport to play..
 
because for the sport to really blow up alot of African-American youth would have to begin playing it & going to college for it... Here's why that wonthappen:

Its an expensive sport, much like hockey in a sense
it doesnt have the same history as other sports do
Football, Basketball, Baseball, & Track are in direct competition with it

now lets assume you play football in the fall

what would help you most for football as a spring activity
Football spring workouts, Track & Field, Lacrosse...

...
 
1. No star players the general public knows.
2. No air time (although ESPN has given highlight love much more now than even 5 years ago)
3. Considered an East Coast college sport
4. Not an olympic sport which would help
5. No national TV pro games (if there is I've never seen it)


Sports rarely "blow up." MMA would be one I think. I do think lacrosse actually has gotten bigger. They do have a pro league, high schools now haveit as an official sport, and ESPN covers the college game. It's in the mainstream much more than it was beginning of the decade IMO. My local pro team (MNSwarm) sells dang near 15,000 tickets every game.
 
its a very expensive sport from what i have seen sticks cost like 100 something bucks, gloves cost at least 75, combine that with cleats and all you need tospend at least 200 without all the extra stuff
 
The sport is sick though, I'm just now starting to appreciate it. More entertaining to watch than soccer or baseball. About the same as hockey.
 
The only sports that usually blow up in this country are those with gambling potential. Nothing besides baseball, football, or basketball will catch on (nobodywants to bet on Soccer here).

But in terms of why its not blowing up with the youth:

its a very expensive sport from what i have seen sticks cost like 100 something bucks, gloves cost at least 75, combine that with cleats and all you need to spend at least 200 without all the extra stuff


Pretty much.
 
Honestly, having many friends who play/played it, having gone to a prep school where it was a huge deal....I can say that it's not that great of a sport.Not TV-friendly at all (probably worse than hockey in this regard), play can get repetitive, etc.
 
Hockey on grass. Pretty fun to watch live and to play (I've only played around, not on a team)
 
It's mainly played in the northeast and it's a predominantly white sport. It's huge with white people in the NE. My old next door neighbor and myold US Govt teacher's husband played on the same Pro Lacrosse team.


The reason it hasn't blown up in my opinion because only one region of the US plays it that heavily.


Plus most public schools across the country don't have the money to fund lacrosse programs in addition to football, bball, soccer, etc. You can'texpect the sport to blow up if kids in school don't have the opportunity to even participate.
 
Too expensive to say the least.
The sport is regional with few exceptions on the West.
Doesn't appeal to most people.
 
It's difficult to just pick up and play, and I think that's a major factor in the inner-city playing it.

You need a field, goals, and enough players who have sticks, gloves, helmets, and pads.

All of that can add up to an expensive sport to just run pick up games often.

There's no desire for it as well from the general public. People generally don't understand the game and find it too "boring" to watch.It's closest to hockey in terms of play, but it's much more high scoring and probably as fast paced considering it's played on foot and not onskates.

As others have touched on, for high school kids, it generally interferes with other sports as well. It's played in the spring, which automatically rulesout kids who play baseball. Many basketball seasons will extend into the spring season as well. Additionally spring football workouts would rule out kidsinterested in football.

Another factor for high school activity is kids who see sports as a means to an end, in order to get into college or play professionally, would obviously notchoose lacrosse because the pro leagues are not as lucrative as the other major sports. The exception of course is for the northeast where it's a far morepopular sport.


You basically hit the nail on the head in regards to exposure DoubleJs, if given the opportunity I think kids in the inner city would play if they had theexposure. It would be difficult to lure kids away from football and basketball, but for those who want an alternative sport to play, it's a great option.Requires speed, agility, strength, quick reflexes, and it's an incredibly exciting game to play.
 
Because it sucks.

There are no athletes that play it. Its for white kids that cant cut it at anything else.
 
It's a middle-upper class, white privilege sport. It's to the east coast what water polo is to the west coast.
it doesnt have the same history as other sports do
I don't exactly know what you mean by that, but Lacrosse is thousands of years old.


It's interesting because it's similar to hockey and even soccer in a sense, but there's a lot more scoring. I could see how it could possibly catchon more than either of those sports in the US, considering that low scoring is one of the biggest knocks on hockey/soccer.
 
Originally Posted by bballah3

Because it sucks.

There are no athletes that play it. Its for white kids that cant cut it at anything else.
jim_brown.jpg


This man would disagree with your ignorance.
 
kh18.jpg

KH 18... only know him because some kids at my school play lacrosse and he is a pretty good current pro player...
Honestly I dont see it becoming any bigger than it is. Comparing it to the major sports, basketball, football, baseball, even soccer, etc,
its not fun in comparison to watch on tv.
 
Originally Posted by blazinjkid

It's a middle-upper class, white privilege sport. It's to the east coast what water polo is to the west coast.
it doesnt have the same history as other sports do
I don't exactly know what you mean by that, but Lacrosse is thousands of years old.


It's interesting because it's similar to hockey and even soccer in a sense, but there's a lot more scoring. I could see how it could possibly catch on more than either of those sports in the US, considering that low scoring is one of the biggest knocks on hockey/soccer.



When I said it doesn't have the history, I meant in terms of well known athletes & media coverage.not to mention its just about impossible for anysport to overtake football & basketball in terms of the inner city kids.
 
Originally Posted by bballah3

Because it sucks.

There are no athletes that play it. Its for white kids that cant cut it at anything else.
yup those white kids, when they're crap at other sports they play lacrosse......

.....or get their daddys to yell at the coach for them.
eek.gif
roll.gif
.
 
Originally Posted by Big J 33

Originally Posted by bballah3

Because it sucks.

There are no athletes that play it. Its for white kids that cant cut it at anything else.
jim_brown.jpg


This man would disagree with your ignorance.

Jim Brown?
laugh.gif
It doesn't help you that when I say there are noathletes that play the sport, you have to go back to a 50 year old photo for support.

My point is the sport is so lower-tier that nobody worth a damn (athletically) plays...

Top tier athletes are lost to Football, Basketball, Track, Baseball, Soccer, Hockey......there are guys in those sports that are world class.

Find me a world class athlete out playing LAX right now. There is nobody.
 
The sports in America are already set. That's why it's hard for even soccer to grow more than where it's at now.
 
I posted Jim Brown because you said it's only for "white kids who can't cut it at anything else"

There's no sense in discussing it with you when you approach the topic with such a close-minded attitude. You clearly know everything about the sport andabout those who play it.
 
Back
Top Bottom