So with the NLL season in full swing now, there have already been some notable "spirited discussions" between a few teams. There was of course the Rochester Knighthawks and Philadelphia Wings fight to start the season (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-ACxK79snw in case you missed it) and this past weekend, we had Buffalo and Minnesota do the same resulting in 9 ejections (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAFYPhP-piI). In both cases, the coaches overwhelmingly support their players and treat this almost as a team building activity.
The issue is this. Being an American who didn't play hockey, every sport I ever played, including lacrosse, never tolerated fighting. Each time someone starts one in a lacrosse game I've been in, they are tossed from the grounds immediately. I do think that the NLL has a great chance to grow the game of lacrosse through the US just because of the usually higher scores, faster action and more physical nature of the boxla, but will fights like these hurt or help?
In the NFL and NBA, fights will get you some airtime on ESPN, but it certainly isn't why fans go to the game. Should fighting banned from the NLL? Will it help or hurt non lacrosse fan viewership? Is it already too ingrained in the box culture to ever be removed and have the game still be seen as "authentic"?
No comments:
Post a Comment