Why isn't lacrosse more popular in the US?
 

Okay, so I got this thread based on the thread about soccer and its popularity, or lack there of, in the US.

Why isn't Lacrosse more popular in the US? Its fast paced, physical, has some of the best athletes in the world playing it, and can be very high scoring. I grew up in Annapolis, MD where its huge, but it hasn't grown as much outside of the east coast. I've been trying to spread it as much as possible and actually coach a girl's lacrosse team in Indiana now.

I saw someone mention that soccer isn't as big here b/c its too foreign and we like to stick with sports that are "American." Well lacrosse was invented by the Native Americans. Hard to get much more American than that.

MLL rarely if ever gets televised, and the only NCAA lacrosse I can ever find on t.v. is the NCAA Final Four.

Any thoughts or ideas as to why its not very popular?

A very good friend of mine plays indoor MLL and its actually a blast to go and watch. I was never a fan until then but your right ndulacd -- the game is fast paced, physical and the athletes are studs...

BTW -- being from Annapolis you probably played with the guy I'm talking about. PM me if your interested and I'll shoot you his name.

I seen on the news that notre dame are teaching gaelic hurling there now, which you might enjoy. It is said to be one of the oldest and fastest games around, and can be very physical.
have heard some Americans compare it to lacrosse

I played lax in H.S. in Columbus OH in '75 and at Kenyon College. It is an awesome game that doesn't require genetic advantages. It has grown tremendously in Ohio.

The biggest issues holding back growth in areas where it's not played are:

1) getting enough quality coaches
2) schools not looking to grow mens athletic programs
3) cost (equipment plus travel to find competition)

Thanks for listening.

The one problem with lacrosse is the expense, especially with the men's teams. There is a lot of equipment to buy, like football. From my experiance, the best players and teams seem to also be the richest.

I have an interest in lacrosse (being from the Baltimore area and going to Maryland I see it all the time in the spring), but it isn't my favorite sport.

i play high school lacrosse, and we only have enough people for a varsity team... the reason is that the school doesnt pay for anything except the helmets and the jerseys, we have to buy everything else

I played lacrose in high school, and I love to watch it. I think most people aren't into it because it just isn't a significant part of their culture. We already have a couple 'everymans sports' like football, baseball, and basketball. They are traditional and lacross really isn't.

I think lacrosse will steadily become more popular, and will maybe rival hockey in twenty years, but I doubt it will spread much further than that.

I can tell you that most people don't even know what lacrosse is here in California. I have never played it, but it seems like a pretty cool game.

what's lacrosse?

Seriously? If so I'll be happy to explin it...

Major League Lacrosse
National Lacrosse League
My home team (Ottawa Rebel) just announced that they are leaving the NLL :mad: Not enough fan support for the head office to keep them around.
To bad, I love the sport.

It's definately gaining lots of youth popularity, but it will be much harder to break into professional popularity as most sport TV slots are taken by the current major sports. Although, I wouldn't say the expense is slowing it, hockey is much more expensive and it does fine.

What season does it take place in? summer, fall, winter or spring?

It's a fringe sport played primarily in college. Only has minimal appeal to the majority.

Only to those who live south of South Carolina. Lacrosse is huge in the mid-Atlantic area and up through NY State. Its gaining popularity though the Midwest each year, and growing on the West coast as well.

Eventually, I can see lacrosse being much more popular then hockey, it's parent game. Its faster, with much higher scoring, and all the violence w/o the actual fighting.

If the #1 sport in the world, Soccer, can't make it in the U.S. Lacrosse has no chance in Hell. Plus since it's a relative of Hockey that will damn it too seeing as how Hockey is the #4 sport in the U.s.


Oh yeah Frisbee golf is pretty popular too up north. Doesn't mean jack to the rest of the country.

When Frisbee Golf starts drawing huge crowds to it's national championship game, let me know...

Plus, soccer is catching on here. Within 10 years, it very well may have surpassed hockey as well.

And my point was that Lacrosse is different enough from hockey that it will draw fans to it. Your comparison is like saying Baseball is nothing because it comes from Cricket.

Damn I never even knew Lacrosse had a national championship. who played? princeton and syracuse? LOL

My point is Lacrosse+Hockey+Soccer= no dice in the USA.

and I've been hearing that shit about soccer picking up in the states for the last 10 years. MLS teams are owned mostly by one guy. the fusion folded here because not even the hispanics here were interested enough to watch.

and let me state once again Hockey is in decline so if you strive to be like Hockey you will fail.

Okay, but my question is WHY won't it pick up? First of all, lacrosse did not come from Hockey. It was a sport started by the Native Americans (so its truely the all American sport). That aside, I realize its not very big yet outside of the mid-atlantic -> northeast region, as well as a few midwest areas. My question is why isn't it?

Personally, I can't stand the NHL. I do like college hockey, but I hate all of the fighting that goes on in the NHL. You don't find fights like that in any of the other major sports.

Actually Virginia and Johns Hopkins were in the national championship.

And the MLS is gaining steam, mostly due to America's showing in the last World Cup.

And again I AM NOT SAYING LACROSSE IS STRIVING TO BE HOCKEY. I am saying there are similarities in the sports, but that lacrosse improves upon it. Watch a lacrosse game sometime and you will see.

There is a lot of hitting, but its a remainder from the roots of the sport as a substitute for war. There is a lot of scoring involved. It is much faster then hockey, and has the continual action of soccer.

Now, I'm not a soccer fan myself, in fact, I can barely stand to watch it. Anyway, trying to predict the future of any sport more then three-four years in advance is like predicting the weather, or the computer industry. But I see the MLS becoming a true "major league" within ten years. When cities are spending public money to build soccer-only facilities (see Dallas, Southern California, etc.) you can see where it will go.

i think because most lacrosse people are the poor mans version of a hockey player and a second rate frat boy combined into one terrific bore. blah, and people call baseball boring.

it is a good sport however but there is no need for it. there is already hockey and there is already soccer. plus, most native americans are dead already

from what I've read Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sportsa around...there are predictions that in 10 years there will be more kids playing lacrosse than some of the other "big" sports...

I love it.

When i was in Ohio a while back, me and my buddy picked up some Sticks and Balls, passed them back and forth then started to throw them against a wall. (i'm better then he is, he always hit things besides the walls, including my face)

but once we got our sticks, it seemed to pick up for a little bit, i saw an MLL game and it kicked ass, i watched some girls lacrosse and that was fun to watch too.

but once i got back to florida, the heat caught up with me and i havent played since i got back, but i still love that game...maybe my favorite game behind Hockey:D

I graduated in 1990 and I know for a fact that there were at least 20-40 teams playing lacrosse around the Detroit area. Mostly private catholic schools but some of the larger class AA teams had them also.

I played it for a season and loved it. I think there is as much hitting as hockey and football and it is just as fast paced if not more than hockey and football.

It is definitely more exciting than soccer.


Art

I agree with someone from earlier. With baseball, football, basketball, track, and sometimes hockey (mostly in the north), most schools dont have the resources for it. Also, there is no youth leagues (that I have ever heard of). Kids tend to continue playing what they grow up with.

My opinion is that since it's not played very much around where I live, that's the reason it's not so popular. I like watching it and I think it would be fun to play it, but it's kind of hard playing with only one person

Lacrosse is the official sport of Canada and yet I know nothing about it. I got a glimpse of rugby a few weeks ago and it looks awesome. Much better than football IMO.

It's making it's way out west. I live in Illinois and it's finally getting bigger out here. My boys play on their H.S. team. Unfortunately, or maybe it's fortunately, it's a club sport at the H.S. right now. (Fortunate from the aspect that you pay, you play. There's no cuts) There are more teams developing but it's gonna be a slow process. Right now, most of the teams are from the Chicagoland area. I think the only downstate team is from Champaign, IL. It won't get official designation by the IHSA until more downstate teams are formed. It is a shame. It's a fun sport. I wish they had it when I was in H.S. (1970's)

I'm pretty sure it's more of an "East Coast" sport, but it's making it's way across the US.

My bro asked some people in Kansas if they had lacrosse teams, and they didn't even know what they were.

It's a great sport, I wish it was more popular.