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Lower mainland lacrosse fans needs to step up

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necks and mammoth Lower mainland lacrosse fans needs to step up

There’s no reason Ilija Gajic (Burnaby, BC) and the Colorado Mammoth should have to play in an half empty LEC on December 8th. (Photo Credit: Brad Watson)

It’s not too often that I call people out but when I do, you know it’s going to BE worth it; so here goes.

How is it that with just over three weeks until some of the game’s best players ascend on the Langley Events Centre, that the National Lacrosse League exhibition game between the Colorado Mammoth and the Calgary Roughnecks isn’t sold out?

Just a few weeks ago, the 5,500 seat state of the art facility was reporting that it (they) had only sold 1300 seats for the December 8th game. Mind you, they did make note that this was keeping with the pace it (they) was on last year when the Toronto Rock and Washington Stealth came to town; but that’s beside the point.

My question is, where are all the families, fans, players who make BC and more matter-of-factly, the Greater Vancouver Area, the second largest lacrosse producing mecca in the world? From Delta to Port Moody, Vancouver to Maple Ridge and all points in between there is an increasing amount of registered members in the BC Lacrosse Association and yet they for some reason don’t want to support the growth of lacrosse.

Everyone always asks, why doesn’t Vancouver have a professional lacrosse team anymore? Well, despite the blood, sweat and tears of Tom Mayenknecht, the main reason why the Vancouver Ravens (RIP) left town was because the local lacrosse community was too cheap to support it. There I said it. It’s out in the open and on the table.

Too many times have people used the excuse, “why would I pay $25 in the winter to watch the same guys in the summer for half the price?” Guess what, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed the attendance numbers in the Western Lacrosse Association, but they don’t exactly have to turn people away at the doors. Therefore, ever at the half the price people aren’t supporting local lacrosse. And it boggles the mind.

Ask a local hockey parent if they had the chance to take their hockey paying sons or daughters to watch an NHL game and the best hockey players in the world, would they? Barring the insane ticket prices for an NHL game, of course they would. Why? Because kids who play sports always want to see where they can be if they stick with the sport they love.

So why aren’t local arenas filled during the summer months with young kids watching the game’s elite? The same question is asked now as to why these parents aren’t jumping at the opportunity to take their kids to the LEC next month to see the best of the best. Many of those players are local as well; 32 of the players on the Calgary and Colorado rosters from last year alone have either played or currently play their summer lacrosse in the WLA.

The game will never reach the level of the other major pro-sports if there’s no support from the grass-roots. It may sound odd and almost backwards to think that way but it’s true. It blows my mind that the minor associations aren’t flooding the ticket windows trying to scoop up last minute seats so that they can send their teams and players to this game. Instead, everyone is waiting for a last minute freebie ticket or a chance to “sneak in the back door”, which happens far too often in this sport.

For a blue collar sport it sure does have a lot of people with short arms and deep pockets. So here’s your chance lacrosse family- hell, this invitation is to all sports fans too- head over to www.langleyeventscentre.com or www.ticketmaster.ca and get your tickets for the game and show the NLL brass that there’s is a demand for pro-lacrosse to return to the west coast.

Because it’s already been built, they just need you to come; cause if you don’t lacrosse may never get a real shot at returning to the Vancouver market.

- The game between the Mammoth and Roughnecks isn’t the only event going on through December 7th- December 9th. On the Friday the 7th, there’s a coach’s clinic and then SIX player clinics on Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th. So not only can you and your kids watch the best in the world, you can learn from them as well.

 

 



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