The Chicago Outlaws are coming off of their first title in the Continental Indoor Lacrosse League after they defeated the Grand Rapids Dragonfish on Saturday night. Despite playing in the league for all four seasons and being a contending team, it is their first championship.
“It is amazing, to see all the hard work and dedication pay off for the guys is exactly what I hoped for as the President of the organization.” said team president Ray Kincaid.
The Outlaws have been one of the contending teams in a league where sometimes teams can struggle against higher competition. Chicago has been able to build a good team year in and year out against teams like Grand Rapids and Colorado.
“OIt is hard to put a “value” on how far we have come.” says Kincaid. “These guys supported my vision for this organization ever since I stepped foot in the front office. I told them it would take some time and a lot of effort for us to build the chemistry we needed to build a championship organization. They supported it by being at the community appearances, being at every practice and putting it all out there on game days. We have a special group of men that make up this team and the best box lacrosse fans out there! We have come a long way and the fan’s support is what has continued to fuel our hunger. We can’t thank them enough!”
One thing about the Outlaws that is unique is their entire roster is American, and almost all of it is local, as Kincaid explains.
“All but one of our guys (Nick Jonas) live in the Chicagoland area and we are all American. These guys are committed to getting better at the game they love and their commitment paid off!”
The Colorado Sabertooths left the CILL after two straight championships and they had an obvious competitive advantage. That is one of the downsides of the CILL, the lack of competitive level between the top and bottom teams.
“The Outlaws will always look to get better, we owe it to ourselves. We will be playing a lot this off season looking to get games against teams from Philly, NY and Boston. We even hope to fly out to Colorado and play the Sabretooths before a Mamouth game. We have a lot to look forward to over the next year. Including defending the CILL Cup!”
Lastly, Kincaid credits his entire roster for the success of the Outlaws this season. Several players stepped up their game late in the season and then in the finals.
“All of them [stood out]… and I mean that. There were some rookies that stepped up on the score sheet and some veterans that showed great leadership. But all 31 guys on our roster this year stood out with their commitment to this organization. I honestly would not feel right singling out one or two players because everyone deserves to be recognized.”
