One week ago today the Denver Outlaws broke the MLL attendance record when they defeated the Ohio Machine 17-13 in front of 30,128 fans.
It was the team’s annual Fourth of July game, complete with post-game fireworks, and usually draws a large crowd. Last year’s game set the previous record with 27,184 fans coming out for the contest.
Having over 30,000 fans attending a lacrosse game is something hardly ever seen. The NCAA has seen it with the Final Four and the championship game since 2003 and gets close to it with some of the bigger triple-header events like the Big City Classic.
It’s truly special for Major League Lacrosse, with the league’s average attendance at 6,179 this year.
Nolan Godfrey played his first game for the Denver Outlaws last week in front of the immense crowd and he shared his thoughts on what it was like.
“It was divine. The setting couldn’t be beat. The best part about it was knowing a scene like that might never come again and downing every ounce of it while it was there. A venue and platform of that proportion doesn’t give you nerves, it elevates your confidence and poise. If you’re nervous, that means you’re unprepared. I tore my shoulder joint right through on the first live rep of warm-ups, but didn’t feel a thing until hours later when adrenaline finally came down. No way I was going to get to that moment only to miss it. The crowd was immense and engaged, yet felt a separate world from us on the field. The late day sun moving through the stadium at game time, the music on the loudspeakers and the best playing surface known to man—it was a fulfillment of appetites for the sense. Standing next to Adam Fullerton during the anthem, seeing his final two minutes of play, then swarming him at the last whistle capped it all off. Finally, the fireworks lighting up the crowd. The whole night was 4-dimensional, spiritually cathartic. No one can ever take that experience from me. It’s mine foreverâ€
In the past Denver has been lauded for its top-notch fan atmosphere, by both Outlaws and opposing players. Last year the team led the league in attendance, averaging 12,331 fans per game and being the only team to average over 10,000 fans.
This year however Denver has seen some of that support slip. With six of its seven home games played the team is third in the league with an average of 9,051 fans per game, and that’s including the record breaking game (without it the team would average about 4,836 fans dropping the team to fourth behind Charlotte).
There is still one home game left this weekend and it will be interesting to see what the numbers are.
For the time being though, drawing that many people to an MLL game is a special feat that should be celebrated by the team, its players and the league as a whole and should be a blueprint to look at in how to continue that success.
Here’s a picture from MLL Instagram page
