What about sports gets fans hooked and makes them come back? I believe the number one reason is the drama of a game, the unpredictability of not knowing which team will win and how they’ll win. It’s unscripted, genuine, emotion-filled drama.
Lacrosse’s unpredictability makes the sport so addicting. Every sport has drama, but that drama seems to be magnified in lacrosse, especially due to the increased parity across college lacrosse and the professional game.
Saturday’s MLL Championship matchup featuring Denver versus Rochester is the perfect example.
Last Saturday’s semifinal matchups were decided by a combined five points. Over the two games, there were five scoring runs of 3-0 or more, but the end result was a pair of close games. Lacrosse has a way of doing that. How many times have you seen a team rally from a significant deficit to win? The Rattlers did that last week, coming back from an early 4-0 hole to win by four goals themselves. They ended the game on a 6-0 run spanning the last 16+ minutes.
In the last two weekends of MLL regular season action (eight games), three were decided by one point while two others were decided by just two. There has never been more parity in Major League Lacrosse (and the sport in general). The unpredictability of games is what makes fans want to come back. Will a team take a lead and never relinquish the advantage? It could happen, but more times than not, there are multiple swings within a game. Faceoff play keeps teams in games, whether it’s Notre Dame coming back against Albany in this past NCAA Tournament or Denver staging a second-half comeback against Duke in the national semifinals that fell just short. You rarely see fans leaving a lacrosse game early because even a five-goal fourth-quarter margin is far from secure.
Saturday’s championship game is anybody’s guess because you have two talented teams – the top two teams from the regular season. Rochester has won seven of its last eight games while Denver has lost three of its last six. The teams split the regular season meetings (each winning at home), but Saturday’s matchup will be at a neutral site. Both feature strong goaltenders and scored the exact number of goals during the regular season (188).
I’m not here to predict the winner. You can predict all you won’t. Invariably, you can analyze both teams as much as you want, but something you expect to happen won’t while something out of the blue does occur. Maybe it’s a defensive midfielder who scores three goals or a backup goaltender enters and makes unbelievable saves.
Saturday’s championship game is anybody’s guess. Sit back and enjoy the show.
