View from the Cheap Seats is kind of an extension of the newsroom. Whenever our three regular reporters, Calvin Daniels, Thom Barker and Randy Brenzen are in the building together, it is frequently a site of heated debate. This week: Are you excited about the National Lacrosse League coming to Saskatchewan.
High hopes
It’s not every day Saskatchewan gets a new professional sports franchise. The last time, as near as I can ascertain, was in 1994 when two teams, one in Regina and one in Saskatoon played in the North Central Baseball League, then split off into the Prairie League the following year. The Prairie League was done by 1997.
In 1990, Saskatoon entered the ill-fated World Basketball League, which folded in 1992 after just five seasons.
Before that it was 1958, when Saskatoon shared a team in the Western Hockey League with St. Paul, Minnesota. That only lasted one season.
Of course, even all of those were only minor league professional teams. To find the last time a major league professional team was formed in Saskatchewan you have to go back all the way to the Roughriders.
That changed on January 2, 2016 when the Saskatchewan Rush played its first game against Calgary in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
Of course, the NLL has a long way to go to attain the status of a NBA, MLB, NHL or even CFL, but it is nevertheless a top-level professional sports league.
The impediment for professional sports in Saskatchewan has always been the size of our cities. Without support from the whole province, professional franchises
I really hope the province gets behind the Rush. I love box lacrosse. In fact, I’m already part of a group of five guys who have bought a 10-pack of tickets and will travel to Saskatoon twice this season to see the Rush play.
The biggest liability this new franchise has, however, may be the NLL culture. It includes really loud music blaring throughout the game, even while the game is on and cheesy cheerleaders roaming around the arena.
I get the idea of trying to attract a young audience, but it may be at the expense of a reliable one. When Ottawa had a team, for example, my mom tried to support it, but one game was all she could handle.
Hopefully the Rush tone it down a bit and win over the fans with quality play rather than gimmicks. They are off to a good start beating Calgary 10-8 in the inaugural game.
—Thom Barker
Headed to Toontown
When you live in a province of only a million people, give or take a few tens of thousands over the years, you have to expect professional sports leagues are going to generally pass on establishing a team here.
Granted, we have the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. The franchise is highly successful in terms of fan support and making money.
Success in terms of winning the league’s big prize is another matter, one which I could write volumes on the frustration that has caused, but that is for another time.
There was the pie-in-the-sky dream once upon a time Bill Hunter was going to bring the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League to Saskatoon. It was a nice dream for a few weeks, although the cold of a Saskatchewan winter thwarting travel, and that small population base made it folly to think it might work over 40-plus home games a season.
But now Saskatchewan has another chance to show we can be a ‘big league’ province.
The National Lacrosse League has come to the province, transferring the Edmonton franchise to Saskatoon.
That we have the Rush here means fans are going to see a competitive team from the get-go. The team won the NLL crown in 2015 in Edmonton, and only moved because ownership and arena management couldn’t get a new deal done. (As an interesting aside there have already been suggestions the NLL with expand back to Edmonton in the near future).
Will it work in Saskatoon? It should.
Box lacrosse is of course Canada’s official summer game, and frankly it is as exciting, and entertaining as any sport. It has obvious elements of hockey, tons of shots because of a shot clock, is physical, and lots of offence. It is a treat for sports fans.
I know I’ll head west two or three times this season, (there are nine home games). The Rush started the season on the road in Calgary Saturday, and it was an exciting one.
After a sluggish first half that had the Rush behind, Saskatchewan scored eight second half goals for a 10-8 victory.
The comeback included a pair of goals 13-seconds apart for an early tie, and later in the game four goals in 3:06 to take a lead.
For trivia fans Ben McIntosh had the first Saskatchewan Rush goal.
The home opener is Jan. 15, with Vancouver in the city, so if you love the sport you should be there too.
Then maybe we will see other sports look at Saskatchewan — a pro ultimate team perhaps.
— Calvin Daniels
Balancing act
Rejoice, people of Saskatchewan! For you finally have another professional sports franchise to call your own (although you may not even be fully aware of its existence).
No, it’s not a professional basketball team. Nor is it an NHL team.
What we have is a professional lacrosse team, as the Edmonton Rush – now Saskatchewan Rush - have relocated from the City formerly known as Champions to Saskatoon for the 2016 season.
The Rush, who come to Saskatoon as defending National Lacrosse League (NLL) champions, boast a strong lineup of behemoths, with only five players in total coming in under six feet tall (three are 5’11”, two are 5’10”).
When you think about it, having the Rush in the province is a perfect fit. With Saskatchewan being a farming province, it’s not always easy for people to sit down and enjoy sports. The NLL season lasts from January to April, meaning farmers can enjoy the season before seeding.
The NLL season also takes place during a time when the Riders are basically doing nothing other than looking for players, giving the Rush the drivers seat when it comes to drawing people’s attention.
The only problem that I can foresee the Rush having is actually keeping fans. Winning - which the franchise is accustom to - will go a long way to keeping a solid fan base, but so will atmosphere. Lacrosse is known to blare unnecessarily loud music throughout the game; something that could possibly drive away fans.
To be successful they need to be aware of what’s happening, not only on the playing surface but also in the stands.
—Randy Brenzen
