The Saskatchewan Rush season kicked off Saturday, and that is a highlight of the sporting year from this scribe’s perspective.
If you are not aware of the Rush yet, I cannot overstate the excitement you are missing.
The team is part of the National Lacrosse League and is based in Saskatoon. The trip west to the City of Bridges to watch a game is admittedly a bear, especially home along the Yellowhead after the game, but it is worth it.
With some buds along for camaraderie, I have made the trip several times since the Rush moved to Saskatchewan from Edmonton for the 2016 season. We were there for their first game in Saskatoon with not quite 10,000 others, and concerns whether the sport would catch on in a province that has a limited box lacrosse heritage.
We were also there when the Rush won the league championship later that year in front of a near packed house. To the surprise of everyone, Rush players included as I learned from a few interviews that year, fans here jumped on the box lacrosse bandwagon very quickly.
That is not a surprise to me. I have been a huge fan of the box game for years, although following the NLL from afar was not easy. Sadly, Canadian sports networks have largely ignored the league, which makes no sense in an era they regularly air reruns of everything from hockey games to poker events.
The game combines the best elements of hockey, adds more scoring with shots coming from insane angles, the speed of basketball with the use of a shot clock, and enough physicality to still entertain on that level.
The Rush also do a great job of adding entertainment elements during games, cheerleaders, pulsating music when the Rush are on offence, and tons of extra features such as live music, so the game experience amazing.
As a loop the NLL is not a large one. There are only nine teams at present, four of those in Canada, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and of course the Rush.
However, Nick Sakiewicz, who came on–board as NLL commissioner in 2016, quickly set as a goal a vision to expand the league. Initially, he suggested a goal of 16-18 teams, the sort of threshold many suggest is a minimum for US television. Since his initial look into potential groups he has expanded the vision suggesting potential exists for a 30-team league.
For me it’s easy to buy into such growth potential because I reiterate I am a huge fan.
Sakiewicz and the NLL have already announced the first step in their growth plan, with the San Diego Seals and Philadelphia Wings joining the league for the 2018-2019 season. The new teams show the promise of the league. The Seals owner is billionaire Joseph Tsai co-founder of the Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba Group. The Wings are owned by the same group behind the Philadelphia Flyers.There is a plan to add at least two more teams for 2019-2020, although three would round out the league nicely at 14 teams. There is supposedly a short-list of five cities up for the expansion. Although they have not been officially identified speculation has Halifax, and Edmonton in the mix, along with Long Island, Dallas and likely the Predator ownership in Nashville.The league appears on the cusp of a renaissance and we in Saskatchewan are fortunate to be part of the growth with the Rush, who this season sold more than 10,000 season tickets.The Rush won their season opener in Toronto 17-9.
Not up to the trip to check the team live, then go to www.nlltv.com and look into a package to watch games there, it just might create a new sport love affair for you.
