What should the NALL do? My opinion

My opinion does not necessarily reflect the views of InLax or the staff

The NALL is really a huge lacrosse experiment, and many have thought of it like that from the beginning. Many of the teams were put in places that didn't have huge lacrosse history. They were going to be the great prophets of box lacrosse in a way, bringing the sport to uncharted American territory. The league has promoted themselves through social media, spreading the word faster through Facebook at Twitter. The league had so much potential, it appeared things were running just as planned.

Then everything changed. Word came out that the league was being postponed to the Fall due to various difficulties. Other members of the league said that this was false. Most of you know the story. The league was split in two, four of the five teams wanted to move to the fall. The NALL was left with one of the original teams, the Kentucky Stickhorses. The Boston expansion franchise joined the league a year early in the form of the Boston Rockhoppers. Musselman, one of the former majority owners of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks, helped found the Lehigh Valley Flying Dutchmen. All the games are being played on the Kentucky turf during what the league is calling "The Pro Invitational Season".

It appears that the Winter NALL teams didn't want their fans to think that there would never be an NALL season, which they believed would be thought if they decided to postpone their season half a year. This is where my compromise begins. I know I may be counting out a lot of emotion from both sides, but if these teams want to achieve their goal I believe that this is the best way to go about it.

This season can be a real Invitational. It can be a sort of sampling of what is to come in the NALL. The league shows its fans that they do plan on playing some lacrosse and they are capable of putting it all together. It also allows time for the other teams to get organized, get a nice turf, grow a fan base, and seal lease dates in their venues. As opposed to the Winter and Fall NALL trying to find new expansion teams, combining them would allow for a stable league with a sizable amount of teams. If things go as planned, the Winter side could bring in Kentucky, Boston, Lehigh Valley, and Jersey. On the Fall side they have the four former teams, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Hershey, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Suddenly the NALL has only one less team than the NLL. The leagues don't have to worry about only having three or four teams, which doesn't exactly help credibility.

The Fall appears to be a better time for the league, it would allow players to play lacrosse year round as well as give players like Casey Powell (who reportedly wanted to play but couldn't due to the CBA) a chance to play in the league. The league would also have no competition which would allow for this rumored Fall NALL television deal to have more traction. If each of the franchises can muster the 2,000 fans Kentucky had this past weekend, under this budget, success is very likely. When it comes down to it the league needs to get to its roots. Do they really want to help spread box lacrosse in the states and experience success while doing so? If they do, some egos and past issues need to be put aside in hopes for a greater chance at prosperity.