Lacrosse in the United States
The sport of lacrosse has been played in the United States by Native Americans long before European exploration. The sport is most popular in the northeast and mid-Atlantic areas of the country. However, the game has recently developed into a popular team sport for both men and women in all regions of the United States. U.S. national teams Every year the United States puts together five teams to compete on an international level. There is a men's indoor team, and four outdoor teams: men's, women's, men's under 19 and women's under 19. Since the beginning of the men's World Lacrosse Championship in 1967, the United States national teams have won a total of thirty world championships. Professional lacrosse Premier Lacrosse League In 2018, star lacrosse player Paul Rabil introduced a new league, called the Premier Lacrosse League. It is a joint venture with his brother, Mike. Three main contributors are The Chernin Group, Joe Tsai and The Raine Group. It consists of eight teams, Chaos Lacrosse Club, Chrome Lacrosse Club, Atlas Lacrosse Club, Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club, Redwoods Lacrosse Club, Waterdogs Lacrosse Club, Cannons Lacrosse Club and Archers Lacrosse Club. It currently has a deal with NBC Sports to broadcast the games. The league shortened the field by 10 yards, and introduced many other new rules in order to speed the game up. It also offered higher salaries than Major League Lacrosse, health-care, and a stake in the company. The league is using a tour based system, so the franchises aren't based in any cities. Its inaugural season was in 2019. Major League Lacrosse In 1998, Jake Steinfeld became inspired by an article that spoke about the growth of lacrosse, and wanted to develop a professional outdoor league. By 2001, the MLL or Major League Lacrosse had started play to capitalize on the growing demand of lacrosse both in the United States and around the world. Major League Lacrosse is currently a six-team professional league with the bulk of the teams in the Northeastern United States. Many of these players are considered some of the best, if not the best, in the world. The current Major League Lacrosse teams include: Atlanta Blaze, Boston Cannons, New York Lizards, Chesapeake Bayhawks, Denver Outlaws, Dallas Rattlers, along with the Charlotte Hounds, who are on a hiatus. Unlike high school and college lacrosse, the MLL uses a two-point line on its field that sits sixteen yards from the front of the goal. They also have recently implemented a sixty-second shot clock which speeds up an already fast-paced game. On December 16, 2020, the league announced that it would be merging with the Premier Lacrosse League. National Lacrosse League In addition to Major League Lacrosse, which is played outdoors in the summer, the National Lacrosse League is a box lacrosse league from January to June. Because of these differing schedules, many current professional lacrosse players will start the year off in box lacrosse and end with outdoor lacrosse in the summer. Box lacrosse is a slightly