5 Takeaways from PLL Week 2

Only two undefeated teams remain...

Professional lacrosse in the Big Apple has come and gone. It was another great weekend for the Premier Lacrosse League. The league’s day two game was broadcast on NBC. Thus, lacrosse was brought to the masses like it never was before.

Unfortunately, I am vacationing in Canada. I love Canada, but I couldn’t watch any PLL games except for Chaos v Atlas; therefore, my knowledge on events this weekend is limited. My takeaways come from the league provided highlights, my viewing of Chaos v Archers on NBC, and social media posts.

Also, since the PLL doesn’t stream in Canada, I cannot record and make highlight videos. I must be careful with videos moving forward because NBC copyrighted my previous PLL highlights. Updates aside, let’s get into week two.

Atlas Struggling

What’s with Atlas? When rosters were announced, I wrote they had the strongest team. I felt they had everything with Paul Rabil, Joel Tinney, and Tucker Durkin. Every position group is loaded.

With all that talent, the Atlas were considered favorites to win the league’s inaugural season. Instead, they are 0-2 and the only team to lose games by more than one goal. In game one, Redwoods beat them 11-9. In game two, Chaos crushed them 18-13. With the current product, a 5-goal loss is a blowout. The Chaos gave up some garbage goals in the second half too. If they kept their foot on the gas, Atlas would have been run out of Red Bull Arena.

The team is playing too much “hero” ball. Currently, Atlas is composed of individual players. Atlas does not have a team. They don’t play well together and are extremely sloppy with the ball. I’m confident Atlas will turn it around (and I’m cheering for them to), but until they show it on the field, the narrative will be that Atlas has unperformed.

Archers and Whipsnakes Separate from the Pack

Through two weeks, we have some separation amongst the teams. The Archers and Whipsnakes are both 2-0. This sets up an epic match up come next week in Chicago. After June 15, only one undefeated team shall remain. The Whipsnakes won both contests in overtime, while the Archers won the PLL’s first game and defeated the Redwoods 10-9 in New York.

I’ll give my prediction for this game now. I think Whipsnakes take this game in overtime. I feel Matt Rambo and Ben Reeves will make the difference. I’ll say the final score is 14-13 Whipsnakes. Be sure to watch.

Chaos Bringing Sexy Highlights

During the PLL’s first game on NBC, the Chaos showed viewers what lacrosse is all about. Besides stinging poor Atlas to death, the Chaos did it with style. Miles Thompson broke the internet with his low angle behind-the-back. If anyone else tried that, they would have looked a fool!

Connor Fields wouldn’t let his fellow alum have all the glory. He shook the shoes off an Atlas defenseman with a furious behind-the-back fake. Rumor has it that defender is still looking for the ball. With his defenseman confused, Fields ran to the middle of the arc and ripped a rocket towards net.

There is little doubt amongst PLL fans that Chaos is one of the league’s most exciting teams.

Good Day 2 Crowd

From what I saw, the day one crowd was sparse. It seems the league struggles to bring in solid attendance for its double headers. People come for the first game and leave for the second. The league needs to find a way to combat this.

Day one disappointment aside, the day two crowd was huge. It seemed as if an entire side of Red Bull Arena was packed. The league announced a weekend attendance of 10,773. Each game averaged 3,591 fans; however, this is skewed because day two attendance was clearly superior.

Week two attendance was down 3,000 people compared to opening weekend. As stated earlier, the league needs to keep people staying for both day one games. Whatever they set up to keep fans in the arena, the PLL needs to double that. Have competitions between games. Have a high school club game in between. Have a faceoff tournament. Just do something that entices people to stay for game two.

Get International Streaming

Congrats to the PLL for airing on NBC’s flagship channel. The exposure the game is getting is at an all time high. That said, the league should be more accessible to international fans. How can there not be a streaming option for Canadians? Hell, the league even plays in Hamilton, Ontario later this season.

I’m vacationing in Canada and could not watch the day one games. Luckily, I was able to watch Chaos v Atlas on NBC. How can the PLL expect Canadians to support the league when they can’t consistently watch? That is a big market the league seems to be ignoring.

Having been in our northern neighbor’s shoes, it absolutely sucks to miss out on seeing this revolutionary league. I don’t want to miss a single game. It’s not as if Canada is a third world country. Come on PLL, do better and get your games streamed in Canada.

Conclusion

What do you think of my takeaways? Did I miss anything? Let me know what you think by connecting with me on Twitter or Instagram! You can also subscribe to my website and comment directly onto this article. Either way, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!