Earlier in the month what with Baseball and Major League Soccer still in their closed seasons and tickets for an NHL game still averaging above the average mans weekly salary, I was looking for a sporting event to go and watch when I read something online about the Toronto Rock, National Lacrosse League outfit. Their season was just getting underway and they were the defending champions — a rarity indeed in Toronto sports — so I decided I’d hop online and grab a ticket to see what this Lacrosse sport was all about. It more than met my expectations.

Don’t get me wrong, Toronto isn’t devoid of good value sporting events through the winter months. There is major junior hockey throughout the GTA and there is the Toronto Marlies AHL team, but for a change I was looking for something new to experience and Lacrosse more than fitted the bill. I know very little about Lacross other than here in Toronto the Rock play in the Air Canada centre, that it’s rolling lines and five on five (much like hockey) and the majority of penalties are similar to that of hockey. I also knew that it was a physical and intense game. Come to think of it, I’m not sure why it had taken me so long to go before?

The game was on Friday night against the Rochester KnightHawks, it was the third of the Rock’s season and having lost their first two I can only imagine the pressure was on to get their first win in. 11,862 turned up to the game which was a pleasant surprise. For a team that flies somwhat below the radar in the Toronto sports scene, and certainly in terms of media attention, those were strong numbers and the atmosphere was stronger still.

I paid for seats that would have cost me about six times more had I been going to see the Toronto Maple Leafs in the same arena and by the time I took my seat having been running a few minutes late, Toronto were already a goal behind. I qickly came to realise that scoring is much more frequent than in hockey and that missing one goal wouldn’t prove to be the end of the world and certainly not the most decisive moment. I like my football because one goal can be the decisive moment, but I also like sports like Baseball, hockey and now Lacrosse in which the game and twist and turn throughout its course as both sides trade scoring.

I didn’t have a lot of expectations coming in but one thing that struck me was the physical fitness the players must pocess. This isn’t hockey were you can glide once you get up to speed and subtly conserve your energy, in this game you’re on your feet and running a lot — and more often than not your run is a sprint. The physical play is certainly evident and while there was penalties for much the same things as I see in hockey, I couldn’t quite grasp what was and wasn’t a legal slash. Yes, it would appear that for the most part, slashing was given the go-ahead.

With ten minutes to go in the game Toronto were trailing 12-9 and seemingly on their way to a third straight defeat, but a remarkable rally seen them score five without reply and take control of the game once more. By the end of the game they were two goals better off than the KnightHawks with a 13-11 win.

For the value, the entertainment and the type of sport, I was more than won over and again left to wonder what had taken me so long to give it a try. Had I bothered myself to go along say this time last year I could have been watching a championship team in action with a trophy to celebrate at the years end. I can only hope they’re out to repeat, but I’ll soon find out as I fully intend on going back.

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