Lacrosse is a severely underappreciated sport that deserves to be played, watched, and known by way more people. It is a game of skill and physicality that leads to enjoyable moments for both viewers and players. 

Lacrosse is played with two teams of 10 players each. Their goal is to launch a ball into the opposing team’s six foot by six foot goal. Some features that make lacrosse unique are that the rules allow for nonstop action. Players have the ability to be substituted on and off the field at any time without stopping play. Since players on the field wear a good amount of protective gear, they are allowed to use their lacrosse sticks to hit opponents in control of the ball. This is called a “check,” and can only be done below the neck and above the hips.

Lacrosse has endless possibilities of different moves, passes, shots, and checks that can be used to pull off impressive plays. The uniqueness of having a stick used to carry the balls allows shots to go upwards of 100 miles per hour, faster than balls in most other sports.

Although lacrosse has been growing greatly in popularity over the last couple of years, I still get asked way too often what lacrosse is and how it works. Many people don’t know that there is a Professional Lacrosse League (PLL), which has eight teams that travel to major cities and compete against each other. Just like other sports leagues, the PLL hosts championships every year and it’s very entertaining.

The average viewership for a PLL game this year is around 250,000 people, which is a 60% increase from last year, but I believe that it still doesn’t get the viewership it deserves. Professional lacrosse games are always action-packed and filled with jaw-dropping plays that are worth watching. 

Another reason why I believe that lacrosse is underrated is that there are only 77 Division 1 college lacrosse teams. In comparison, there are 133 Division 1 college football teams, which is almost double that of lacrosse. This shows that people don’t value lacrosse as much as they do other sports. Lacrosse is a very  competitive sport which deserves more recognition. High school lacrosse can be as entertaining as PLL or college games, and are always available to watch during the spring season at Jesuit High School Sacramento. Unfortunately, there are rarely any students who watch the games.

Everyone should watch a PLL game, or a Jesuit home game. I am sure that when more people start seeing how amazing lacrosse is, they will fall in love with the sport, and its popularity will skyrocket.