Competitive Imbalances

So the completion of my post from the 24th is that Calgary declined to match the offer. Thank goodness NLL Insider has the wiretaps working. Hopefully this signing works out for the Rock. They still need a replacement goalie. Fingers and toes crossed that it's not this year, but it's inevitable in the next year or two.


The whole off-season drama has got me thinking about competitive balance in sports. I love winners. Underdogs give you a warm and fuzzy feeling, but winners deliver. This is why I'll never understand the Maple Leafs nation: the team loses, management never seriously tries to win, the team makes money hand over fist, and the fans groan. Not me. I figured out my loyalties in the early 1980's, before I realized you had to pick the "home team" through thick or thin. I love the Habs, and they know how to win (even if it's been a painful 17 years). I also like the Blue Jays, and they seem to have forgotten how to win (17 years here too) ... or the sport they play has gotten to a point of competitive imbalance, where they simply cannot win. I worry that lacrosse is heading in the same direction as baseball.

The Rock have a whole host of competitive advantages over other teams in the National Lacrosse League. The first is location, location, location. Most, but not all, of the best (box/indoor) lacrosse players in the world are born and raised in Southern Ontario. Essentially through the outside fringe of the GTA, from Peterborough in the East, through Orangeville to KW and around to St. Catherines in the Southwest. There's another pocket of uber-talent in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. The NLL is a part-time gig on the weekends from January to May. The majority of the players have 9 to 5 Monday to Friday jobs, and many stay in Southern Ontario rather than relocating to their NLL city.

The teams practice once a week, and then play a game or two each weekend. A typical week for a Rock player is a short drive to practice in the GTA, and either a short drive to the ACC for home games, or bus or plane trips to away games. A typical week for the fly-in players on other teams is no practice during the week, and then flying to a game somewhere in North America, except when they play the Rock.

In other words, location is doubly important. Less stressful commuting to games, and increased practice time as a full team. Somewhere I can hear AI saying "PRACTICE? We talkin' 'bout PRACTICE?" Add in the fact that players have a preference for playing closer to home, and the Rock are blessed by geography three times over.

Buffalo and Rochester are not too bad as geographic alternatives, and a team in Seattle, Washington can draw on the Vancouver hotbed. Calgary and Edmonton have to draw from the Alberta depth pool, or fly-in players from Ontario or BC. Calgary recently complained (what else is new?) about the cost of business (via). Other locations, like Boston, Philadelphia, Denver and Minnesota have to either pay extra costs to fly in the good players, or rely on American players (who prefer field over box lacrosse and require seasoning to transition), or find jobs in the local market and entice players to move to the area. Denver seems to fare the best of the bunch in this regard, since there is a thriving lacrosse community in the area.

The Rock have other advantages. When they were winning the championship yearly or biennially, the ACC was packed and they were getting decent revenues from ticket and merchandise sales. The Rock also have exclusive television deals, although the speculation is that this is actually seen as an advertising (money-losing) endeavour. Only Denver and Buffalo see comparable (perhaps higher numbers of people - at lower cost per ticket) attendance.

There is a definite danger here of the Rock turning into the New York Yankees. As a Blue Jays fan I hate the competitive imbalance of post-lockout baseball. Sure, the Jays played a part in driving up player salaries in the early 90's, and yes the Jays have had more than their share of alleged steroid-users (the other reason I stopped caring as much about baseball), but baseball isn't fun anymore. At least not in the American League East, especially with Jays management taking pages out of Leafs management in terms of putting revenue over winning.

So yes, I want the Rock to win, and I want them to win every single year. I love winners (Go Habs Go). However, I don't want a winning Rock team to drive the NLL out of business. If there is no one to play against, it's hard to call yourself a winning team.

So it's okay with me that the Rock lost the championship this year, and that the incompetent management of 2007-2009 forced the Rock to take a few years break from doing anything in the playoffs (or even making them). Competitive balance is good, because it means the Rock are forced to win close games, rather than simply rolling over the league.

Go Rock Go!

PS, have I mentioned that the Rock will need a new keeper in the near future?