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Greg Gurenlian didn’t check his phone for a while after the announcement dropped that he’d end his retirement to join the Premier Lacrosse League. He wasn’t sure how the lacrosse community would react. 

Gurenlian did not know if his name lingered in the minds of fans across the country. It had been about 16 months since his last professional lacrosse game.

“I remember when I retired from the MLL, one of my fears was going off into the sunset and being forgotten,” he said. “It happens quickly in sports.”

But once the one-minute video was posted on the PLL’s social platforms, his fears were absolved. The news spread throughout the community and generated plenty of positivity.

“When I looked, I just scrolled through some of the posts for the while, and I was kind of shocked,” Gurenlian said. “Paul [Rabil] texted me and was like ‘Well, that worked.’ It’s been cool. I didn’t expect it.”

Gurenlian may have “unretired” from the professional lacrosse landscape, but he suggests the PLL is a unique venture in itself. Joining the new league, he said, will give him a chance to build camaraderie with his fellow faceoff men and help make his position easier to understand for fans watching on television.

He’s a season removed from playing in the MLL — with the FIL World Championship sandwiched in between — but he said he has more to offer in the inaugural PLL season.
 

“I’m not going to do something just to do a victory lap and give high fives. I feel like I still got plenty left in the tank.”
 

“I’m not going to do something just to do a victory lap and give high fives,” he said. “I want to compete and be at the top of the game. I feel like I still got plenty left in the tank.”

Gurenlian’s decision came after weeks of discussion between him and the leaders of the PLL — including U.S. national team members Paul Rabil and Tom Schreiber. He had worked with the league’s founders before it went public, hoping to shape the faceoff rules to help his fellow FOGOs.

Gurenlian assisted Schreiber and the rest of the team to make rules simpler and easier to understand to a broader audience. Gurenlian loved the concept of a league built “for the players, by the players” and even hoped to offer his expertise as a commentator for NBC when it carried PLL games.

There was no thought of a potential return until the question was posed by Schreiber. Did he want to return to play in the PLL?

“I was like, ‘Honestly dude, if I even mention that to my wife, she’s going to punch me in the face,’” Gurenlian said. “I was clear on the fact that my family has been doing this for a long time.”

But as negotiations continued, Gurenlian and his wife, Jenny, warmed up to the idea. The constant travel, with no home games, would be difficult, but he believed the PLL offered a different opportunity.

It also helped that, during his year off from the MLL, Gurenlian competed with the U.S. men’s national team en route to the gold medal at last summer’s FIL World Championship. He won 44 of 71 faceoffs (62 percent) in the competition.

In Israel, he played with some of the best players in the world. With that experience and the bond his team was able to create, Gurenlian began to miss the team atmosphere.

“With Team USA, and what we accomplished,” he said. “Forget about the gold medal, just how that team came together over a short period of time, that camaraderie can’t be replaced anywhere. … When they asked me, I’m thinking moreso, ‘Wow. All six teams together every week. That’s going to be a blast.’ If I had just walked away and didn’t play Team USA, that would have been it for me for lacrosse. It probably would have been pretty bitter.”

Now, the Beast is back. But just because he’ll be playing in the PLL doesn't mean he won’t be watching his former league.

“I have done everything that I can achieve in the MLL and the PLL is completely different,” said Gurenlian, the only faceoff specialist in MLL history be named the league’s MVP. “There’s plenty of talent to go around. I’ll be watching some of my [Faceoff Academy] guys in the MLL.”

The summer of 2019 will be a challenge for Gurenlian and his family, but it’s one he’s willing to undertake. Plus, his son, Jax, will get to enjoy watching him play for another summer. 

“When I came back from the world games, my wife was showing me videos of him watching me on TV with his lacrosse stick in the living room saying, ‘Go, Dad. Go,’” he said. “It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m excited to see his reaction to him seeing me play again. It’s going to be a tough summer, but ultimately I think it’s the best thing for me and my family.”