WROCLAW, Poland – At various points throughout 1976 and 1994, ABC, NBC and CBS had its first go at televising the NCAA championship game. Then in 2000, ESPN stepped in, beginning to air just three lacrosse games and two Major League Lacrosse contests. In 2015, fans’ excitement heightened when the sport entered another power five conference as the inaugural Big Ten men’s lacrosse tournament was aired on the Big Ten Network.
Fast forward to the summer of 2017 and fans worldwide were able to watch the FIL Rathbones Women’s World Cup on the BBC Network, and just one week later, can view the history-making World Games lacrosse tournament on the Olympic Channel.
The International Olympic Committee launched the Internet television service in August of 2016 in conjunction with the closing of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The most recent campaign on its website, sponsored by the channel’s founding partner Bridgestone, a company that specializes in rubber products like tires, encourages athletes around the world to “chase your dream.”
“No one is born an Olympian,” Bridgestone’s home page reads. “Olympians are made, molded from more than just strength and speed, but something else – staying power.”
Airing the semifinals and championship game at The World Games, the Olympic Channel is helping lacrosse bring its Olympic dream to fruition. Now, the goal for each country that sponsors the sport is to continue pushing that dream forward.
“At the World Cup, we had the BBC exposure,” said Great Britain coach Nicky Budd. “Here, we’ve got the Olympic Channel exposure, so I feel like we’ve really got the momentum going. All we need to do now is to keep that momentum going and keep the exposure of the game across all the countries.”
That “staying power” of maintaining and growing lacrosse’s digital presence is critical in the sport’s pursuit to gaining provisional recognition by the IOC.
“The Olympic family follows the Olympic Channel, and the IOC insiders and the IOC itself will get that exposure to the sport of lacrosse,” said FIL CEO Jim Scherr, former CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee. “The Olympic Channel has distribution not only strong in North America but around the world and it’s building its following of Olympic sport enthusiasts and sport enthusiasts across the globe, so that exposure is priceless for the sport.”
For the first time, with the Olympic Channel logo placed in the upper right hand corner of the lacrosse broadcast, fans back home are visually associating the Olympics with lacrosse. Sometimes, seeing is believing.
“As Americans, we don’t want to stay in our own little bubble. We want to get the word out there,” said U.S. coach Ricky Fried. “I think people back home are thinking, ‘Is this the Olympics?’ Even though it’s not Olympics here, I think that will garner excitement across the board for everyone that’s involved back in the states and everyone who’s involved internationally that they’ll be able to grab on to something and push it a little bit further. … Because of technology, we’re going to be able to get to a lot of people that are in the decision-making process and sell our game to them.”
While there’s a “fine balance” between increasing television exposure and growing game attendance, young girls are witnessing the ultimate display of athleticism and ambassadorship for the sport itself, according to Fried.
Budd wishes the next generation becomes “totally inspired,” Scherr hopes the broadcast will encourage more players to pick up a lacrosse stick and join their local club, and Canada coach Scott Teeter understands the importance of exposing the games’ roles models to youth players.
“A lot of our players are their idols,” said Teeter on how young girls view Team Canada, especially on television. “They honestly believe that they could be them and they could be one of the first ones to play in the Olympics. When they see someone from their country on TV win an Olympic medal and their national anthem is playing, you get that warm fuzzy feeling. Now, they have that feeling that that could be them. That is just tremendous. Every lacrosse girl should have that as their dream.”
Australia coach Trish Adams, who has two children of her own, ages 12 and 14, plus Aussies defender Megan Barnett and midfielder Courtney Hobbs, whose children are watching from the stands, are dreaming that the Olympic Games is a viable future for their families.
“We love the sport of lacrosse so much, so we’re so excited that there might be a possibility for it to become a part of the Olympic dream that everyone has,” said Adams. “We’ve got a couple in the stands that we’re hoping it will become a reality for them. Lacrosse in Australia is such a family sport and we’ve had a lot of players that have had children recently and we’re all thinking and hoping that that’s something that becomes a reality for them.”
Even U.S. midfielder Kelly Rabil, whose husband and Team USA midfielder Paul Rabil has grown the game in the digital space, most recently launching a podcast called “Suiting Up with Paul Rabil” and securing an Amazon partnership for his online instruction series, the Paul Rabil Experience, hopes their future children might have the opportunity to play in the Olympics one day.
“Maybe for my kids one day,” she said with a smile after helping Team USA pioneer its own path, defeating Great Britain 18-5 to advance to the first-ever World Games lacrosse gold medal game on Sunday. “Whether I was married to him or not, I think it’s pretty awesome what he does. The only thing we can do as national team players is to expose the sport and grow more and more. Hopefully we can continue to do that even after we hang it up.”
As Teeter said about the Olympic dream attaining authenticity, “It’s close. … The FIL had a vision … and they got us in a place that it’s a reality now. It could happen, which is unbelievable for our sport.”
“Being in a multi-sport games, then being on the Olympic Channel, it starts to get you in the Olympic family and we become a part of the movement, which the Olympic Games is,” Scherr said. “It’s not just a sporting enterprise. It’s a worldwide peace movement built on the principles of sport and fair play. So you’re in the movement. You’re in the game. Now you have the opportunity to be on the biggest sporting stage in the world.”
MEDAL GAMES PREVIEW
At the first-ever World Games for the sport of lacrosse, Team USA has continued to experience its own series of firsts, playing in the historic World Games opener against Poland, competing in the first-ever World Games semifinal against Great Britain and now battling against Canada in the first-ever World Games gold medal game.
“We want to remind our players that this is a special moment,” said Fried. “It’s not just another lacrosse game. The product that we put on the field is going to be important, not just for us but for the game, so that we play at a really high level, people watch it at a high level and they see what is capable or what the game is capable of producing."
If the Americans win, they will have won two gold medals in one week.
“Being the first to do something is getting harder and harder as we keep moving forward,” Fried said. “But we have 15 players who have the opportunity to be in the first-ever World Games final, the first time any team has the possibility to win two gold medals in the same summer and maintaining a world championship status."
Teeter’s team has also taken in the significance of the gold medal game, which is a rematch of the World Cup gold medal game, a 10-5 victory and eighth overall World Cup title for the U.S.
“It’s a historic moment for the sport of lacrosse to be here,” said Teeter. “We’re excited for this to happen for the sport of lacrosse. To get to the gold medal game and have another rematch against the U.S. is fantastic.”
Both Adams and Budd expressed similar sentiments as they aim for the first-ever World Games bronze medal.
“It’s such an amazing opportunity for Australia to be a part of The World Games,” said Adams. “We wouldn’t change it for the world. While it does seem like along stretch [coming off the World Cup], I think just having that whole Olympic focus has made it so fun for the girls.”
MEDAL GAMES SNAPSHOT
About The World Games | Event Guide | Results & Stats | Live Streaming
Schedule
Sunday, July 30
9 a.m. (3 a.m. ET): Japan (0-2) vs. Poland (0-2) (5th-6th place)
11:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m. ET): Great Britain (1-2) vs. Australia (1-2) (Bronze Medal Game)
2 p.m. (8 a.m. ET): United States (3-0) vs. Canada (3-0) (Gold Medal Game)
4 p.m. (10 a.m. ET): Medal Ceremony
Medal Games Teams
United States
Coach: Ricky Fried
Point Leader: Alyssa Murray (23)
Team Focus: “The only weakness might be is we’re the ones with the target, so we always have to be on,” said Fried. “But I think our strengths have been our strengths the whole time. It’s the team. It’s the players on the tem that buy into playing with each other.”
Canada
Coach: Scott Teeter
Point Leader: Erica Evans (15)
Team Focus: “Players can play with a lot more room and space which allows for creativity and I think both teams will thrive off that. It’s going to be the same style but it’s going to have a little quicker pace, which probably favors the U.S. [We need to] find a way to stay fresh toward the end of the game. I thought we had great strides at the World Cup gold medal that we actually had a push in the second half and when we played the U.S. before we were exhausted at that time. It’s just trying to get through the first half and make it a game.”
Australia
Coach: Trish Adams
Point Leader: Sarah Mollison (12)
Team Focus: “We’re just focused on playing our game and being proud of what we put out on the ground and showcasing the sport. That’s really been our aim here, doing the best we possibly can. It’s just one more chance to showcase the sport and play together as a team.”
Great Britain
Coach: Nicky Budd
Point Leader: Sophie Morrill (5)
Team Focus: “As everybody knows, we came together after the World Cup bringing three countries together. It is a challenge to bring the girls together to play, but I think we’ve shown in the first game against the U.S. how well we can perform together as a team.”