Lumberjax debut makes for spectacle

[Sonny]

Lumberjax debut makes for spectacle
10,000 fans witness swift, physical play and a rockin’ atmosphere
By JASON VONDERSMITH
Issue date: Tue, Jan 24, 2006

Lots of goals, a fast pace, pump-it-up music, bone-jarring hits and players using their sticks like shillelaghs … no wonder nearly 10,000 Portland fans Saturday seemed to buy into the idea of something as foreign as the National Lacrosse League, the latest minor sport to hit town.

The Portland LumberJax beat Colorado 12-11 in their home opener at the Rose Garden before a raucous crowd.

“As the game went on, it felt like (the fans) had a good sense of what was going on,” Portland defenseman Brodie Merrill says. “At the end, we were shortmanned, and the ‘Defense!’ chant was almost deafening on the floor.”
Merrill says he thinks the sport will catch on even more here.
“As a sports fan in general, I don’t see how you can’t like it,” he says. “And I think in Portland they’re hungry for something to cheer for.”
A backhand to the cheek of the Portland Trail Blazers, Mr. Merrill?
That would figure, because one cannot play in the NLL without dishing out hits and taking them. It’s a physical game. That was the overwhelmingly evident aspect of the league’s debut in Portland.
“It comes down to the confines (of the floor),” says Merrill, who excelled in the outdoor game at Georgetown University. “It’s smaller, and you’re more packed in. When you have that many big athletic men in that small of confines, it’s bound to be a physical game. It’s entertaining, for sure.”

http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=33568

[Sonny]

LumberJax win wild opener
Portland beats Colorado 12-11 Saturday night
By Nathan Hellman
January 24, 2006

Portland gave birth to its second professional sports franchise Saturday night when the Portland LumberJax of the National Lacrosse League played their inaugural home game at the Rose Garden. The fans came in impressive but unexpected numbers with a total of 9,916 spectators packing the lower concourse of the Rose Garden and rocking the Garden all night long.

They were on their feet and loud, as the Jax squeaked by with a 12-11 victory over the Colorado Mammoths in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, bringing a close to an all around successful debut for the infantile franchise.

The establishment of the franchise began on May 11, 2005, when the NLL, celebrating 20 years of operation this season, announced that it would grant Portland an expansion team that would begin play in the 2006 season. Two months later Portland officials declared that Derek Keenan, with his 35 years of coaching and general management experience, would be both the general manager and head coach of the team.

Just days later the team unveiled their name at a press conference at the nightclub McFadden’s. During the next several months, team officials made the necessary moves to prepare the team and the city for the arrival of lacrosse, drafting players and marketing the team. On Saturday night that vision became a reality.

The majority of fans in attendance Saturday wouldn’t be considered diehard lacrosse fans and were skeptical (read: mute) early. It seemed this was expected because the Rose Garden announcer attempted early and often to gain fan participation by chanting “defense!” and cheering for the squad while on offense.

http://www.dailyvanguard.com/vnews/disp ... 604db13ab0