(Photo by Joshua Kelly/Pretty Instant)

Confession: I don’t know if any of this matters. I never did. When I started covering Major League Lacrosse more than a decade ago, teams were playing in double-A MLB affiliates and high schools. The players were exceptional. The games were violent and resplendent. The legends were real. My first MLL game changed my life.

It’s 2018, and MLL has undergone many changes. However, those three aspects remain the league’s source of power: The players are better than ever. The play on the field is the highest level of lacrosse. New legends are being created for new generations. The fact that the level of play on MLL fields somehow managed to improve is an astounding feat compared to the last two seasons, which (in all fairness) have been incredible and set the standard for what fast-paced lacrosse is supposed to look like.

Look at all of the great things that theMLL has given us this summer. Rob Pannell, shirtless and sprinting out of the ultra Cross Fit class into the record books with an all-time record 78 points. He was also the first player since Matt Poskay in 2010 to win both the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. Pannell’s teammate, Paul Rabil set the MLL career points record in Week Eight. To put that into context, there have been six 70-point seasons (including Pannell’s in 2018) in MLL history, and Rabil has two of them. The Rattlers franchise relocated to Dallas and drew more fans in their first four home games than it had in the entire season previous. The Denver Outlaws pulled a major comeback mid season (again) to make the playoffs and win the championship (also again); just because they did it before doesn’t make it any less amazing for the MLL’s newest dynasty.

The MLL alls-star team defeated the U.S. National Team that went on to win the gold medal. I say that not to detract from that amazing accomplishment, but to insert some measure of scale. Yes, it’s one game. Yes, players that did not travel to Netanya played major minutes for the U.S. Was it Team USA’s only defeat in four years? Yes.

Do you think Team USA is just as dominant without MLL around to develop those players between tournaments? I’m sure some of you would say yes, but you would be incorrect. The league is pivotal because it pumps competitive juice into the players every summer — not just every four years. That doesn’t just go for the U.S. players; it’s true for the Canadian ones as well. If anything the league is more important for Team USA because Canada — and the Iroquois — would still have the NLL to develop their players. As impressive as the efforts of US Boxla have been, they pale when compared to the other two nations in terms of sheer numbers. Although that goes both ways as the MLL develops other nationalities to the field game. The league is infinitesimally valuable as a tool in that respect regardless of your level of appreciation.

Unlike many other sports, the college game is held up as the pinnacle of the sport. It’s hard to argue against that given the TV ratings, the attendance and overall coverage of the college game compared to the professional game. With the NCAA set to adopt a similar version of the shot clock this season, and reinstate the dive, it’s also clear that MLL is an influencing entity. You can argue about accessibility and marketing with someone else because, I’m the first person to tell you that the league is not good at both of those things more than I am good at being tall and/or terse.

While the success story of the Rattlers moving to Dallas is great, league-wide attendance is down by nearly 10,000 people. Of the nine MLL teams, only two of them have higher average attendance numbers than last year: the aforementioned Dallas went from 2,191 (in Rochester) to 4,682, and Ohio went from 2,451 to 2,668. Every other team’s average attendance dropped. Florida and Boston dropped by 25.4% and 23% respectively to “lead” the pack. They were followed by Atlanta at 18%, Denver at 15.4%, Charlotte at 14%, Chesapeake at 13.1% and New York at 9%. It’s not getting any better.

There are currently nine Major League Lacrosse teams. Roughly 30 players are a part of each franchise and dozens of other individuals are employed (most seasonally) to run said organizations. To those individuals I want to say that you’re doing a great job. You’re all helping to create a product that is entertaining, meaningful and inspiring for the fans.

There are plenty of things to celebrate, but after nearly 20 years of existence the MLL hasn’t arrived in the way that those of us who love it wish that it would. Casual sports fans — and, unfortunately, many casual lacrosse fans — don’t care about it. Maybe with the addition of the shot clock and the dive in the college game some of the “purists” will change their minds and give it chance. Unfortunately, it’s more likely that they will turn and point the finger when the first team pumps 30 goals into an unsuspecting first-year school.

New commissioner Sandy Brown has finished his first year at the helm. He pointed to positive owners' meetings and a three-year plan for "MLL 2.0."

An amazing meeting in Charleston today w/ MLL owners & team presidents. Presentations by the brightest minds in sports mktg & media-Michael Lynch, Katie Bayne, Ed Desser & Drew Reifenberger. Presented 3 year plan for MLL 2.0. Excited for a new era for MLL players, fans & partners — Alexander Brown (@MLLCommish) August 16, 2018

This is the part where I tell you that it’s going to get better. That the player salaries will increase, more franchises will pop up all over and a big broadcast/streaming deal (or at least a deal with a larger streaming platform like Netflix or Amazon) is imminent. None of that is going to happen. This is the league that we have. I can’t make you love it, and like most things in this world it won’t love you back.

But there’s always next year.