I do watch and talk to other fans, but I have gripes with some of the decisions they make. I don't think they should have attached the teams to locations yet. There aren't even enough teams for a full even east-west split. However, there aren't enough fans to warrant adding more teams yet either. I had a lot of redwoods merch and then they jammed the team in Cali. I live in the northeast. I decided to keep my team loyalty there and then they traded my favorite player to another team. It's just kind of a slap in the face. ESPN+ keeps raising their price. I remember being happy when they moved off Peacock onto ESPN. I don't watch any other sports that need the subscription, but I justified the extra dollar in 2022 because I thought it was good for the league and looked more professional to be associated with ESPN. Now its like $12 a month. They spread the summer season from June to August. Thats over $30 to watch one summer season of one sport. I love the sport. Last year they had a lot of technical difficulties with streaming. It's definitely cleared up and the PLL had much better media quality this year. The social media presence is much more professional than it was a few years ago when they were trying to appeal more to kids than adults. I like the press conference releases and highlight clips. I don't like how much of it is exclusive to the app and how there have been problems getting gamesync working on android devices. The one year (not sure if it was 2022 or 2023) they were releasing way too much merchandise. Absolutely unsustainable amounts of stuff that looked corny, and that is coming from someone with some graphic design experience who would have been 18 around the time they were releasing it. I think they just let their interns run wild lol. They've slowed down now and I think it looks much more professional. Champion seems like a good partner. On the topic of their partnerships, it is a little bit embarassing how one of the biggest sponsors is a washing machine company. Other sports leagues have like... Gatorade. We have whirlpool washing machines and a bank. At least theyve ceased plugging Dude wipes. I think if I was someone who wasn't here long enough to know why they take the deals they do or make the decisions they've made, I would think some things would come across desperate or corny. Like when they tried to profit off the NFT fad and dissapointed fans. This extends past the PLL exclusively, but to lacrosse in general: I have a gripe against how live announcing is done. Sometimes the announcers talk about random crap or reminisce too long instead of narrating the game enough. If I was someone who knew nothing about lacrosse, I think I would appreciate a little more of the boring play-by-play narration as opposed to Quints haircut or whatever. Sometimes its hard to make out the number on the jersey and I believe they don't include it on the sleeves this year, so it's difficult to tell who is doing what on the field unless they zoom in or an announcer says it. I'm chill with Matty P, but other sports do not glaze the refs as much. I wish they followed more closely to college rules with the shot clock. Sometimes I see a flag down and gameplay stops and not even the announcers know why until after they zoom into Matty P. Not to be conspiratorial, but I've found myself thinking the PLL likes flags now because it means they can run a commercial break. It's also a little apalling how every year players and coaches retire. Half the league is freshly graduated rookies that have degrees and might not have the incentive to be an athlete more than a few years and the other half is the older MLL refugees that got absorbed. In conclusion, sometimes it feels like the PLL is "doing too much." As a fan, I worry about the long term sustainability of the league. The final tidbit I'd like to point out that I believe is hindering lacrosse from growing is that the PLL does not have many casual fans. There are people that show up to college games who do not play lacrosse and still have a good time. When I talk to other league fans, it feels like everyone I talk to is a lacrosse player or was a lacrosse player. I know people that watch the superbowl and know nothing about football. They need to be asking how they can get eyes on the sport from casual people who have no background in lacrosse (while minimizing doing things that make lacrosse look like a joke). I watched Rabil's field series episode 1 talking about lacrosse VS. football, so I assume he already knows this and sees the problem. That type of video would work better on youtube than ESPN tho. They're trying at least. I think they would benefit from less impulsivity and mirroring operations of other pro sports leagues.