Ahead of the championship, the Premier Lacrosse League was hyping up fans at a street lacrosse event in South Philadelphia on Saturday.
The goal was to garner more attention around the sport.
“We occupy sports like this in neighborhoods around the country. All you need is a lacrosse stick and a tennis ball, you can play three on three or five on five,” explained Paul Rabil, cofounder and president of the Premier Lacrosse League.
The Premier Lacrosse League set up shop at Capitolo Playground, which is just across the street from Pat’s and Geno’s.
Like any sport, lacrosse requires a field and equipment, but their goal was to make it more accessible.
“The purpose of it was to create or recreate a version of the game that anyone can access at any point,” said Rabil.
The event brought out some professional athletes, including Jason Kelce, who grew up playing lacrosse. Also among the crowd was actor Jeffrey Wright.
“I didn’t see a lot of kids that looked like the kids who played — so in a way the game has expanded. That’s really beautiful,” said Wright.