The Thompson brothers are getting recognized on the street. Maybe sort of.
“We went to a Hawks game last week, and I heard some people say, ‘Oh, there are the Thompsons,’” said Jerome Thompson, eldest of three brothers bringing lacrosse to the masses in Gwinnett County. “They didn’t really stop and talk about it with us.”
It a nutshell, that may best describe the inaugural season of your Georgia Swarm, which has reached the final two weeks of the National Lacrosse League season. The Thompsons, as close to lacrosse royalty that the game provides, might get a knowing look in public — the waist-long braided ponytails tell the tale — but where and precisely what they play? Say again?
Season capsule: The Swarm (7-9) survived a 1-6 midseason swoon and take a three-game win streak to New England on Saturday night, where a win, twinned with a loss by Rochester, clinches a spot in the NLL playoffs. And that, given how this season began, is a success in itself.
Relocating from Minneapolis last summer, the Swarm had three months to consolidate a new home some 1,100 miles away at Infinite Energy Arena, break in a new coaching staff and cultivate a roster that had had a 50 percent turnover over the past two years. Then there was selling the game itself. While Atlanta has grown an appreciation for field lacrosse — the Atlanta Blaze, a new entry in Major League Lacrosse, opens its outdoor season Saturday at Kennesaw State — the 6-on-6 indoor game (box lacrosse) with a lightning pace, requires a little instruction.
“Whether or not they knew the nuances of the game, I’m not sure,” Swarm coach Ed Comeau said of the first crowds. “But they ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ when they were supposed to. So the general sense is that they understand.”
Attendance is an issue. After drawing 9,087 to the home opener, the average gate has dropped to 4,582, which ranks seventh in the nine-team league and is 300 fewer per night than the Gwinnett Gladiators hockey team drew this season. Because they had last pick on arena availability dates because of their arrival, the Swarm had to book three Sunday games (including Valentines Day and Masters final round) and a Good Friday game, all marketing challenges.
“In Minnesota, we averaged 9,500 roughly, and I was hoping to be closer to 5,000-7,000,” team president Andy Arlotta said. “But at the same time, with the time we had to work with in the transition, it’s not bad.”
The NLL is a league on the run. Rosters are primarily Canadian, First Nation or Native American, and most players commute to games from all over the continent. Ten-odd Swarm players fly in from Ontario; two others travel from British Columbia. No one is doing it for the money. The average salary: $19,000.
“At this level, these are the best indoor lacrosse players in the world,” Comeau said. “These guys aren’t playing in this league trying to get to another league. This is the pinnacle. We hope over time when people hear the Swarm, they’ll know what it refers to. Right now, I’m sure people are flipping to the Weather Channel thinking there’s a bee infestation or something.”
The centerpiece to the franchise are the Thompsons, whose recent reign at the University of Albany set the NCAA on its ear. Miles Thompson in 2014 recorded an NCAA-record-tying 82 goals and split the Tewaardton Award (the lacrosse Heisman) with younger brother Lyle, who the following season won the award on his own as the college game’s all-time points leader.
The Swarm drafted Miles with the No. 3 pick two years ago, managed to take Lyle with the first pick last year and then added Jerome as a midseason signing. Unexpectedly, all of them have been upstaged by rookie teammate Randy Staats, who is a threat to break the NLL rookie scoring record (32 goals, 51 assists, 83 points).
The Thompsons grew up on the Onondaga Nation reservation in upstate New York. Staats grew up in the Six Nations reserve in southern Ontario. And they are not here just to play lacrosse. They want to promote it.
“We’d like to help take this game to the next level and make it a mainstream sport,” Lyle Thompson said. “It’s a process, but I think every big-name player in the lacrosse community feels that way, feels a little bit of pressure to help grow the game.”
The Swarm’s regular season ends at home April 30 against Vancouver. Check for a Thompson sighting near you.
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