The Halifax Thunderbirds tried to put a positive spin on the National Lacrosse League’s suspension of play in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Their last game was the afternoon of March 8, an 11-9 victory over the Buffalo Bandits at Scotiabank Centre. Four days later, the NLL – like all North American sporting leagues – suspended play until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perhaps the layoff would last just a couple weeks. That wouldn’t affect the Thunderbirds’ next scheduled home game, April 18 against the Philadelphia Wings.
“Our next game was so far off it was business as usual,” John Catalano, the Thunderbirds’ president and CEO, said in a recent interview. “When I first saw our schedule, I didn’t like the long break. Right now, it’s to our advantage.
“But we have no idea if we’ll be able to resume or not.”
Whether the NLL returns, albeit any league, by mid-April now seems overly optimistic considering that the deadly cycle of the coronavirus is in its early stages in North America.
The Thunderbirds have already had one road game postponed (March 14 at the Rochester Knighthawks). Their next two games – March 28 at Rochester and April 3 at the Vancouver Warriors – will likely face the same fate.
The Halifax players are back in their hometowns. Like most players in the NLL, they have full-time jobs off the floor. During the week, they would meet for a team practice, usually on a Wednesday evening, before flying out on a Friday for a weekend game or games.
But team practices have also been shut down in the name of social distancing.
“We need to keep everyone apart and our league, like all leagues across North America, made the right decision to shut everything down,” Catalano said. “The safety of the fans, the players, the coaches, the staff had to be first.
“I’m assuming players are staying active, keeping fit and will be ready to go if we return. The hope is that we can continue the season or a version of it. But it’s still too soon to tell. It changes hourly.”
The Thunderbirds have two home games remaining on their regular schedule – the April 18 matinee versus Philadelphia and a week later, April 25, when they host the Toronto Rock.
Halifax has greeted the Thunderbirds and the world’s top indoor lacrosse league enthusiastically. With only nine home tilts in a season, excluding playoffs, each game has been treated like a special event.
Fans have flocked to The Vault to watch what’s billed as the fastest game on two feet. The Thunderbirds, who play in the second smallest arena in the NLL, sit seventh in the 13-team league in home attendance, averaging 7,642 through their first seven home games. Their last three games, however, drew over 8,300 fans each time, playing to 80 per cent capacity during that span.
Having a team in first place in its division doesn’t hurt. Halifax has an 8-4 record and a half-game lead over North Division rivals Toronto and Buffalo.
“We had some great momentum going, especially for us being a new team,” Catalano said. “To see that kind of die down now is a little disappointing.
“The response from Halifax has been amazing. We’ve felt welcomed from day one and it’s just continued to grow. I don’t see that changing at all. The fans have come to love the game. When we’re back up and running, I don’t think it’s going to affect business. People will still come out.
“Maybe the excitement that everyone was feeling, if anything, will make people want to get out to that next game. They’ll be hungry for it.”
