There has been recent speculation that the 2021 Major Series Lacrosse season could be the last for the Six Nations Pro-Fit Chiefs — but team president Duane ‘Dewey’ Jacobs says he is committed to keeping the organization intact.
“There’s a lot of speculation over a statement we made on social media,” Jacobs said. “Too much emphasis placed on the ‘may be our last year’. Let me be clear. We are committed to keeping the organization going but we would like fans to come out and watch our games. We may average 150 per game in a 2,500 seat arena.”
Jacobs also went on to add, “We’ll do our best to do more to get fans to come. We have plans for pre-game events next year for the youth, and we will be bringing back the Shoot-o-Rama among other things.”
He also says the team may not be leaving after the 2021 season. “It’s a big ‘if’ — it’s not saying it’s going to happen.”
Another issue for this coming season is that the NLL will overlap this year with the MSL, which obviously could have a negative effect on overall rosters.
“Our league is being dictated by three professional lacrosse leagues,” Jacobs said. “The NLL overlaps our season and the PLL and MLL start in May and run through the summer and impacts on player availability. This year, the NLL is looking at a start-up of April and also running through the summer which could be detrimental not only for our team but many other teams and leagues.”
Some current Chiefs players expressed their thoughts on Twitter about the speculation of 2021 being the final season. Brendan Bomberry wrote “When I was a five-year-old kid growing up on Six Nations, there was only ever three things that I wanted: play for the @SN_Arrows, then the @SN_Chiefs and onto the @IRQ_Nationals.”
The Chiefs are a proud franchise who pride themselves on winning. In their franchise history they have celebrated six Mann Cup Championships. They won three straight from 1994-’96, before winning another three in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
“In my opinion, the pro leagues not only jeopardize our team but our league,” Jacobs said. “Hopefully we can find a solution which we want to be a part of. We just want the community to come watch. The players want fans to come and cheer or boo. To share in their successes and their failures means a lot. I don’t know what kind of blow to the community it would be. We’re not focusing on that. We’re focused on next year and putting the best team possible on the floor to win a championship. If there is a next year given the fact we are still in a pandemic.”