Why this award is important.

Every company starts with an idea or a dream.

At the Premier Lacrosse League, our dream was to bring a better professional lacrosse ecosystem to the players and fans.

Last night, the PLL won the Sports Business Journal 2020 "Sports Breakthrough of the Year" award against very deserving competition (Augusta National Women's Amateur, Las Vegas Aviators, and Louis Vuitton).

I normally dislike posts that only show the "good times." While it's important to celebrate the wins, the losses are also what make the journey worthwhile, and what you often reflect most fondly upon. This award says more about the journey than the win.

On our Tuesday morning all hands meeting, I briefly mentioned our nomination to the company. My remarks may have been understated.

Many of my colleagues are like me: renegades, company builders, and new to sports business. I had to speak to Paul and our veteran colleague Jeff Buda to find a reference point: "the SBJs in sports are analogous to the Emmys in entertainment."

Though the gravity of the award loomed large in my mind, I tried to keep my poker face. I knew the value and quality of the work that our team had put into the business, and I didn't want the team to tie their personal work value to an external outcome. Awards are often imperfect.

When they announced our name - there was a real sense of excitement. Exuberance ensued from the small group of us in the office, and for a minute, things felt "normal." My mind quickly shuffled through chapters of humble beginnings - cramped office spaces and late nights in New York, our first game weekend in Boston, and the many stumbling blocks along the way. I'm grateful for the team that has pulled the business - and me - through those moments. It's in those memories that I find my center. That's the good stuff.

We have an endless amount of work ahead and we're just scratching the surface. That said, this award goes to all the early believers and fox hole jumpers: our colleagues, players, investors, fans, and partners -- we all share this. Thank you for listening to the scratchy voices telling you our dream when there was nothing-- and believing when you didn't have to.

Here's to the newcomers, the outsiders, and the underdogs.

Mike