The End of the Rabil (Player) Era

A few years ago, I was writing weekly lacrosse features and some other sporadic content for a few different outlets, and got wind of some wild rumors. I start asking around the few people I knew who might know anything about anything related to this idea of some new lacrosse league. Over the next few months, I learned more and more, and then all of a sudden, I had a call set up with…Paul Rabil. A ten-year pro-veteran, arguably the greatest midfielder to ever play the game, the biggest star in the sport by miles, with connections at Sports Illustrated, Bloomberg, NBC, and other huge outlets was going to let me, basically a nobody, interview him about the launch of the Premier Lacrosse League. Was it the smoothest interview I ever did? Not even close. But he was gracious, honest, and you could hear just how much the PLL meant to him. I didn’t get to speak him when the Cannons took him first overall in 2008, but I got the feeling he felt a bit like that. This was the voice of a person who, as much of a Goliath as he had become, was always seeking out the challenge that would make him a David again.

At the end of the first PLL year I covered the playoff round at Red Bull Arena. After two games, player interviews post game, and a bunch of writing, I was hustling out of the stadium to try and make it home sometime prior to sunrise. As I was hustling out and about to turn a corner, a voice behind me called my name out, and it was Rabil. I was surprised that he might even know who I was, but he told me he recognized me face from my twitter avatar (!!!), shook my hand, thanked me for coming and for my coverage. None of this made sense to me. This was Paul Rabil, and I wasn’t really anyone of note. But if you’ve seen Rabil at a pro game before, especially a PLL game he wasn’t playing in, you get it. Everyone, from the kid in the back of the line to get a picture with him, to media, to teams there as a group, adult fans, it doesn’t matter. He’s happy you’re there, sharing in this thing he cares about so deeply.

And now, Rabil has retired. His playing days are over. He leaves the game with two college championships, two MLL championships, an MLL championship game MVP, two MLL MVP awards, three Offensive Player of the Year awards, first team all pro nine times, 11 total all-star appearances, and that’s just outdoor pro. His impact on the pro game was instant. Drafted in 2008, MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 2009. His 2012 season was just plain ridiculous, he set a single-season points record with 72 while playing midfield. He’s the all-time points leader. Accolades that will carry him into the Hall of Fame as soon as the five-year waiting period is up. It’s easy to just go on for pages as you recount the accomplishments on the field. But as prolific as he was on the field, it’s the way he spun talent into stardom that will be what makes him such a titan of the game.

I remember Rabil in college, and it dawns on me just how much he crushed a once in a lifetime opportunity. For context, as Rabil wrapped up college, Facebook was still relatively young. You needed to be a college student; I don’t even think all schools “had Facebook” yet. But something that was a source of entertainment was the ever-popular Facebook Groups. Often dedicated to total nonsense, one of my favorite groups was the Paul Rabil Fan Group that Hopkins had. Its cover photo was Rabil with a monocle and curly mustache photoshopped on, and featured facts like “Paul Rabil’s swim dodge killed the dinosaurs” and “Paul Rabil went 1st overall in the 1989 NBA draft but went to kindergarten instead.” At the time this is just jokes and nonsense, but consider just how much Facebook and media blew up from there, and just how much Rabil has leveraged it. The stardom that used to just exist in newspapers and message boards now had new avenues and possibilities, if the star could harness them. Rabil made that happen for himself, first with some vlogs on this thing called YouTube and now, well, here we are. Rabil is the most popular player in the sport and has been for about 15 years. All sorts of fans had access to this magnanimous, freak athlete, who was breaking records in style and doing things nobody else was doing, on the field and off. He’s winning awards, skills competitions, and fastest shot contests all the time. He found an audience that connected with it’s heroes a certain way, and leaned into it. The idea of the superstar in sport who’s accessible via vlogs and social media was in its infancy, but Rabil was at the forefront, and built a following that still packs fans into games.

I went to the opening weekend of the first PLL season. I was at Gillette for Saturday games, and the most worn jersey, by far, was that blue Rabil Atlas jersey. The Atlas weren’t even playing that day. Rabil was there and did his usual rounds of autographs, photos, and handshakes that went on for the entire day. No joke, the entire day. And this has been his life as long as he’s been a pro. Now if he does that, it’ll be in a suit and loafers instead of a jersey and cleats. Kids no doubt will still come get their Rabil autographs, but pro lacrosse now has to reckon with an on-field product that doesn’t feature Paul Rabil.

Magic Johnson talked about having a torch passing moment with Michael Jordan during the Olympics. There were moments near the end for Jordan where you felt the torch get passed to Kobe Bryant. I’m not sure we got that moment with Rabil. I don’t know who the new face of lacrosse is. There is no shortage of remarkable on field talents, but to be what Rabil was, you also have to sign up to be a total lightning rod. Everything, good and bad, that can be said will be said and lobbed your way if you’re where Rabil was. It’s not for everyone. The league has on field players like we’ve never seen before, but who’s really ready for that face of the league spot? Rabil has 94.4K Twitter followers. He has 411k Instagram followers. He has just under 74k followers on TikTok. Nobody else in the league comes close. Even the league itself doesn’t.

There’s no doubt the youth takeover is happening in the PLL. The Atlas can tell you all you need to know about that. The Rookie of the Year might be the MVP in Jeff Teat. Grant Ament is a perennial MVP contender already and he’s just in year two. In terms of the on the field product, the league is in excellent hands. Are these guys the talent level of that “face of the sport” player? Absolutely. Ament has 1.3K TikTok followers. I don’t even think Jeff Teat is on there. See what I’m getting at?

There’s an opportunity here for someone to take up the mantle from Rabil, but it takes so much more than being a star on the field. Players who transcend on field play to become something more than that. Influencer isn’t the right word, but it’s close. I don’t think we’ll see another Rabil again; it’s just an impossible bar to clear. But Rabil showed you what it takes to get there. You have to take risks, put yourself out there, be accessible, be gracious, be fun, and you have to do it all the time while also maintaining your spot among the very best of the world. The elite of the elite. And as the league grows, it gets harder. It’s herculean to say the least. I think there are players in the league now who will be inspired by the blueprint left by Rabil and venture out to become more than a star on the field. That’s how Rabil is elevating lacrosse and changing the game. Rabil showed the players coming after him how they can be more than just the guy with niche fans in a niche sport who might end up on TV occasionally. It’s always possible to be more.

I have no doubt Rabil will continue to be more than whatever his title is. As he carries on as CMO of the PLL, he’ll look for ways to find new avenues to the mainstream for the PLL. There’s a way to leverage what’s out there and grow an audience that hasn’t been thought of yet, or tapped into yet. If that’s what you’re after, Rabil is the guy to find it. His track record for success in that area is pretty damn good.