The Philadelphia Wings' Home Opener is Saturday. Here's a Primer on Wings History and Box Lacrosse.

The professional Philadelphia sports franchise with the most championships isn't the Eagles (four) or the Sixers (three). It's certainly not the Flyers (two), the Phillies (two), or the Union (none).

It's your Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, with six box lacrosse championships: 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, and 2001.

Photo Credit: Philadelphia WingsOk, for the sake of accuracy, the Wings' franchise history is complicated. A team named the Philadelphia Wings played two seasons for a short-lived National Lacrosse League in 1974-75.

A new Philadelphia Wings franchise began play as one of the original four members of an Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League that launched in 1987. The league was renamed the Major Indoor Lacrosse League in 1989, and again renamed--to the National Lacrosse League (NLL)--in 1998. (This current iteration of the National Lacrosse League, which now features 14 teams, is not associated with the 1974-75 league.) 

These Wings, who played in Philly from 1987 through 2014, won the six championships. But despite their success, they were sold, relocated, and renamed the New England Black Wolves. That franchise exists nowadays as the Albany Firewolves.

Got all that? No? Well, it doesn't really matter for our purposes today. 

The Wings who will play their home opener on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center debuted in the NLL as an expansion team in December, 2018. But they treat the history and alumni of the 1987-2014 Wings as their own. 

The team is owned by Comcast Spectacor.

Photo Credit: Philadelphia Wings

Ok, thanks for the history lesson. Now can you tell me what box lacrosse is?

You're in luck. On Pattison visited the Wells Fargo Center this week to discuss exactly that with Wings players and coaches, as they hosted a practice for their youth team.

The basics:

- Box lacrosse is a fast-paced, indoor version of lacrosse that originated in Canada, where it is more popular than outdoor field lacrosse. The NLL uses artificial turf in its arenas, which double as hockey rinks.

- Each team fields a goalie and five "runners" to start the game. Runners typically specialize as forwards, transition players, or defenders. Teams in the NLL dress 19 players.

- The goal, as you may imagine, is to get the (solid rubber) ball into the opposing team's net. Runners advance the ball by, well, running with it in their possession, or passing. Defenders may cross check, body check or stick check.

- If the game is starting to sound a bit hockey-ish to you, that's accurate. There are face-offs to begin each period and after each goal. Players can be assessed two-minute minor penalties or five-minute majors, and sit in a penalty box while their team plays shorthanded. Fights are tolerated, to a certain extent.

- More like basketball, however, the NLL utilizes a shot clock. A 30-second countdown begins when a team takes possession of the ball. The clock resets when a shot hits the goalie or the net. Teams must also advance the ball past midfield within eight seconds or be assessed an "eight-second violation."

- Games are split into four 15-minute quarters, and overtime is decided by sudden death. Across the league, teams combine to score about 25 goals per game.

More details on the rules of the sport can be found here, in a "Box Lacrosse 101" site maintained by the NLL.

Photo Credit: Heather Barry

I'm intrigued. But do I really need more Philadelphia sports heartbreak in my life?

Why not? The Wings selected Brennan O'Neill first overall in this year's draft, and the 21-year-old is regarded as a generational talent in lacrosse circles. The roster is filled with other, more veteran stars, such as team captain Blaze Riorden.

According to a Wings exec, attendance for Wings home games averages somewhere around 8,000 fans. That's big enough to maintain a frenetic level of energy, but small enough to form a close-knit fan community. Ticket prices are very reasonable, a rarity in Philadelphia nowadays.

New fans will find that Wings players are very down-to-earth, and much more accessible than those on the rosters of other Philly squads. You may, for example, find them mingling with fans over food and drinks after a game.

Photo Credit: Philadelphia Wings

But the biggest draw is the game action itself.

On Pattison asked defenseman Anthony Joaquim what makes people love Wings lacrosse:

"I think it's the intensity, the speed, the action. The physicality, too. You get a little bit of everything, all in a small area. The music's going and things like that. High-energy, high-intensity."

Brett Manney, a former Wing who played 14 years in the NLL and now serves as the team's Head of Youth Development, had this to say:

"I grow up in this area, I'm a huge Philadelphia sports fan, and there's nothing like going to an indoor [Wings] game. It's one of those sports that's better live than on TV . . . It's so fast, so high-energy, super-skilled. It's indoors, so you don't have to worry about the weather . . . It's a combination of all these different sports wrapped into one . . . I'm still hooked and I retired last year."

Photo Credit: Heather Barry

Those newly interested in Philadelphia Wings lacrosse don't have to wait long to check it out. The team's home opener against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Saturday starts at 6:00 p.m. Tickets for the Wells Fargo Center event start at just $7.