In three days time, a sold-out crowd of more than 15,000 will cram into Maple Leaf Gardens for what will likely be the building's last major sporting event.

With rumors swirling about the future of the Gardens, the building's most popular tenant isn't waiting around to find out.

In just its second year in the eight-team National Lacrosse League (after one season in Hamilton), the Toronto Rock will host its second consecutive championship game Saturday before following the Leafs down the road to the Air Canada Centre.

The move is one of many triumphs in the club's short history, as it puts our national summer sport back on the map, and into the mainstream media.

Headed by Leafs Vice President Bill Watters and backed by a colourful ownership group that includes Tie Domi, Don Cherry, Bobby Orr and Brendan Shanahan, the organization has taken Hogtown by storm the last two years with a combination of brilliant marketing, cheap tickets and an entertaining product.

"It's a fast, very aggressive game with big hits and a lot of scoring. But to be honest, it's not just the game that has made it popular, it's the atmosphere and everything surrounding the game," said Rock spokesman Chad Richardson, whose 9-3 club played host to an average crowd of 13,700. "The team's success opened a lot of eyes."

During play, music pumps up the crowd by way of a live band or deejay. Rockette cheerleaders dance and myriad promotional giveaways spice up the evening.

With the local all-sports radio station broadcasting four of the club's six home games and CTV Sportsnet exposing the game nationally, the team has done wonders to raise the profile of a sport traditionally confined to pockets of British Columbia and southern Ontario. As the only Canadian entry in the league, the Rock's success is having an effect from coast to coast including Calgary, where the number of local teams increased this year to 101 from 68 a year ago.

"The Rock is one of the big factors in the game's growth because the TV exposure is giving a lot of kids their first look at the game and creating interest," said Calgary District Lacrosse Association president Ron Brown, who also credits the game itself and improved coaching programs for attracting newcomers.

"They're on TV and that's had a huge impact all by itself," added Charles Biers, president of the Calgary Major Box Lacrosse Association "The fact that one of our Calgary kids, Kaleb Toth, is one of the Rock's highly-touted young players also gives kids someone to identify with."

An extremely physical game, box lacrosse has long been popular with hockey players looking to improve their footwork and hand-eye co-ordination. Retired NHLer Colin Patterson won a bronze medal for Canada at the 1982 world field lacrosse championships before being signed by the Calgary Flames. Had there been a pro lacrosse league on par with the NHL, his career choice would have been different.

"I was way better at lacrosse than I was at hockey," said Patterson, who coaches his son Derek's lacrosse team, which also includes Joel Otto's son Ben.

"It's a great tie in to hockey as it's great for conditioning, strength and stickhandling. When you start off playing, you also learn how to give and take a hit."

So quickly is the sport gaining popularity, lacrosse dad Stu Laird was involved in a group that considered bringing a Western Lacrosse Association game to Calgary last winter.

"I love the game -- I missed out by not playing it," said the former Stamp, whose group aborted the idea for various reasons. "It's one of the most exciting spectator sports there is."

And every time the Rock hit the tube, more and more people agree.