By: Larry Mackey, Columnist
March 8, 2016
The idea I’m about to present comes from two conversations that I had with different individuals about the game of lacrosse. The first conversation was about how hockey adopted the rinks in Canada for use during the summers by using them for box lacrosse. The second conversation was with two youth football coaches who were complaining about the drop in participation in their game. So, let’s talk about that then.
Since the settlers first reached Canada there has been an interest in what the people of the first nation we’re doing. What they were doing is playing lacrosse which is now Canada’s national sport. Initially Canadians played field lacrosse and had the support of organizations that helped grow the game. Lacrosse as a sport had its ups and downs as far as popularity and participation. The great boost for lacrosse in Canada came when hockey promoters in the mid 1930’s decided to bring their beloved outdoor game indoors. This led to the indoor game that we all know and love today.
As I heard this, my question became why doesn’t the NHL adopt the same model? After the NHL season there are plenty of empty rinks and how much would the NHL teams ownership benefit from a new fan base that is becoming more popular every day? In the mid ‘30’s hockey promoters looked at empty seats in the summertime and decided lacrosse could fill a void. I know my imagination is a little weird but I would love to see a New York Islanders versus the New York Rangers indoor lacrosse game. 
As a child my favorite hockey team was the Edmonton Oilers, I would love to see Edmonton versus Calgary in an indoor lacrosse game. As lacrosse gains in popularity here in America it’s going to get to a point where our great players are going to need a place to play. What I would like to see is the Mann Cup becoming like the Stanley Cup, which obviously it has to a degree in Canada. I want the Mann Cup to be just as important to fans here in America as it is to indoor lacrosse fans in Canada. Imagine if it could be hosted in America as well as Canada!
Listening to two youth football coaches speak about the drop and participation in youth football, I couldn’t believe my ears. As a red-blooded American I could not fathom my favorite game lacking participants, but according to these two coaches it was true. Injuries are part of the game of football even in football video games injuries could play a huge part. But in real football as opposed to a video game, you can’t turn injuries off! Football has taken many serious hits “no pun unintended” in the media and elsewhere as far as injuries and their frequency. There’s no way we ever get rid of football and we should not, but parents who are nervous about injuries should have an alternative.
I thought about what it would mean if the participants of football were driven to lacrosse. Lacrosse is a contact sport, where football is a collision sport. Most football parents see lacrosse as football with a stick where it’s more like basketball with a stick! What if the NFL saw this drop in participation in youth football also, What if they were looking for an alternative? 
What if they did projections and saw that in the future there’s always going to be an NFL but because of the drop in participation they need another source of income? Could lacrosse fill that void and open up the NFL to our game in the future? We keep our football season but afterwards the NFL becomes National Field Lacrosse! New York Giants lacrosse; New England Patriots lacrosse; and so on. The NFL changed the logos of the teams what’s coming next? I know this idea is far-fetched but how far fetched is it really considering Bill Belichek is a huge fan of and donor to the game of lacrosse.
As a fan whose been blessed to see the game of lacrosse grow in places you wouldn’t expect it to such as Uganda, I don’t doubt anything when it comes to our game. At the rate our game is growing I believe the sky is the limit! Besides the two examples mentioned above I see lacrosse as a global game. I imagine someday there will be sports franchises that have more than one sport. There’s also been a huge drop in participation in basketball, where are those kids going? 
Imagine Los Angeles Lakers lacrosse or even New York Yankees lacrosse, in the future how much of a draw with this be? As the Creators Game continues to grow these questions will be answered!
Larry Mackey, Columnist
Lacrosse is Awesome