Ohio Machine Ready to Start MLL Action

Us here at InLax, we should love the Ohio Machine. Sure, they haven't played a game yet, but they are already deeply embedded in the InLax community. Why? This site was referenced in the Ohio Machine wikipedia page. A small victory, but one that allows us to celebrate the new lacrosse team in Columbus.

The Machine will be the second ever pro lacrosse team to play in Columbus after the Landsharks of the NLL. The team will be owned by former Chicago Machine owner John Algie. The Chicago team traveled all last season before moving to Rochester and becoming the Rattlers.

Ohio will enter the league with the Charlotte Hounds as an expansion team and the MLL schedule will expand to 14 games. I talked to the new Ohio Machine owner John Algie about how the Machine will affect MLL and Ohio lacrosse.

"Lacrosse is already well established across the state. There are so many people playing lacrosse here, not just in Columbus but all over Ohio. It’s exciting to drive around the neighborhoods here and see lacrosse goals on front lawns and kids running around with their sticks - it reminds me of when I was growing up on Long Island. Our goal with the Machine is to join the existing lacrosse community and help Ohio get the recognition for great lacrosse that it already deserves. I know that as long as we take care of our fans, Major League Lacrosse will thrive here"

Algie told me that the Machine have begun to target not only MLL and college players, but overlooked players in the Ohio area. "The great thing about being in central Ohio is that there are going to be some really talented local or close-by players that will be able to compete alongside our non-local players without missing a beat. Not every market or potential market can say that."

The goal of the Machine is to help grow the game in Ohio, Algie told me, though many people in the midwest have already grown it out very well. "We’re confident that we can do a lot. But let’s not forget that the key members of the lacrosse community that were already here have done so much on their own the grow the sport in the Midwest. Our hope is that we can build upon that momentum by doing our part to help push the visibility of the sport, giving everyone here a national stage on which to showcase and celebrate Ohio lacrosse. We’re fortunate that we’re not starting from scratch; the average Ohioan doesn’t say, “What’s lacrosse?” Instead, they might say, “I’ve heard of that. How can I get involved?” That makes it a lot easier for us to get them out to a game to see what the Ohio Machine is all about. Next thing you know, we’ve got a new family of season ticket holders with kids trying out for the school team hoping that they can someday be the next Paul Rabil or Brodie Merrill. Add to that all of the clinic opportunities we’ll have with our players and coaches and the tournaments we’ll hold around our home games and we’ve got a recipe for continued growth of lacrosse in Ohio and everywhere else Major League Lacrosse goes. Helping to make those connections between potential fans and the best lacrosse players in the world – that’s where we can make the biggest contribution to growing the sport."