Rugby Union should be a major US summer sport

[Rampart]

It seems that the popularity of Rugby is growing and I can see the possibility of the game becoming a major summer sport in the United States. As the NFL is the most popular league in the US, Rugby would be a great summer "replacement" and here are my reasons:

1. It has the high scoring and physical play that football has.

2. With football only stadiums being the norm, many of these facilities are empty during the summer.

3. Rugby has a preconceived stereotype as a very physical sport.

4. A large pool of talent to pull from. With many talented football players who don't make it to the NFL level, rugby may be a great option.

5. A short season (3-4 months) helps to make every game important and keeps fans involved.

6. Rugby has an international world cup every 4 years like soccer.

I know that there are rubgy leagues out there, but they lack the structure of a major sports league.

As much as soccer (MLS) has been trying to become the 5th major sport (and Don Garber has done a tremendous job as MLS Commisioner), many people get bored with the low scoring and it's the primary reason the soccer has a hard time taking hold in many markets.

What do you think? Can Rugby make it as a big time US sport?

[Saintsfan]

Short answer- no.

Firstly its not a summer sport. Rugby League is played in the summer in the UK, (well Northern England mainly) but Rugby Union is a tough physical game that is hard to play in sweltering heat. (Its hard enough to play in cooler winter rain mind!)

I think that it could grow from small minority sport to something more worthwhile with good management, but its not likely to catch on as 'the next big thing'. I don't know how any player would become a big enough name in the game in the US for instance. How many Americans right now would have heard of Brian O'Driscoll or Dan Carter or Jonny Wilkinson or Brian Habana? I don't see how the game gets a foothold in the US to be honest.

[Breakwood]

Didn't we just have this topic not a week ago?

[Sodboy13]

Just because a high 4-digit crowd turned up in Jacksonville last winter to watch the Bunnies play Leeds, and the Eagles are doing some small-scale barnstorming tour this summer, that doesn't mean rugby is catching fire here in the States to a point where a pro league should even be remotely considered. I'd say lacrosse probably has 20x the support of rugby - easily - and look how its professional endeavor is faring. I'd also argue that League would be more marketable than Union, but at this point, one might as well argue that clubbed baby seal would be a better addition to the menu at McDonald's than dead puppy. Either way, it's an option a vast majority of Americans won't be interested in.

[BJ Sands]

Besides, there's this little sport called baseball which takes up a lot of time and attention during the summer months. Plus the NBA playoffs and NFL training camp, there's little time without at least two of the Big Three in the news.

[Jamikel]

With football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, the market for major professional sports in North America is already over-saturated as it is. I know summer is seen as a lull time, so if a new sport were to succeed it would have to be in the summer. But even in a "lull" we have baseball, the NHL and NBA playoffs lasting well into the summer, and an Olympics or World Cup every other year.

[Rampart]

With football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, the market for major professional sports in North America is already over-saturated as it is. I know summer is seen as a lull time, so if a new sport were to succeed it would have to be in the summer. But even in a "lull" we have baseball, the NHL and NBA playoffs lasting well into the summer, and an Olympics or World Cup every other year.

But in June and July, baseball's the only game in town. (While October features all 4 major sports and MLS competing for attention) And let's face it; baseball lost it's place as the #1 US sport years ago and continues to decline in popularity with more and more athleltes opting for football over baseball.

Also, different markets have different top sports. St. Louis, New York and L.A. are all baseball cities. Pittsburgh and Green Bay are all about football. Seattle is a large soccer market and so on. Rugby wouldn't work in every city - it would certainly work better in northern cities and blue collar cities like Buffalo or Cleveland.

The point is that if people are willing to see a sport like arena football that is a gimmacky version of the real sport, I'm sure that with the right structure, planning and finances, rugby could be a viable option as a legitimate pro league. Since the game has aspects of American football, it makes it a perfect alternative to baseball.

[rams80]

Your argument would make more sense if indoor/arena football wasn't struggling to survive a niche existence.

[Rampart]

Just because a high 4-digit crowd turned up in Jacksonville last winter to watch the Bunnies play Leeds, and the Eagles are doing some small-scale barnstorming tour this summer, that doesn't mean rugby is catching fire here in the States to a point where a pro league should even be remotely considered. I'd say lacrosse probably has 20x the support of rugby - easily - and look how its professional endeavor is faring. I'd also argue that League would be more marketable than Union, but at this point, one might as well argue that clubbed baby seal would be a better addition to the menu at McDonald's than dead puppy. Either way, it's an option a vast majority of Americans won't be interested in.

I can respect your opinion since you're obviously a huge fan of the game. And since you're a huge fan, would you say that rugby is the best sport that no one knows about? I live in Pittsburgh and the top team we have are the Pittsburgh Harlequins. One look at thier website and you get the sense that the team is more like some weekend pick-up team. I understand why this is the way it is, but I think the sport has a larger potential.

Granted the US team didn't win a game in the last World Cup, but they have been consistantly qualifying. At this point, the US needs to take the next step to qualify for the knockout round. A pro league model can be compared to MLS on many levels and success on the international level is one benchmark that one can see results. The 2010 soccer World Cup will be a great test to see how MLS has impacted the international game 14 years after the league's founding.

[FiddySicks]

Short answer- no.

Firstly its not a summer sport. Rugby League is played in the summer in the UK, (well Northern England mainly) but Rugby Union is a tough physical game that is hard to play in sweltering heat. (Its hard enough to play in cooler winter rain mind!)

Exactly. I play rugby at my college in Sacramento (an area known for it's high level of support for rugby) and couldn't even find a sevens league in the summer. Reason was always the same, it's just too damn hot.

[heernumurr]

Granted the US team didn't win a game in the last World Cup, but they have been consistantly qualifying. At this point, the US needs to take the next step to qualify for the knockout round. A pro league model can be compared to MLS on many levels and success on the international level is one benchmark that one can see results. The 2010 soccer World Cup will be a great test to see how MLS has impacted the international game 14 years after the league's founding.

The rugby world cup and the football world cup can't be compared in the way you are trying to. The US really arent up against much in terms of qualifying for the Rugby WC, but when they get there, they don't have a chance. They will never reach the knockout stages, and there is not insignificant amount of support for removing smaller countries like the US from the competition altogether.

[dfwabel]

Besides, there's this little sport called baseball which takes up a lot of time and attention during the summer months. Plus the NBA playoffs and NFL training camp, there's little time without at least two of the Big Three in the news.

+1.

The comments on heat are already discussed above, but also consider that the summer is when families take vacations. Their money will be better spent on a get away than to a fringe sport. Sure, failies take baseball vacations around certain cities (STL, HOU, DFW), but for rugby...no.

[Saintsfan]

It MIGHT be interesting to see a kind of Pro Sevens tour in the states in the summer. But even then its not going to compete on a major level against Baseball, against the Super 14s, and tri nations which I would imagine would get the interest of whatever exiled Rugby fan market there might be.

Really honestly 5 major sports (including NASCAR/Soccer depending on which market you are in) is plenty for any American, especially considering the PGA golf tour and tennis.

[Gothamite]

As much as soccer (MLS) has been trying to become the 5th major sport (and Don Garber has done a tremendous job as MLS Commisioner), many people get bored with the low scoring and it's the primary reason the soccer has a hard time taking hold in many markets.

I don't think that assertion can be supported. Hockey's a comparably low-scoring game as well.

I think market saturation is the biggest obstacle to the growth of MLS, as well as a perception amongst fans of the sport that the American domestic league is a lower league in terms of quality, both problems that a proposed USA Rugby Union league would face.

[Sguse1]

I really think it could be a huge hit if money was put forth to start up a league. Never has the US ever seen anything close to professional rugby. Honestly, I really think you guys are underestimating the popularity of rugby. I play college ball for a smaller school in Minnesota and we consistently draw 500-700 people to our games and were not anything too special. I also played high school rugby and when I started (2005) there were around 25 teams in the state now I think the high school union has nearly 60.

I think the perfect time for the sport is spring/early summer. They could start games in late feb/early march and have the championships in mid June. Giving a 3 1/2 month time frame.

Areas that could easily support a franchise

West:

Northern California (San Fran, Sacramento)

Los Angeles

San Diego

Texas (Austin, Dallas, San Antonio)

Kansas City

Minneapolis

Arizona

East:

Charlotte

Orlando

New York

Chicago

Milwaukee

Boston

Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh or Philadelphia)

Call it the Supreme 14 Rugby Union. Get the financial backing and play games on V.S. or Fox Sports and I think it would take off.

[BJ Sands]

I don't know why people don't understand just how niche a sport rugby union is. If you start it in late-February, then you go against the NCAA Tournament.

No TV network would go near it. It's a fact.

[Breakwood]

Rugby will not make it in the USA. Why? Cause the USA sucks at rugby. Note that in the main 4 sports leagues, the USA is a major power. Soccer is struggling to make it, since the USA is not a world power. As the USA is improving, so is the popularity of soccer. In Rugby, the USA is well well behind the top powers in the world. Until the USA starts improving in rugby it will not fly stateside.

[Alphabet Man]

That argument is :censored:ed because youre the only country that plays gridiron, and the only country that can afford to pay the top players in basketball and baseball. Now I think cricket should start up a domestic league in the US.............

[Breakwood]

That argument is :censored:ed because youre the only country that plays gridiron, and the only country that can afford to pay the top players in basketball and baseball. Now I think cricket should start up a domestic league in the US.............

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/t...ier-League.html

[BB61]

I'm going to do a small threadjack, so I apologize in advance.

A few months ago, one of the higher-ups at one of the Melbourne based AFL clubs came out and advocated moving two financially problematic Melbourne based clubs to California -- probably L.A. and San Francisco. I think that if that were to ever happen, they'd probably be somewhat successful at least for a little bit (logistics aside). You'd only need a space that would accommodate about 25,000 people, and games are affordable enough so that they could be a decent draw.