The Official Forum

The Official Forum (https://forum.officiating.com/)
-   Football (https://forum.officiating.com/football/)
-   -   Should rugby be more noticed in the united states? (https://forum.officiating.com/football/51538-should-rugby-more-noticed-united-states.html)

sanarota Mon Feb 09, 2009 06:10pm
Should rugby be more noticed in the united states?
 
Should rugby be more noticed in the united states? I play rugby in college and we barely get any acknowledgment from the school. There is virtually no fans there. How does other American sports such as football and baseball shield rugby from being a huge American sport I know about USA rugby but, I have never even seen it on TV for god sake. Rugby is an awesome smash mouth sport that builds team unity and leadership skills just as good as any other sport. Why is the rest of the world so into rugby and why is America so far behind? I absolutely love this sport.

JRutledge Mon Feb 09, 2009 06:33pm
No. And no one here cares. This is an officiating site and if people cared about Rugby, they would talk about it in the appropriate forum. ;)

Peace

Welpe Mon Feb 09, 2009 06:55pm
OK then... :confused:

umpirebob71 Mon Feb 09, 2009 07:18pm
Noticed as what?

HLin NC Mon Feb 09, 2009 08:01pm
Apparently not. Maybe you should switch to lacrosse. Its growing in popularity here.

kdf5 Mon Feb 09, 2009 09:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sanarota (Post 577394)
Should rugby be more noticed in the united states? I play rugby in college and we barely get any acknowledgment from the school. There is virtually no fans there. How does other American sports such as football and baseball shield rugby from being a huge American sport I know about USA rugby but, I have never even seen it on TV for god sake. Rugby is an awesome smash mouth sport that builds team unity and leadership skills just as good as any other sport. Why is the rest of the world so into rugby and why is America so far behind? I absolutely love this sport.
I played rugby in college too. There are several problems. First, it's less understood than soccer and it's taken a long time for soccer to catch on. Rugby, like soccer are continuous sports so advertisers don't get to use timeouts to bombard us with sexy TV ads like they do in the big three sports. Second, it has a miniscule, insignificant fan base as compared to football, baseball, basketball. Third, it's market is college kids who are already being targeted in football, baseball, basketball. Fourth, most colleges are struggling to meet their athletic budgets. Football is usually the sport that covers most of the rest of the department's costs so university's can't afford to add another revenue sucking sport. Rugby can be played by women but usually by men which means you have a Title IX problem if it's added as a man's sport. Lastly, this is a football officiating forum so I'm not sure why you're here.

JRutledge Mon Feb 09, 2009 09:04pm
He can always go to the Rugby Forum, where there has not been a post since September of 08. Maybe can see why there is no traffic since that time. ;)

http://forum.officiating.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18

Peace

JugglingReferee Mon Feb 09, 2009 09:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sanarota (Post 577394)
Should rugby be more noticed in the united states? I play rugby in college and we barely get any acknowledgment from the school. There is virtually no fans there. How does other American sports such as football and baseball shield rugby from being a huge American sport I know about USA rugby but, I have never even seen it on TV for god sake. Rugby is an awesome smash mouth sport that builds team unity and leadership skills just as good as any other sport. Why is the rest of the world so into rugby and why is America so far behind? I absolutely love this sport.
Rugby is a great game. But it would not fly in the US because they had nothing to do with creating it. The US is *very* pro-US and it is rare for them to embrace anything like their own that is created and developed elsewhere.

JRutledge Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JugglingReferee (Post 577455)
Rugby is a great game. But it would not fly in the US because they had nothing to do with creating it. The US is *very* pro-US and it is rare for them to embrace anything like their own that is created and developed elsewhere.
Actually that has little to do with it. Basketball is a much easier sport to pick up and play for all cultures in this country. There are basket goals all over the place and in gyms and outside. Much of South America does not play rugby on a large scale, Soccer or "Football" is the rage in those countries. And the last time I checked Golf was not an American made sport, and people go nuts over that sport from high school level to the pro level. Volleyball is an American sport and is not extremely popular, but played at the high school level at least. Wrestling is not a "popular sport" but played in high schools all over the United States and not created in this country either. Even Tennis is not an American made sport and some of the most famous athletes and sporting events from this country are Tennis players from all over the world (not just Americans).

I get that part of your position might be based on this Canadians do not like Americans slant, but with all due respect you are not very knowledgeable about America if that is what you really think.

You either need to do a little more research of this country or stop making comments that are not only incorrect, but way off base as to what is popular or not popular and why it is such. Even Baseball which is about as American as anything, is falling behind Basketball and Football in many ways of popularity. Baseball is not played at multiple levels like it used to be and many in different socioeconomic status are hardly playing the game at all. Why do you think that might be? It has nothing to do with where the game was created trust me on that one.

Peace

TXMike Tue Feb 10, 2009 05:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JugglingReferee (Post 577455)
Rugby is a great game. But it would not fly in the US because they had nothing to do with creating it. The US is *very* pro-US and it is rare for them to embrace anything like their own that is created and developed elsewhere.
That has to be one of the most ignorant statements you ever made (right up there with your slamming of the US refs who worked when you guys refused to). Soccer and golf are extremely popular participant sports here.

JugglingReferee Tue Feb 10, 2009 06:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TXMike (Post 577554)
That has to be one of the most ignorant statements you ever made (right up there with your slamming of the US refs who worked when you guys refused to). Soccer and golf are extremely popular participant sports here.
If you were correct, I would agree with you. ;)

As for the rest, who really cares?

JugglingReferee Tue Feb 10, 2009 06:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRutledge (Post 577467)
Actually that has little to do with it. Basketball is a much easier sport to pick up and play for all cultures in this country. There are basket goals all over the place and in gyms and outside. Much of South America does not play rugby on a large scale, Soccer or "Football" is the rage in those countries. And the last time I checked Golf was not an American made sport, and people go nuts over that sport from high school level to the pro level. Volleyball is an American sport and is not extremely popular, but played at the high school level at least. Wrestling is not a "popular sport" but played in high schools all over the United States and not created in this country either. Even Tennis is not an American made sport and some of the most famous athletes and sporting events from this country are Tennis players from all over the world (not just Americans).

I get that part of your position might be based on this Canadians do not like Americans slant, but with all due respect you are not very knowledgeable about America if that is what you really think.

You either need to do a little more research of this country or stop making comments that are not only incorrect, but way off base as to what is popular or not popular and why it is such. Even Baseball which is about as American as anything, is falling behind Basketball and Football in many ways of popularity. Baseball is not played at multiple levels like it used to be and many in different socioeconomic status are hardly playing the game at all. Why do you think that might be? It has nothing to do with where the game was created trust me on that one.

Peace
What the double hockey sticks does most of that matter? Most of what you said has nothing to do with what I said.

kdf5 Tue Feb 10, 2009 08:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRutledge (Post 577467)
Volleyball is an American sport and is not extremely popular....
Apparently you didn't watch women's beach volleyball in the last Olympics. :eek:

daggo66 Tue Feb 10, 2009 08:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdf5 (Post 577572)
Apparently you didn't watch women's beach volleyball in the last Olympics. :eek:
Now there's a sport I could get behind!:D

Forksref Tue Feb 10, 2009 09:22am
I played Rugby in college. It's a great sport. I liken it to backyard football games as a kid. I like the fact that it is independent and played as a club sport. Therefore, there are no NCAA restrictions and all their other garbage to deal with. The people at the NCAA are control freaks.

At my school, Bowling Green, they have developed the sport to the point where there are 4 teams. They play a fall and spring schedule and have been very successful with a pretty good fan base. They have played all over the country and overseas. But, it will never rival NCAA sports for popularity and that is ok with me.

I'd hate to see the sport ruined by becoming sanctioned by the NCAA.

There is something refreshing about being independent.

JRutledge Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdf5 (Post 577572)
Apparently you didn't watch women's beach volleyball in the last Olympics. :eek:
Name 5 players not from the United States? We will stop that myth right now. ;)

Peace

JRutledge Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JugglingReferee (Post 577559)
What the double hockey sticks does most of that matter? Most of what you said has nothing to do with what I said.
Yes it does, you said that Americans only care about sports they created. I just gave you examples of sports that Americans did not create and you obviously did not realize how wrong you were. That is why you do not have much of a comeback in light of your original comments. ;)

Peace

Welpe Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRutledge (Post 577633)
Name 5 players not from the United States? We will stop that myth right now. ;)

Peace
The two blondes, a red head and two brunettes. I think they were French or Canadian...who knows. :D

Juggles, you forget that Lacrosse is growing in popularity in the US and that was invented by the South Americans. ;)

JRutledge Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Welpe (Post 577644)
The two blondes, a red head and two brunettes. I think they were French or Canadian...who knows. :D
Some of us are not attracted to Blondes. ;)

Peace

Welpe Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:45am
Truthfully I'm not either, but I couldn't remember any one else. :D

Mike L Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:34am
good looking, athletic women jumping around in smallish 2-piece "swimsuits" in a beach-like setting and you guys are worried about hair color??!?!?!

Mike L Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sanarota (Post 577394)
Should rugby be more noticed in the united states? I play rugby in college and we barely get any acknowledgment from the school. There is virtually no fans there. How does other American sports such as football and baseball shield rugby from being a huge American sport I know about USA rugby but, I have never even seen it on TV for god sake. Rugby is an awesome smash mouth sport that builds team unity and leadership skills just as good as any other sport. Why is the rest of the world so into rugby and why is America so far behind? I absolutely love this sport.
Why is it that some people think their weird-@ss sport of choice "deserves" some special recognition? Get out there and earn that recognition like the sports that are popular or just zip the whining.

JRutledge Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike L (Post 577694)
good looking, athletic women jumping around in smallish 2-piece "swimsuits" in a beach-like setting and you guys are worried about hair color??!?!?!
What makes them good looking? Many of them are not good looking. They might be athletic, but not good looking. ;)

Peace

JugglingReferee Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRutledge (Post 577635)
Yes it does, you said that Americans only care about sports they created. I just gave you examples of sports that Americans did not create and you obviously did not realize how wrong you were. That is why you do not have much of a comeback in light of your original comments. ;)

Peace
There's another reason why I kept my text to you short.

Rut: pay attention to Welpe. He made a valid point.

Welpe Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:57am
I did? I was just trying to be funny. :eek:

JugglingReferee Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Welpe (Post 577644)
The two blondes, a red head and two brunettes. I think they were French or Canadian...who knows. :D

Juggles, you forget that Lacrosse is growing in popularity in the US and that was invented by the South Americans. ;)
I'm a 10-year season ticket holder of the NLL.

JRutledge Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JugglingReferee (Post 577704)
There's another reason why I kept my text to you short.

Rut: pay attention to Welpe. He made a valid point.
Just admit you did not know what the hell you were talking about. I do not care what others have to say. You were totally incorrect and you have yet to acknowledge that fact. Oh well.

Peace

Welpe Tue Feb 10, 2009 12:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JugglingReferee (Post 577715)
I'm a 10-year season ticket holder of the NLL.
Well then you should know it is growing in popularity in the US. ;)

Mike L Tue Feb 10, 2009 12:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRutledge (Post 577696)
What makes them good looking? Many of them are not good looking. They might be athletic, but not good looking. ;)

Peace
Perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'll submit the evidence can be found by googling "women's beach vollyeball" and asking for images.

JRutledge Tue Feb 10, 2009 01:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike L (Post 577764)
Perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'll submit the evidence can be found by googling "women's beach vollyeball" and asking for images.
You can submit all you want to, I do not find skinny (with no behind, no breast) inherently attractive. And I do not remember seeing many woman of color either. There is a reason I do not find "Super models" attractive. :rolleyes:

Peace

Sonofanump Tue Feb 10, 2009 01:11pm
Walter Camp took your beloved game of rugby and perfected it to the game we watch on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons in the fall.

Mike L Tue Feb 10, 2009 07:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRutledge (Post 577767)
You can submit all you want to, I do not find skinny (with no behind, no breast) inherently attractive. And I do not remember seeing many woman of color either. There is a reason I do not find "Super models" attractive. :rolleyes:

Peace
Like I said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just like I don't consider a certain skin color a requirement to call someone attractive. But to each their own.

JRutledge Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike L (Post 577895)
Like I said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just like I don't consider a certain skin color a requirement to call someone attractive. But to each their own.
You are right; beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And that is why you are going crazy over girls in beach volleyball and I am not. ;)

Peace

jjrye22 Wed Feb 11, 2009 07:45am
I've just started Rugby here in Germany, and decided to read the rule book to get a feel for what is allowed and not.
There is one thing football could still learn from it's ancestor - how to write easy to understand rules!

Other than that the popularity of football over rugby is obvious since (as it has been pointed out) football was rugby, which was adapted to the temperment and tastes of it's American audience.

On a side note, does basketball get counted as an American sport? Developed in New York, but by a Canadian I believe.

waltjp Wed Feb 11, 2009 08:05am
I've played rugby and loved it. I've also played football, so this is an apples to apples comparison. Rugby is more physically demanding.

I also saw Welpe (Who'da thought?) saying nice things about lacrosse. My friend, we're always looking for lacrosse officials. btw - I never played lacrosse and had very limited exposure to it before jumping in as an official. I'm having a lot of fun with it.

Final note - isn't this more fun than all that yammering about some revolutionary new, safe offense? - or arguing with some super fans who watch several games a week about how poor the Super Bowl officiating was?

With_Two_Flakes Wed Feb 11, 2009 08:17am
Chill out everyone :D It was the guys first post. Being from the UK where rugby is huge, I can understand his perspective. American Football in the UK is in the same position, a minority sport played in front of a handful of people.

Rugby was the #1 sport at my high school, and I hated being forced to play it when all I wanted to do was play soccer like my buddies who attended other schools. My school didn't play competitive soccer at all, the school principal was a "rugby" man. My dislike of it has receded over the years to the point at which I can now just about cope with watching it on TV. But I would much prefer to be in Ann Arbor watching a Michigan game.

But there are positives to being a minority sport. If I was a rugby official (one of many thousands) instead of a football official (one of maybe seventy) then I could never have hoped to work the playoffs and Bowl games that I have.

Finally I'll just point out that while JRutledge is correct about much of S.America, Argentina are actually one of the top world teams in rugby. The British influence 100+ years ago that introduced soccer to Argentina also introduced rugby.

kdf5 Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:18am
Just to point out the uphill battle rugby has, look at the worldwide popularity of soccer and yet soccer has barely made a blip on the radar in the USA. Rugby, IMHO, will NEVER be a sport to gain popularity in the US except with college kids and former college players, i.e. the Old Boys.

JRutledge Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by With_Two_Flakes (Post 578000)
Chill out everyone :D It was the guys first post. Being from the UK where rugby is huge, I can understand his perspective. American Football in the UK is in the same position, a minority sport played in front of a handful of people.
We are fully aware that this was this guy’s first post. But that does not change the fact that Rugby will never reach the status of even Hockey in this country. There is no grassroots effort to make that happen. And if you know anything about this country, that would be rather obvious.

Peace

Welpe Wed Feb 11, 2009 01:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by waltjp (Post 577994)

I also saw Welpe (Who'da thought?) saying nice things about lacrosse. My friend, we're always looking for lacrosse officials. btw - I never played lacrosse and had very limited exposure to it before jumping in as an official. I'm having a lot of fun with it.
Hey I have nothing against Lacrosse other than it happens to occur during baseball season. ;) Where I'm from, the game is played by only a handful of high schools and was not that popular when I was a kid. It is just foreign to me though I can appreciate its qualities as a physical, athletic contest and its history.

I'll think about giving it a try, but that would probably mean giving up baseball or softball. Not sure I'm up for that yet. ;)

waltjp Wed Feb 11, 2009 02:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Welpe (Post 578151)
Hey I have nothing against Lacrosse other than it happens to occur during baseball season. ;) Where I'm from, the game is played by only a handful of high schools and was not that popular when I was a kid. It is just foreign to me though I can appreciate its qualities as a physical, athletic contest and its history.

I'll think about giving it a try, but that would probably mean giving up baseball or softball. Not sure I'm up for that yet. ;)
I'm not giving up baseball. Working both is giving me a nice balance during the spring/summer.

Welpe Wed Feb 11, 2009 06:49pm
Yeahbut...mix in baseball, softball, spring football scrimmages and then lacrosse. Something would have to give lest I find myself single (especially if I want to add basketball in the winter)! :D

waltjp Wed Feb 11, 2009 07:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Welpe (Post 578309)
Yeahbut...mix in baseball, softball, spring football scrimmages and then lacrosse. Something would have to give lest I find myself single (especially if I want to add basketball in the winter)! :D
Ahhh, newlyweds. ;)

Robert Goodman Wed Feb 11, 2009 07:34pm
Rugby's already fairly well sold as a participant sport for adults in the USA, almost the way soccer is for children. The trouble with selling rugby to spectators in the USA is that it's too similar to American football. It'd be like getting att'n for softball as a major spectator sport, no matter how well it does as a participant sport.

Yet there is the model of Australia, which somehow sustains both participant and spectator interest to a high degree in several forms of football, two of which -- Rugby League (preferred there) and Rugby Union (not as popular, but not obscure) -- are as similar to each other as one of them is to American & Canadian football. American football is coming up there too, though still a distinctly minority taste. So it can be done, but not likely.

Rubgy was bigger in the USA 25-35 years ago than now, but that seems to be a result of demographics. We might've had more people playing American football then too -- a matter of having enough people the right age.

Robert in the Bronx


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:43am.



Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.3.0 RC1