“It’s been a struggle” - Trying to grow Rugby League in the US

[Anita Bath]

32 minutes ago, Cameron Highlander said:

What happened to August 6th?

Merely a warm up.  Most folks in the hammer refuse to spend money east of Oakville

Tigers…eat em raw.

[RP London]

On 05/05/2022 at 16:39, TheReaper said:

 

The "problem" is thinking you need to take away from something else, instead of being in addition to what someone always has. 

I've said it before here and I'll say it again. You don't win someone over by saying "That thing you like? It sucks, stop it, this thing is better". You need to say "If you like this, I think you'll like this too".

Most "mainstream" sports fans (meaning the big 4 NA sports) are just that - sports fans. They cheer for all the big league teams in their city, and cheer for the next closest city, or one they have some connection to, if their own city doesn't have a team.

 

I dont disagree and I'm not saying for one minute that you pull them away for good as in its either/or. What I'm saying is that you have to look at what you are competing with for time. If, for example, it's college football season then it's going to be a harder ask for people to give up more of their time to watch.. therefore that makes it an either/or.. so where is the gap, time etc, to allow these people to come to you. 

Who/what are you competing for time against, do they already have an alternative and therefore what do you do to allow people to watch. Is it the time of year you play? Is it where you put the team? Is it what you offer on top... but the key is not about player pools it's about spectator pools, without them nothing can grow

[EggFace]

On 04/05/2022 at 23:02, TheReaper said:

I think they're the same size now - something about importing all our quarterbacks had them preferring the slimmer ball...

As much as Big Picture likes to (edit)defacate on it, the CFL is the most successful league that's entirely within Canada. No longer the only one though with CPL and CEBL around.  But those Torontonians aren't happy unless they're playing in someone else's league.

Whats CPL and CEBL ?

[Big Picture]

On 04/05/2022 at 18:02, TheReaper said:

I think they're the same size now - something about importing all our quarterbacks had them preferring the slimmer ball...

As much as Big Picture likes to (edit)defacate on it, the CFL is the most successful league that's entirely within Canada. No longer the only one though with CPL and CEBL around.  But those Torontonians aren't happy unless they're playing in someone else's league.

The importation of quarterbacks started after the importation of the forward pass, for the simple reason that getting Usonian QBs who already had that skill was easier and cheaper than training Canadian QBs in that skill as the clueless administrators who approved the change thought would happen.

I see that the CFL now wants to eliminate the requirement for franchises to have a minimum number of Canadian players, maybe they'll be importing all their players soon.  So much for the lie that it's a unique Canadian game!

[TheReaper]

12 hours ago, EggFace said:

Whats CPL and CEBL ?

Canadian Premier League (soccer) and Canadian Elite Basketball League. Both are fairly new and aiming to be fully professional, I think the CPL has basically achieved that but not sure about the basketball. 

[EggFace]

10 hours ago, TheReaper said:

Canadian Premier League (soccer) and Canadian Elite Basketball League. Both are fairly new and aiming to be fully professional, I think the CPL has basically achieved that but not sure about the basketball. 

All ways said that despite its history the Canadian Football League should just go back to its Rugby roots and join the IRB as the amount of money involved would be huge or just let the NFL take over and teams like Toronto and Vancouver have the following of the NFL and don't really care about the CFL plus the NFL would have a spring/summer league for players who don't cut the roster ?

[Big Picture]

49 minutes ago, EggFace said:

All ways said that despite its history the Canadian Football League should just go back to its Rugby roots and join the IRB as the amount of money involved would be huge or just let the NFL take over and teams like Toronto and Vancouver have the following of the NFL and don't really care about the CFL plus the NFL would have a spring/summer league for players who don't cut the roster ?

If the CFL went back to its rugby roots it would play RL and not RU, because the distinctive features of RL are all of Canadian origin.  Canadians got rid of RU's rucks, mauls, fair catches, throw-ins (and even scrums) and brought in the first form of play-the-ball which they called scrimmage, a rule akin to the goal line drop-out (the rouge) requiring teams to run kicks out of their goal area, the 5 yard restraining area on kicks in general play for offside players of the kicking team, and a sin bin rule and those were all in place here by the time the split happened in 1895.

[TheReaper]

2 hours ago, EggFace said:

All ways said that despite its history the Canadian Football League should just go back to its Rugby roots and join the IRB as the amount of money involved would be huge or just let the NFL take over and teams like Toronto and Vancouver have the following of the NFL and don't really care about the CFL plus the NFL would have a spring/summer league for players who don't cut the roster ?

Currently I have CFL here in Hamilton, rugby just down the road in Toronto, and NFL just down the road in Buffalo. 

Why would I want to change that to NO CFL, still rugby, and still NFL. I want MORE contact football, not less. 

(I've got soccer right here too, but it's not my thing really)

"I aways said that despite its history the Rugby Football League should just go back to its Rugby roots and join the RFU, as the amount of money involved would be huge or just let the RFU take over, they would have a spring/summer league for players who don't cut the roster on the winter RU leagues?"

 

"Despite its history" is impossible to overcome in both cases.

 

Again, the idea to add to what we have, not take away. Bring on professional Gaelic and Aussie Rules teams too. I hear they're trying to build a cricket stadium in Brampton, they could team up with them.

Edited May 8, 2022 by TheReaper

[Big Picture]

1 hour ago, TheReaper said:

Currently I have CFL here in Hamilton, rugby just down the road in Toronto, and NFL just down the road in Buffalo. 

Why would I want to change that to NO CFL, still rugby, and still NFL. I want MORE contact football, not less. 

(I've got soccer right here too, but it's not my thing really)

"I aways said that despite its history the Rugby Football League should just go back to its Rugby roots and join the RFU, as the amount of money involved would be huge or just let the RFU take over, they would have a spring/summer league for players who don't cut the roster on the winter RU leagues?"

"Despite its history" is impossible to overcome in both cases.

Again, the idea to add to what we have, not take away. Bring on professional Gaelic and Aussie Rules teams too. I hear they're trying to build a cricket stadium in Brampton, they could team up with them.

The CFL's history is one of progressively abandoning its Canadian roots and importing elements of the US game to the point where reportedly it now wants to get rid of its requirement that franchises have a minimum number of Canadian players on their rosters.  That's a despicable history which has turned their game into a second-rate variant of that US game.

[EggFace]

3 hours ago, TheReaper said:

Currently I have CFL here in Hamilton, rugby just down the road in Toronto, and NFL just down the road in Buffalo. 

Why would I want to change that to NO CFL, still rugby, and still NFL. I want MORE contact football, not less. 

(I've got soccer right here too, but it's not my thing really)

"I aways said that despite its history the Rugby Football League should just go back to its Rugby roots and join the RFU, as the amount of money involved would be huge or just let the RFU take over, they would have a spring/summer league for players who don't cut the roster on the winter RU leagues?"

 

"Despite its history" is impossible to overcome in both cases.

 

Again, the idea to add to what we have, not take away. Bring on professional Gaelic and Aussie Rules teams too. I hear they're trying to build a cricket stadium in Brampton, they could team up with them.

I all for the different codes but not all crammed into one country like Seagulls fighting for chips because at the end of the day Soccer is king and too contact dilutes the players number, leagues and international potential but that's just my views as coming from a Martial Art background I loved what MMA has done to unite most of the martial Art forms to become a style in it's self.

[The Lad]

With so many leagues and in-fighting in america it's hard to get behind american RL with any real enthusiasm. I think the new North American Rugby League might have potential but we will have to see where it goes, there seems to be a lot of buzz about it. Maybe having more international games in america might be a good idea and the possibility of having league games over there.

[Sammo]

2 hours ago, The Lad said:

With so many leagues and in-fighting in america it's hard to get behind american RL with any real enthusiasm. I think the new North American Rugby League might have potential but we will have to see where it goes, there seems to be a lot of buzz about it. Maybe having more international games in america might be a good idea and the possibility of having league games over there.

Does there seem to be a lot of buzz?

The schedule they released has them kicking off in 11 days. When was the last time NARL posted anything on social media? Who is Team 6? Do New York exist? Do Toronto and Cleveland have squads? Why can’t I buy tickets?

I don’t think NARL will happen at all if I’m honest. I certainly wouldn’t describe what we’re seeing at the moment as buzz.

[OriginalMrC]

2 hours ago, The Lad said:

With so many leagues and in-fighting in america it's hard to get behind american RL with any real enthusiasm. I think the new North American Rugby League might have potential but we will have to see where it goes, there seems to be a lot of buzz about it. Maybe having more international games in america might be a good idea and the possibility of having league games over there.

NARL is not happening. In fact stuff like the NARL that is the problem. Chancers like the NARL come along and everyone laps it up despite it looking dodgy and without substance. Fast forward and its dead in the water and the credibility of the game is damaged. Rinse and repeat... 

[gingerjon]

11 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

NARL is not happening. In fact stuff like the NARL that is the problem. Chancers like the NARL come along and everyone laps it up despite it looking dodgy and without substance. Fast forward and its dead in the water and the credibility of the game is damaged. Rinse and repeat... 

*throws giant "Team Six" foam finger in the bin*

[OriginalMrC]

1 minute ago, gingerjon said:

*throws giant "Team Six" foam finger in the bin*

I'll always be team 6 loyal 

[The Lad]

11 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

NARL is not happening. In fact stuff like the NARL that is the problem. Chancers like the NARL come along and everyone laps it up despite it looking dodgy and without substance. Fast forward and its dead in the water and the credibility of the game is damaged. Rinse and repeat... 

I wasn't a fan of Toronto Wolfpack coming into our league because i knew it wouldn't work, but if an american league can have some sustainability more than what it has right now that has to be a good thing. Maybe a new league not having the baggage of the old one might be something positive but i agree the constant changing is not a good look. The more markets we can get into the better for the game, but if this ends up dead in the water which is a real possibility, then that is probably the end.

[RP London]

20 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

I'll always be team 6 loyal 

I liked that they had done an entire animated TV series to develop their branding.. 

[TheReaper]

Turns out Team 6 was Toronto all along...

Toronto Six

[RL Sonja]

Toronto were unlucky with timing. COVID killed off a lot of things. 

[RP London]

3 hours ago, RL Sonja said:

Toronto were unlucky with timing. COVID killed off a lot of things. 

The radio star for a start! 

Edited May 11, 2022 by RP London

[OriginalMrC]

5 hours ago, RL Sonja said:

Toronto were unlucky with timing. COVID killed off a lot of things. 

Toronto were unlucky perhaps but had been poorly run for a while. The 'new toronto' could have done something perhaps but I fear aligning itself with the shambles that is the NARL has killed off the Wolfpack for good. Such a shame, I think seeing 8000 fans enjoying RL in Toronto is one of the most exciting things to happen to the sport since I've been following it. 

[RL Sonja]

2 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

Toronto were unlucky perhaps but had been poorly run for a while. The 'new toronto' could have done something perhaps but I fear aligning itself with the shambles that is the NARL has killed off the Wolfpack for good. Such a shame, I think seeing 8000 fans enjoying RL in Toronto is one of the most exciting things to happen to the sport since I've been following it. 

I’d agree. What happened in Toronto was remarkable.