Howcome Americans like NFL but not rugby?

[loyalyolayal]

It's just that most people don't know what it is. If it was marketed right and had some good American players, I could see it doing OK.

This. Same with Tour de France, the moment they start dominating is the day they give a fuck.

 

[jefferz]

Does American Football even have scrums?

I suppose rugby players share a hive mind and that's how they work together

Oh that's cute. They're hugging it out.



And that's not even our most violent sport

 

[Phr3121]

...another sport not followed by Americans - Moto GP. Two wheels this time. 200 mph racing bikes. Crazy!
"Hitting the Apex" documentary -- 60 frames per second footage. Awesome...



@BillytheFish

 

[Mondo Freaks]

I like rugby and watch 7s sometimes. Played club rugby in college so I appreciate the game.

 

[Fluffernutter]

When US universities were trying to separate themselves from their colleagues across the pond, one thing they did to make them unique was to push "American" sports within their curriculum.

Football over rugby (Teddy Roosevelt pushing to change the sport certainly helped)
Baseball over cricket
Basketball became a focal point as the "round ball sport" rather than soccer.

The Ivys were a big push for what has become "American" sports:

The first American folkstyle wrestling match was Columbia vs. Yale
The first college football game involved Princeton

 

[CoolB]

Not a fan of either but obviously it's a cultural thing. Different strokes for different folks.
Hockey rules all either way.
GO LEAFS GO!!

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

If Rugby players were super athletes they’d be playing in the NFL. Since they aren’t theyre playing rugby

 

[Scott Parker 27]

Always wondered, in recent years rugby in the USA is more prominent than before, and watching/supporting rugby wouldn't take away from watching NFL. Im not arguing which one is better here (rugby obviously), but howcome both sports aren't as big?

Considering they both involve fucking machines smashing into each other to get a ball?

Ireland are playing New Zealand right now- and it is an amazing game. 110 tackles made in the first 17 minutes, and in rugby you can only tackle the guy with the ball...

Exactly sir. I love rugby, hate the nfl, and I'm not gay. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Getting Rugby more popular in the US:

Step 1: Get it recognized by the NCAA
Step 2: Allow Rugby players to receive athletic scholarships.

Parents will start seeing rugby as an "investment" in their kids' college finances and sign their kids up in droves

 

[The Hash Slinging Slasher]

I think it’s just because we didn’t grow up knowing what it was. I couldn’t name a rugby player if I had to. Serious question: does rugby have a big player? like a Michael Jordan, tiger woods,Serena Williams type? Maybe if there was a star they could market to American fans it could gain some popularity.

 

[BAM]

Always wondered, in recent years rugby in the USA is more prominent than before, and watching/supporting rugby wouldn't take away from watching NFL. Im not arguing which one is better here (rugby obviously), but howcome both sports aren't as big?

Considering they both involve fucking machines smashing into each other to get a ball?

Ireland are playing New Zealand right now- and it is an amazing game. 110 tackles made in the first 17 minutes, and in rugby you can only tackle the guy with the ball...

because nobody plays rugby in the US. To really support it and understand it, you should play it to some extent.

 

[superpunch]

This. Same with Tour de France, the moment they start dominating is the day they give a fuck.

If we tried, we'd dominate. We have the best athletes in the world. Can you imagine someone like Adrian Peterson or Barry Sanders in rugby? None of those slow Polynesians could even touch them.

 

[BillytheFish]

because nobody plays rugby in the US. To really support it and understand it, you should play it to some extent.

i know its not even close to being as popular as soccer let alone nfl. But the amount of irish-americans I would have thought made it somewhat popular but obviously never has. There are rugby clubs popping up everywhere though.

 

[BillytheFish]

If we tried, we'd dominate. We have the best athletes in the world. Can you imagine someone like Adrian Peterson or Barry Sanders in rugby? None of those slow Polynesians could even touch them.

not true at all. different sport....

 

[BAM]

i know its not even close to being as popular as soccer let alone nfl. But the amount of irish-americans I would have thought made it somewhat popular but obviously never has. There are rugby clubs popping up everywhere though.

it's as popular as badminton and water polo.

 

[BillytheFish]

Getting Rugby more popular in the US:

Step 1: Get it recognized by the NCAA
Step 2: Allow Rugby players to receive athletic scholarships.

Parents will start seeing rugby as an "investment" in their kids' college finances and sign their kids up in droves

What is the injury rate for high schoolers who do football? Rugby causes ALOT of mostly non-serious injuries? I can see that being a potential factor in the US

 

[BillytheFish]

I think it’s just because we didn’t grow up knowing what it was. I couldn’t name a rugby player if I had to. Serious question: does rugby have a big player? like a Michael Jordan, tiger woods,Serena Williams type? Maybe if there was a star they could market to American fans it could gain some popularity.

There are alot of big stars that are a bit pointless to mention...but the person youre talking about would without a doubt be jonah lomu...total beast.

 

[WandySaku2]

I don't love rugby but I can watch it

NFL though... straight up I have no clue why you lot love that
That's up there with competitive swimming or darts for me

I've seen Rugby highlights that seemed cool, but a month or so ago NBC (one of our free TV staions) was showing a game against last years English club champion against another team...and it was just sooo boring. My biggest take away was that at no point were there any big, exciting plays. Maybe it was just that particular game, but I don't know.

With American football, you're at least guaranteed some great catches, big runs, and big hits.

That said, I can see that most sports can seem boring if the person watching has no clue of the rules or has ever played.

 

[superpunch]

not true at all. different sport....

Look up the top 25 100m sprinters in history. Notice something about every single one of them (literally all 25 of them) that isn't common in countries where rugby is popular but is common in America and also common in the NFL. Those guys would absolutely dominate rugby.

 

[Rhood]

Because Football has time for commercials.
Rugby and Soccer doesn't.

This is why I don't watch Football anymore.
The constant stopping and starting for a commercial break loses my attention span.

- Coach called a time out? Time for a commercial

- Player moved half an inch over the yard line before the ball moved? Time for a commercial

- Coach is having a bad hair day and his toupee flew off? Okay time for a commercial.

- Quarterback hiked the ball, but accidentally dropped it because he has butter fingers? Wow, that sounds like a great time for a commercial!

- A foul was called because a player thought he had the flu.
Aww poor baby! How about I serve you a commercial?

- A 3 second play was stopped because a player ran the ball and couldn't get past the yard line, so now we need a 10 minute commercial.

- When a team punts the ball to the other side and the player catches it with his knee down, it's automatically time for a commercial.