October 20 ... Rugby Heaven in Saint-Denis

If you paid attention to my earlier posts back in September, you will remember my call to arms - "Get Ready for some Rugby."

Well, how the time goes by? It's Rugby World Cup finals time. England vs. South Africa, with South Africa having won a 36-0 'ear-slapping" back of September 14 at the same venue in Saint-Denis, France.

In a Linked In post a UK-based headhunter posed this question to an open forum:

"Will Rugby ever become a true global sport?"

The best reply followed:

"I'm not sure what you mean by "truly international" if a game played internationally by Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, France, Italy, Argentina, Romania, Fiji, Samoa, Japan, Canada and the US, among others, does not yet qualify. Sure beats the hell out of baseball, and its claim to the "World Series". I think it's already truly international, and the fact that it can be so in a spirit of enromous sportmanship and good feeling between supporters is something to be treasured.

Incidentally, here in Syria a rugby -playing Scot at the British Embassy has been doing a lot of coaching and encouraging competitions, so I suspect at the grassroots rugby is even wider-spread than the international scene would suggest."

Wow.

So, what is my take on it?

Rugby World Cup needs to dig in, work on their global media & TV exposure. They need to hire a Boeing 767 full of people - TV sales, PR, marketing and - God help us - lawyers, to create some new deals, foresake the easy buck today (Setanta deal for USA) and "go for it."

So? Do we have a team?

I asked an avid sports fan if she was aware of the fact that the USA would kick-off their 2007 Rugby World cup schedule at high noon on Saturday.

"So? Do we have a team," she asked?

Now, this sports fan can recite the starting lineup and batting order for the Boston Red Sox. She knows the last 10 Olympic skating, gymnastics and diving champs. She can delve into any subject of pro or national team sports. She had no idea the USA had a rugby team and that they were good enough to qualify for the world cup.

I was curious.

Does anyone know?

I thought I would give the rugby fans the benefit of the doubt and I ventured off to Fiona's, an Eastside restaurant and lounge in New York City. The sign outside advertised that you can watch "All Rugby World Cup Games" right there.

The barkeeper, Sean O'Neill, was a friendly face and a knowledgeable sort who welcomed me and my novice status as a rugby fan. I asked him a few questions about the crowd of some 25 fans, wondering if there was a particular group or nationality that brought out the best fans. He didn't seem to have a definitive answer nor did he care to speculate or elaborate.

I had the following observations:

1. I had ventured into the only bar in New York that did not have baseball or a college football game on during a September afternoon.

2. The nice, big screen TVs were divided. USA vs England world cup rugby on two screens; Israel vs. England Group E Euro 2008 qualifying on two screens and US Open tennis on one screen, a smaller set over to one side without a single soul watching.

3, Upon completion of the one-sided USA loss to England (28-10 didn't seem to do it justice), the sets were quickly readied for the highlight of the day - the Ireland vs Slovakia Euro 2008 qualifier which brought out a boisterous crowd of flag-waving group of about 12 Irish lads in their mid-20s or 30s.

Fiona's was a haven for Irish nationals transplanted in New York. They were a friendly bunch but very serious about their football. Rory, exhausted from working a double shift the night before, was disgusted with the fact that he entered Fiona's about 45 seconds after Ireland's first goal. He perked up when we explained it was a beauty.

4. Sean was proud to tell me about the Gaelic football cup adorning a very visable place on the bar - right next to the Black Bush and Maccallan 12 and 18 year old single malts. Sean sponsored the team in a tournament held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida last March.

5. The whole experience was courtesy of a little-known TV programming venture, called Setana Sports. Setanta (http://www.setanta.com) seemed to have some pretty restrictive rules for its broadcasts. They offer pay per view, they have deals with Direct TV and the Dish Network, but if you want to order the 2007 Rugby World cup on your broadband, you need to pony up for an annual subscription for $149.00. That will get you additional programming like Ireland's football league and all the 2008 Euro qualifying you can imagine.

6. There were no, zero, none, nada USA rugby fans in the building.

I plan to venture back to Fiona's during the next few weeks to check up on my new friends and brush up on my rugby knowledge. I hope to find at least one USA rugby fan, along with some Aussies or New Zealanders.

Do you believe in Miracles? Yes.

So now, let me get this straight? Perennial footy champion Argentina now boasts the reigning Olympic basketball champs and an upstart World Rugby national team that upset France on its home turf in the very first game of the 2007 Rugby World Cup?

Now, that's what I call a miracle.

None of this one sport miracle stuff, like the 1980 USA hockey team or the '69 Mets, for crying out loud.

The start of the championship is interesting in that I did not see one blessed word written or mentioned in the US media. No ESPN. No TV, unless you take your Windows XP and dial up a $49.99 (US) package for broadband.

Why they can't support my nice MacBook Pro, I do not know?

Tune in over the weekend for a recap of the scene at Fiona's on First Ave for the Noon EDT game between the USA and England.

Ready for some ...

Get ready for some ... rugby. The Rugby world cup starts in about 4 hours. It should be a blast. Check back at the site for a bar stool side review of the USA vs. England match to be held at Noon EDT on Saturday.

Fiona's on the east side of NYC is the place to be.

Busy Sports Calendar

I made a list and re-ordered it, randomly.

Rugby World Cup,
NFL season kick-off,
NCAA Football season kick-off,
US Open Tennis,
Nascar Nextel Cup finals,
PGA FedEx Cup playoff series,
WNBA Playoffs,
World Track and Field championship,
David Beckham and the MLS,
USA Basketball in FIBA Americas tourney
Baseball stretch drive ...

I asked a good friend, based in New England, to consider the list and send me his sports priorities.

He replied:

1. Red Sox
2. Red Sox
3-499. Red Sox
500. Patriots

That is how tough it is for the likes of the USTA, PGA, Nascar, WNBA and MLS to get attention at this time of year.

If it's not the Red Sox dominating the headlines and TV ratings in New England (a record 22 rating on NESN on Tue evening), it's the fanatic college football fans tuning in to see their beloved Sooners, Trojans, Hurricanes, Vols or Fighting Irish open the NCAA football season this weekend.

In world sport, the World Rugby championship and World Athletics championship garner far more attention outside of the USA than they do within the 50 states. Timing has a lot to do with it.

Viewpoint: The WNBA season, circa 1997, ended on Labor Day weekend. (September). This year, the schedule calls for the WNBA Finals to run between Sept. 5-16, far too long into the NFL and college football schedules. Less might be more and the overall season schedule should be reduced to allow the playoffs to end by the first week in September.

The US Open and USTA, the PGA and NASCAR are all fighting for eye balls. They have all taken similar routes to gaining attention with the year-end series concept and playoffs for the PGA and NASCAR. The US Open tennis tournament is enjoying sell-out crowds and tons of attention in New York. Not sure if those football fans in Dallas care quite as much?

One item spotted from weekend TV ratings. The Little League world series out-rated the Big Boys last weekend (LA Dodgers at NY Mets) by .02 a ratings point.

Counting Down to the Rugby World Cup

Are you ready for some Rugby?


The NFL season will kick-off on September 6 when the New Orleans Saints travel to Indiana to take on the Indianapolis Colts. A day later, roughly 34 days from now, France will host Argentina at Saint-Denis to open the Rugby World Cup.

The USA finds itself right smack in the middle of the cliche "Group of Death." We'll call it the pool of depth, alongside England, Samoa, Tonga and South Africa.

World rankings have South Africa (#4), England (#7) and Samoa (#10) while Tonga comes in at (#14) and the USA at (#15). So, check that previous comment to be "right smack at the bottom' of the pool.

Rugby ranks behind soccer/football, lacrosse and X Games in the pecking order of sports that reach the American sporting psyche. Why? I do not know.

The sport, like Australian rules football, has all the elements to attract sporting fans. And, for rugby's sake, they attract fans of every nation but the USA, much like soccer.

So, the intangible is the 'fabric' of the sport within society. Do we grow up with the sport? How do we relate to it? Did our mather/father play and pass along the virtues of the sport? Did our older siblings play and do the same? If we didn't actually play the sport, were there great memories in our household from days gone by?

Baseball- yes.
NFL - yes
NBA and college hoops - yes
NCAA football -yes
Olympic Games - yes

For some, add the likes of NASCAR, Horse Racing, gymnastics or skating (Olympic time, usually), a growing number of Lacrosse families are now in their prime and maybe some golf or tennis in some households. After that...probably not.

So, let's see what the Rugby World Cup does to crack the scene. They will score great audiences in France and Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England will have followings galore. In the USA, there will be little to no TV coverage - unless you have DISH Network or Direct TV.