Will the United States ever be a world power in rugby?

No

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by B. D. Hawk

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There is a certain ironic history to the question of whether rugby will gain popularity in America sufficient to yield a world power rugby already had its chance to become the nation's favored sport.

Prior to 1882, "football" in America referred to a variety of sports played mostly by traditionally Ivy League and other Northeastern Universities that involved moving a ball up and down a field to score points. The size of the field, shape of the ball, number of participants, and legality of movements varied tremendously from school to school. A version utilizing a round ball and prohibiting the use of the hands eventually succumbed to a rugby style of play which permitted tackling, allowed hand passing, and used an oblong ball. Early intercollegiate match-ups required that schools agree beforehand on the specific rules for each game.

As popularity of the sport increased in the late 1800s, rules were codified nationally. In an effort to decrease the number of severe injuries in the sport there were 18 fatalities in 1905 rule changes included prohibition of dangerous formations and the increased use of helmets. The scrum was out; the pads were in. By 1912, the games would have been easily recognizable to modern viewers of American football. Americans have long showed a propensity towards homegrown sports products (see: Baseball), and this version of football quickly caught the national consciousness.

Nearly parallel to the development of American football, the sport of rugby experienced a unification in Britain. In 1871, the Rugby Football Union standardized rules between 22 clubs, and the game has since remained largely unchanged. It has remained popular in a number of other countries, including France, New Zealand, and Australia, but it has never since enjoyed a status beyond that of novelty in the United States. This may at first seem surprising, given the generally accurate stereotype of Americans as violence loving. Rugby is certainly a rough, violent game played by men of considerable fortitude why would it not be a natural fit?

Rugby, American football, Australian-rules football, soccer, and every other sport that requires substantial athleticism and strength naturally appeal to those with a proclivity towards competition and violence, i.e., young men. What we witness internationally is "sport" utilized as a common outlet for showmanship, physical prowess, and competitive drive that might otherwise be directed towards more destructive endeavors. Sports provide an opportunity to demonstrate physicality while minimizing collateral damage. However, the average young man is not nearly as concerned with the nature of a sport as he is with simply being better at it than his peers. The predilection within a particular country for a specific brand of sport speaks more to local perception than the quality of a sport itself.

Football is a vital part of the American ethos or at least it is representative of some cultural force within this country. It has been glorified in all manner of media (films, books, newspapers, TV) since the early 1900s. American men grow up knowing the names of key participants from games preceding their birth. The easy parallels between football, god, and war have long provided journalists and producers with a limitless playground for hyperbole to the average youth, these field generals, grid-iron gladiators, and Zeus-like warriors are indeed victors in a monumental battle for immortality. The Four Horsemen, the Gipper, and the Minister of Defense act out the Motor-City Miracle, the Immaculate Reception, and the Play in venues more real and proximate than the Bulge or Tripoli. The legends of improbable endings, miraculous plays, and heroic efforts provide a more comforting and less abstract picture than real history. In effect, football became a highly localized history.

Once it was unconsciously decided that football would be America's sport, communities attached excessive significance to the performance of their teenage children against local rivals. The achievements of the Local High School football team somehow transcended the realities facing that community unemployment, poverty, etc. From the youngest of ages, it is made clear that glory is heaped upon the star of the football team. At every level, from the playground to college, from the Arena League to the National Football League, football players are idolized and worshipped.

Football is such a part of the national psyche no sport can hope to replace it. Rare is found the young American gifted enough to excel in football who elects another sport. Generally, it is only the physical toll of the sport or unique, personal circumstances that drive high-caliber athletes to baseball, basketball, or soccer. In fact, soccer in the United States is the most glaring example of a sport that, despite considerable youth league exposure and a financially viable professional league, has encountered monumental hurdles to nationwide, adult appeal. Why has this league failed to flourish? Because all the cool kids play football.

It is an entertaining exercise to imagine the stars of American football playing rugby. While many maintain that the sports are so different that comparison is unlikely, it seems apparent that physicality and speed are important in both leagues. Player sizes in football vary more than in rugby due to increased positional specialization, but it is clear that Americans are simply larger and faster than the majority of their international counterparts. Looking at the New Zealand All Blacks roster, regarded to be consistently one of the premier national rugby squads, it is clear they would not match up physically against the All-Star roster from the NFL. Clearly, this comparison ignores strategy, coaching, and technique, but were rugby to be the national sport, the US could certainly compete at the international level.

Lacking even a financial promise equal to soccer, rugby will be hard pressed to gain a foothold in the United States. Despite its inherently high quality play, exciting structure, and even international appeal, it will remain in the United States a novelty sport played primarily by college students lacking the ability, interest, or commitment to pursue football not because rugby is at its very core inferior, but because it is simply not America's sport.

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