Yanks love RL ... they just don't realise it

[The Engineers Room]

I just don't think they would have the ability and endurance to match it. Give the Americans 10-20 years of solid RL grassroots progams and training and they could produce the best of the best but players that have never sen the game would have a hard time adjusting.

 

[bobmar28]

That would be the biggest team ever assmebled.

As for Favre, he's too old to play any sport, let alone league.

Champ Bailey, Clinton Portis, Asante Samuel, Bob Sanders and Brandon Jacobs would all be great league players IMO.

Favre too old? I watched the Giants v Packers game yesterday and he seemed to do ok.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

Favre too old? I watched the Giants v Packers game yesterday and he seemed to do ok.

I still don't understand why they don't have a roof on most of their stadiums in the NFL. I mean, the commentators were saying it was -4 degrees C and the fans were out there for hours.

 

[taste2taste]

I just don't think they would have the ability and endurance to match it. Give the Americans 10-20 years of solid RL grassroots progams and training and they could produce the best of the best but players that have never sen the game would have a hard time adjusting.

It would be a good idea for league to set up a pro comp in the USA.
Make it 8 teams in the major cities, NY, LA Chicago..etc, it wouldnt have to be a huge success in order for it to be a sucsess. Americas population is so big that even a luke warm response from the paying public would be enough for the comp to stay alive. There are hundreds of players who miss out on the NFL draft, im sure plenty of them would go for a pro career in league for a half decent salary if the option was there.

Think of it like an investment propery...let it bubble away in the back ground, check in on it every now and again, and if all goes well in a few decades it could be a huge succsess. After all America is were all the money is.

Who knows.. by the year 2075 rugby lague may be the number 1 sport in the USA.

 

[Pazza]

why would we want another part of our cultural identity occupied by Americans?

the game is fine the way it is

 

[Eelementary]

That would be the biggest team ever assmebled.

As for Favre, he's too old to play any sport, let alone league.

Champ Bailey, Clinton Portis, Asante Samuel, Bob Sanders and Brandon Jacobs would all be great league players IMO.

Favre = GOD

 

[Eelementary]

why would we want another part of our cultural identity occupied by Americans?

the game is fine the way it is

Expansion is part of sport. By expanding the sport into different countries we are also potentially untapping new goldmines of talent.

Who knows? Maybe the next best thing in League could come out of the USA or France.

 

[flamin]

Think of it like an investment propery...let it bubble away in the back ground, check in on it every now and again, and if all goes well in a few decades it could be a huge succsess. After all America is were all the money is.

Who knows.. by the year 2075 rugby lague may be the number 1 sport in the USA.

By 2075 all the money will be in India and China.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

By 2075 all the money will be in India and China.

:lol:

 

[The Engineers Room]

It would be a good idea for league to set up a pro comp in the USA.
Make it 8 teams in the major cities, NY, LA Chicago..etc, it wouldnt have to be a huge success in order for it to be a sucsess. Americas population is so big that even a luke warm response from the paying public would be enough for the comp to stay alive. There are hundreds of players who miss out on the NFL draft, im sure plenty of them would go for a pro career in league for a half decent salary if the option was there.

Think of it like an investment propery...let it bubble away in the back ground, check in on it every now and again, and if all goes well in a few decades it could be a huge succsess. After all America is were all the money is.

Who knows.. by the year 2075 rugby lague may be the number 1 sport in the USA.

My point is that they need 10-20 years of junior sports at a competitive level to begin developing players. You can't expect NFL dropouts or even the best NFL players to match it with guys that have grown up playing the game. The solution is to have a junior structure, just like soccer does in the US. Market the game as easy to play for the kids and not too much contact but still more satisfying than soccer and some kids may try it out. After 5-10 years revamp the existing competition and place teams in the biggest growing league areas based on junior numbers. The 10-15 year olds that initially joined up would be adequate players and have regular tours by NRL, Australian teams and Junior Kangaroos.

Maybe keep playing the one off game in the US at the end of the Tri-Series. The US will improve and more exposure to the game and a reasonable senior league will entice more juniors. Don't just try and pick off the dreggs of the NFL, offer it as an alternative. The big step will be to get the sponsors on board when you launch the revamped comp.

 

[NGR]

:lol:

whats so funny?

 

[taste2taste]

My point is that they need 10-20 years of junior sports at a competitive level to begin developing players. You can't expect NFL dropouts or even the best NFL players to match it with guys that have grown up playing the game. The solution is to have a junior structure, just like soccer does in the US. Market the game as easy to play for the kids and not too much contact but still more satisfying than soccer and some kids may try it out. After 5-10 years revamp the existing competition and place teams in the biggest growing league areas based on junior numbers. The 10-15 year olds that initially joined up would be adequate players and have regular tours by NRL, Australian teams and Junior Kangaroos.

Maybe keep playing the one off game in the US at the end of the Tri-Series. The US will improve and more exposure to the game and a reasonable senior league will entice more juniors. Don't just try and pick off the dreggs of the NFL, offer it as an alternative. The big step will be to get the sponsors on board when you launch the revamped comp.

Great post, 100% agree

The American market is the holy grail for any sport, once the yanks get involved the money and world wide interest sky rockets..just look at how desperate soccor has been to crack the american market. Even though soccor hasnt been very sucsessfull it still generates enough money to pay Beckham a trillion $$$, such is the size of the american market, even the minor sports have money to burn.

The new bloke in charge of internaional League ( cant remember his name) recently released a 10 yr plan to expand League globaly. Basically there will be alot more international games, especially between countrys where league is only a minor sport.
He sounds like a very forward thinker with big plans and hopefully he would do something like what you've suggested. It might cost a bit of money, and it will take at least a decade to see any positive or negitive results, but its certainly worth a crack.

If Australia with a small populaion can support 6 different sports and generate enough money to keep them all up and running im sure the Americans with a population a million times bigger than us can handle a 6th code. How could they not love league? 80mins of non stop action its the greatest game of all

 

[adamkungl]

why would we want another part of our cultural identity occupied by Americans?

the game is fine the way it is

Oh no reason, just millions more potential fans, players, improvement of the international game, etc.

 

[meltiger]

I still don't understand why they don't have a roof on most of their stadiums in the NFL. I mean, the commentators were saying it was -4 degrees C and the fans were out there for hours.

Should GB give away their home ground advantage?

I dare say, anyone who has spent their life living in the town would be used to those temperatures, and would have had little issues with the cold.


Any Northern NFL side who builds a stadium with a roof is stupid.


Look at the Patriots, some of the talk prior to the Colts being knocked out was around whether Manning could compete with Brady @ F-borough should the weather turn nasty and they had to play in a blizzard. The northern weather gives those teams a tremendous home ground advantage. Like last year, there is no question in my mind Saints were a better side on form last year (Forget wins/losses, Chicago's QB is pure rubbish), but having to travel to Chicago and play their CC game in such terrible weather killed any chance they had of winning against the Bears.