For decades, American sport has been dominated by the big four: basketball, hockey, baseball, and football. Yet, with increasingly global trends, American viewers and athletes have been exposed to numerous foreign games. One of the most prominent of these foreign-born sports is rugby. Rugby has been present in America for only a short time, but its recent explosion in popularity, especially at the youth level, has sparked a conversation about its future. Based on my personal experience and trends that I see, I believe that rugby will displace football as America’s most popular contact sport in the near future.
Safety
Safety is the biggest (and most complicated) aspect of rugby’s popularity in America. In terms of concussions, rugby is widely advertised to be safer than football. Many studies, while hard to quantify, give varying results. While I haven’t played organized football, I can attest to a few aspects that make rugby safer than football. First off, there is no padding in rugby, which makes tackling less “explosive” and more technical. When it’s only your body versus your opponent’s body, it’s crucial to tackle correctly, rather than just delivering a hard hit. This focus on technique can prevent players’ heads from getting hit when they aren’t supposed to.
In conjunction with technical tackling, rugby is also safer in that possession is not determined by a number of downs. Therefore, a defensive player can give up a few extra meters in order to make a clean, safe tackle. On the other hand, tackles in football are meant to instantly stop forward progress, leading to jolting, unsafe hits.
Finally, offensive rugby players are almost always facing forwards. The rules maintain that all passes must occur backward, so the player on the receiving end of a pass will be facing the defense and can appropriately prepare for the tackle. In football, many receivers have to look over their shoulders when catching a pass. They may be unaware of an incoming tackler. This lack of spatial awareness is extremely unsafe for offensive players who may get hit without warning.
Rules
The NFL has a bad history of ruling games. In the infamous 2012 referee lockout, replacement referees were brought in to officiate. Needless to say, these inexperienced referees had a hard time controlling gameplay and enforcing the correct rules. Also, over the last few years, many changes have been made to the rules concerning what’s a catch and what isn’t a catch. This has led to a lot of confusion among players and fans, and many games have been decided over controversial calls. Due to the NFL’s vague rulebook, they have drawn a lot of backlash, and fans have shown their discontent by not watching NFL games.
Rugby doesn’t experience many of these issues because the sport has an old, extensive rulebook. This doesn’t necessarily sound like the best thing, but the rules have withstood the test of time. Also, in-game calls are left up to the referees, who handle rule disputes quickly. Judgement-calls sound like a bad idea, I understand, but every referee I’ve watched or played with has treated players with respect and have been consistent throughout games. For this reason, some former-NFL fans have converted to watching rugby as it’s a more clear game.
Social Issues
If you have watched any TV within the past year-and-a-half, you’ve likely heard about the NFL’s national anthem controversy. Player protests and legislation changes regarding pre-game routines have driven away fans from both sides of the political spectrum. With the NFL falling in popularity, and new leagues opening up to steal some of its viewership, there is ample opportunity for a national rugby league to be formed and gain popularity in the coming years.
It’s no secret that many NFL players get into trouble with the law. It’s estimated over 50 NFL players get arrested every year. With some high-profile cases, like Ray Rice, Aaron Hernandez, and Michael Bennett, the negative effects could be felt across the entirety of the fan-base. Although there are no official numbers for rugby players’ arrests (due to the absence of an organized national league), rugby is considered to be a “Gentleman’s Game.” Players are respectful to each other and the referees in-game, or else they face serious consequences and suspensions. In this way, rugby would appeal to the audience who feels betrayed and disgusted by the NFL’s issues.
When considering all of the NFL’s issues, it’s clear that rugby is a viable alternative for fed-up fans. The sport has a lot of progress to make in America, more specifically, establishing a league. USA Rugby and it’s players are working hard to solidify it’s spot as the future of American sports. One of the biggest boosts for rugby has been its re-adoption as an Olympic sport in 2016. As a player and fan, it will be interesting and exciting to watch rugby continue to grow in this country.