Major League Rugby

[higgik]

Rumours that Bristol want to invest in MLR as well.

 

[Al Bangor]

Rumours that Bristol want to invest in MLR as well.

That's good news! I really want MLR to be a success and I think it will be. They've already got the season three schedule made. 12 teams next season and at least one more the following year. I can see the MLR growing to 16 teams. There's current interest in Vancouver, Chicago and Philadelphia.

 

[Al Bangor]

 

[higgik]

That's good news! I really want MLR to be a success and I think it will be. They've already got the season three schedule made. 12 teams next season and at least one more the following year. I can see the MLR growing to 16 teams. There's current interest in Vancouver, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Like the schedule for next year, and growth to 16 would be about right.
Shame that PRL and RFU don't have the same attitude to franchising.
A 16 team Premiership would be great, especially with the extra CVC money, then also less matches, say 16-18 like MLR, so squads could be smaller spreading the talent around.

 

[Al Bangor]

San Diego Legion vs Toronto Arrows - Major League Rugby, May 2019.

 

[Al Bangor]

San Diego won at New Orleans over the weekend to take sole possession of 1st place away from NOLA.

 

[Al Bangor]

There's one weekend of the regular season left to play before the playoffs begin. San Diego has already clinched a playoff birth. New York, Toronto, Seattle and New Orleans are still fighting it out for the next three spots.

 

[die_mole]

i wish i could care... friends with most of the officiating crew (american ones at least) and a college teammate plays for RUNY. It's just tough to watch rugby that's still pretty low level when there is so much rugby content that is easier to access. If the presentation was nicer I would probably watch but club games from South africa filmed by one dude are of as good of quality.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

While it's great that there's a pro league in the USA, I agree with @themole25. Major League Rugby is a tough watch. The presentation is poor, quality of play is average and crowd sizes aren't up to much.

Looking at another startup league in the US, the Alliance of American Football had a slick presentation and got plenty of media coverage but folded within weeks of starting. MLR is looking to grow slowly and organically to avoid the fate that befell the AAF. That it's survived two seasons and is expanding ahead of a third year is to be commended.

I'm interested to see how the new Premier Lacrosse League fares in comparison with MLR. PLL has major sponsorship, a good TV deal and will be played in big stadiums on a touring model akin to the World Sevens Series. Is PLL the way of the future or did MLR choose the right model.

 

[die_mole]

While it's great that there's a pro league in the USA, I agree with @themole25. Major League Rugby is a tough watch. The presentation is poor, quality of play is average and crowd sizes aren't up to much.

Looking at another startup league in the US, the Alliance of American Football had a slick presentation and got plenty of media coverage but folded within weeks of starting. MLR is looking to grow slowly and organically to avoid the fate that befell the AAF. That it's survived two seasons and is expanding ahead of a third year is to be commended.

I'm interested to see how the new Premier Lacrosse League fares in comparison with MLR. PLL has major sponsorship, a good TV deal and will be played in big stadiums on a touring model akin to the World Sevens Series. Is PLL the way of the future or did MLR choose the right model.

I've been to a couple Lacrosse college championship games, including the one on Monday. Lacrosse really is a college focused game and I don't see it being successful in the pro market. Every player could get a higher paying job on wall street than they could in pro lacrosse. Lacrosse is essentially the rugby union of America so maybe it could do what rugby has overseas but we have had a pro league for awhile now and it hasn't taken off. The one advantage lacrosse has is structure. The NCAA tournament games look like legit sporting events unlike anything MLR or USA Rugby has ever put on. USAR/MLR really need to bring someone in that knows how to run game-day operations but they are too cheap/broke to hire the correct amount of officials or proper camera crews. American lacrosse players know what it's like to be part of professional environments (college players may not get paid but they train like pros) and have games that are run properly. Unfortunately, American rugby at all levels is very unprofessional.

 

[Al Bangor]

i wish i could care... friends with most of the officiating crew (american ones at least) and a college teammate plays for RUNY. It's just tough to watch rugby that's still pretty low level when there is so much rugby content that is easier to access. If the presentation was nicer I would probably watch but club games from South africa filmed by one dude are of as good of quality.

I agree that the locally streamed matches aren't produced well. It's not on the PRO14 or SupeRugby scale, but the matches on ESPN+ and CBSsn are pretty good. The MLR will get better media coverage as time goes by. It's only the second year and they compete with the NBA, NHL, MLS, Nascar and Major League Baseball for viewers and ad dollars. Hang in there!

 

[die_mole]

I agree that the locally streamed matches aren't produced well. It's not on the PRO14 or SupeRugby scale, but the matches on ESPN and CBSsn are pretty good. The MLR will get better media coverage as time goes by. It's only the second year and they compete with the NBA, NHL, MLS, Nascar and Major League Baseball for viewers and ad dollars. Hang in there!

even the games on ESPN+ are pretty rough... the quality of the CRC broadcast was 5x better than any game on ESPN+. The CBSSN games have pretty good quality but unfortunately as a cord cutting millennial I don't get the channel.

 

[Al Bangor]

even the games on ESPN+ are pretty rough... the quality of the CRC broadcast was 5x better than any game on ESPN+. The CBSSN games have pretty good quality but unfortunately as a cord cutting millennial I don't get the channel.

If you'd like to stream the MLR Championship match on June 16th, you can sign up for a free week of CBS programs and then cancel afterwards.

https://www.cbs.com/

 

[Al Bangor]

Here's the final standings for the 2019 Major League Rugby regular season. The fop four teams are playoff bound on June 8th and June 9th, followed by the MLR Championship match on June 16th. Let's Go San Diego!