Month: July 2019

Major League Rugby builds for the future

The Seattle Seawolves celebrate their second straight Major League Rugby championship. (David Frerker photo)

When the San Diego Legion scored in the waning seconds to defeat Rugby United New York, 24-22, back in June, I felt a real sense of disappointment.

Scott Adamson’s sports column appears pretty much whenever he feels like writing it.

A win would’ve put New York in the Major League Rugby championship game, while a loss meant their season was over. I was hoping the Orange and Blue would pull it out, because they’ve become my favorite team in a sport I’m growing increasingly fond of.

Developing that kind of attachment is significant considering that a couple of years ago my knowledge (and interest) in rugby was mostly confined to the movie “Invictus.”

Yet a little over a month after Major League Rugby closed out Year Two (with the Seattle Seawolves claiming their second consecutive MLR crown), I’m already looking forward to its “new and improved” 2020 version.

I got curious about North America’s pro rugby league during its inaugural season in 2018, giving it what you might call a loose follow.

The organization featured the Austin Elite, Glendale Raptors, Houston SaberCats, New Orleans Gold, San Diego Legion, Seattle and the Utah Warriors.

This year, though, it added New York and the Toronto Arrows, and I became a legitimate fan. I watched as many matches as I could and kept track of player performances across the league.

New York became my team of choice because – although I’m a Birmingham, Alabama, native – the Big Apple is always my default sports city.

And as someone who has spent many a spring hoping upstart football leagues would take hold, now I’m more concerned with pro rugby sticking its landing.

And so far, it seems to be on the right track.

When Major League Rugby gets back in action next February, there will be 12 teams thanks to the addition of the New England Free Jacks, Old Glory DC and Rugby ATL. Expansion goes against the trend of upstart leagues that tend to sputter at launch and then crash and burn.

“It was our sophomore year and we grew a little bit, and that’s an atypical thing in the world of sports,” MLR commissioner Dean Howes told Martin Pegelly of The Guardian. “Your second year is usually kind of a tough year, and I think we grew and I think we’re poised to build.”

Unlike spring football circuits that will always live under the shadow of the NFL, MLR has the potential to cast its own shadow.

PRO Rugby was the first pro league to set up shop in America, but lasted only one season (2016).

MLR, on the other hand, has lured some of the United States’ best amateur rugby stars as well as respected international players.

“We want to build up our domestic teams, our players, and our national team,” Howes told The Guardian. “But at the same time we feel one of the important things is that we have some international players to try to teach our players.”

MLR also has a formal “strategic agreement” with USA Rugby, the governing body for the sport in America.

“The advent of professional rugby is such a substantial step in advancement of the game, so we’re happy to have built a robust partnership to best find mutual support in each other,” USA Rugby CEO Ross Young said.

So how far does MLR have to go before becoming a stable league?

By comparison the Premiership (the top-tier of rugby union competition in England), draws an average of 14,500 fans per match. In 2019 the MLR averaged 1,900 paying customers per contest, with the biggest crowd (6,000) showing up for Seattle’s win over San Diego in the championship match.

That might seem like a big gap, but attendance was trending upward as the season progressed, and the playoffs were a hit at the box office.

Some teams are still trying to find suitable stadiums, and I imagine if you could look five years into the future you’d see some MLR teams relocate or simply close up shop.

But, the fact that I can look five years into the future and see Major League Rugby a part of it is pretty exciting.

Hopefully, it’ll keep getting bigger and better.

CFL partners with British American Football Association

With the addition of the British American Football Association, the Canadian Football League now has 10 international gridiron partnerships. (photo by The Canadian Press)

As a longtime fan of the Canadian Football League, I’m already a satisfied customer. There’s nothing the circuit needs to do to ensure my continued interest because as long as they play, I’ll follow.

Scott Adamson writes about alternative pro football leagues because it makes him happy, Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl

But I have to give the movers and shakers of the league credit – they aren’t shy about testing unchartered waters.

Last weekend it was announced that the CFL was entering into a partnership with the British American Football Association, bringing the number of its international alliances to 10.

Aside from Great Britain, the CFL is now officially working with football organizations and/or leagues in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Norway and Sweden.

“This new relationship will help introduce Canadian football to a wider audience in the U.K. and allow us to develop all aspects of the British game – not just on the field, but from a business perspective, too,” BAFA Director Bruce Leatherman said. “There is so much we can learn through sharing knowledge and ideas, and we’re also hugely excited to have new opportunities for our coaches to develop and our players to grow and achieve their full potential.

“BAFA is delighted to be working in partnership with the CFL to grow the sport we all love.”

The BAFA oversees all levels of the gridiron game in Great Britain, from tackle to flag, and includes men, women and youth. Currently there are 78 adult teams which are community-based. That “from the ground up” philosophy is based on the business model of traditional association football clubs.

“BAFA brings a lot of energy, passion and knowledge to the movement, with its more than 10,000 male and female members playing for more than 250 university and club teams,” CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said. “We’re thrilled to work with our friends there to improve the game in Canada, Great Britain and around the world.”

Since all these international alliances are still in their infancy, there’s no way to predict what kind of impact they’ll ultimately have.

In theory, Canadian amateur players will have more options if they choose to play on beyond college, and the CFL will have a larger pool of prospects to choose from.

“We are expanding our international footprint, expanding our talent pool, and looking to create new broadcast and streaming markets for our games,” Ambrosie said. “At the same time, we want to contribute to and learn from leagues around the world and provide greater opportunities for Canadian players in other countries. Working together, we can make football even bigger and better everywhere.”

Of course a unique aspect of the CFL is its “Ratio Rule.” An active roster of 46 players has to include 21 Canadians (Nationals) and seven of them must be allotted starting positions.

This season the CFL added a “Global Player” pool which excludes Canadians and Americans. When the 2019 campaign began in June there were 24 global players plucked from a combine held in Mexico and international draft.

Perhaps in the future the global player allotment will be expanded to include more international athletes. And who knows? There could come a time when a skill position player hailing from one of the 10 countries the CFL is working with finds his way into the starting lineup.

What would be cool (although very expensive and, therefore, highly unlikely) would be some sort of international tournament featuring teams from each of the 10 organizations that have hooked up with the CFL.

All-Star squads or club champions from each association/federation could compete in a pool play (five teams per pool, four games guaranteed) format using Canadian rules, giving players a chance to show what they can do in front of CFL scouts and coaches.

Hey, I’d watch it.

I even know what to call it – the World League of Canadian Football.

Hmmm … maybe I’ll give the trademarks branch of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office a call, just in case.

Assigned theater seats are a bad idea

Recently I wrote about “day dating” and mentioned that one of the perks is going to movies in the mornings or afternoons.

Brain Farce is a humor column written by Scott Adamson. It comes out basically whenever he feels like writing it. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl

For the most part, you’ll either have the theater to yourselves or be among just a smattering of people who want plenty of elbow room.

However, our last trip to the local Cineplex made me think that perhaps my days of watching movies on the big screen could be coming to a close.

Why?

Assigned seating.

Yep, I had no idea this was a thing (and it wasn’t a thing when we saw “Avengers: Endgame” in April or “Rocketman” last month), but it is now.

We headed to the 9:30 a.m. showing of “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” paid our money, and then were asked to choose our seats.

The ticket-seller pointed to a seating chart that was attached to the glass partition by the transaction window.

“The open seats are in blue,” she said. “Just select whichever two you like.”

Even though I’m eligible for a discount at Denny’s and continually get mail from those killjoys at AARP who want me to feel old, I like to think of myself as young at heart and technologically savvy.

So I decided to press seats 1 and 2 on row O, which is the last row of the theater.

We like the last row because you’re up high and can plop your head back on the wall. You can also see the rest of the movie goers, so it’s easier to mock them.

Anyway, I kept pressing and nothing happened and was finally informed that it was merely a sheet of paper taped to the glass. Me pressing did nothing but provide some pretty prominent fingerprints.

This might’ve embarrassed someone else, but not me. I just told her I was kidding … I knew it was merely paper taped to glass.*

* I wasn’t kidding. I kept waiting for the damn numbers to light up.

Turns out I had to verbally announce my seat selection, so in this game of theater bingo I made my pick and was handed my tickets.

In this instance, it was no big deal.

I think we counted five people in the theater other than us, so even if we’d been seated next to someone who smelled of cigarettes, pickles, Bud Light and damp ass, we could’ve moved to several other desirable locales.

But here’s my worry: Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” premieres on June 25, 2021. That’s a Friday, meaning there will be Thursday night preview showings on June 24.

Obviously I’ll be at one of those (probably the midnight showing) and because he’s Batman, I expect all early screenings to sell out.

So … as soon as tickets go on sale (and they haven’t yet – I checked) I’m going to have to select my back row seats well in advance with no clue who I’ll be sitting next to.

And that’s gonna suck.

For one thing, the back row is the “Flatulence Zone.” I’m admitting nothing here other than to say gas events often take place there.

So if cigarettes, pickles, Bud Light and damp ass guy sits next to me – and recently ate a deviled egg – there’s gonna be a situation.

And even though there are numbers on the tickets you know as well as I do there’ll be some jackass who’ll sit in your seat.

You’ll then have to tell the person they’re in your seat, and things are bound to get uncomfortable.

If it’s a tiny old man – no more than 5-1, 130 and preferably suffering from asthma – I could probably just pick him up and put him in the aisle.

But what if it’s a big kid who could beat me up?

That means I have the option of telling an usher someone is in my seat (and still probably getting beat up) or taking someone else’s seat and continuing the cycle of chaos and potential bloodshed.

Nope, I don’t like this new system at all. Obviously the people who run theaters think it’s a good idea but it just seems to me like it’ll cause more problems than it’s worth.

Regardless, I’m already getting emotionally prepared for June 24, 2021, and dreading who my viewing companions might be.

I do plan on eating plenty of garlic before I go, though.

If I have to deal with cigarettes, pickles, Bud Light and damp ass guy, I want to be able to fight back.