Major League Rugby is a Quiet Success. Now Can It Become Relevant?

Save 10% at Royal Retros when using the promo code: TOUCHBACK Shop Royal Retros Here: https://www.503-sports.com/discount/T... Like us on Facebook:   / touchbackthe   Follow on X:   / touchbackthe   Major League Rugby is without question the best US sports league most people aren’t watching. It does all the basic things so many startup sports leagues fail to do well. It is not an NFL or NBA-level product, but it is just as good as any of those other secondary sports vying for the public’s attention. Honestly, it is better than most. But getting to this point is like reaching the base camp at Mount Everest. MLR has already traversed significant heights and now the hard part truly starts. Can it become profitable and carve out a niche in a crowded American sports landscape? History shows us that failure is the most likely outcome. However, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. This is a league with a grounded approach and a holistic view of the bigger picture. It won’t guarantee success but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Visibility is always a challenge for new sports leagues. It is one Major League Rugby has solved. There are a fair few games on Fox Sports 1 and 2. Some local stations carry games for the hometown teams. And just about everything else is free through MLR’s The Rugby Network streaming service. Attendance is either a glass half full or glass half empty proposition depending on how you look at it. Raw numbers and averages aren’t going to blow anyone away. You’re looking at around 2,500 to 4,000 people per game most weeks with the odd spike or value mixed in there. Many MLR stadiums have around 4-5000 seats and don’t even sell out most weeks. You could easily think that’s bad. On the other hand, if I told you 3,000 or so people were turning up to watch rugby union matches in America, you may also be kind of surprised. This brings me to one of the more puzzling things about rugby union stateside. It’s somehow both a known commodity and yet not known at all. Union has a rich collegiate tradition in America. It is played all over, and most of the time, it is club level or thereabouts, meaning it is the students running the show by and large. MLR has had its fair share of success. There are also just as many challenges that may stop it from becoming relevant. About The Touchback #takeitouttothe25 The Touchback is the world’s best sports and culture website…or something like that. You’ll either really like it or really hate it. But it’s worth reading either way.