Who Are America's rugby fans?
US rugby has a small army of supporters behind it that should aid its success.
Who are America’s rugby fans and where are they?
There are now about 45 million people in the United States who are either “interested” or “very interested” in rugby, according to a World Rugby/Nielsen survey from 2019.
That’s an incredible stat. According to the same survey, there are 877 million followers of rugby union and 405 million fans worldwide.
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Attendance is currently an issue for Major League Rugby though. Most teams average about 2000-3000 fans per game. New England Free Jacks owner Errik Anderson doesn’t see that as a problem but more of a challenge: He looks at attendance in terms of three tiers – 2000, 7500 and 20,000. “In ten years…” he said recently, talking optimistically about reaching the top tier. “The goal now is community. Maybe one day we’ll have a stadium in Boston.”
Filling the seats has always been a challenge for fledgling leagues anywhere in the world, and now that MLR will be headed into its 6th season, there’s really no reason for failing to bring in the fans – especially given there is proof the fans exist.
USA Rugby, which was founded in 1975, now has over 125,000 members playing in 2,673 clubs. There are more than 900 college teams nationwide. These are players and fans, and if the marketing is done right, every one of them could bring a handful of player to each MLR game. The women’s game is increasingly popular in the U.S., too, which means more and more women will be spreading the word and attending games in years to come.
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(On the sidelines at an Old Glory DC match, June 13, 2021)
Many MLR owners are focusing primarily on building a community, as Anderson told me. This will bring in local crowds, some of whom aren’t necessarily rugby aficionados but hopefully will be eventually. With matches broadcast CBS, Fox Sports networks and various Internet hubs like therugbynetwork.com, there’s little doubt the audience will continue to grow.
Owners like Anderson are counting on former players carrying the viewership numbers, at least in the short-term. “Participation turns into lifetime fandom,” he said.
Here’s hoping.
I realize I haven’t fully answered the question I posed at the start of this column. So I’ll return to this question of the fans on occasion as I tackle other issues pertaining to rugby in the US.
(Next week: A short history of US rugby)
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