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AdelaideNow... America can save doomed AFL clubs I came across this article and it got me to thinking that California would be great for some struggling Australian clubs. This article

krudmonk · June 25th, 2008, 08:38 PM

AdelaideNow... America can save doomed AFL clubs

I came across this article and it got me to thinking that California would be great for some struggling Australian clubs. This article refers only to AFL clubs, but from what I gather, NRL is in the same position.

There's a strong cultural divide between the two sports down there. The south and west are big on Aussie rules while the east and northeast are rugby league strongholds. Melbourne has 10 of 16 AFL clubs and Sydney has 10 of 16 NRL clubs. That's some super-saturation if I ever saw it. Gotta disperse.

LA and the Bay are each bigger than both of those metros. Even though we're not raised on either sport, we're self-praising, open-minded, multi-cultural hippies and we love to show off knowledge about foreign **** (see: glory-hunting Premier League "fans").

The time difference wouldn't be huge since they're so far east that they're basically west. I think it's like 6 hours between the Pacific and Australia's east coast (when we're in standard time).

The matches are about weekly, so it's more like the NFL than NHL as far as distances are related to travel frequency. Home stands would be considerably long to limit travel, too.

Crowds for NRL now are generally comparable to MLS games, so they could probably share stadia. AFL crowds are a bit bigger, but neither is banking on NFL-sized attendance or anything close.

As for accommodating AFL, big ovals can also host cricket matches. California has enough south Asians to make the venues profitable. That helps with the business side of things, too. ****, we could get the new IPL in on it. American dollars still kinda carry some weight in this world.

Anyway, this is really a pipe dream (or two) but I was curious to hear other musings on it. The world of sport seems relatively stagnant within a single generation, but think about the fact that the first Super Bowl was not deemed worthy of keeping on tape. I'm down for new things, especially with MLB holding my city hostage and the Yorks playing cities against each other. You guys are always teased by the NFL so other cities are forced to fund stadium costs. How do you think these leagues/sports would be accepted here in the nation's greatest state?

**WingHater** · June 25th, 2008, 08:49 PM

Not sure how old it was but ESPN Classic was showing boys & girls rugby from Pittsburgh earlierthis week

It wasn't Pittsburgh

It's also what 24 teams from across the U.S. will be playing at Founders Field in Cheswick this weekend, when the USA Rugby National Guard Boys' High School and Boys' and Girls' Under-19 National Championships come to town.

krudmonk · June 25th, 2008, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WingHater

Not sure how old it was but ESPN Classic was showing boys & girls rugby from Pittsburgh earlierthis week

It was probably union. That **** is bogged down with penalties and old English tradition.

**English Bulldog** · June 25th, 2008, 08:57 PM

I love Rugby League, over the years there have been several attempts to try and get it going in the US but they just can't get it to translate over here.

IMO it's just that most US sport watchers can't be bothered to learn another game, especially one with a lot of different things to those they grew up with.

Mashiasu · June 28th, 2008, 09:02 PM

I was a huge AFL fan back when ESPN showed games and I would catch it on FoxSportsWorld before it became FoxSoccerChannel, I can't find a good place to catch games or highlights now but would love to get back into it, I think Rugby is great as well, I do forget what the difference is between Union and League though, I'd love for both these sports to take off here in the States and I would support the AFL coming here, its too bad that most American sports fans are so closed minded.

**No One** · June 28th, 2008, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mashiasu

I was a huge AFL fan back when ESPN showed games and I would catch it on FoxSportsWorld before it became FoxSoccerChannel, I can't find a good place to catch games or highlights now but would love to get back into it, I think Rugby is great as well, I do forget what the difference is between Union and League though, I'd love for both these sports to take off here in the States and I would support the AFL coming here, its too bad that most American sports fans are so closed minded.

I miss the AFL as well...

I would so.. ah **** it... nice avatar...

I watched it on ESPN and the Fox Sports World...