NFL Turn Rugby

NFL Turn Rugby

Union Rugby and League Rugby Differences
UNION RUGBY is the original style of play when someone refers to rugby inside the US. Not to be confused with LEAGUE RUGBY which is a modified version of the original game of UNION RUGBY but with the down and distance rule and only 13 men on one side of the ball.

RUGBY LEAGUE PAYS

The main difference between the two types of rugby is the amateur status of UNION RUGBY across the network of teams to the fair agreement of not paying their players. LEAGUE RUGBY was formed to compensate players that were injuried and to pay for other damages that cause players away from their work. Later salary was awarded to top players to bring in large crowds of an audience.

FASTEST GROWING SPORT

Rugby in America today is UNION RUGBY because it could not turn a profit to be a money making business. Naturally, all the rugby stars converted to LEAGUE RUGBY to be compensated for their talents by moving overseas. Currently America is raising attention and interest in rugby as the fastest growing sport inside the US. With Olympics rugby approaching in year 2016, the fan base is thickening. Markets are opening that can be profitable demanding rugby.

A professionally paid American Rugby Union League is being born as we speak.

American RUGBY UNION League
Investors are fighting over territories to claim rich rugby markets. The season could start as soon as 2015. To not battle the NFL season and the winter weather, the season will start in the spring and end in August before NFL starts their regular season. The American RUGBY UNION League cities are not announced yet to accommodate every owner’s best interest for success for the franchise and to the future of the league. The league will need at least 12 cities to host these franchises to support this developing league. As well as top athletes that people want to see to perform for their team.

PLAYER BREAKDOWN

Partnering with the NFL, former NFL player and undrafted free agents can look forward to a training camp in 2014 to achieve a spot of one of the 25 player rosters. 300 rugby players will be needed to form these new teams. Most rugby players will come from top performing local clubs from inside the United States and Canada. Other will be foreign players imported in to raise the level of play. The first 3 years the league will allow up to 12 foreign overseas players to sign on contracts to be part of the development of the American RUGBY UNION League. After a franchuse's first three season is over, the limit of only 12 foreign players will reduce to 5 foreign players per team.

SALARY

Contracting 13 American and Canadian rugby players will be easy. To get 12 high level foreign already professional rugby players form overseas will be a challenge. With rugby converting into a money making business the franchises are willing to pay a salary cap of $1.75 million on player’s salary. That’s an average $70,000 to play rugby professionally inside the United States. The minimum salary for Europe’s Super League Rugby is $50,000. 

NFL CONNECTION

NFL free agents and undrafted football players have now found an NFL off-season contact sport. Many NFL free agents and former NFL stars are attending rugby practices and dominating international competition. Franchise owners will pay freeze player's wage to $2,500 per game played the first two years form the 25 man roster or until revenues across the league show profitable and will reward the players with their salary in bonuses.

NFL Conversion

Ahman Green, 36, Green Bay Packers all-time rushing leader and former Nebraska Cornhusker running back converted to USA Rugby. Green, a four-time Pro Bowl selection. His last year in the NFL was 2009. He signed with a Canadian Football League team in 2011 but was cut after failing his physical. Ahman is training with USA Rugby 7s team making the rugby conversion.

The NFL connection gives thanks to Carlin Isles, a small college football player and track sprinter. Carlin Isles give inspiration to what a top level athlete can do on a rugby pitch for being such a running threat with a 10.4 second 100 meter dash. Making Carlin the Fastest Man in Rugby in the World.

With more NFL player converting to USA Rugby 2016 Olympics, the world will witness a giant awaken.

Two Ways American Rugby Union League Can Form

Expanding American Rugby Union League

Rugby is the fastest growing sport in America currently. With 50,000 male and 12,000 female rugby players currently playing rugby is only growing.  With 47,000 teenage males and 20,000 teenage females actively playing high school rugby and engaging onto colleges with more seen scholarships than ever before. NCAA is growing closer recognizing rugby to a nationwide Varsity sport with 32,000 collegiate rugby players active. Of course with Title Nine says male and female student should have an equal number of available sports to participate. Rugby maybe a realistic chance for boys and girls with 179,000 preteen males and 150,000 preteen females actively in rugby.

There will be a great market for professional rugby in North America coming soon.

Two Ways North America can form a National Rugby Union League.

Way # 1: NA4 (already trialed)

The NA4 composed of a committee of USA Rugby, Rugby Canada and IRB back in 2005. NA4 consists of (2) USA Rugby squads and (2) Rugby Canada squads. USA Falcons and USA Hawks were two teams split form the USA Rugby team. Canada West and Canada East were split from Rugby Canada team

The USA Falcon consists of 34 players using facilities in Glendale, Colorado.
The USA Hawks consists of 34 players using facilities in Columbus, Ohio.
Canada West was based out of British Columbia, near Vancouver, Canada.
Canada East was based out of Ontario, Canada.

These four team played 2006-2008 in a short three week season in the summer months. An elimination weekend and a championship weekend decided first, second and third.  Canada West won all three years. The expectations of the NA4 was to expand by two more teams every year allowing to increase the season length. Expectations were to have 8 teams to sell off in 2008 into commercial franchises.

Canadian Rugby Championship
In 2009 partially fund by IRB in grant to develop Tier 2 Nations. Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC) succeed from the NA4 with an additional team to compete with British Columbia and Vancouver. British Columbia was matched with Prairie Provinces Wolfpack in the Western Conference and Vancouver was matched with St. Johns (Eastern five Provinces) in the Eastern conferences. The CRC was a 3 weekend season in 2009. In 2010 the CRC 3 week season with a playoff matches. The 2011 CRC was a 5 week season without a playoff. 2012 CRC was a 5 week season with a final match.

Americas Rugby Championship
In 2009 USA Rugby entered into a 4 team annual series along with Rugby Canada select side to challenge Argentina Jaguars and Tonga. Eventually Tonga was replaced in the series with Uruguay. Argentina Jaguars won all series in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Canada came runner up three times and USA Rugby one time runner up in the series.

Recap NA4
Rugby Canada teams were playing in stadium capacities of 7,500 and succeeding. America has since hosted international teams that broke record of 17,000 in 2012 versus Italy and in 2013 20,000 in attendance  versus Ireland. November 9th 2013 USA Rugby will host New Zealand's Maori in Philadelphia at PPL Park.  Rugby has dramatically increased its T.V. audience of rugby to large broadcasting stations across the entire nation since year 2009. Rugby live broadcast reached 3.5 million viewers, even re-run past events are on the air broadcasting today.With USA Rugby recruiting former high performance football players, T.V. ratings will climb higher.

Proofing National teams are capable and profitable.

Way #2: Sevens
Olympic Sevens is American perfect form of rugby. Instead of 15 players on one side of the ball, rugby adapted to 7. Less players more focus on the athlete. Sevens is faster with less tackles and less stoppage of the game. Rugby Sevens increases frequency of scoring to roughly less than a minute to increase excitement of the game. Rugby Sevens is perfect for Americans because the halves are only 7 minutes long which will increase T.V. contract revenues. The entire game spans into less than 20 minutes to keep American audience’s attention spans. Rugby Sevens allows multiple games per day event versus other teams repeatedly. With shorter rosters better pay can be spread around for higher incomes to obtain greater athletes to convert football players to the game of rugby.

Rugby Sevens is less inexpensive method to start a league of rugby franchises across the nation. Rugby Sevens can pave the way for rugby union 15s in the futures to come once there is a foundation.

But from right now USA Rugby has the 2016 Olympic gold title to defend.

Twitter: @hawkeyerugby
Google+ MichaelKlostermannIowa

City Selection for American Rugby Union League

City Selection for American Rugby Union League

Traditionally America’s rugby communities are known to be in California, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and on the East Coast. There are communities in the United States that standout from the rest of the nation. Areas of America of wide fan base to rugby that can be targeted for potential location to host an American Rugby League Team.

Rugby Cities:

Seattle, WA
Portland, OR
Sacramento, CA
San Francisco CA
San Angeles, CA
San Diego, CA
Phoenix, AZ
Las Vegas, NV
Salt Lake City, UT
Colorado Springs, CO
Denver, CO
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
San Antonio, TX
Minneapolis, MN
Chicago, IL
Columbus, OH
Boston, MA
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Baltimore, MD
Washington D.C.
Miami, FL

Remember this is business. “It’s All About The Benjamins”

Producing an American product to make the most money from the largest market that can sell the best brand to the targeted and new audience. Location selection will be sensitive where to develop an American Rugby League team. Qualification for selection of a hosting city will strongly be based off profitable and large T.V. markets.

Rank	Metropolitan Market Regions / Areas
1	New York
2	Los Angeles
3	Chicago
4	Philadelphia
5	Dallas-Ft. Worth
6	San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
7	Boston
8	Atlanta
9	Washington, DC
10	Houston
11	Detroit
12	Phoenix
13	Tampa-St. Petersburg
14	Seattle-Tacoma
15	Minneapolis-St. Paul
16	Miami-Ft.Lauderdale
17	Cleveland-Akron
18	Denver
19	Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne
20	Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto
21	St. Louis
22	Portland, OR
23	Pittsburgh
24	Charlotte, NC
25	Indianapolis
26	Baltimore
27	Raleigh-Durham
28	San Diego
29	Nashville
30	Hartford-New Haven
31	Kansas City
32	Columbus, OH
33	Salt Lake City
34	Cincinnati
35	Milwaukee
36	Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson
37	San Antonio
38	West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce
39	Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek
40	Birmingham
41	Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York
42	Las Vegas
43	Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News
44	Albuquerque-Santa Fe
45	Oklahoma City
46	Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem
47	Jacksonville, FL
48	Memphis
49	Austin
50	Louisville
51	Buffalo
52	Providence-New Bedford
53	New Orleans
54	Wilkes Barre-Scranton
55	Fresno-Visalia
56	Little Rock-Pine Bluff
57	Albany-Schenectady-Troy
58	Richmond-Petersburg
59	Knoxville
60	Mobile-Pensacola
61	Tulsa
62	Ft. Myers-Naples
63	Lexington
64	Dayton
65	Charleston-Huntington
66	Flint-Saginaw-Bay City
67	Roanoke-Lynchburg
68	Tucson
69	Wichita-Hutchinson
70	Green Bay-Appleton
71	Des Moines-Ames
72	Honolulu
73	Toledo
74	Springfield, MO
75	Spokane
76	Omaha
77	Portland-Auburn
78	Paducah-Cape Girardeau-Harrisburg
79	Columbia, SC
80	Rochester, NY
81	Syracuse
82	Huntsville-Decatur
83	Champaign-Springfield-Decatur
84	Shreveport
85	Madison
86	Chattanooga
87	Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville-McAllen
88	Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dubuque
89	South Bend-Elkhart
90	Jackson, MS
91	Colorado Springs-Pueblo
92	Tri-Cities, TN-NC-VA
93	Burlington-Plattsburgh
94	Waco-Temple-Bryan
95	Baton Rouge
96	Savannah
97	Davenport-Rock Island-Moline
98	El Paso
99	Charleston, SC
100	Ft. Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers

Over expansion and cross marketing can be a threat to other markets especially in future growth of the league. For development growth purpose the ARUL cannot have too many market American Rugby Leagues team at the beginning stage. Having 12 teams debuting would be far enough the first stages of paying professional athletes to pay in a rugby league. Expansion markets will open up to amount of teams depending success. Growth and popularity of rugby will spike after 2016 Olympics and 2020 Olympics. Hype will double the number to expansion markets to total 24 league teams. Like the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL with in a decade the American Rugby Union League will grow to near 30 league teams.

Cities To Avoid Financially Saturated Exhausted Sports Markets
Milwaukee (Worst Saturation)
Cleveland
Denver
Buffalo
Kansas City
Pittsburgh
Tampa
Cincinnati
St. Louis
New Orleans
Winnipeg
Phoenix
Minneapolis
Nashville
Salt Lake City
Detroit
San Francisco
Charlotte
Indianapolis (Saturated)

Available Cities That Can Support An NFL Team (Or An Additional One)
#1 New York, NY
#2 Los Angeles, CA
#3 Chicago, IL
#4 Riverside, CA
#5 Washington D.C.
#6 Houston, TX
#7 Montreal, Canada
#8 Philadelphia, PA
#9 Norwalk, CT
#10 Las Veges, NV
#11 Dallas, TX
#12 Virginia Beach, VA
#13 Providence, RI
#14 Austin, TX
#15 Hartford, CT
#16 San Jose, CA
#17 San Juan, Puerto Rico
#18 Sacramento, CA
#19 Richmond, VA
#20 Atlanta, GA
#21 Louisville, KY
#22 Miami, FL
#23 Birmingham, AL
#24 San Antonio
#25 Boston
#26 Honolulu, HI
#27 Rochester, NY
#28 New Haven, CT
#29 Orlando, FL
#30 Portland, OR
#31 Seattle, WA
#32 Tulsa, OK
#33 Ventura, CA
#34 Albany NY
#35 Omaha, NE
#36 Tucson, AZ
#37 Warcester, MA

Cities and Markets with Recognized Potential for Selection by Conference:

WEST
Los Angeles, CA
Riverside, CA
Las Vegas, NV

San Jose, CA
Sacramento,CA
Portland, OR
Seattle,WA
Ventura, CA
Tucson, AZ
San Deigo*
Albuquerque*
San Francisco
Salt Lake City
Phoenix
Denver

SOUTH
Houston, TX
Dallas, TX
Austin, TX
Richmond, VA
Atlanta, GA
Miami, FL
Birmingham, AL
San Antonio, TX
Orlando, FL
Tulsa, OK
Jacksonville*
Memphis
New Orleans
Tampa

NORTH
Chicago, IL
Louisville, KY
Omaha, NE
Columbus*
Indianapolis
Detroit
Minneapolis
St. Louis
Cincinnati
Kansas City
Cleveland
Milwaukee

EAST
New York, NY
Washington D.C
Philadelphia, PA
Norwalk, CT
Virginia Beach, VA
Providence, RI

Hartford, CT

Boston, MA
Rochester, NY
New Haven, CT
Albany, NY
Warcester, MA
Baltimore*
Charlotte
Pittsburgh
Buffalo

OUTSIDE of US:
Montreal, Canada
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Honolulu, HI
Vancouver*
Toronto*
Ottawa*
Calgary*
Winnepeg

Twitter: @hawkeyerugby
Google+ MichaelKlostermannIowa

American Rugby Union League

American Rugby Union League

Rugby grew popularity inside schools in England. Since Webb Ellis played inside the confined lines on the field of the school yard that made the sport a popular competition amongst surround schools. The students grew out of the school yards and into communities of rugby teams. A union formed of many teams across England to establish a fair association of play. Rugby is a dangerous game for a working man. Injuries from playing and missing work leaned teams to pay their players for damages the game caused. The teams inside the “rugby union” agreed to fair competition. Teams are not allowed to pay the players under any circumstances. Rugby will only be an amateur sport.

A different form of rugby was established to compensate their players and change a few rule to eliminate some of the dangers of “union rugby” and easier on the body. This style of rugby was called “league rugby”. League rugby currently has thirteen teams existing in England and one in France in a season called, “Super League” consisting of the top performance league team in Europe.

Today the sport of rugby is the 3^rd largest sport in the world, just not in North America. Football is a money making business that adapted away from American rugby in 1906 to establish rules and regulate safety inside universities. Today rugby has developed into a safer game than American football.

With a larger fan base overseas and being the fastest growing sport in the United States. Rugby can establish a (ARL) American Rugby League. It is time for an American product of rugby to the American market adapting NFL methods. Paying players to play the game to create a money making business.

The NFL is capitalizing on their revenues with T.V. Contracts, stadium ticket revenue and merchandise with branding. Paying high performance athletes will bring in an audience.

“Build it and they will come”

Twitter: @hawkeyerugby
Google+ MichaelKlostermannIowa

Fantasy Rugby

Fantasy Football, Why Not Fantasy Rugby?

In 1906 Theodore Roosevelt formed a committee to reduce the violence in rugby football establishing in many developing colleges across the nation. With no established rule of the game of rugby it became a dangerous sport to participate. An average of 6 deaths and 160 serious injuries per year raised concern for Roosevelt as his youngest son was enroll into college and joined the rugby team as a freshman.

The committee as known today as the NCAA developed rugby into American football is today. Introducing yardage penalties, the line of scrimmage and greatest difference of the down and distance rules. Influenced by presidential orders, the NCAA defined the difference between Football and Rugby on American campuses. Football became the sport of choice.

Rugby union’s pride of only being an amateur sport while athletic icons took payment for playing on teams that paid the highest salary to draw in the largest crowds. Football became a money making business in America in competition all across the nation. With no television broadcast to see such athleticism, player’s statistics were judged as to value of an individual.

Player’s statistics heavily weighed a person’s ability to play the game in all sports. Baseball cards and Football cards became collectible to fan base. Numbers mattered to team owners, managers, coaches and most importantly the fans.

In 1962 a partners of the Oakland Raiders created a sport with player’s statistics. Drafting players and interest in keeping track of top players was part of theses creator’s jobs apart of the Oakland Raider’s organization. Manually keeping track of statistics and point system was challenging but it was personally and professionally rewarding to being a fan of the game of football and player stats.

Not until 1996 when the internet boom did fantasy football take off on websites. Charging $300 for a group league to play for a computer to take the statistics and points systems for the fantast player. The next year in 1997 with advertisements fantasy football websites was free with popular demand of participates engaging onto advertising websites.

The NFL succeed widening is fan bases and longer hours of fans tuning in per week. In 2000 an average fan engaged five hours per week. While today 33.5 million fantasy football players engages nine plus hours per week. The NFL makes the profit off the audience of attention with T.V. contracts and sports news coverage programs commercials revenues.

The problem with rugby in America is the inability to pay great athletes to convert from football to rugby. Football players will not play rugby unless the pay is right. This is not possible unless the audience is willing to watch and track their favorite athlete perform in competition. Though football has able time to in between downs to keep record of player’s statistics. Rugby is a continuously playing game with many people on the field handling the ball. Is it possible for rugby to develop to be a fantasy sport to better interact with its fan base.

Rugby statistics currently consists of the player’s appearance on the field of a full game or short time. Because the game briefly stops, most recognition of achievement in a rugby game is when scoring a try. For the average game of rugby when there is only a few scores per game this could be lame fantasy sport. Some of the best players do not score but contribute to the team greatly.

What more is there to look for in statistics in a rugby game?

Twitter: @hawkeyerugby
Google+ MichaelKlostermannIowa

Who to Thank For Rugby

Who To Thank For Rugby.

Like Christopher Columbus we believe he sailed across the sea and became the first to discovered America. In history books we read of accomplishment about people, but is it in fact true. In recent discoveries many other generations previously set sail and discovered America before Christopher Columbus did. Some in fact walked from Asia to America and settled. Empires had already existed and passed before the claimed first foot to reach these American grounds.

As all the rugby world has heard the crediting story to who first created rugby. A young English school boy playing on ground of a boarding school in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. In 1923, a 17 year old boy by the name of Webb Ellis. The rugby world credits Webb Ellis with his action of playing a soccer-like game and catches the ball in his arms and then continued to run forward.

It took scholars years to figure the credit to who invented this game. Crediting to Webb after he passed in 1872 did Old Rugbeian Society in 1895 investigate. May the truth be unknown?

It is also unknown when the Olympic Games first started. It is estimated that the game ended near 400 A.D. when the Roman gained power and influence in Greece. Governments and religions dampened sport gathering in Europe.

Many sports across the world involved carrying a ball and running around and through people. Many countries commonly played an individual rough game of keep away with a ball with no goals but to only bring the ball home.  Some in entire towns in United Kingdom played Shrovetide. A game of one-half town versus the other one-half town fighting over a large ball to two points of town over a 3 mile distance. This has been known to go on for days with thousands of people participating all over town. On Shrove Day the town shuts down till the game is over. But Religions and governments discouraged the Shrovetide game to be played. Except for one town of Ashbourne in the United Kingdom.

It was known Webb Ellis’s father was in the military on campaigns to many countries to hold the peace in the UK when Webb was a school boy.

Did Webb Ellis’s father teach him to run with the ball? The like traits of today’s rugby.

On a school ground Webb Ellis picks up a ball and runs. Confined into the yards of a playground sets limits of boundaries a ball carrier can be chased to. Adopting a new idea of a game from Shrovetide but a game with closer goals and a shorter distance and can be played every day.

Surrounding schools yards practiced the trend of play and accepted competition each other. Wide spread of ability of a physical competition among school caused popularity. With gained interest thousands of spectators came to witness a school sanctioned sport. By popular demand communities of rugby players came together for form a union of mens clubs all across England to form a league of rugby competition.

War and conflict spread many European countries military into Australia and New Zealand. As well as immigration to the United States.

In 1963 The Football Association formed. An unconnection game of playing with the ball with hands using feet only. Using rugby football’s network of union competition clubs.

In 1981 Basket was invented by James Naismith, a sports coach, college professor and innovator. Designed a game for rugby players to practice in the off-season. Also invented the football helmet.

In 1896 International Olympic Committee (IOC) forms to coordinate an international competition of games.

In 1906 Theodore Roosevelt changes the rugby football game rules America to modern football more seen today because of his son was enrolling freshman into college joining the rugby team and the violence was averaging 8 deaths and 180 serious injuries per year. Roosevelt’s committee eventually formed what is known today as the NCAA.

In 1920 and 1924 United States wins gold in rugby, the last time rugby is an Olympic game.

Today Australia, New Zealand, England and France dominate the International rugby board rankings as the best rugby countries in the world including. Republic of Africa that credits Nelson Mandela and the game of rugby that made a nation.

Who Do We Give The Greatest Appreciation To For Giving Us All Of This?

Twitter: @hawkeyerugby
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Why Rugby? Why Not?

Why Rugby? Why Not Play Rugby?

Traveled across half the state coupe up five men deep in one car. $10 gas money to the poor driver for using his car and gas to lug 800 pounds of man to the opposing city and hopefully back. The condition of having to travel away, with the roster of twenty-two are below standard and illegal. Small compact cars supposably have the best gas mileage. Band of vehicles forming a convoy searching for the open field in the city on enemy territory. Reaching destination the home team stops their pregame warm up to watch the contending exit their Hondas and Toyotas. Strong and large bodies exiting their like sardine can car. The illusion of a clown car. This is how ruggers know they are amateur athletes. But this feels like the big leagues.

Return home after rugby match. Grabbing ice packs out of the freezer. The dead leg dance of a temporary limp from the abuse of the 80 minutes played out on the pitch. The dreaded shower to wash the sweat and dirt off the body. Water burns through the small cuts and scrapes as it cleans. Muscles too sore to bend forward to wash the stubbed toes and shoulder can bare reach to the shampoo hair.  Notice a few bruises starting to shine. Can’t wait for tomorrow to see how big that black eye can possibly show its black and blue colors. Smiling with pride and no regrets. Friends, co-workers and especially mothers continuing repeat the question. “Why Rugby?”

Twitter: @hawkeyerugby
Google+ MichaelKlostermannIowa