Rugby-Rugby facing uphill battle for American attention橄榄球运动在美国争取关注面临重重困难
Sept 11 (Reuters) - Rugby players may be muscular, broad-shouldered athletes built to be seen, yet some of the sport's biggest stars barely turned any heads as they walked around Baltimore, Maryland this week.
Rugby Union - South Africa Captain's Run - Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa - August 21, 2026 South Africa's Jasper Wiese during training REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Sept 11 (Reuters) - Rugby players may be muscular, broad-shouldered athletes built to be seen, yet some of the sport's biggest stars barely turned any heads as they walked around Baltimore, Maryland this week.
"We had a few people recognise us, not me necessarily but the guys I walk with," South Africa number eight Jasper Wiese said before Saturday's deciding test against New Zealand in a series branded Rugby's Greatest Rivalry.
That anonymity captures the challenge, and the opportunity, facing rugby as it looks to capture a thin slice of the lucrative and crowded American sports market where the NFL, with its massive TV ratings and giant business deals, commands unmatched attention.
But many of rugby's decision-makers are undaunted and hoping to harness what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow the game and itsfanbase in the United States given the showcase events happening on American soil within the next decade.
Rugby sevens will be part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and the United States will stage the men's Rugby World Cup in 2031 for the first time before hosting the women's tournament two years later.
USA Rugby has over 100,000 active members across youth, high school, college and senior club levels, a number the organisation would like to see reach 500,000 by the time the World Cups are held in the United States.
"Where it needs to go, we've got a long ways and a lot of work to do," USA Rugby CEO Bill Goren told Reuters.
'NOT AN EASY SPORT TO LEARN'
Saturday's match, at the 71,000-seat home of the NFL's Ravens, will see the All Blacks andSpringboks continue a century-old rivalry as part of the sport's plan to better position itself for a massive breakthrough in the United States.
Rugby is essentially hoping to captivate fans in a landscape where the "Big Four" North American professional sports leagues, the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, dominate revenues, media rights and cultural impact. Soccer has also gained popularity in the United States, which co-hosted the 2026 World Cup.
BobDorfman, a sports marketing analyst in San Francisco, said rugby’s potentialgrowth in the United Stateshinges on a reliable sponsorship pipeline and securing regular TV exposure, while also persuading millions of already-busy sports fans to learn and make room for another game.
"It's not an easy sport to learn, a lot of complicated rules," said Dorfman."It’s so close to American football that I think American football fans who might be the most likely to get into rugby are so wrappedup in the NFL that who has time to really follow another sport?"
ALIGN ALL LEVELS OF THE GAME IN THE US
But Goren, who headed up Major League Rugby's marketing and business operations as deputy commissioner of the North American league before moving to USA Rugby, has a blueprint.
Part of the plan is to ensure all levels of rugby in the United States promote the game in the same direction, building opportunities and clear pathways that make it easier for a curious person to find a place to play.
"What it's going to take is a number of people coming together, alignment throughout our community, ... aligning to promote, drive the game, build the opportunity for people to enjoy the game," said Goren. "Today, it's a challenge."
Having success on the field of play and household names can also go a long way, he added.
Ilona Maher did her part at the 2024 Paris Olympics when she exploded in popularity on social media while helping the U.S. to bronze in rugby sevens. Maherunderstoodthe need for rugby to connect with a younger audience and gained fans through her posts about body positivity and femininity in the athletic form, plus her cheeky Olympic village flirting.
PLENTY OF WORK STILL TO BE DONE
Major League Rugby Co-President AlexanderMagleby is hoping Saturday's game will give Americans a chance to fall in love with rugby fans similar to how they did with soccer supporters during the 2026 World Cup, when Scotland and Norway fans created some of the tournament's more memorable moments.
"If people love soccer fans, they're absolutely going to love rugby fans," saidMagleby. "And so this is an opportunity to take over another city in that regard, which is super cool."
Still, there is plenty of work to be done to get rugby firmly on the map. As South Africa and New Zealand players prepared for their sold-out match, it was clear that rugby has work to do in a crowded U.S. sports marketplace.
"I think it's a bit hard to sell it to America as a sport because they don't know rugby like we do, and maybe they don't appreciate (the game) as much as we do," said South Africa's insidecentre Damian de Allende.
"But the best way to sell it is to have them come to the stadium and enjoy the experience, and see us play as the two best teams in the world. That's the best rugby product they can experience right now in America, so to have the Springboks play New Zealand is the best way to sell the sport."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, additional reporting by Nick Said, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Thank you for your report!
橄榄球联盟——南非队长训练——埃利斯公园体育场，约翰内斯堡，南非——2026年8月21日 南非球员贾斯珀·维斯在训练中 路透社/西菲韦·西贝科
9 月 11 日（路透社）——橄榄球运动员身材魁梧，肩膀宽阔，体格健壮，天生引人注目，但本周，一些橄榄球运动的巨星在马里兰州巴尔的摩街头漫步时，却几乎没有引起任何人的注意。
“有些人认出了我们，不一定是我，而是和我一起走路的那些人，”南非八号球员贾斯珀·维斯在周六与新西兰的决胜测试赛前说道，这场比赛被誉为橄榄球界最伟大的宿敌之战。
这种匿名性体现了橄榄球运动面临的挑战和机遇，它正努力从竞争激烈且利润丰厚的美国体育市场中分得一杯羹，而 NFL 凭借其巨大的电视收视率和巨额商业交易，在这个市场中获得了无与伦比的关注。
但许多橄榄球运动的决策者并未气馁，他们希望抓住这千载难逢的机会，在美国发展这项运动及其球迷群体，因为未来十年将有一系列精彩赛事在美国举行。
七人制橄榄球将成为 2028 年洛杉矶奥运会的正式比赛项目，美国将于 2031 年首次举办男子橄榄球世界杯，两年后又将举办女子橄榄球世界杯。
美国橄榄球协会在青少年、高中、大学和高级俱乐部层面拥有超过 10 万名活跃会员，该组织希望到世界杯在美国举办时，会员人数能达到 50 万。
“要达到应有的高度，我们还有很长的路要走，还有很多工作要做，”美国橄榄球协会首席执行官比尔·戈伦告诉路透社。
“这项运动不容易学”
周六的比赛将在 NFL 巴尔的摩乌鸦队可容纳 71,000 名观众的主场举行，届时全黑队和南非跳羚队将继续延续百年来的竞争，这也是这项运动为在美国取得巨大突破而更好地定位自身计划的一部分。
在北美“四大”职业体育联盟——NFL、MLB、NBA和NHL——主导收入、媒体版权和文化影响力的格局下，橄榄球运动本质上是希望吸引更多球迷。足球在美国也越来越受欢迎，美国曾与其他国家共同举办2026年世界杯。
旧金山体育营销分析师鲍勃·多夫曼表示，橄榄球在美国的潜在增长取决于可靠的赞助渠道和确保定期电视曝光，同时还要说服数百万已经很忙的体育迷去了解并腾出时间来观看另一项运动。
“这项运动不容易学，规则很复杂，”多夫曼说。“它和美式橄榄球太像了，我觉得那些最有可能喜欢上橄榄球的美式橄榄球球迷都太沉迷于NFL了，谁还有时间真正关注其他运动呢？”
在美国调整游戏的所有级别
但戈伦曾在加入美国橄榄球协会之前担任北美橄榄球联盟的副总裁，负责美国职业橄榄球大联盟的市场营销和商业运营，他已经有了一套蓝图。
该计划的一部分是确保美国各级橄榄球运动朝着同一方向推广这项运动，创造机会和清晰的途径，使有兴趣的人更容易找到打球的地方。
戈伦说：“这需要许多人团结起来，整个社区协调一致，共同推广和推动这项运动，为人们创造享受这项运动的机会。今天，这确实是一个挑战。”
他还补充说，在赛场上取得成功和拥有家喻户晓的名气也会大有帮助。
伊洛娜·马赫在2024年巴黎奥运会上为美国队在七人制橄榄球比赛中夺得铜牌做出了贡献，她在社交媒体上迅速走红。马赫深谙橄榄球运动需要吸引年轻观众，她通过发布关于身体自信和女性运动风采的帖子，以及在奥运村里略带俏皮的调情行为，赢得了众多粉丝。
还有很多工作要做
美国职业橄榄球大联盟联合主席亚历山大·马格尔比希望周六的比赛能让美国人爱上橄榄球球迷，就像他们在2026年世界杯期间爱上足球球迷一样。当时，苏格兰和挪威球迷创造了该届世界杯一些最令人难忘的时刻。
“如果人们喜欢足球迷，他们也一定会喜欢橄榄球迷，”马格尔比说。“所以这是一个让另一座城市也爱上橄榄球的机会，这真是太棒了。”
尽管如此，要让橄榄球真正走进大众视野，还有很多工作要做。南非和新西兰球员备战这场门票售罄的比赛时，很明显，橄榄球在美国竞争激烈的体育市场还有很长的路要走。
南非中锋达米安·德·阿连德说：“我认为要把橄榄球这项运动推广到美国有点难，因为他们不像我们一样了解橄榄球，也许他们不像我们一样欣赏这项运动。”
“但最好的推广方式就是让他们来到体育场，享受现场体验，观看我们这两支世界顶级球队的比赛。这是他们现在在美国能体验到的最好的橄榄球赛事，所以让南非队和新西兰队比赛是推广这项运动的最佳方式。”
（多伦多 Frank Pingue 报道，Nick Said 补充报道，Pritha Sarkar 编辑）
感谢您的报告！