LAS VEGAS — OK, Australians, I’m hooked.
I witnessed the first bone-jarring blow between two players not wearing helmets or pads. The impact could be heard and felt from the press box high above Allegiant Stadium, which felt like it was miles away from the field.
Then, I was really fascinated to see another player with blood running down the side of his head from an accidental blow (a small wound, depending on the person), but with blood wrapped tightly around his forehead. It was immediately treated with a bandage. Tourniquet.
Please continue playing.
Unlike the NFL, where the blue tents on the sidelines are filled with injured players as often as people wander in and out of hourly motels on the outskirts of Las Vegas, National Rugby League is a game of constant intensity. Despite this, he continues to play. Brutality in its rhythm.
Inside my head as I watched the historic NRL double-header at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night, where the Manly Sea Eagles defeated the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters defeated the Brisbane Broncos. The thought that always remained was that these rugby players must think NFL players are what they are. It’s soft compared to that.
Of course, that’s not true in the slightest.
But the truth is this. The rugby league I watched on Saturday night was proof that these players are tougher and demand far more endurance from their respective players than our mainstream sport does.
Because it’s brutal and fast and it feels like there are as many play stops as the Jets quarterback throws touchdown passes in a game. I mean, there aren’t that many.
Three weeks ago, I sat inside Allegiant Stadium at the 2024 Super Bowl, enjoying the biggest and most spectacular event in American sports for the 32nd time as a sportswriter.
Unlike some of my colleagues who are fed up with the Super Bowl because the bigger the Super Bowl gets, the more limited access it has to players and officials, I still don’t like how the players stand up for the game. Just like that, I’m standing up to cover the game. that.
Saturday night on the same natural grass turf where the Chiefs and 49ers played for the Lombardi Trophy 21 nights earlier (faint images of both teams’ logos were still visible on the midfield grass). , I witnessed another memorable sporting spectacle. In the form of an NRL double header involving four of Australia’s most popular clubs.
Even though these were not fluffy exhibitions but genuine regular season key contests with points at stake, the points for this double header had less to do with NRL standings points and more to do with the sport as a whole. revealed the statue.
Watching and covering a rugby match for the first time in more than 40 years as a sportswriter, I never forgot the big picture unfolding here. My curiosity to learn rugby and experience the rugby atmosphere was completely stimulated. Translate in America.
For the NRL, this is like stepping into American waters, and for newcomers like me and the many Americans who are at Allegiant Stadium watching the game on TV, it’s a strong case for even more interest. became.
“I think we made a big impact,” said manly halfback Luke Brooks, who scored a “try” (the rugby version of a touchdown) on his debut for the club after 11 seasons with Wests Tigers. He spoke later.
Manly owner and chairman Scott Penn, who lives in New York City, called the night and week a “huge success,” adding, “This is building for the future.” we put on a show. We are showing America what the NRL can do. It’s great entertainment. It was a great experience. ”
There’s no debate there.
Please continue playing.
“The occasion itself was a big deal,” Manly coach Anthony Seibold said. “It was a great opportunity for us. We wanted tonight to be the most important 80 minutes of the week and a half we’ve been here, but we feel like we played some really good football. I’m proud to come here and represent them and get the win.”
The show was really great. It was held in front of an announced crowd of over 40,000 people, which was quite impressive for a sport that very few people in this country know about. To be fair, around 14,000 Australians came from Down Under just for this match, so the crowd was focused on the Australians.
Everyone in attendance enjoyed memorable NFL-like moments.
In the first game, when Manly’s Reuben Garrick received a pass and crossed the goal line for a ‘try’, he celebrated by slamming the ball into the turf with a fierce spike.
“He talked about doing it this week. It was Gronk’s cleats,” said manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans of former Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski and his patented He said with a smile while referring to the spikes he had already done.
In the second game, Sydney’s Joseph Manu played a magical no-look behind-the-back pass to teammate Junior Pauga, crossing the goal line and scoring the ‘try’ that put the Roosters into overtime. There was a Patrick Mahomes moment. ‘He was the leader at the time.
To borrow a slogan from a PGA Tour marketing campaign from a few years ago, “These guys are good guys.”
“We weren’t just representing Manly and fighting for two points. We wanted to expose the game here,” Cherry-Evans said. “As a player, you try not to think about the big picture. You go out there and try to give your best performance.”
They did it.
And it was a great climax to a cool week that saw the NRL play outside Australia and New Zealand for the first time in the league’s 108-year history.
The pre-game excitement was highlighted by a Fan Fest held Friday night in the Old Town Fremont Street area of Las Vegas, where approximately 5,000 fans lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the players from the four clubs on stage. They packed the sidewalks and then walked around the stage. red carpet.
Unlike the Super Bowl, where the players are essentially kept secret throughout the week and not seen by fans until they take the field on game day, this was a uniquely intimate experience for rugby league fans.
There were many heartfelt moments this past week, starting with Fan Fest and seeing the players from each team express their heartfelt gratitude for being lucky enough to be a part of this historic occasion. Many of the people I spoke to this week felt they had a responsibility to help grow their sport in America.
The Super Bowl is the ultimate game at the end of the season, so it comes down to it every year, but Saturday night’s NRL doubleheader felt like a new beginning.
The two games marked the start of the NRL’s 2024 season and, more importantly, the games marked the beginning of the league’s five-year commitment to open the season in Las Vegas.
Hopefully, the NRL learns from this week and finds even better ways to showcase and promote their products more effectively. That should include improved access to media for players during the preparation period.
Nothing sells a product more than athletes. The NRL has no shortage of notable athletes, socialites and characters. The league needs to be more open to the media and showcase it better in the future so people can get to know them.
“If we can make an impact and it goes into the big picture, that’s great for our game,” Cherry-Evans said. “I hope the American people noticed. I hope they had fun tonight.”
I noticed.
I enjoyed the night.
And I’m looking forward to watching more rugby league in the future because I’m hooked.
