tO'Day, Las Vegas: Tomorrow, the world? Only in weeks, months, years knowing the lasting impact of the Super League's first advance to the US, but while so many things felt new, one thing was creepyly familiar: the Wigan Warriors' glow.
Matt Pete's side has made it their habit to bring out the biggest stages and the best in Nevada.
Given all the dignity and circumstances surrounding Extravaganza, a four-game rugby league in Las Vegas, it was easy to forget, given that two competitive points were at stake. But really, that's the point. It is almost a footnote that Wigan has won three or two in the victory he takes command. What really matters is why they sacrificed their home games at the big financial costs ahead, and why Australian National Rugby League had the opportunity to add the Super League to the bill after last year's first Vegas event. It's not about this: it's about what happens next.
The hope from the NRL's five-year arrangement with Las Vegas is that the busiest and most intense sports market on the planet has an interest in rugby leagues. Moments like a one-handed flight finish from Abbas Miski and a junior Nsemba glow will catch the eye of casual sports fans.
But not only here, but in Las Vegas, the impact of this game can be felt in the Super League. Australian officials returned home after their first state trip last year and reported a major sporting boom in their own patches. The Super League is hoping to experience a similar boom in the UK. If the hype around Las Vegas catches several new supporters on this side of the Atlantic, it must qualify as a great success.
Over 10,000 British fans took the trip. This will allow you to repeatedly invite two more clubs next year. Leeds, St. Helens and Hull KR are among those at the front of the queue. And after this one-sided victory for Wigan began, the remaining crowds were fooled, but the most important onlookers were already sitting for kickoff.
The Super League was given NRL treatment. Facilities, flashy, high-end television production, experience comparable to Australia. British officials are comfortable in the NRL and the most powerful manager Peter V'landys acknowledges that he wants a strong British match, and it makes food for thought.
The prospect of the NRL buying the Super League and putting it under the wing for the benefit of the global game was never approached. And if Australians want to take the Super League to new heights, they have ready-made juggernauts to build it on this Wigan team.
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The warriors dominated the recent British match, and in their attacks they lit up Las Vegas in a way that captivated them. With such a performance, isn't it strange that Vegas wants more rugby than this first five years of agreement, so there's an early noise?
As for the Super League, I have tried out the game on the roads of Barcelona and Wollongong before. Nothing made any identifiable changes to competitive property. However, I felt that this was different. And who knows where the NRL behind them leads to in the Super League?
