Rugby World Cup Is just around the corner

Many people may not realize this but The Rugby World Cup is almost upon us! After a brief two week trip down to New Zealand, I fell in love with the game. It may have been the overwhelming love of the All Blacks (New Zealand's national Team) found throughout the country or it may have been the variation of rules to American football which let me relate to the game, or even the constant advertising of the World Cup which is to be hosted there, but for whatever the reason behind my sudden appreciation for the game, i know that in America there is no cultural following.

Outside of the big four (Football, Baseball, Basket Ball, and Hockey) other sports such as Rugby or Soccer get brushed aside and barley mentioned. As seen with the World cup in south Africa in 2010, Soccer finally gained the same recognition as the big four. That recognition died quickly at it's conclusion and was yet again swept away with little care.

While the Rugby World Cup is the 3rd largest sporting event in the world, it’s still a “niche” sport in this country. My worries, as much as it saddens me is that Rugby wont even get the recognition remotely close to that of the FIFA world cup and only a select few will actually care or follow the world cup through its entirety. Unlike the FIFA World Cup which seemed to have quite a bit of coverage here in America, only a select few game will be viewable on a (12 hr) delay on NBC or Universalsports.com, and of these games only the American games and the final match would be shown.

Who knows maybe I am wrong and there is an American culture for rugby. Regardless of that I know im going to do my best to watch as much of it as I can.