CBSSN has signed on to televise 13 MLR matches in total this seasonGETTY IMAGES
Major League Rugby began its second season this past weekend, and Commissioner Dean Howes predicts the sport "will be more visible than ever" in the U.S. this year, according to Rory Carroll of REUTERS. Howes said that the sport's lack of popularity in North America was due to "limited exposure." He said, "There's always been an appetite for it, it just hasn't been on the menu." Howes claims that rugby "had all the ingredients that make a sport popular in the United States and that it also translated well on television." Carroll notes CBSSN "has signed on to televise 13 matches this season." Howes formerly was Real Salt Lake CEO, and he hopes MLR "would see similar success" as MLS. Howes: "We get to follow the model of Major League Soccer and accelerate the things that were successful" (REUTERS, 1/28).
SLOW AND STEADY: In Austin, Chris Bils reports a crowd of 1,604 was at yesterday's season-opening Houston SaberCats-Austin Elite rugby game at Dell Diamond, a jump from the 700 or so fans who "showed up for the first home match at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex" last year. The attendance was hurt by a steady rain that "fell throughout the evening" and temperatures that were in the low 50s. Elite Owner & CEO Thierry Daupin: "It's disappointing, but when you see what the weather was, it's actually pretty good." Daupin said that the team "hopes the draw between 3,500 and 5,000 fans" by the end of the season. Bils notes Elite are doing their best to "create a major league environment, even if the crowds are still lacking" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1/28).
