You have got to admire David Niu. Not only is he a man who somehow manages to have a surname that’s difficult to spell despite it consisting of only three letters, he has battled on for years to establish rugby league in the United States. There is an excellent feature in this month’s Rugby League World -- penned by Steve Mascord (who else?) -- in which he shares at least some of his latest plans to kick off a professional league circuit there, scheduled to be launched on 4 July this year and kicking off in 2011. It is easy to be cynical about such things but I prefer to wait and see. The potential riches -- in terms of what it can do for the 13-a-side code’s international profile, at least -- are immense and always have been. No room to go into the history of all that here but after ten-or-so years of patient grass roots building on the north east seaboard in particular, perhaps now really is the best chance ever finally to make that long-held dream a reality.
Although I’ve met Dave on a few occasions -- perhaps the most memorable being on a team bus with the Tomahawks as they yelled out Philadelphia Freedom while we roared through the streets of Moscow in 2002 -- I haven’t seen him for a while now, so it is good to know he is still plugging away. And as I am sure he would be the first to admit, things have grown to the extent that it isn’t just about him anymore. There are many other eager pioneers these days, including the estimable Daryl ‘Spinner’ Howland in Florida. I will be in New York in June and hope to catch my first-ever rugby league match on US soil, if this year’s expanded domestic league is underway by then.
Anyway, along with the RLW feature, this American musing was sparked by news that the RFL has secured television rights into the USA for our very own Super League this season, taking international viewing figures to “previously unreachable levels” according to the official press release.
A deal, it seems, has been struck with a company called America One, “a national television network reaching an audience in excess of 35 million households in 125 markets. America One’s nationwide coverage spans New York and Miami on the eastern seaboard through to Seattle and San Francisco on the west coast. The deal, brokered by media specialists IMG, provides live and recorded Engage Super League matches to America One, who also screened action from last year’s Gillette Four Nations.”
Looks like good news to me although -- this being rugby league -- it doubtless won’t be long before somebody, somewhere starts picking holes in it. For now, though, I think it’s worth celebrating that Super League matches are now broadcast in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, France, the Middle East, eastern Europe, Italy, Spain and Russia too. An unimagineable footprint just a few years back. Now all we need is the NRL back on British TV screens.
And just to prove that it is not all hot air across the pond -- here are some video highlights of the Jacksonville Axemens’ 2007 domestic season off youtube for anyone who hasn’t seen them yet.
