LONDON, ENGLAND – I’ve been involved in Union for 7 years, and League for another 2 1/2. The one thing I’ve yet to understand is why the hate? Why is it that while in Green Bay, WI, chatting with my old high school coach, there was a clear distaste for League, a sport he has never played?
Perhaps we should go back to where it all started; the division of the Rugby Football Union and the North. Rugby Union has historically been an uncompensated sport for the affluent upper class. However, the North of England did not find that uncompensated sport allowed for the best teams, as the North was a working culture. Here they found that if their players were not paid to miss work, they often could not field full-strength teams. They also couldn’t play as hard, as if they were to get hurt they would not be able to do the manual labour of the north. So, essentially it was a class divide.
But across the Atlantic? Why is it that there is a divide between Rugby Union and Rugby League in The States? Looking at the two sports, I’d think it would be the other way around – where Rugby League is the sport played in America. It seems like it would be easier to relate to for American Sports Fans.
I just don’t get is the divide in the USA. Perhaps it’s because Union is the way it has always been… a class divider. Nah…
What do you think?
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