The NRL season officially kicked off with two huge live games from Las Vegas yesterday. As the dust settles on the first year of a multi-year plan to expand the game into new markets, B&T unpacks all the reactions worldwide.
All eyes were on Vegas yesterday as the games got underway. Despite most reports saying the Americans would be uninterested in the expansion, comments from the event all seem primarily positive. Over 40,000 spectators attended the event. The exact breakdown is unclear, but despite it being a vast majority of Aussies that descended on Vegas, locals still showed up in force.
@nrl takeover of Vegas in full effect. #nrl #NRLVegas pic.twitter.com/4wQgmCs57i
— Sports Freakshow ⚽🏈🏉🏀⚾🏏 (@aussiebeastmode) March 2, 2024
The reactions were just as confused as you might expect. Some pointed out that they didn’t understand the rules, with many questioning why a “touchdown” was not awarded for simply crossing the line and others not understanding the various forms of kicks, passes and penalties. Others enjoyed more than just the game’s action, with a few announcing their admiration for “tough” players who could play this game without pads or helmets. “They are all so tall and handsome,” one local told Fox League.
Despite not fully understanding what was happening on the field, many comments expressed excitement and a love for the game’s fast-paced nature. One even mentioned that the Rugby League felt much more natural to watch than the NFL.
Which is tougher, the NRL or the NFL? 🤔
Well, LA Rams wide receiver Demarcus Robinson watched the NRL in Las Vegas — and he thinks the answer’s clear!
Listen to the Vegas games via the ABC Listen App: https://t.co/yymyzrrYTt
Live blog: https://t.co/3gLqeHqdRx#NRLVegas pic.twitter.com/g8hDIUMh5w— ABC SPORT (@abcsport) March 3, 2024
Viewership numbers for the US are yet to be revealed. Still, there was a potential snag in the NRL’s launch, with many viewers missing the build-up and kick-off after a college basketball game between Xavier and Georgetown went into overtime. The broadcast had to be switched to Fox Sports 2, meaning that viewers would likely have missed the hype unless they had come to Fox Sports 1 looking specifically for the game. At 18 minutes in, the main channel joined the broadcast.
Back home, the games were a massive win for Nine and Kayo. The second game on the Nine network received a national reach of 1.68 million.
Yesterday’s games were just the start of a five-year plan to grow the game into the United States. NRL boss Andrew Abdo said conversations will commence today on how to make next year’s event bigger and better than this year, with speculation already growing around which teams will be involved in the clash.
