The Rugby World Cup Goes On, the USA Eagles Don't
It's been taking, like, forever for the USA to catch up with the global powers in soccer.
And just when they think they've arrived, they haven't.
History tells us that it's been over a damn century for rugby to even make a dent in the USA's sports consciousness, possibly due to New Zealand beating the bejeezus outta the Cal Bears back in 1913.
The game started to rebound in the 1960s and 1970s, and when the Rugby World Cup was created in 1987, the USA managed to secure an invitation.
Being real about it, as cannon fodder.
But the Eagles have part of the party ever since, including this year's edition being staged in Japan:
USA Rugby has recently established a professional league, but it's still got limited visibility and an even more limited budget. Basically, that translates to the reality that they're still getting beat at the international level.
It's therefore still a process for the Eagles to get where they want to go.
Well, it won't be today. Or tomorrow.
Here were the Americans' results going into their final match, where the game's big dogs were easily having their way:
Rugby's a passion in Tonga, too, but as an island nation with a small talent pool, the Eagles had a shot to earn points. However, it was not to be. Dudes' shoddy second half cost them in a 31-19 loss:
No apologies for the sentiment. That happened on one of sport's biggest stages.
The Super Bowl can only dream of having the worldwide audience of the Rugby World Cup, which ranks up there with the soccer and cricket world cups.
The most-watched sporting event, of course, is the Olympics.
Believe it or not, the reigning gold medalist there is the USA. As long as the Games don't bring rugby back into the competition in the next 50 years, the Eagles might have a shot at repeating.