Word: soccering
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...himself to Barry Manilow covers. This kind of shackling of talent is what defined the Rugby World Cup, which ended with the unlikely England-South Africa final in Paris on Oct. 20. As frustrating a tournament as many would care to recall - up there with the worst of the soccer World Cups and their goal-less, gamesmanship-ridden ordeals - the event proved that rugby is sick and needs help...
...Although it's unlikely ever to challenge soccer as the "world game," the interest and excitement the tournament has generated has marked the emergence of rugby's world cup as a major big-money sporting event. It drew an estimated 2.7 million spectators into stadiums, and a TV audience - accumulated over the entire tournament, including Saturday's final - of nearly 4 billion, an increase of nearly 25% over the 2003 event held in Australia. Although that forecasted total is dwarfed by the soccer World Cup, which drew a total TV audience of 30 million people, rugby's tally certainly rivals...
...That growing interest, and the skyrocketing revenues it generates, is rapidly making Planet Rugby a smaller place, as players are lured across borders and oceans to internationalize the sport as never before. As with soccer, England remains the prime destination of globe-trotting stars: The French team beaten by England in the semifinal included the mainstay of London pro club Wasps, Raphael Ibanez, as well as hirsute lock-forward Sébastien Chabal of Sale. And scores of players from Britain and Ireland play in the French league, where they'll soon welcome among them South African full-back Percy...
...Soccer, however, is a different beast altogether. The future of the program rests not on Ivy League dominance, but rather on how well it does on a national stage...
...caliber recruits and respect from national pundits won’t come simply by beating upon New Havenites and suburban-dwelling Jersey Tigers. It will come from beating the likes of UCLA, UC Santa Clara, Wake Forest, and SMU, perpetual national powerhouses of the soccer scene...