LAS VEGAS -- The NRL's first foray into the U.S. market has come to an end. The hordes of Aussies are heading home, the expats now based in America are heading back to their respective states, and within a couple of days, it'll be like the NRL was never here.
That's not to say it hasn't been a success. It has. Tens of thousands of fans descended upon Sin City for an incredible few days, and two excellent contests. The only snafu for the entire week was the fan fest outside the stadium on game day being abruptly cancelled, but you can't blame anyone at the NRL for once-in-a-century winds, that no doubt discouraged any last minute curiosos from making the trip up from the strip to Allegiant Stadium.
But everyone who travelled absolutely got their money's worth, and the main takeaway from anyone you spoke to both in the lead up and the aftermath was that next year, it will likely be even bigger in terms of travelling support.
Perhaps the NRL needs to adjust their goalposts of what success truly means with this project. Anyone with even a facile understanding of the U.S. sports media market never entertained the idea that 'millions' of Americans would tune in. And it's equally unlikely that people are going to stump up close to $200 for Watch NRL subscriptions on the back of what they saw.
And this is the point I keep coming back to. Does it matter if that happens or not?
Obviously the league poured big money into this and will continue to do so. The untapped potential of the American market is undoubtedly tempting. But speaking to hundreds of fans over the weekend, none had anything negative to say about their time here, save for the windy weather, and on top of that, the players have behaved themselves.
It's an incredible shame that a week without controversy of any kind was ruined, just ten minutes before the final whistle, with an allegation of racial abuse. Spencer Leniu's alleged remarks towards Ezra Mam should be taken with the utmost seriousness.
Aside from that, it seems as though everything else has run smoothly. Now that the appetite for travel has been proven by the sheer number of Aussies and English here, it opens up more opportunities for the NRL going forward.
The UFC, for example, hosted a card at it's Apex Centre featuring Australians Steve Erceg and Tyson Pedro. Perhaps next year, given the crossover interest between the two sports, it's at a bigger venue and gives fans another reason to travel. The WWE is another sporting organisation that is very popular with NRL fans, and with people like Grayson Waller leading the charge, could also look at collaborations with the NRL going forward.
Speaking of the WWE, in the same way that every independent wrestling company under the sun descends upon whichever city Wrestlemania is in in any particular year to feed off the migration of fans that the top brand brings, other entertainment products can now look at the Australian takeover of Las Vegas with similar aspirations.
The TV ratings from America's Fox Sports 1 aren't out yet, but the fact that the first 15 minutes of Manly vs. Souths were brushed for the end of a college basketball game tells you all about their priorities. The TV market may be beyond the NRL, especially when you look at how long its taken any sport outside of the NFL, MLB and NBA to break thorough, but drumming up niche interest and getting more Americans to attend games certainly isn't.
And that is where the priorities of the Vegas venture need to shift to. Continue to ensure the experience is amazing for travelling fans (which it was) and hoover up a few extra Americans along the way.
All in all, the NRL should be proud of the enormity of the task at hand and how well it was executed. And no doubt plenty reading this are regretting not coming, and already looking ahead to 2025.