BGSU Rugby on TV!!!!!

[BGrugger11]

Once again the BGSU Rugby Football Club has the chance to be on the National Stage as NBC will broadcast the Second Annual USA 7s Collegiate Rugby Championships (CRC) June 4th-5th. Last year the event was held in Columbus,Ohio at Crew Stadium but they have changed the locale this year to Philadelphia,PA. Bowling Green made a strong showing and became somewhat of a Cinderella as they had Utah (Eventual Champion) on the ropes with thirty seconds remaining, only to give up a try and give the Utes the toughest game until they played Cal in the Championship. The game was so riveting that NBC broadcasted the tape-delay because of conflicts with the weather. BG went on to win the Bowl Championship (Losing Bracket) for the tournament and had one of their own, Rocco Mauer win the MVP trophy because of an extroadinary performance that opened the eyes of many (outside of the BG fans of course as we knew about the talent this young man has).

This year however Bowling Green is not guaranteed a spot in the final 16, as the officials for USA 7s have chosen 12 teams but somehow left our Falcons out of a tournament!!!! This is quite a travesty but you can help!!! Rugbymag.com, a nationally recognized rugby magazine has launched an online poll seeing who has the most devoted fan base as they asked, who should fill out the rest of the CRC field? Every fan of BGSU sports, please help participate in this poll, you can vote as many times as possible, spread it to family, friends and co-workers. The organization that publishes and runs Rugby Magazine also run USA 7s so this poll will have a large influence on who they choose. You can also go on Rugbymag's facebook page and state your case as to why BG should play in the tournament!! Help BGSU Rugby beat the competition on and off the field!!! Roll Along BG Warriors!!!!

Here is the article about the poll:
http://www.rugbymag.com/news/sevens/col ... field.aspx

Link straight to the poll:
http://www.micropoll.com/a/mpview/1066285-397639

Here is the link to Rugbymag's Facebook page, state your case personally to Rugbymag to include BGSU:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/RugbyMagazine

Up to the second results:
http://www.micropoll.com/a/MicroPollDat ... &mode=html

[Falconfreak90]

I have been voting non stop for the last hour. BG RUGBY ROCKS!!!

[BGrugger11]

Thanks man, every vote counts. We are currently in first place showing how strong we support our rugby program. This should send a huge message to the rest of the country and USA 7s!!!!

[Rugby Coach]

This is Roger Mazzarella - director of rugby at BGSU - I wrote the original post requesting help from the Falcon Athletic community. First - let me thank all that weighed in on the site & clicked away. Alas - it appears that the site has in fact been hacked. It was fun watching all the support that poured in both with the votes and the many people that emailed me voicing that support.
Unfortunately this does not solve our problem with NBC TV and their refusal to recognize BGSU as a marketable brand. Mid-day Friday, Rugby Magazine (the actual owner of the rights to put on this national championship - though NBC as the broadcaster and sponsor is calling the shots) posted a story on the runaway success of the poll ( http://www.rugbymag.com/news/sevens/col ... -poll.aspx ), however, half the article went on to tout the legitimacy of U. Texas as worthy of inclusion in the event. After all, it said - they have 50,000 students on their campus. BGSU was given a brief, blow-off mention at the end. As if even one of those 50K students will show up for the event in Philadelphia in June.
There are four slots left in the event.
Despite the fact that:
1. BGSU fans were easily 50% of the crowd in Columbus at the 2010 event
2. BGSU beat Penn State, Army, Indiana and Arizona State and lost to tournament champion Utah in the last 10 seconds
3. BGSU came in third
4. BGSU's Rocco Mauer had twice as many scores (12) as the next highest scorer on any team
5. Mauer was named the tournament MVP
............BGSU still has not been named to fill one of those final four open slots
Already in is Army, who didn't bring a single paying customer outside a few parents while not winning a single game.
Also already in is Penn State, who didn't bring a single paying customer outside a few parents while also not winning a single game.
Utah (who finished first), Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, San Diego State, Dartmouth, Florida, Harvard - not one had anything more than a dozen fans. And yet there was Bowling Green 500+ strong with their painted bodies, banners & voices giving the event a "college" feel.
Apparently NBC thinks that the "brand" names will be more likely to attract viewers. The problem is the viewers will turn the broadcast off once they see the inferior brand of rugby they'll be watching.
Please excuse the rant. This 60 year old Sicilian son of a Cleveland policeman was taught that rewards came from hard work and what you accomplished - not because of your name or an aristocratic title.
For me, the greatest highlight of my sports life was catching the smidgins of radio broadcast of the 1984 BGSU hockey National Championship. The team was riding up and down and through the passes of Appalachian Mountains coming back to school from a game. We stopped in a bar in Kentucky and bought everyone in there a beer. And you know what made it so sweet? We - BGSU - had stuck it to the "man". We had beaten all those pompous so-called "bigtime" hockey schools.
Here is my email - rather than filling up everyone else's mailboxes - just reply directly to me if you wish
[email protected]

[Falconfreak90]

Sounds like the BCS has infected Rugby as well...

Keep fighting...BG Rugby BELONGS in the CRC's. How the hell can you finish #1 in the fall and NOT be included????????? Just another reason to despise NBC. What a joke of a "network".

And that article was a total slap in the face to BOWLING GREEN.

[BGrugger11]

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who voted in the online poll last week. The Falcon fans made it known not only by voting but also including the many shout outs on facebook that BG should be included in the CRC 7s event next June. No doubt the representatives of USA 7s and Rugbymag.com saw how devoted and passionate we are about our rugby team.

[BGrugger11]

Looks like we did get the attention of USA 7s and Rugbymag.com with the large amount of votes that BG received last week. Alex Goff, editor of Rugbymag.com posted an opinion column last night commenting on the amazing response to their online poll for the CRC Tournament in Philly next June. He mentioned Bowling Green and other schools who really showed how strong and widespread their alumni really are. BG Rugby alumni and fans should be extremely proud of eachother and their club for continuing to show how we are just as organized and professional as those Cal guys. Go RugBG!!!

Here is the link to the article:
http://www.rugbymag.com/features/goffon ... se-me.aspx