MLR to Oregon.

A while back I reported that there was movement happening to bring an MLR team to Portland,OR. That movement has died , for now. At the time I knew of one of the men involved but he wanted to remain anonymous and things close to the chest until all the ducks in a row. Some time has passed and even though there is still much passion and hope to eventually see something come to the state of Oregon that gentleman has hung his boots up for now. Like many of us outside of the few who do get paid , rugby must take a back seat to our personal lives and being a new father that is what happened with the what would of been bid for MLR2PDX. 

As I stated before the person who wanted to stay anonymous , a good friend of mine has agreed to answer some what would of been questions for me and is comfortable with letting people know who he is. Raymond T. is a very passionate rugby player and fan and didn't want to just have an MLR team in Oregon but also wanted the team to mean something for rugby as a sport in Oregon and to push the needle in USA Rugby. 

One idea that was floated for something worth trying down the road was why not start an academy in a market first build up to a MLR club from there. You begin building your player pool at a young age in establishing a brand to the local community so when you are ready to make the jump you will have players ready and relationship already built.

Bellow are some questions that we discussed and and his personal answers to them, i hope you find this insightful and helps to answer some people's questions about the process that goes behind wanting to place an MLR team in any market. 

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LLR- how was the team to be funded ?

R- work with a local financial firm that works with a group of investors and handles over 1 billion in assets, with that said would still have like to work with community stakeholders.

LLR- Was there a plan or idea to try and team up with another of the professional sports teams in Portland ?

R-idea was to get together with the other successful professional teams in the area to create some sort of focus group to learn about the market and how to engage with the fans similar to what the Portland Timbers of the MLS have built.

LLR- Where in the metro Portland area would of been home?

R- there's a park on the border of Oregon and Washington called Delta Park, what the idea would of been was to repurposed portion of it and build some form of home stadium whether that be pop-up stadium or a little more permanent. Benefit about that location is there are hotels nearby with also entertainment shopping center and close proximity to the major highway and airport along with on site parking.

LLR- What was the biggest challenge you where going to face? 

R- close proximity to Seattle, making a good case to the league on why to add a team in Portland along with engaging the fan interest to convince long-term investment. Fans are important for any sports team big or or small if they don't show then you won't stay open too long. the plan would have been to meet with rugby Oregon and the established clubs in the state to engage interest and needs for everyone, how can the different parties benefit from an MR club and how can an MLR club benefit from them.

LLR- where you aware of the process to apply for a franchise , any specific boxes that needed to be checked off?

R- not too much did it want to jump the gun and notify mlr and the owners until everything was ready to present. Part of the reason why had to step away from the Sewolf pod was due to the fact that I didn't want to be the face of the club but work more from behind the scenes.

LLR- Team name and color?

R- Oregon Chinook, a animal that is very important to oregonians. Colors possibly would have been blue and yellow similar to ORSU (Oregon Sports Union) badge. Possibility was to set up some form a connection with local native American tribe maybe provide some form a kickback or financial gain from ticket purchases or merchandise is sold. An investment and part of the community that's overlooked by many professional sports in America.

LLR- what would ticket prices look like?

R- answer really depends on size of stadium, the larger stadiumg gives you more options to play with where a smaller stadium limits what you can do. Higher prices looks good to general public that you are serious, you can't have lower ticket prices but the higher ones will help make up for expenses. 

LLR- what was the ultimate reason that you pulled out?

R- timing was not right, personal life like many of us have to deal with. The fear of the proximity to The Seawolves and what they have built. Plus wanted to see where MLR was going .

(Still a big fan of The Seawolves.)

LLR- you are currently located in Salem.OR. is Salem now an option ?

R- open to Salem area,better possibility for a build out of a venue. Downside is Portland offers more for away fans and teams such as a major airport, hotels and entertainment. But with Salem the benefit is there is a lack of sports team to give the city a identify or for the residents something to rally behind. (Note there is the salem-keizer volcanos minor league baseball team)

#MLR2Oregon #ORMLR #Doitforthekids

* The context of the interview and subsequent reliability - i.e., Q&A conducted over phone, recalled to best ability of , LLRugby approved for publishing by interviewee, for clarification questions email ormlr@protonmail.com

I thank you all for taking the time to read through this. I hope this answered some questions or at least gave you an idea what may go through some of these owners heads who want to place a MLR team in a market.

Preseason - Super Fan

Fan of the Seawolf Pod, or ever wonder who the man behind the Mic was. Meet Raymond Torkelson. Avid MLR fan , Previous Podcaster and Seawolves supporter. Wether you agree with him or not you have to appreciate his love of the game and the want to see Major League Rugby succeed. 

Enjoy ....

Tell us a bit about your self?

RT- Just a regular American from Portland, Oregon (born and raised) who used to run a Major League Rugby Seattle Seawolves podcast: Seawolf Pod. 24 now, went to boarding school in Montana and graduated with my bachelor's degree (philosophy/Chinese) from Lewis & Clark College (L&C). I work full-time for a nonprofit in my hometown giving back to houseless vets (three weekly 7pm-7am shifts) who, frankly, never returned from war serving their country. It's a really great organization and if anyone would like to support the cause check out dogoodmultnomah.org. Long story how I ended up there but in short I founded/ran a social services software startup that never made it out of the concept stage in which they were to become our partner.

How did you come to rugby?

RT- Funnily enough, I wrote a short story about this that was published by USA Rugby (link: https://www.usarugby.org/2017/11/whyrugby-acceptance-in-an-unexpected-community/). I was more into music (multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/songwriter) growing up but came back to sports in boarding school because thought I was in love with basketball. By the time I was practically jamming and training with the likes of NBA and D1 athletes (Allen Crabbe formerly Portland Trailblazers starting SG and Payton Pritchard starting PG at U Oregon, to name a few), I realized trying out for the squad at L&C that the culture wasn't for me. I also had a stint walking onto the golf team but grew frustrated with the time commitment clashing with my studies and social life. Luckily, the rugby club there recognized my athletic talent and had me playing every year I was there (2012-2016). They threw me out on the wing and probably just prayed I'd pick things up on my own, which I did. My sophomore and junior year I played fullback, and then our assistant coach (now my teammate at ORSU) showed me the ropes at fly-half to get me starting there my senior year. My back skills are well-rounded from this experience, you could say.

From a fan prospective what was some plusses from the MLR in year one?

RT- Great question. As a fan also previously in media, my take might be slightly different. My top would be 1) more opportunities for Americans to play high level rugby outside the Eagles circuit, 2) rumored positive television ratings leading to multi-year broadcasting deals that will help grow the sport (many people in the Pacific Northwest unknowingly stumbled onto Seawolves games on ROOT Sports NW), and 3) if the league sustains, which I believe it can, an inspiring destination towards which grade age through high school ruggers can strive and be part of this seemingly massive growth rugby in the US is currently experiencing. There's a lot more and those aren't in any particular order, but they're worth considering.

What's some issues you feel the league could/should work on?

RT- Media narratives - the league office comes off as painfully unaware how much they can hurt fan buy in by working with "outside", amateur entities who, well, try to spin the story and conceal, rather than make transparent, their own bias: players to watch, team expectations, fan affairs, etc. You see it in other sports and it's part of the politics. I don't understand why rugby as a sport on the field carries such great values but these mysterious back offices try to dabble in something different. Regardless, good people and good rugby prevail and is all that matters.

How do you feel about year 2 coming and what you've seen so far?

RT-  I feel good about year two. We've seen a lot of interesting signings in the off season and, from what I've seen on social media, online sports coverage and my own encounters at local rugby tournaments - players in the league aren't taking this break for granted. I am worried, however, about player welfare. I heard firsthand from players some horror stories about things like concussion management and overall health that seemed completely avoidable (i.e. not instrinsic to the sport, but how certain situations were handled). In some cases, it was their own fault. Besides their body, their wallets can hurt too. The "it" players are supposedly set with decent money for the period that the season lasts, but "part time" players end up being compensated a less than ideal amount per game - if they play.

Who's your favorite player for the SeaWolves?

RT- Dion Crowder, wing.

I think it's safe to say last year's title run for the SeaWolves was a bit of a shocker to most, how confident do you feel about a repeat this year?

RT- I want to take a moment to say this wasn't a shocker. Sure, Hitchborn said he expected them to do alright; they didn't have a coach (rather a player committee led by guys like Mack and Rasileka); and, finally, they're not as old of a club as the boys in, say, Glendale. But I'll say it now and I'll say it again: Mack, Hitchborn, and the prior chemistry on the roster brought out all the things needed to make the historic champions they are now. People who were wrong about the outcome will say I had no idea what I was talking about - that's fine, but at least read for yourself and decide (https://medium.com/@seawolfpod/from-tweets-to-titles-why-seattles-first-major-league-rugby-team-will-win-the-2018-inaugural-aefc3dbe9616). As for this year, I think SeaWolves will undergo some adjustment with HC Moolman coming onboard. How confident do I feel about a repeat? 2 for 2 wouldn't be surprising, but I'm not counting on it as much as I did this first year. Albeit in my eyes an expected outcome, the first year was a legendary season. Now you've got a club that is no longer an underdog. It's hard being at the top - the target on your back phenomena is real. I felt that way with Seawolf Pod, so I can only imagine what it's like as the top subject, rather than observer. The league is bringing on new teams as well, which will make things even more interesting. Do I want a repeat? Sure, at least until Portland has a team. I think many of their players exhibit great character and deserve whatever season their off-season preparation and in-season effort merits, which in the case of the first year was pure champagne, sweeter than sweet.

Aside from the SeaWolves who do you think has a shot at reaching the finals ?

 RT- Glendale (if they're not tilted as an organization from what they and everyone told them was an upset), New York (just a wild guess, I like what I'm seeing from them in terms of signings) and Utah (if they improve fitness, as that was the only thing stopping them last year).

Do you think after 2020 expansion the league should shift focus to establishing more west coast presence or just let expansion happen fluently?

RT- Well look at entities like Super Rugby in the southern hemisphere. They expanded too quickly but still produce some of the highest level, most electrifying rugby (even if offensively slanted) in the current state of the sport. Why can't MLR become something similar in the northern hemisphere, just with better defensive efforts? Americans will love a good try fest anyways, and MLR defense is still in its infancy. Big thing is the player pool. Canada joining via Toronto won't dilute it, rather will introduce healthy diversity. Too many teams, too little talent is certainly a concern but we're just not going to see what exactly that looks like until we get there. People will estimate and predict but the game changes, and so does the player pool. If the league becomes more appealing you'll see everything from more overseas players to domsetic crossovers as well as homegrown stars coming out of the woodworks. Believe me, they're out there. I did live color commentary for the last Oregon HS boys rugby championship and there was some SERIOUS talent out there you can't find mentioned anywhere except maybe a small paragraph in a local newspaper that doesn't even properly explicate their abilities. If the teams and their supposed development pipelines well engage the youth, we're going to see no issues with the player pool come 2020 and beyond. We already have word that Vancouver, LA, Sacramento and Portland want in. What's stopping SFGG and other clubs too? If the league office could just be more transparent about what is required (it also seems like the good ol boys club with the team voting process being a bunch of old white guys), expansion could happen fluently. But as it stands right now I don't think expansion will ever look like that.

Prediction, who is in the final, score and who is lifting the Shield ?

RT- Since taking a step back from my podcast I'm a little out of touch with my crystal ball. I'll just say what I think would be, from a utilitarian perspective, the best outcome: newcomer v first year underperformer. That would be Rugby United New York lifting the shield v Utah Warriors in a 24-17 victory. Would keep things interesting and show expansion teams everyone really has a shot. I also think Utah, despite some bizarre social media interactions with my now cancelled podcast, deserves a better outcome than they had last year.

Why should people play rugby?

RT- Tough but also awesome question. For me it's about friendship, community, character building and fitness - all things I value highly. I think especially for young boys and girls who haven't quite found their "thing" yet, rugby is always a good choice or at least worth a try. 

Any final thoughts and comments you'd like to pass on to the rugby community, those interested in rugby ?

 RT- If you're a fan who thinks it's "too late" to try rugby, think again. Google "touch rugby". Find a club, or better yet just buy a ball (from your favorite MLR club's online team store) and pass it around with some friends. It teaches some fundamental concepts of the game you watch when you tune into MLR matches. You won't regret it!

Lastly, although I'm done forever with the podcast (bar disgusting levels of compensation I don't foresee in my crystal ball)... I'll be back! I'm glad I made my mark on the American rugby community with such a fun endeavour, but my next point of contact is going to be a little more ambitious. That is all - thanks so much for the Q&A Nick!

*If you would like to connect with Raymond feel free to give him a fallow on Twitter @Raymond_tork

Keep a eye out for more Q&As coming out in the coming weeks and also player profiles from those who play both rugby codes.