The Giltinis Debate

1:30 - Paddy from Providence "Hope ya well, first time long time here, ... Gotta ask, isn't the Austin Gabronis and the Los Angeles Crantinis owned by the same guy a bit of a conflict of interest? That's it. Feel free to discus..." Okay, so everyone has heard that Adam Gilchrist has purchased his second Major League Rugby team. Similar to the Austin based "Gilgronis" (a Texas sized cocktail to be named in the future...), the Los Angeles franchise has been dubbed as the "Giltinis" (a California martini with the perfect amount of smugness). But what does this mean for the future of the league? Many American rugby "old boys" who have spent their life trying to legitimize rugby in the states consider the branding a disaster. Others have more of an open mind. After all, Gilchrist did make some serious promises in Austin regarding youth rugby and seems ready to drop some serious coin. There's no doubt that he has pissed off some some USA rugby fans. I'm sure he'll make his players happy (after all, what aging stars wouldn't want to end their career in L.A. or Austin?), by paying them slightly higher salaries than the rest of the league (the cap is the cap, but there are ways to skirt it .... (stock options, free luxury housing, no show side jobs). My guess is that he has certainly rattled some cages within the MLR ownership groups. I'm only speculating here, but if I was an original founder of an MLR team, and all of the sudden a multi-millionare (soon to be BILLIONARE, pending an American I.P.O. of F-45) had purchased not one, but two teams, then re-branded them after cocktails and starting shipping in ex-Wallabies ... I'd probably be a little shook. But there are probably other ownership groups that are ecstatic to see money poured into the still fledgling league (2.25 seasons under the MLR belt). Remember, the league has MANY years before profitability and after an economic recession, the ownership group as a whole has to be relieved to see Gilchrist back up the Brinks Truck. The question is, .... can their egos handle a young, rich, move-maker like Gilchrist who now has the "hottest" (if we're just going by the 70's neon, vice colors) team in the west. If Gilchrist follows through on all his USA youth rugby promises in Los Angeles AND Austin ..., and truly does try and grow American talent, then I'm sure people will eventually give in on the alcoholic related branding. Only time will tell. 3:30 - Stewart McClanahanahan "Do you Yanks put any value in the theory that if the best athletes in the States picked up a rugby ball, the US would instantly become the best side in the world? Do you buy that ? or is rugby different and is there more skill involved. Something to think about while your stuck at home staring at your own Grogan. 7:00 - Guru "Are people training for 7's yet? Running, spacing, kicking the ball, perhaps some Fiji flair? Can you train and social distance? Also, great (rugby) book: Trinity by Leon Uris" Shoutout to the Guru, thanks for calling ... (again). Right now only New Zealand is ready to start playing rugby again. Lucky for us, as far as rugby quality goes, the kiwis are simply the best. 12:25 - Caller Ceesh "Will the Gilgronis and Giltinis be throwing games to each other, and does this undermine the entire MLR? We hopped back in and discussed this at length (more so about the alcohol branding). Uncle Johnny raises a great point ... if branding and selling drinks is the primary goal, what will the quality on the field look like? TommyNoPiks also raises the idea that if we cater to fans that love drinking, we may be pushing away families with kids, etc ... Plenty more to come in the Gilchrist era of the MLR, but stay tuned for our call with MLR draft prospect (and Central Washington LEGEND) Cole Zarcone