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Course Title Communication and Influence

Course Identification - COMM 45902

Instructor James D. Ponder

Course Completed Fall 2012

Assignment Title Final Paper

Assignment Description Your final paper will represent your ability to apply influence and persuasion concepts from class in a professional research style paper. It is also required that you summarize any theories or concepts that you mention in your paper. You need to articulate a persuasive goal and design a persuasive message that will supplement sufficient knowledge on the subject.

Reflection Communication and Influence was one of the most challenging classes I attended at Kent State. My professor helped us critically analyze everything we were taught in order for us to truly understand the subject. My decision to add this paper to my academics page revolves around the knowledge and skills involved when persuading individuals. Playing rugby at Kent State presented me with a new passion that I never knew I would become addicted to. Rugby was on my mind constantly, and I wanted to introduce the sport to as many people as I possibly could. My focus was to compare the sport to American football, which is extremely popular in the United Stated and has many similarities to rugby. Unlike most sports in America, rugby is not very well implemented in to our school systems. Most rugby players in the U.S. are not introduced to the sport until they attend a university, which leaves the sport of rugby unknown to most people in the U.S. I came up with several ways to implement after school programs for rugby in order to increase its popularity in the U.S. For this paper, I wish I could have gone in to more detail on some of the up and coming progress of U.S. rugby in the Olympics, where we have a fighting chance to beat out the competition. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my final paper.

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Promoting Rugby Union in the United States Brian Boucherle Kent State University

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Growing up in the small town of Canfield, Ohio, I attended a school system where football, baseball, and swimming were considered the most important sports. While Canfield had a rather excellent academic curriculum, it was another school that decided to put a majority of its time and funds into sport programs. I didnt participate in any sports in high school, but I always enjoyed being a spectator at sporting events. There is something about sports that brings people together, especially in the United States. While the rest of the world is united through football, also known as soccer, the United States comes together through baseball and American football. While baseball is played around the world, American football is almost exclusively played in the United States, with a slight variation known as Canadian football played in Canada. It is one of the most powerful and extreme sports in the U.S., as well as the world. Those who play at the professional level, governed by the National Football League (NFL), are some of the biggest and most athletic individuals in the world. American Football will always be the sport we consider our own, and no other nation on earth can take away that right. The NFL is an extremely influential organization that promotes football through television advertisements and other mainstream media. Companies such as Anheisuer-Busch and Tostitos became partners with the NFL in order to promote their products and to promote football. On any given Sunday during football season, you will witness commercials that have some sort of undertone directed towards football and the NFL. Its almost impossible to not be influenced by football in some way. When the importance of football is engraved into our minds as children, we consider football a way of life. Rivalries, such as the University of Michigan and Ohio State University game that took place on November 24th, really define what it means to be passionate about a sport and the town you came from.

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Alas, no sport is without its concerns and consequences, especially full-contact sports. Tackling has never been a serious issue when it comes to football. With players being equipped with the latest technology in padding and helmets, many consider football a safe sport. It recent years, however, there has been great concern that these helmets and pads are actually causing more injuries than they are preventing. Besides injuries such as ACL tears and sprained ankles, head injuries are becoming the most prominent. Former football players are slowly coming out of the woodwork with their head injuries that are affecting their cognitive abilities. The NFL has been criticized for not doing enough on the issue and basically sweeping it under the rug. Many people are looking to another sport that is just as extreme but possibly safer. Is it possible for there to be another sport that is as exciting and full-contact as American football? Also, can it capture the attention of Americas youth as much as American football has? The answer to these important questions is none other than rugby union. Rugby union is one of two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby league. Rugby league is more central to Australia and New Zealand, while rugby union is played internationally. Rugby union is a full contact sport that originated in England around the 19th century. Similar to American football, it is played with an oval shaped ball that can be kicked or used to pass to another player (Rugbyunionrules.com). A rugby match consists of two 40 minute halves with a ten minute intermission in between. There are a total of thirty players on the pitch at a time, fifteen for each team. There is only one referee on the pitch and two line judges, who aid the referee in decisions and are responsible for signaling when the ball goes into touch, also known as out of bounds. The object of the game is to score more points than the opposing team by attacking their try zone and gaining ground. Points are scored either by a try or a goal. A try is worth five points when the ball is carried over the goal line and is set down by the player running

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the ball. Each goal line has its own uprights, which are the same dimensions as American football uprights. Conversion kicks at the uprights are awarded after the try is secured, which is worth two points. Penalty goals and drop goals are worth three points. One of the most important and unique laws of the game is the inability to pass the ball forward. Each pass has to either be behind the player with the ball or lateral with them. However, it is legal to kick the ball forward and have a player sprint up and catch it. While rugby consists of numerous laws that need to be followed, the previously mentioned rules are the cream of the crop of rugby union. So how does one attempt to promote rugby union in a country where American football is the monstrous reigning champ? Simple, by giving Americas youth the ability to participate in rugby at a young age. Rugby is an intense sport where injuries are likely to occur, so introducing young children to the sport requires the program to put safety above everything else. Play Rugby Inc. is a non-profit organization that is already making strides to show young and children and parents the positive aspects that come along with rugby. Explained by PlayRugbyUsa.com: The Play Rugby USA programs mission is Developing Youth through Rugby. As an innovative program Play Rugby USA cleverly combines rugby with sports education, health, academic and community development programming to create a holistic and asset based approach to youth development. Underlying the programs success is the establishment of sustainable partnerships with urban schools and youth organizations, creating a systemic opportunity for youth during or after school. Like many school systems, sports and other student body clubs are used as extracurricular activities that aid students in developing the skills and attitudes that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. This program is more centralized in the state of New York and California where

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many youth are at risk in their major cities. Play Rugby Inc. has been involved in each of the five boroughs around New York City in order to get youth off the streets and into a rugby orientated after school program. Places such as the Midwest are not experiencing what the program has to offer, however. With the program only being around since 2003, its outreach has not been prominent or recognized outside of New York City and Los Angeles. One city that is a prime candidate to promote youth rugby is in the great city of Cleveland, Ohio. While Clevelands professional athletic teams have not met the expectations of their fans for quite some time, there are other Cleveland based sport teams that do not disappoint. The Cleveland Rovers is a mens rugby team that has been around since 1978 (Clevelandroversrfc.com). Being competitive enough to travel to the U.K. twice and recently being the 2012 Midwestern Rugby Union Champions, the Rovers are a superb team for individuals to look towards as role models. Personally knowing several Kent State rugby alumni who have made their way up to Cleveland to play with the Rovers, I can tell you the players and coaches are extremely eager to teach new players about rugby and what it means to be a team. Using a team that is it obviously successful in a city where fans are constantly let down by so called professionals teams will encourage citizens to inform themselves on rugby and what the sport entails. While rugby is not prominent at the K-9 level, rugby is flourishing at the high school level. Schools that pride themselves on their athletics, such as St. Edwards and St. Ignatius, have adopted rugby programs, and continue to have new players coming out to play every season. Promoting rugby union to the rest of the nation, however, will not be as easy. With many professional sports teams already having a huge influence on the general public, one will need to help rugby stand out above the rest. One thing many citizens dont know is that rugby has its

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history already written in the U.S., and goes as far back as the 1800s. On May 14, Harvard University hosted Montreals McGill University at Cambridge, Mass., in the first recorded rugby game on American soil (Rugbyfootballhistory.com, 2007). This occurred in the year of 1874. This event sparked the growth of new rugby clubs on both the east and west coast, and produced a national team that competed in the Summer Olympics. Just how successful was the United States in the Olympics, you say? In 1920 and 1924, the only years rugby union has been in the Olympics, the United States were the gold medal winners (Rugbyfootballhistory.com, 2007). Since rugby was dismissed as an Olympic event after 1924, the United States are currently the reigning world champions in rugby. Also, our national womens team has the bragging rights of being the 1991 World Rugby Cup champions. In 2016, rugby union will once again be introduced into the Summer Olympics. With powerhouse nations like New Zealand and Australia producing the fiercest and most talented rugby athletes in the world, America has a long way to go before we can compete. We have the talent and the athletes to compete at the international level, made obvious by our success at both the Winter and Summer Olympics. All we need now is to make aware the potential we have to dominate the world once again. In order to persuade our nation for the commitment of rugby, we need to focus on our pride and patriotism as a nation. There are several theories and concepts we delved into during class that apply very well with promoting a sport. One of these concepts is the topic of liking. We like people who are similar to use (Burger et al., 2004), while a simple phrase, has a huge influence on us when we interact with someone. Whether it is their physical appearance or the way they dress, we comply better with those who share similar characteristics. In the case with rugby, as with any sport, we will gravitate towards those who share our passion for it. However, promoting rugby to a country where rugby is a low key sport requires one to look on other

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similarities to find a connection. The best way is to find individuals who enjoy high intensity sports that require athleticism and mental stamina. Fans of American football, wrestling, and even soccer are likely candidates to find rugby an interesting, intense sport. Using this system of influence is an excellent word of mouth technique to promote a sport. Association is yet another power, influential tool, especially when it comes to sports. Sports fans are inherently crazy, no doubt about it. The relationship between sport and earnest fan is anything but game-like. It is serious, intense, and highly personal (Cialdini, 2008, p. 166). Associating yourself with a team can really bring the best and worst out of people. We enjoy associating ourselves with our favorite team when they do well, and tend to disassociate ourselves when our team screws up. Sounds quite a lot like a Cleveland Browns fan, am I right? For this campaign specifically, we want positive association with rugby and the United States. Stated eloquently by Cialdini (2008), according to the association principle, if we can surround ourselves with success that we are connected with in even a superficial way (for example, place of residence), our public prestige will rise (p. 167). We, as Americans, love to associate ourselves with the successes and world-wide impact that comes with being a citizen of the United States. From Olympic achievements to technological breakthroughs, we have a deep rooted patriotism that is unlike any other nation. We want our sport teams to show their superiority to the rest of the world, and that includes rugby. We want to associate ourselves with the true American underdog story. Getting our nation involved with rugby will slowly turn our most athletic talents into mean machines on the pitch. My ultimate goal for this campaign is to promote rugby in the United States and what the sport has to offer. What makes rugby such an amazing sport is its emphasis on teamwork on and off the pitch. Unlike American football where the quarterback, running back, and wide receivers

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are highly emphasized as the most important positions, every position in rugby is just as important as the other. Each players looks out for each other and is not concerned about glory for himself, but more so for his or her team. In order for this campaign to be successful, we need to show what makes rugby more superior to other sports, and why it is made for America. We have serious talent in this country and it is a shame that it isnt being put towards rugby. Even while the sport can be dangerous and intense, the feeling you get when you become part of a rugby club is like nothing else. We as a nation need to come together collectively and stop looking at things as an individual effort.

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References Burger, J. M., Messian, N., Patel, S., del Prado, A., & Anderson, C. (2004). What a coincidence! The effects of incidental similarity on compliance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 35-43
Cialdini, R. B. (2008). Influence: science and practice (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Cleveland Rovers Rugby Football Club, Cleveland, OH Home. (n.d.). Cleveland Rovers Rugby Football Club, Cleveland, OH Home. Retrieved November 25, 2012, from http://clevelandroversrfc.com/ Rugby Football History. (n.d.). Rugby Football History. Retrieved November 23, 2012, from http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/ Rugby union in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved November 23, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_the_United_States#1 Rules Of Rugby. (n.d.). Easy Introduction to the Rules of Rugby. Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://www.rugbyunionrules.com/rules-of-rugby/

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