Old Glory has Already Won the Red, White, and Blue Bowl

By Alistair Kirsch-Poole
May 23, 2025 - 6:00pm

With the MLR hyping up Old Glory's matchup against the Free Jacks tomorrow as the Red, White, and Blue Bowl, I wanted to take a moment to remind people that OGDC has already won. Not on the field, obviously, since the match has yet to be played and promises to be a tough contest. I mean that Old Glory has won the battle for the colors that inspired the title of the whole affair.

Every team in the MLR likes to talk about supporting for US eligible players and growing the next generation of Eagles, but not every team actually puts action behind those words. To begin with, let's look at the playing time that US players are receiving from our two competitors.

Percentage of minutes played, 2025

Old Glory comes away looking good, third overall in the league aside from Anthem with American players playing 45% of the minutes for the team. The Free Jacks, meanwhile, are down at an embarrassingly low 18% of minutes, far and away the lowest mark in the league. They are the only team below 24% and one of only two teams below 37%.

The knife-twist comes when you consider how many of their players are from our neighbor to the north. Canadians have played 28% of Free Jacks' minutes, a radically higher number than the paltry sum given to Americans.

Perhaps, then, they can stake their claim based on the number of Eagles on the roster? Unfortunately for our maple-soaked friends, that falls apart pretty quickly as well.

Number of players in the 2025 Eagles extended player pool
See: 2025 Extended Player Squad, USA Rugby

The Free Jacks will be sending at most three players to the national team this year, well below the league average and ahead of only the Utah Warriors. Old Glory DC, meanwhile, could have as many as six players representing the Eagles on the national stage. In fact, there are more players on the list coming straight out of our nations colleges than there are coming from New England's MLR franchise.

Surely, though, that's simply because they are building for the future? With the 2031 World Cup set to be hosted on these very shores, it's important to have a strong cohort of prime-age players who can play in that tournament. Is that where the Free Jacks are carrying their weight?

Number of US-eligible players who will be under 35 by RWC 2031

Minutes for US-eligible players who will be under 35 by RWC 2031

Alas, it is not. They have just 6 US eligible players with a shot at donning an Eagles jersey when the World Cup comes to our shores, who they've given just over 2000 combined minutes of playing time. Old Glory, on the other hand, has 13 players that meet the criteria, and they've played 4350 minutes for the team this season.

Instead, once again, New England has its focus up north, providing a better home for the future talent of Team Canada than for the future talent of Team USA.

Number of Canadian-eligible players who will be under 35 by RWC 2031

Minutes for Canadian-eligible players who will be under 35 by RWC 2031

I want to emphasize here that I don't actually necessarily view this as a bad thing. A strong Canada is good for the USA internationally, and the fall of the Toronto Arrows and dereliction of duty by Rugby Canada has left that country without somewhere for there players to get quality playing time. That they can continue to find time in the MLR is likely one of the few things holding the country out of true tier 3 status.

So it's valuable to have a team in the league still committed to Canada, but that's not what this article is about. It's about the colors: red, white, and blue. The national colors of the United States, the colors that together forge flag and carry our identity as a nation. New England tries to lay claim to the colors, and in so doing lay claim to being an American team. The proof in their actions, in how they compose their team, however, makes this laughable. No team in the league is providing fewer opportunities for US players in the MLR by any reasonable measure.

In the battle for the colors, they have already lost. And it is a defeat of their own making.