My name is Alex Rees and  I am introducing a new FloRugby column titled "Rees' Pieces". I currently play rugby in Austin, Texas for the Austin Huns and the Austin Gilgronis, as well as write and create content for FloSports. 

No matter which way you want to slice it, the Covid-19 pandemic has really stunk. First and foremost, hundreds of thousands of lives across the globe have been lost as the difficult virus continues to elude a vaccine. There have also been millions of people who lost their jobs due to coronavirus, causing countless families and small businesses to be hit extremely hard. 

On a less serious level, life as we know it has seemingly evaporated and many of the things which have keep us entertained -- sports, concerts, eating out to name a few -- have been shut down as well. While each of these things can be considered luxuries to the customer, they provide a livelihood to the people who work in those industries just as much as any other job. 

If there has been a sliver lining from this quarantine, and trust me I'm going out on a limb suggesting there might be, it would be that I've discovered I have more of a passion for MLR than perhaps I even realized. Not having any action for the past three months has left me feeling a bit more empty -- rugby-wise -- without Major League Rugby on the weekends. 

Although I was a player with the Austin Gilgronis this season, I have remained just as much of a fan of the league as ever. With the addition of three new teams in 2020, the emergence of greater league parity, and a higher level of competition across the board, MLR has got me completely hooked. Despite my grumblings about the MLR Draft, I've grown to love this league and the personalities within it over the past three seasons. 

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Although the quality of rugby isn't as high as what you'd see in the top leagues of New Zealand, South Africa, England, Wales, Australia, Ireland, France, or Japan, the MLR competition remains just as captivating. To me it's similar to in a way to collegiate football and basketball here in the states. 

Although the professional leagues have a better quality, fans still gravitate to the collegiate game. Why? I think it's because they feel a connection with the players, and that to me is what really drives fandom. Yes, the athletic ability and skill levels of the best leagues worldwide in any sport are a spectacle to behold, but there's just something so pure and inspiring about seeing people get behind their local teams. Think lower level English soccer; those fans don't care if Manchester City would smash their side 8-0. They're there at the games for the atmosphere and to support the players on their team -- "their guys."

Major League Rugby doesn't yet draw the hugest crowds, but in 2020 we were beginning to see some incredible home atmospheres across the league. Obviously Seattle has been a hallmark for the league in terms of fan support since 2018, but teams like Old Glory DC, Rugby ATL, and San Diego were also packing their stadiums before the season ended. NOLA, despite playing in an old baseball stadium, and Houston, who has the nicest field I've ever seen, both also drew strong crowds for home games. 

It was really beginning to feel like fans league-wide were able to connect more with the guys in the league. It's as if more MLR fans now have "their guys." Certain storylines were also beginning to develop, and we were learning which players have certain tendencies, which guys are irreplaceable, and which teams were forming rivalries. 

The Parity Was Great

Toronto and San Diego had become the teams to beat, while Austin snapped a two year winless run, and upstart Old Glory had immediately established itself among the league's elite. The kings of the league, Seattle, stumbled terribly out of the gates, while teams like NOLA, Atlanta, and Utah all were proving they'd have the ability to make a run come the end of the year. 

The weekly MLR Team of the Week continued to feature fresh faces every round, proving that there was true parity across the competition. Watching young American players like Troy Lockyear (New York, Center) Mason Pedersen (Austin, Prop), Mika Kruse (Colorado, Wing), and Mitch Wilson (New England, Wing) -- just to name a few -- stepping up onto the big scene and flourishing has been awesome to watch. Seeing older guns like Shalom Suniula (Seattle, Center), Mike Sheppard (Toronto, Lock), and Thretton Palamo (DC, Center) still carving it up was great, and we even saw perhaps the oldest professional sports debut of all time, when 40 year old JP Novak scored a start in the Austin Gilgronis season opener against Toronto this year. 

Oh, and what about those two World Cup-winning, 100+ cap legends named Ma'a Nonu (San Diego, Center) and Tendai Mtawarira (DC, Prop) who showed up to play some footy stateside? While the Beast was limited to just one game in 2020, Nonu played in four of the five games for San Diego and was the best player in the league. 

Younger USA Eagles like Dylan Audsley (San Diego, Fullback) and Jackson Fa'anana-Schultz (DC, No. 8) firmly put their hands up for more international caps, while more established veterans such as Cam Dolan (NOLA, No. 8) and Hanco Germishuys (New York, Flanker) played at a high level as well. 

Foreign Flavor

Then you have the influx of other international talent, a mix of young professionals and older stars of the past. Five of the young foreigners that most impressed me were Kiwis Tayler Adams (Toronto, Fly-half), Sam Malcolm (Toronto, Fullback), and Jason Robertson (DC, Fly-half), Irishman John Poland (New England, Scrum-half), and Samoan Potu Leavasa Jr. (Austin, Back Row). 

As for the older boys, you have former England star Ben Foden (New York, Fullback), All Blacks Rene Ranger (Colorado, Center), Frank Halai (Austin, Center), and Jamie Mackintosh (Austin, Prop), Super Rugby players such as Joe Pietersen (San Diego, Fullback/Fly-half), Luke Burton (San Diego, Fly-half), and Kurt Coleman (Atlanta, Fly-half), and French superstar Mathieu Bastareaud (New York, No. 8.) These are just a few of the big name stars that came over to play this season, offering both their talents and their wisdom to teams and players in America.

The Passion & Excitement Are Real

It all made for a vastly entertaining league, and as a player it was cool to be a part of. Yes, I may have only logged eight minutes on the season, but being around these professional setups and seeing how serious it all is was pretty incredible. From my perspective, all of the players in the league are hungry to get better and they treat their profession as rugby players just as seriously as anyone at the highest levels of sport do. The passion is real, and just getting the opportunity to train every week with AG's lifted my own skill levels tremendously and I know the same can be said for all the other young American players who were a part of the league. 

From a fan's standpoint, I am also truly missing following the MLR right now. This weekend would have marked the MLR final, and if the last two seasons taught us anything, it's that the final was destined to be a barnburner. Who knows how the campaign would have turned out? Could we have seen San Diego and Toronto, the matchup many had penciled into their predictions at the start of the year, meet in the title game? Or would there have been a late surprise run from one of the many dark horses that 2020 had to offer? 

The answers to these questions will remain forever unknown, but what will be known is that the league is generating a real following, and next season there will be even more storylines than there were this year. Will there be new coaches? New players? How many of the current guys will be back? We know there will be new teams. Hopefully we see an increase in attendance in the cities which have struggled thus far. 

There is much to be excited for as the MLR moves forward, and while there are dozens upon dozens more awesome players whom I could have shouted out or discussed in this piece, there will be plenty of time to get to everyone before next season as the level of coverage and analysis for the league continues to get better. 

The bottom line is that quarantining has only made me further realize how much I love the MLR. As they say, you don't know what you got until it's gone.