I agree, Americans have less knowledge about rugby league than...

I agree, Americans have less knowledge about rugby league than does the average AFL supporter, despite the efforts of Russell Crow, they would not have a clue.

Rugby Union has not exactly captured the imagination of Americans either. Neither code will make any headway due to the insular nature of Americans to their home grown sports. Even soccer has taken many years to get any recognition despite the many millions of Americans having European and Hispanic heritage.

The comparison I was trying to make is that both countries don't really care that the rest of the world does not share their passion. The success of the two games thrives on the support of their own populations.

The biggest game on the calendar for either country is between teams from within each of the respective countries. The SuperBowl and State of Origin is what captures the attention not only of their own supporters but non followers as well.

Please don't assume that the NRL has any status even approaching that of the NFL. The similarity is in the sentiment only. I am sure the NRL would still enjoy the same popularity as it does, if no other country in the world played it. The same could be said for AFL which is very popular with Australians but not many others.