The USA plays New Zealand at 12:54 PM PT today in the USA 7s Cup Semifinals. Win or lose they will be in one of the two final games of the weekend - live on NBC.

The Eagles are in the Cup semifinals for the first time since the 2010 Australia 7s in Adelaide (when they made the final). They are in the USA 7s semis for the first time since 2008. 

The Eagles’ success has ramifications. Here’s what:

Winning the Plate in South Africa and making the top eight in Wellington last weekend meant that the USA team had momentum. American rugby fans on the fence about going to the Vegas event … or perhaps on the fence about going every day … were more likely to do so if the USA team came into the tournament playing well. This has been a rarity, but was true in 2015.

Winning two games on Friday meant they were in the quarterfinals regardless of what happened against South Africa (the USA eventually tied the Blitzbokke 19-19). So that meant also that fans could more easily plan their day. They knew they could see the Eagles amid other great quarterfinal matchups in the evening.

Thus the result of a huge crowd cheering the USA on to a 20-0 shutout of Canada to make the semis.

So now, fans who might have gone home early, are sticking around to the end. They know that the Eagles will be in action at 3pm or 3:25.

It’s already shown in the fans turnout. The attendance on Friday night was 3,000 more than 2014. On Saturday, the crowd was up about 4,000. Sunday should be similarly better.

NBC has to be loving this. After years of saying “as for the USA, well their day ended this way …” they can actually show people. Here’s Zack Test, here’s Maka Unufe, here’s Carlin Isles. Here’s the team, playing for the big money, on live network TV. And the atmosphere will be awesome. The USA fans have reason to stay until the end and reason to yell and scream. That’s not always the case.

And also don’t underestimate the standings aspect. The USA came into Vegas 8th in the standings, six points behind Scotland, and 11 points behind Argentina.

The good news for the Americans is that Scotland and Argentina are in the Bowl semis. The teams right behind the USA are in the Bowl and Shield semis. So they will put distance between them and their chasers, and they will gain at lease seven points on Scotland and Argentina (it will be a bigger gain for at least one). It’s possible that the Eagles can leave Las Vegas in 6th place in the Standings.

So more fans in the stadium, more fans seen on TV, more fans (we hope) watching on TV, and less talk about trying not to slip in the standings, and more talk about moving up.

One game at time, the players say. It’s more than that for everyone else.