http://soccerprose.com/soccer-fans/what-about-the-mls/ A soccer blog for soccer players, fans, parents and coaches. Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:54:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 http://soccerprose.com/soccer-fans/what-about-the-mls/#comment-1237 Philip Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:17:42 +0000 http://soccerprose.com/soccer-fans/what-about-the-mls/#comment-1237 I like the second and third suggestions, but I believe the first point, as much as I support it, is an impossible task. Soccer (ok, football) in the U.S. is not like it is in Europe where clubs have been established for generations and passed down in families and started as clubs. In America we have franchises and franchises want to make money. Nobody wants to be in a second-tier league and getting American business to buy into that notion will be an impossible concept. Even the USL would balk at the idea because it would come in as a second-rate division to begin with. Relegation is nothing new in the European mindset. For the U.S. an investor would never consider getting into something if there was the possibility of it becoming devalued through relegation. The history of European clubs and leagues allows them to understand relegation. In the U.S. it would never fly. I like the second and third suggestions, but I believe the first point, as much as I support it, is an impossible task. Soccer (ok, football) in the U.S. is not like it is in Europe where clubs have been established for generations and passed down in families and started as clubs. In America we have franchises and franchises want to make money. Nobody wants to be in a second-tier league and getting American business to buy into that notion will be an impossible concept. Even the USL would balk at the idea because it would come in as a second-rate division to begin with. Relegation is nothing new in the European mindset. For the U.S. an investor would never consider getting into something if there was the possibility of it becoming devalued through relegation. The history of European clubs and leagues allows them to understand relegation. In the U.S. it would never fly.

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