| In my earlier article "MLS in Atlanta? Why Not Make it | | | | what is the reward for a team to win the USL second |
| a Double?" I brought up quite a few areas that warrant | | | | division? What is the punishment for the last place |
| further exploration. Several of the discussion points | | | | team in the MLS standings? The answer of course is - |
| centered around how to make soccer in America as | | | | there is no reward or punishment. |
| popular a spectator sport as it is a participation sport. | | | | If the Atlanta Silverbacks could be promoted to Major |
| My ideas I'm sure are not new, but there seems to be | | | | League Soccer if they finished as one of the top two |
| a paucity of information out there for the interested, | | | | teams in the USL Div 1; then not only would their fans |
| yet unknowing, average American sports fan. Bringing | | | | began to show up en masse, but I guarantee their |
| that information to light, I believe, will help frame a more | | | | sponsorship premiums would sky rocket as well. |
| enlightened discussion. | | | | Imagine that same scenario if you're a fan of the |
| Going in to this discussion, I realize that MLS is | | | | Charlotte Eagles sitting on top of the USL second |
| working...albeit slowly...but working nonetheless. The | | | | division or of the Central Florida Kraze with 32 points in |
| founding fathers of MLS learned from the catastrophic | | | | the PDL? Each season, your hometown team is |
| mistakes of its 1970's predecessor, the North | | | | presented with the opportunity to achieve, if not |
| American Soccer League (NASL). Unlike NASL's big | | | | greatness, then at least promotion to the next tier of |
| bang approach, MLS started slowly, with a sharp eye | | | | competitors! |
| on the business, tightly controlling expansion, tightly | | | | What will promotion and relegation do to club |
| controlling international star power, knowingly sacrificing | | | | ownership in the US? While one side suggests owners |
| quality while forcing the league to build up homegrown | | | | of MLS interest would be too gun shy at the prospect |
| talent. With all of those points, they were spot on. | | | | of losing their investment to a lower tiered division, my |
| But now the league is 10 years old and the business | | | | hypothesis is that several positive things will happen to |
| model seems to be heading in the right direction | | | | offset that risk. |
| although it has yet to make a profit. MLS has slowly | | | | First and foremost, MLS owners will take great interest |
| started injecting some international star power while | | | | in the outcome of their clubs! They will ensure they |
| the rank and file can still make a decent living as | | | | have the best homegrown talent and my hope is that |
| professional athletes. Meanwhile the league is carefully | | | | a critical byproduct would be the incentive to create |
| expanding in to major markets. It has even produced | | | | true club/academy systems to support that player |
| exportable talent of its own, such as Jozy Altidore and | | | | development. |
| Freddy Adu. So far so good right? | | | | Secondly, I think that relegated clubs may not actually |
| Here's the problem; the league is set up like a typical | | | | lose that much money. American players are not |
| American sports league and as such, is missing one of | | | | exactly leaving in droves to play in Europe, so I believe |
| the key magic ingredients that make club football so | | | | the mass exodus of talent that typically occurs when |
| incredibly exciting. There is a one-two combination that | | | | a team is relegated may not happen in the US - sure |
| is just waiting to be thrown. | | | | they would lose some talent, but my guess is that |
| The first, and arguably easiest, is simply to flush the | | | | teams would remain fairly solid, thus giving the freshly |
| geographic division/conference accoutrements and | | | | relegated club a high likelihood of regaining promotion. |
| associated "play-off" format that are unique to | | | | Finally, and I think perhaps most interestingly, I think you |
| American sports. MLS needs to organize as a single | | | | would see a rush of interested, sophisticated would-be |
| table. At the end of the season, the team that wins is | | | | owners willing to speculate on the prospects of many |
| the team sitting at the top. | | | | USL Division 1 and USL Division 2 teams, and even high |
| The second, far more complicated yet absolutely | | | | quality PDL teams. |
| necessary if soccer is ever going to rise out of the | | | | This subject is certainly worthy of a much more |
| shadows as an American spectator sport, is the need | | | | detailed economic analysis than what I've provided |
| to create promotion/relegation agreements among | | | | here, but the bottom line is, MLS needs to break out of |
| leagues. | | | | the American mold and start taking the shape of a |
| The current state of professional soccer in America is | | | | football association. The current state of American |
| organized divisionally as follows: | | | | professional soccer is a recipe for banality which will |
| MLS with 14 teams, USL Div 1 with 11 teams, USL Div | | | | forever keep the top flight league if not uninteresting, |
| 2 with 10 teams. Then under that sit 67 teams of | | | | then at the least only tangentially relevant - and no |
| amateurs in the Premier Development Program. | | | | amount of international star power will lift it. |
| The framework is already here. But as it stands today, | | | | |