02-19-2018, 01:14 AM
So American soccer is growing...good!
I think to truly capture the imagination of the average sports fan, that we eventually need a system that involves as many markets as possible.
Personally, I think that's a big part of what has made college sports so special here, but you do seem to see a similar dynamic in other countries with robust pyramids.
Anyway, the problem here is going to be these owners are investing so much capital in creating big time clubs that risking their investments by allowing relegation will probably be dead on arrival. Well, we need to find a way around that in order to have a truly world class league and nationwide phenomenon.
I think I have a way around the problem.
1. We start with 40 clubs at the top flight.
This number would virtually ensure that any big money clubs would never go down. All the major markets worth tapping in order to acquire an expansion fee will be covered in this number. The smaller market clubs will likely be the ones clawing to survive every year.
This means that once MLS gets done with it's next round of franchise grants, that it should probably just promote a few good markets to help with early viewership.
2. Demote the bottom 4 to the 2nd division.
It almost doesn't matter how large the 2nd level is, but for the sake of symmetry let's say it also has 40 clubs.
This ratio should help keep the more valuable clubs in the top flight.
3. Play a round robin schedule.
That's a total of 39 games. No home and home. No unbalanced schedule. One table.
4. An MLS Cup with revenue bonuses for participants.
You can still take the top 8 or something like that and have an MLS Cup. Americans are used to playoffs and this will probably help with popularity and viewership.
Also giving out revenue bonuses to clubs that make the playoffs should help keep the owners that invested so much in the game.
In short, is this system rigged? You bet your sweet patootie it is! But it's necessary to guarantee the participation of the richer clubs which ends up being better than everyone.
You should be able to create a system where the TV money is pretty good for the top flight and maybe the 2nd division could split about a 1/3 of it to make it worth their while.
I think to truly capture the imagination of the average sports fan, that we eventually need a system that involves as many markets as possible.
Personally, I think that's a big part of what has made college sports so special here, but you do seem to see a similar dynamic in other countries with robust pyramids.
Anyway, the problem here is going to be these owners are investing so much capital in creating big time clubs that risking their investments by allowing relegation will probably be dead on arrival. Well, we need to find a way around that in order to have a truly world class league and nationwide phenomenon.
I think I have a way around the problem.
1. We start with 40 clubs at the top flight.
This number would virtually ensure that any big money clubs would never go down. All the major markets worth tapping in order to acquire an expansion fee will be covered in this number. The smaller market clubs will likely be the ones clawing to survive every year.
This means that once MLS gets done with it's next round of franchise grants, that it should probably just promote a few good markets to help with early viewership.
2. Demote the bottom 4 to the 2nd division.
It almost doesn't matter how large the 2nd level is, but for the sake of symmetry let's say it also has 40 clubs.
This ratio should help keep the more valuable clubs in the top flight.
3. Play a round robin schedule.
That's a total of 39 games. No home and home. No unbalanced schedule. One table.
4. An MLS Cup with revenue bonuses for participants.
You can still take the top 8 or something like that and have an MLS Cup. Americans are used to playoffs and this will probably help with popularity and viewership.
Also giving out revenue bonuses to clubs that make the playoffs should help keep the owners that invested so much in the game.
In short, is this system rigged? You bet your sweet patootie it is! But it's necessary to guarantee the participation of the richer clubs which ends up being better than everyone.
You should be able to create a system where the TV money is pretty good for the top flight and maybe the 2nd division could split about a 1/3 of it to make it worth their while.