USL to vote on pro/rel

MLS<>USL<>USL2

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Cue the teams who sandbag to dominate ??

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Huh?

Are you saying teams are going to drop down leagues so they can dominate a lower level?

1) That would cost them money because the higher tier leagues are going to be given a bigger budget.

2) If they dominate the lower level, they are just going to get promoted to the league they "sandbagged" in

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a couple hours drive

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Or train ride. Makes a huge difference when you can let someone else do the driving, and keep the buzz after the match!

I think pro/rel would make a huge difference. Look at the cities that were meh in attendance in USL and are blowing the doors off in MLS (ATL, Charlotte, Nashville, Cincy, STL, etc.) Birmingham Legion draws ~5,000 for a home USL match, but then got 12K for Charlotte and 18K for Miami in the US Open Cup. So that level is possible, if the perception/prestige is there. Birmingham is already playing peer cities with Tampa, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Memphis, etc. but Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, and Charlotte would be a nice step up, and a good incentive for the club to keep improving.

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Let’s say there’s NOLA FC If we’re in a division with Mobile, Jackson, Shreveport, BR, Memphis, and Katy, they bring good fanbases here via bus and vice versa, and we win it to go to a more national division, where the other teams won’t bring nearly as many fans, they might fold the club rather than be “promoted”. There isn’t that much money in minor league soccer

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The franchise fee is like $20m for USL Championship right now. No one is “folding” because away attendance dips when they are promoted.

This is one of the stupidest tales I’ve seen.

I can't even fathom how you've come to this viewpoint.

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For pro/rel to work, casual fans have to recognize the differences between levels. English fans can. I’m not sure American fans can (and especially not USL fans)

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Yeah I’m not sure Americans can pick up on the tier system like they have in Europe since none of the leagues here have a system of pro/rel. Unless you point to MLB and explain that under that system a shite-tier MLB Club would be sent to AAA and be replaced by the best AAA team.

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Yeah I’m not sure Americans can pick up on the tier system like they have in Europe

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I don’t know why Americans wouldn’t like it or pick up on it. It rewards the best team(s) across their entire season vs an okay team that peaks at the right time.

Biggest issue for USL is getting rid of the minor league stigma. Most casual sports fans think USL is a sub league of MLS…which I know to a degree it is/was, but that is changing now.

I’m hoping pro rel is a smashing success that leads to MLS adopting it down the line and having a fully integrated pyramid. I’ll set a reminder to circle back to this in 20 years

Still, gotta start somewhere

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having a fully integrated pyramid

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As long as they don’t all get forced into Adidas only kits. One of the best things about USL are the kits.

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I don’t know why Americans wouldn’t like it or pick up on it. It rewards the best team(s) across their entire season vs an okay team that peaks at the right time.

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Americans like their Super Bowls though

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After the 2003 season, Kenseth's championship became a source of controversy and criticism. Critics of the Winston Cup points system, most notably Roger Penske, questioned how a driver could win a season championship despite winning only one race out of 36 during the season. Additionally, the fact that Kenseth led the points standings for 33 weeks despite only having the one victory, as well as already having clinched the Winston Cup title with one week to go in the season (rendering the final race in essence a non-event) led to discussions on how to prevent Kenseth's feat from happening again (by comparison, in 2000, under the same points system, Bobby Labonte had won the Winston Cup championship after leading in points for 31 of the 34 races and also clinched the championship one race early but unlike Kenseth, Labonte won four races in his championship year). Kenseth finished that year with 11 top-five finishes and 25 top-ten finishes.

As a result, 2004 saw the implementation of a new points and playoffs system titled "The Chase for the Nextel Cup" after Winston was replaced as primary sponsor of NASCAR's top series by Nextel Communications. In essence, the system created a 10 race playoff, with only the top-ten drivers in points after the first 26 races competing for the championship. Moreover, the system placed an emphasis, and a points premium, on wins. As a result, the term "The Matt Kenseth Rule" was coined to describe NASCAR's adoption of the current points system. NASCAR acknowledged that the 2003 championship outcome was not the driving factor in establishment of The Chase, as it had been researching methods to adjust the points system to put more emphasis on winning races since 2000. However, the coincidence of the commencement of the new format in 2004 and Kenseth's 2003 championship linked the issues, and were even referred to by NASCAR officials in the interviews and press releases following the announcement of the new format.

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