For a nation founded on democratic principles, we sure do subscribe to the communist manifesto when it comes to our sports. No matter how bad our favorite teams get, we just sit back and admire the mess, proud of the God given right to be awful and to suffer no consequences for it.
Somehow I don’t think that the original signers of the declaration of independence intended for Pittsburgh Pirate fans to be given free will to root aimlessly for a team that will never see .500 again.
We might be a nation too ignorant to appreciate the nuisances of soccer but that doesn’t mean we can’t adopt some winning principles from the world’s most popular sport.
In England, if you’re football team can’t hang with the big boys then they get sent down to play with the toddlers.
In Brazil, you’re sorry excuse for a soccer team won’t be given any handouts. If they finish near the bottom then they’re headed to the second division.
Most every professional soccer league worldwide – except MLS in North America – has adopted the policy of relegating the bottom teams in the top division to the second tier. Once relegated, those franchises are faced with tough decisions and face the possibility of being wiped off the face of the map if they can’t maintain.
In turn, the top teams from the second division get promoted for a shot at the big time in the top tier.
Not here in the U.S. of A. We much prefer our owners to be complacent and sit on their fat wallets while robbing their community blind.
Imagine a world where the 0-16 Detroit Lions are sent down to the UFL where they’ll have to earn the right to play in the NFL again.
It is shocking to think that we would actually force teams to be competitive instead of taking up the Donald Sterling theory of profit over production.
Sadly, we prefer our sports to be ruled by communist dictators. Ironed fisted commissioners who sit atop their respective sports deciding which city gets a professional franchise and which one gets theirs ripped from the city limits overnight.
We’d rather watch the failed Montreal Expos Washington Nationals before we’d even consider giving the Albuquerque Isotopes a chance to be just as awful in the big leagues.
We’d much prefer watching the Vancouver Memphis Grizzlies try and fail time and time again before we’d ever consider giving the Fort Wayne Mad Ants an opportunity to be equally terrible.
Somehow we’ve become a society that openly accepts and supports franchises that do just enough to turn a profit but not enough to win.
I know this all too well as a life long fan of the Oakland Raiders. I’ll be the first to tell you that I’d rather see my Raiders sent down to the UFL than to continue to flounder in the NFL as they have the past six years.
Consider the saga of the Seattle Sonics. Seattle is one of the great sports towns in America with an equally great basketball heritage. Because of financial concerns surrounding a new arena, the Sonics were up rooted from their supportive fan base and moved to Oklahoma City.
I openly embrace the right for every state to have a professional franchise but not at the expense of another.
If we were to graft the world soccer model onto the NBA, we’d get the NBDL as the second division. In this bizarro basketball world, the struggling Sonics would have been relegated and perhaps their place would have been taken in the NBA by the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder of the D-League.
The beauty of this situation is that the NBA washes their hands of the mess. If Seattle couldn’t sort out their problems and the team remained in flux, then they’d never sniff the NBA again. Meanwhile, a new city is infused with the hopes of remaining in the NBA and possibly building a dynasty.
The problem is that we’re a coddled society. We loathe the daily challenges of life and hate even more to see them personified in our outlets of entertainment.
We’ll gladly spend our hard earned cash on season tickets for teams that year in and year out have no chance. Yet we openly complain when said teams do what they do best – lose.
Does this make sense to you?
In the relegation/promotion model, owners have no choice but to exhaust all the possibilities at hand to keep their teams competitive. When season ticket sales dip due to a relegation, owners are pitted with the task of rolling up their sleeves and getting into the trenches to get the franchise back on track. Plus, if your team is good enough, you’ll actually be able to enjoy a winning season as they take apart lesser competition in the second division.
I know, I know.
This will destroy all our sacred sports records.
Those very same records in baseball that have been tampered by the changing of the height of the pitching mound and sullied by PEDs. Those very same records in football that have changed due to an expanded schedule. Those very same records in basketball that have been forever rewritten thanks to a three point line and numerous rule changes.
The time has come to strip professional franchises of their scholarship standing in their respective leagues. Either put together a competitive team or be relegated to the lower divisions where you’ll have to earn your way back to the top.
What is more American than that?
Aren’t we the ones who thump our chests in proud arrogance when pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps? Aren’t we the nation that doesn’t ask for hand outs? Aren’t we the nation founded on capitalist principles making it possible for every individual to attain wealth beyond their wildest dreams?
If so, then why won’t we allow the Florida Tuskers to get their chance at playing their way into the NFL and possibly the Super Bowl?
Every major city in every state could have a franchise so long as people step forward with enough capital to keep the lights on and have enough vision to keep the arenas filled. From this we can cut the number of teams in each top tier league down to a healthy number thus getting rid of all the diluted talent brought on by the constant expansion of our professional leagues.
Alas, this is nothing more than the ramblings of an unpatriotic civilian who so foolishly thinks that professional teams should earn the right to play at the highest level instead of it being gifted to them. I guess we’re better off throwing the cash-strapped Kansas City Royals at the feet of the mega-millionaire payroll of the New York Yankees every year. Clipper fans can sleep better each night knowing no matter how bad things get, they’ll always have an NBA franchise to support. No consequences for horrendous management, only riches as rewards for a job poorly done. In the end, I guess nothing is more American than the right to be terrible at what you do yet still collect millions from your loyal-to-a-fault fan base.
(Chris Shellcroft is the lead blogger for Just Blog Baby, occasional contributor on Lake Show Life and all around righteous dude. You can follow him on Twitter.)